Big Flavor with Bison

I made a Bolognese Sauce this morning with ground Bison where I would normally use veal or pork. I also used Grenache red wine and milk instead of white wine and stock. The sauce turned out incredible. Slow cooked with fresh thyme, the Bison truly makes a huge difference.

Just by looking at the ground meat, I could already tell that it would make a richer sauce. It’s deep purple color is flecked with very few pieces of white fat. The absence of fat is something that you have to account for when browning it. The proteins bind together into much faster and tightly than in a typical 80/20 ground chuck. If you want the same loose “ground beef” texture, you have to really break up the pieces with a wooden spatula as it cooks. Don’t worry though, a rougher sauce just emphasizes the rustic flavor of the sauce.

I would suggest to be a little heavier handed with the olive oil as to provide enough fat to transmit flavor, but do be careful not to make the sauce into a broken greasy mess. I found that my natural feeling for how much salt to add was a little weak, and I had to add what felt like a little more than usual to bring out the full flavor of the dish. I would even go so far as to say, salt this dish with the intention of not using any salty cheeses. Give the old Parm/Pecorino grater a rest on this one. Really reach in as you taste it, and try to feel how the celery, wine and Bison produce an Earthy sort of base note.

This is real comfort food for the nostalgic foodie who wishes he could have lived in the days when the Buffalo roamed the fields of northern Italy; when Mozzarella was still made from this rich and flavorful milk… without costing $22/lb.

For those interested, here’s the recipe.

Bison Spaghetti Bolognese

1lb. ground Bison
2 slices (1/8 lb) thick cut bacon (or pancetta); diced
2-3 Tbsp E.V. Olive Oil
1 medium onion; diced
2 carrots; diced
2 ribs of celery; diced
2 cloves of garlic; thinly sliced
1/2 small can organic tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
s&p; to taste

Cook the diced bacon in the olive oil over medium heat until bacon just starts to crisp. Add all the vegetables at once, salt and pepper, and sweat for six or seven minutes without allowing to brown. Add the ground Bison and brown chopping the meat down to desired consistency with wooden spatula. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for around five minutes stirring almost constantly, being careful not to let the tomato paste stick or burn. Pour in the wine and add the thyme leaves. After a minute or so, add the milk. Bring the sauce to a simmer stirring to incorporate. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the consistency with pasta water as you cook your pasta, and finally adjust the salt and pepper to taste just before you toss with 1 lb of slightly under-cooked spaghetti. Finish cooking the pasta in the pan with the sauce, and serve piping hot with a last drizzle of E.V. Olive Oil over top on the plate.