Bison was the most important food to many Native American peoples, and they developed many ways to cook it. One of the most common ways was to make it into a stew, with several root vegetables and broth. It was traditional for large pots of this stew to be kept simmering throughout the day, so anyone who was hungry would have it available. The root vegetables used were usually not the ones that we have available, consisting of things like wild turnips, wild carrots, and other wild roots. But corn was often available, and used in the stews to provide a very nice taste. Sage and wild onions were also often used.
This stew is easy, and is true to the spirit of combining many root vegetables with bison meat. It is also a one-pot meal, containing many nutrients. It does not contain the same root vegetables used by the Native Americans—I use ordinary organic carrots instead of wild carrots, for example. But it is really delicious and satisfying. And tender.
I have found grassfed bison to be a wonderful source of energy, and one of the best remedies for being tired that I have ever found. The precut bison stew meat sold by U.S. Wellness Meats is perfect for this dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 pounds bison stew meat
3 organic green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh organic sage leaves, chopped
1 organic yellow onion, chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup organic corn kernels, (I use frozen organic corn kernels—no need to defrost them, just break them up into individual kernels)
3 medium potatoes, (or 2 medium sweet potatoes), peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 cups U.S. Wellness Meats beef marrow bone stock broth, (or homemade beef or bison broth)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place all the ingredients in a large covered casserole, and mix well.
- Cover the pot and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Stir the contents of the pot. Reduce the heat to 250 degrees, and cook covered for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork.
Stanley Fishman is a cookbook author and blogger who is an expert on cooking grassfed meat. Stanley uses traditional flavor combinations and cooking methods to make the cooking of grassfed meat easy, delicious, and tender. Stanley has written two cookbooks that make it easy to cook grassfed meat —Tender Grassfed Meat: Traditional Ways to Cook Healthy Meat and Tender Grassfed Barbecue: Traditional, Primal and Paleo. Stanley blogs about real food and the cooking of grassfed meat at his blog Tendergrassfedmeat.com.
