Buffaloaf - Au Naturale!

​I recently ordered some delicious, ground, grass-fed bison meat from Grassfed Traditions' farm in Wisconsin.   Holy cow!  I mean " holy bison" is it delicious!

​Technically, bison and buffalo are different; bison roam in North America and buffalo are from Africa and Asia.  But, the early American settlers called bison “bufello” due to the similar appearance between the two animals, and the name "buffalo" stuck for the American variety. (source)  

Hence, the clever name for this yummy dinner recipe: Buffaloaf!  
Bison...buffalo, tomato...to-mah-to!  ;-)

The recipe isn't the typical tomato-y meatloaf. It's more of a western BBQ flavor. It's a great manly-meal and tastes like you're eating dinner around a woodsy, warm, campfire.  

Bison is a very lean meat, so in this recipe I mixed it with ground pastured pork sausage to make it just the right texture.  No glutenous breadcrumbs in this recipe either! I substituted sprouted flax meal.  You'd never notice the difference.  It also is full of tasty vegetables to nourish your body.

Yes, you can use grass-fed beef instead of the bison meat in this recipe, but why not be adventurous and give bison a whirl?  It's so nutritious! Compared to beef, buffalo/bison is higher in calcium, iron, magnesium, and protein.  A single serving of buffalo can contribute up to 1/3 of daily requirements of protein, 1/3 of iron, 20% of phosphorous, 15% of vitamin B6, 30% of zinc, and 50% of selenium.  (source)

Watch this short, informative video about the grass-fed bison from Grassfed Traditions' farm in northern Wisconsin:

From Grassfed Traditions:  

Our source for bison products comes from northern Wisconsin where the animals are grazed on prairie grass with NO chemicals, hormones, or grains - EVER! The animals are 100% grass fed, and are also “finished” on grass. Extra measures are taken to keep the animals in a very low stress, natural environment, which insures a more tender and sweeter tasting meat.

Grass-fed animals have been shown to be higher in Omega 3 fatty acids than grain-fed and finished livestock. CLA is also an essential fatty acid found primarily in grass-fed animals. Some studies have also shown that grass-fed bison contain up to 4 times more selenium than grain-fed bison. Bison contains more protein in relation to calories than beef. Bison are very hearty animals and are genetically a purer strain of red meat than most other meats. 

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​Buffaloaf - Au Naturale!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. grass-fed bison  (order yours here)
• 1 lb. pork sausage or ground bacon (from pastured pork)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sprouted flax meal (find it here)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 small red or green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• a few dashes of natural liquid smoke (find it here)
• 1 Tbsp rib rub seasoning  (see the recipe to make it here)
• BBQ sauce, to spread on top (Outta The Park brand is all good-for-you ingredients and is the best tasting natural BBQ sauce I've ever had.  I love the Hot & Spicy flavor!)

​Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place all ingredients in a large bowl or gallon size baggie.
• Mix until uniform.
• Oil/butter your baking pan(s).  I used a ceramic quiche dish with 2" deep sides.  Little cupcake buffaloaves are fun, too!
• Spread the meat in your pan(s) and top with a thin layer of BBQ sauce.
• Bake until cooked through.  The quiche baking dish took 50 minutes.

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