In order to test what makes the best steak—Bison meat Vs Beef, we decided to have a Summer Meat Festival! Friends and family got to taste various cuts of Bison and Beef meat so that they could nominate which makes the Best Steak!
We put standard rib steaks head to head with bison rib steaks as well as three other cuts of bison. Everything was good, but read on to find out what steak was our favorite.
Buffalo and Beef Steaks Cooked
For our bison meat vs beef experiment, we used the classic steak cuts:
- Rib Steak
- Filet Mignon
- Striploin
- Top Sirloin.
Most cuts were cooked on our charcoal grill, except for the Filet Mignon which was cooked on the skillet with a little butter. To add a little bit of smoke to our challenge, we used mesquite woodchips on the grill which we added halfway during cooking time
How to Cook Bison Steaks
The meat prep was simple. As you know, we love our old Weber Kettle grill and, being meat lovers, we like to keep any additional strong flavors such as barbecue sauces or hot spices out of our recipes. We therefore prepped our meats with a simple splash of garlic salt and a good quality olive oil.
Having great quality meat helps! Choosing great cuts and, when possible, all natural meat makes it easier to prepare simple and quick delicious recipes. We hosted a big event with effectively very little effort.
Prepping the meat took less than 20 minutes—even if it was a large amount of meat! Cooking time was also very short: 10 minutes or less. With the relatively high heat of natural charcoal the steaks cooked fast.
How to Cook Beef Steaks
We used the same prepping and cooking time for the beef steaks a we did for the bison steaks. We however decided to trim the rib beef steaks (remove the excessive fat). This was not required with the naturally lean buffalo steaks.
When cooking beef steaks we grilled them for about 5 minutes on one side then added more mesquite wood chips before turning them over to grill for another few minutes on the second side.
Okay, now that we’ve provided you with the steak cooking details, you are probably wondering: how did it all taste???
Results – Buffalo Steak vs. Beef Steak
Bison Filet Mignon
The filet mignon is very lean so we opted for cooking them in a cast iron skillet with a little butter instead. of putting them on the grill.
We then sliced the cooked meat into strips and served it as an appetizer. The result was so delicious that we ended up eating all of it before we even got to the table! The first steak was a definite success and got everyone excited for the rest of the steaks to follow.
Tip: Serve this buffalo steak with a cabernet sauvignon and you’ll make a lot of friends!
Buffalo Rib Steak
This steak was delicious! Less lean than its brothers: the other bison cuts, yet far less fatty than its cousin the beef rib steak, this is a steak to be served quickly as it looses too much of its great taste if served at room temperature.
You want to enjoy the succulent juiciness while the natural meat is hot. As with any steak – let it rest for a few minutes before cutting, but not more than 5 minutes in this case.
Bison Top Sirloin
Meat lovers who are looking for a “low in fat option” will love the Bison Top Sirloin. It is tasty and practically fat free. Enjoy the firmer texture of the natural meat. Sink your teeth in and feel wild America in your mouth.
Bison Striploin
The Bison Strip loin had the wildest taste out of all the buffalo steak cuts. This steak could be a good choice for a marinade to complement the flavor. Definitely a good pairing with the cabernet we were drinking.
Beef Steaks
Although all the beef rib steaks were good, they did not compare in flavour and texture to the Bison steaks.
They did have the benefit of a higher fat content that makes them a little more forgiving on the grill – but the overall impression was that of a more blander juiciness when compared to the buffalo rib steaks.
And the winner is…
Best Steak: The Buffalo Rib Steak!
Although all meat was good, nothing compared to the savoury taste of the Buffalo Rib Steak. The immediate hint of the mesquite wood chips exploded into a tasty, and very juicy, wild flavor.
The Buffalo Rib Steak was mouth-watering. We definitely recommend it to all meat lovers out there. Pair it with a good wine and you’ve got yourself a feast that cannot be beat!
A meat cook-off is a great way to enjoy good food and good company. So fire-up the grill and enjoy your summer!
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