Bison Rib Trial

gdenby

<p />Above are some bison short ribs just about to come off the Egg. As you can see, the meat has drawn well up from the bones, and in fact a few bones had already fallen out. Nevertheless, they were nearly the toughest meat I've had from the Egg.[p]

[p]This is the first time I've tried to cook bison short ribs.The batch I bought included everything from large chunks of meat to bunches of bones having almost as much cartilage as meat. I tried to cut off a lot of the "silver skin" with a ceramic knife. Even with the razor like blade, I had trouble cutting through the membranes and muscle sheathes. I cut the pieces so that they were more equal in size, and marinated them overnight in a solution of mostly safflower oil, with some vinegar and lemon juice. I rubbed them with a simple mixture of salt sugar and pepper. Bison tends to have a pleasant sweet taste, and I didn't want to overwhelm that with lots of spices.[p]I did them indirect, at an average temperature a little above 250 for 3 hours, bone side down. I then foiled them in two pouches with an apple/cherry concentrate somewhat diluted with a simple blush wine. I let them cook another 2 hours in the foil, meat side down. I finished them direct at just under 300 for 15 minutes. I've never done any pork ribs or beef short ribs for more than an hour in foil, and that usually gets them to just about finger pull apart tender. Not the bison. Definitely needed a knife to cut the meat into bite sizes. The taste and moistness of the bison kept the meal from being a failure, but I'd guess that instead of doing a 3-2-1/4 cook, a 4-3-1/4 might have been better.

thirdeye

gdenby,[p]Don't give up on bison, you just need to modify your cooking techniques. Bison is so lean and what fat it does have is not in the form of marbling, it's mostly surface fat. That is why the meat has that darker, almost dull color to it. When barbecuing short ribs, if you try to cook it tender over time you will wind up driving off what little fat there is and the moisture will be right behind it. You are better off getting some color and smoke flavor to the meat in the first hour or two with LOW temps (no higher than 225°), then foiling early and get the braise action going. Ramp up the cooker temp after foiling to 275°or so. Use plenty of liquid in your foil pouch. Adding some oil or bacon grease works well too. A favorite way to finish off short ribs is to move them from the pit to a crock pot, with some cooking liquid. The effect is the same as foiling, but it is easier to monitor the cooking. The ribs will remain moist and the meat will be fall-off-the-bone.[p]Bison loin ribs are a great cook. Unlike pork loin ribs these boys are thick and meaty.[p][p]I smoke cook them for a couple of hours, then foil until they are tender and return to the cooker for 15 minutes, especially if I want to glaze them.[p][p]~thirdeye~

gdenby

thirdeye,[p]I'll try your suggestions next time. I really like the flavor of bison, and the healthy lack of fat. And, because I get it straight from the farm, I'm assured of good quality. Its just a bit harder to cook than comparable beef cuts.[p]gdenby