For over a year I purchased our meat in the grocery store. I didn’t enjoy it.
Our buffalo meat from 2 years ago had run out and we kept coming up short on finding grass-fed beef to purchase. So, our freezer sat rather empty as we waited for the next time Ty could go buffalo hunting.
Veteran’s Day this year, that chance came!
Some of you probably know how incredibly expensive buffalo meat is. Because of the interest in breeding buffalo in recent years, the buffalo (or American bison) is no longer an endangered species; however, they are naturally organic and we all know how very expensive organic meat is. Hunting your own is actually a great investment because you get not only the burger, but steaks and roasts all for the same processing fee.
Additionally, buffalo meat offers us some amazing health benefits!
BBQ Buffalo!
Buffalo beats almost every other meat hands down in the nutrition department. Plus, as I said, it is organic because buffalo are naturally free-ranging animals that don’t like to be messed with.
The biggest benefit for me is the high iron content! I struggle with anemia, especially in pregnancy, so eating buffalo meat (cooked in cast iron) is very good for me.
It does smell different cooking than beef and you do have to cook it low and slow because of the next to nil fat content, but those minor adjustments are well worth a freezer full of wonderful meat!
Yes, I know some people wouldn’t be okay with the buffalo head hanging on my wall (I got a lot of comments on that post about being a good woman for allowing that!) or the buffalo robe on my bed (yes, it’s called a robe and not a “rug”), but I dare you to argue with me about the meat!
So, this Christmas I am blessed to have buffalo…a whole freezer load of lovely buffalo!
Tracey says
Congrats on your buffalo meat! My husband is a deer hunter, so we are happy to have a freezer full of venison at the moment.
Suanna says
Sounds good! I grew up with venison, but the man I married has not yet gone hunting. Maybe one day…
Danielle B says
Oh my husband is not a hunter and I’m sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo thankful he isn’t!
Teresa says
Love game meat. No deer this year, my son and husband were both sick and kept coughing. They scared everything away, but had a great time trying. I was raised on Elk, deer, duck, goose, pheasant, and much more. My dad has hunted a few buffalo, but by him it is very expensive. His friend has a buffalo farm and when they had a old one they would let him take it because they new he needed food. My dad would give the shirt of his back to anyone and sometimes that has left them hungry. The last three years I know how hard it is for him in his old age to chop the wood to heat the house, so for Christmas we send a guy with a dump truck loaded with ready wood. The guy know not to tell my parents who it comes from and he is paid well for his load. They still have not figured out who it comes from, but it last most of the winter for them. Only problem was last year I sent it when my dad was gone for the day and it was going to snow, so my mother moved the whole dump truck load by herself to the wood shed. She called me the next day saying how sore she was.
Amy says
Oh how sweet of you! What a lovely gift to your parents. 🙂
Melissa says
I agree!! My husband hunts as well ( around here, it’s deer, elk or moose) and the health benefits are so great! The low fat, as you mentioned and the high iron as well as the lack of chemicals or hormones etc make it such a healthy meat. We used to get asked a lot if we worried about eating so much red meat because of cholesterol or fat content, so I did some research. Wild meat has less fat or cholesterol than chicken or turkey, and almost as little as white fish!!
I also did a cost break down to see what it costs us to eat wild meat. Adding up the cost of my husband’s moose trip that year and supplies etc, the wild meat works out to 22 cents a pound! That is a great deal for the burger, but an insane deal for steaks, roasts and sausages! We hang, cut and process the meat ourselves, so that does save us quite a bit.
I usually run out of wild meat just before the next hunting season starts, and have to buy grocery store beef for a week or two. I’m always amazed at the difference, and we’re so used to the wild meat that now we have a hard time eating the store bought stuff!
Amy says
We usually run out at the right time too, but my husband didn’t hunt buffalo last year and only got a button buck, so we were without. The upfront cost of the hunt deters a lot of people, but it’s just like you said…works out fabulously in the end!
Melissa says
Cost does vary so much too. If you can hunt where you live, or where a friend or family members lives, as we do, the cost is very small. It always makes me laugh when people say that hunting is an expensive hobby. Of course there are ways to spend a lot of money hunting if one wants every gizmo or gadget and wants to go on large guided hunts far from home. And yes there is an equipment cost, which you don’t need to spend again once you own the gun, but there are ways to spend that much on any “hobby” too. Plus, if we had to pay a butcher or meat shop to process our meat, that would bring the cost up significantly. I have friends who spend more on scrapbooking than we do on hunting. I don’t really see hunting as a hobby anymore, I see at as one of the ways my husband provides for our family, and I am sooo thankful for it.
One more thought on the health benefits of the meat: because of the extra iron, I always found I didn’t need to give my babies iron fortified cereals. As long as I am breastfeeding, they get enough from me and the extra would cause they to get stopped up. After the second baby, I finally figured out what was causing it and my doctor told me just to skip the cereal 🙂
Diane B. says
Where did your husband and son hunt buffalo? We love bison meat but lost our local source? Thanks!
Amy says
This time it was South Dakota at Custer State Park. They have a wild herd there (the largest in the US I believe). They tracked for about an hour before they got her.
Jessica says
Custer is where my dad and brother got our last buffalo also! Even though it’s kinda pricy (we live in WI, so must figure in gas as well as tags, etc) it still ends up to be VERY CHEAP and certainly MOST HEALTHY meat we’ve had!
Alisha Hauser says
That is indeed a blessing! My husband went hunting a couple of years ago for the first time and got 2 does. It was the best meat ever! The land was sold though and he has not found a place to hunt on since. I would LOVE a freezer full of buffalo.
Have a merry Christmas!
RG says
Love bison meat. The best roast. We put it in the slow cooker and come home to a delicious Sunday dinner. Good for you!
abba12 says
Oh I wish we could hunt in Australia. I think technically we can, but we can’t hunt any Australian native animals, like dingoes and kangaroos.
I’d love to be able to fill my freezer with roo meat, I buy it from the shops sometimes but it’s awfully expensive.
Amy says
That is something I’ve never had! Wow!
Tanya - Lilyofthevalley says
Enjoy!! I’ve never had buffalo meat… But we have plenty of grass fed beef, so I’m happy. 🙂 We are actually raising a couple of our own calves now, so we have more to come. 🙂
Amy says
That’s great Tanya!
Heather Anderson says
That is great! I had no idea buffalo hunting was even a possibility. Enjoy.
Barbara says
That sounds so wonderful! 🙂 I’ve never had buffalo meat, but have had deer & grassfed beef. Was really wondering what you do with the bones? Do you simmer them in water for about 24 hrs to make broth??? Because that would be REALLY good nutrition for you, even better than the meat! And broth freezes well. I use the jars that you buy juice with from the store. Like Juicy Juice, Welch, etc. Broth is WONDERFUL stuff to use, to make soups with & all kinds of other stuff. It usually makes me sad when someones butchers a deer or anything wild & don’t cook the bones…. to me, that’s the best part/value of the meat! Has so much nutrition & vitamins in them.
Melissa says
I admit we’ve always fed the bones to our dogs, this hunting season was the first one in many years that we don’t have a dog. I have never tried making broth with the bones! The idea intrigues me, what do you do to get a good broth??
Eileen says
Buffalo is some of the best meat I’ve ever tried. Only had it once. So good to hear you can get it. Bon appetite!
Tammy says
We use venison, but have never had buffalo. It it similar taste to venison or more like beef?