mlou

Buffalo: The Other Red Meat

Tell the truth, ladies. If you were scanning a menu and saw “buffalo” as an entrée item, would it grab your interest or would you quickly scan to find something featuring boneless chicken breast? “I’ll have the buffalo,” just does not roll off our pretty painted lips.

Buffalo!?

It sounds like man food: big, burly he-man-in-a-lumberjack-
plaid-flannel-shirt food. Ladies do not eat something called buffalo, let alone anything that looks like a buffalo, all big and hairy.

Well, girlfriend, I’ve tasted buffalo (also referred to as bison) and it is sweet, flavorful, and tender—everything I never expected it to be and more. A little research revealed that it is nutritionally superior to beef, chicken, and pork on many levels.

My first purchase of buffalo came from Red Run Bison Farm located in Marshallville. I kept bumping into owner Steve Slifko at the farmers markets hosted by the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy this past summer. Lots of small talk, no cash changed hands.

Our meetings had finally reached a point where I had to buy something so I decided the safest selection would be the ground buffalo meat. That simple purchase resulted in the best batch of chili I’ve ever made or fed my boys. Same pot, same recipe, same seasonings, same everything. So I called Steve and we talked buffalo.

So You Want To Be A Farmer?

I’ve crossed paths with a lot of farmer wannabes while I travel around the state presenting a travelogue on my book Farms & Foods of Ohio: From Garden Gate to Dinner Plate. Inevitably, someone approaches me after the program and says, “I have been thinking about becoming a farmer and now I’m determined.”

“Wow! That’s great,” I’ll say. You never want to quash a potential food producer. But behind my encouraging smile, I'm thinking, “Don’t quit your day job just yet.”