I probably wouldn’t have done a post featuring this particular meal except for the fact that this is the first time I have ever eaten ‘Buffalo’ and I thought it might be interesting to share the experience.
First, I used quotes around the ‘Buffalo’ because when you encounter it on a menu in North America it almost invariably means the animal more properly called ‘Bison’, which, I gather, is only distantly related to the true Buffalo. Buffalo is eaten in some parts but I have yet to see it on a menu here, or in stores either, for that matter.
The cut I was served here was the rib-eye. I won’t comment on the vegetables except to say that the roasted carrot and green beans were unremarkable and the braised red cabbage not at all well-executed. The steak, however, was very nice. The cut was not perfect, a bit gristly in places but it was cooked to a good medium rare as ordered. I was surprised that it was as juicy as it turned out to be. Being largely grass-fed and relatively lean, I had been expecting something a bit drier, but it turned out to be quite as succulent as many a good beef steak I have had. I have read where others describe the meat as being a bit sweeter than beef but I didn’t really get that at all. It did, however, have a pronounced earthy taste that I really enjoyed. Beyond that though, had this been served to a beef, I wouldn’t have cocked an eye and would have accepted it as such. In short, I would happily order a Buffalo/Bison steak again and I can pretty confidently state that you could substitute the meat in any recipe calling for beef without changing the result over much.
