Curry Buffalo

Though I've been wanting to curry a buffalo for a while, it took me a while to get to it. It's not that easy to find bison meat in Toronto, or anywhere, I imagine. I knew that I could get it at The Healthy Butcher (www.thehealthybutcher.com) but avoided doing so because I suspected, correctly, that it would be outlandishly expensive. Instead, I spent three months poking into mom & pop butcher shops in my neighborhood (Dufferin/Rogers/Oakwood/St. Clair) and politely asking for bison meat. No one has it. At least I made a friend: the beautifully ham-handed butcher at Macelleria Atlas (800 St. Clair Avenue West), who gave me a super recipe for stew beef and a rich explanation of why it is important to brown meat and vegetables separately. I finally hit up Healthy Butcher today; $50 later, my most giant saucepan is full of curry bison and my veins are full of iron and "good" cholesterol. $16.99/pound, people. Oh well. It's Christmas.

Bison are super cute animals, so it's no surprise that they're also delicious. And yeah, prairie folk definitely get down like that; I know people back in Winnipeg who keep a buffalo hump in the freezer and eat the stuff regularly. Bison burgers are pretty commonplace on the prairies, and some people are into the prairie oyster/tendergroin/cowboy caviar situation...oi! As for me, I'd never tried the stuff before today. No, I know bison from the diorama in the first display one walks through at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature; fluffy beasts, like hoofed teddy bears, with soulful eyes that seem to be full of tears even after being stuffed and standing in a museum for 25 years. I know the stories of buffalo running, in which a bold adventurer would risk his life to lead a humble herd of trusting beefalo to their death over the edge of a cliff, poor things. I know that there were once something like 50 million bison, seriously, on this chunk of land that I live on - before they were hunted for their hides and tongues, tasty meat left to rot by money-hungry colonizers. Governments on both sides of the border actively encouraged extermination of the indigenous bison herds, which were the main food source for another indigenous group that was being actively exterminated...the humans. Lucky for me, bison are now being farmed sustainably and herd sizes are healthy, though nowhere near what they were when they fed entire nations of people.

A quick look at www.bisonbasics.com will tell you that bison meat has never been genetically modified, is 100% grass-fed, and is lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol than lean beef, pork, or turkey. Has more protein too. Awesome, right? As a person with Caribbean blood, I was pretty confident that any meat could be curried, and the bison didn't disappoint. I wasn't sure whether to prepare it like a curry goat or curry beef, so I kind of split the difference. If I can ever afford to do this again, or if I get a line on some cheap bison meat (bison farmers: holler at me) I will make it more closely to the way I curry goat, and see how that turns out. I'd also slap it into a roti skin next time instead of serving on rice. Bottom line - it was rich and juicy with an earthier taste than any other curry dish I've had. The mister says delish, but he's easy.

RECIPE

Curry Buffalo
Serves 4-6.

3 lb bison, cut to bite size
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Dash of thyme
Double dash of Seasoning
3 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, cubed
1 tsp pepper sauce

1. Wash bison with lemon juice, then season with salt, thyme, Seasoning, and 1 tbsp of curry powder. Leave to sit for 30 minutes.
2. Combine onion, garlic, remaining 2 tbsp curry powder, and 1/4 c water. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat, add onion mixture, and brown.
3. Add bison and stir. Add 2 c water, cover, and cook 40 minutes over medium-low, stirring occasionally.
4. Add potatoes and pepper sauce; cook another 20 minutes.

Enjoy, peoples!