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One of the most common questions we get is about how to cook grassfed bison properly. The good news is that cooking bison is relatively easy and very similar to cooking beef; however, there are some key differences. Of course, different recipes will call for different methods of cooking, but the 4 tips below are pretty a pretty good overall guideline. We’ll get more into specific cooking methods in later posts but for now, follow these and you’ll have some mouth-watering bison on your plate before your stomach can even growl in anticipation.

1. LESS TIME. LESS HEAT.

Since bison is naturally leaner than beef, it takes less time to cook and requires much lower temperatures. And grassfed bison is even leaner than regular bison. The last thing you want to do is overcook it. A general rule of thumb is to aim for 1/3 of the cooking time at 1/3 of the temperature you would normally use for beef, and you’ll end up with a tender, juicy piece of heaven.

2. CUT OUT THE GUESSWORK.

Once you get used to cooking bison, you’ll start to figure out just how long you need to cook it but until then, we really recommend investing in a good meat thermometer if you don’t already have one. This will take the guesswork out of cooking and ensure that your bison steak is always perfectly done. Depending on how you like your meat, aim for the following temperatures:

Rare: 115-120 degrees       Medium Rare: 121-129 degrees      Medium: 129-135 degrees

Note: The temperature will rise a few degrees while resting (see tip #4) so remember to take that into account.

3. KEEP IT SIMPLE.  

Our bison doesn’t need a ton of extra ingredients in order to make it tasty. All you need is a little sea salt and some olive oil. First, rub the salt on the meat, and then spray or brush on a small amount of olive oil before cooking.

4. PATIENCE IS DELICIOUS.

As hard as it will be to wait, don’t cut into your meat the second it comes off the grill. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes to seal in all the juices. It would be a shame to let all that goodness spill out onto the cutting board.

And there you have it. Simple. Delicious. And perfectly cooked every single time.