Bison Boogas

I'd decided to celebrate the Third of July (it wasn't my year for the Fourth, custody rotation you know) with a bit of grilled bison.



I was thrilled to find buffalo at Wal-Mart, but my joy was premature. A mere $5 a pound (I know, that's a lot, but it's only about two thirds what the ground buffalo at Whole Paycheck Market runs).



Upon getting it home, I noticed it was 90/10. What? One of the virtues of buffalo is its leanness. The explanation is on the label: it proclaims it to be 'grain fed.'

Sending buffalo to a goddamn feed lot is a crime. It's worse than sending beef there. Any idea how much healthier Americans would be in general if there were no such thing as a feed lot? These animals are made to eat grass. Grain is for making beer.



I did make up some of the difference, though, by melting soy cheese on them instead of cheddar (don't tell the girls it wasn't real cheese).

And I found that a lot of the flavor difference between beef and buffalo is in that feed lot. I really couldn't tell these boogas from beef. Which probably means Wal-Mart and TenderBison have scored a home-run in marketing, but it's a shame.

For serious, I might have to take up hunting. I like game meats, and they're so expensive by the time you actually find something that hasn't been fed a whole drug store plus being fattened up on grain, it might be about the same cost. It also seems right that if I'm going to eat an animal that he at least had a shot at eluding me.

Of course, by hunting, I don't mean sitting in a stand, freezing and waiting for a deer to wander along. That seems to be the way around here, but I'd only be interested if I could actively stalk the game. Kind of like how I thought I hated fishing until my bro took me sight fishing at Bennett Springs a few years back. Trout fishing isn't just sitting on shore like a moron getting your lure stuck on the rocks again and again.

I also made that 'Asian' slaw again, but with a variation (the addition of broccoli slaw and using some hot pepper oil in addition to the sesame oil):

Shred:
1/2 head green cabbage
1/2 head red cabbage
1 medium onion
4 carrots

Add:
1 bag 'broccoli slaw' (pre-shredded)

Mix:
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sesame oil
1/3 cup Mongolian Fire Oil
1 cup rice vinegar
4 'Oriental' Ramen seasoning packets
2 tbsp sugar

Toss shredded veggies in dressing

Crush the four packets of Ramen noodles and add to slaw with:
1 cup sunflower seed kernels
11 oz sesame sticks



I kept the dry ingredients separate this time, too, mixing together only what I mean to eat at the time. Otherwise the crunchy sesame sticks and Ramen bits get soggy.