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Bison Brisket, Chalk Up To Experience (pics)

gdenby
gdenby Posts: 6,239
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Had a chance to do a portion of a bison brisket. I don't know anything about the structure of a bison brisket, but this one seems to be a half portion, and I'd guess from the structure that its some flat, and the point, if there is such a thing in bison. It weighed 4.4 pounds, and was between 1.5 & 2.5 inches thick before cooking.

BisonBrisket0B.jpg
BisonBrisket1B.jpg

As you can see from the first 2 pics, there is no fat cap. Also, almost the entire piece is covered with silver skin. In one area, it was so thick it was like parchment. I used a hair-shaving sharp knife to remove a bunch, but it was so difficult that I ended up slashing thru a lot, and then ran a Jaquard tenderizer all over it.

In an attempt to start breaking down the connective tissue, and add some extra fat, I covered it in an oil based marinade for 1.5 hours. The spices were mostly chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powder, and equal parts raw sugar and Kosher salt.

BisonBrisket3B.jpg

It was large enough that I started it draped over a V-rack in my medium. The dome was 250. The next image is at about 3 hours. It has reduced in size, and has reached the plateau. At 4 hours, there was little rise in temperature, so I bumped the dome to 280, and started mopping it. At 5.5 hours, it had reached the 170s, so I dropped the temperature back down, and continued mopping. At 6.5 hours, the "flat" portion was just out of the plateau, at 185, but the "point" was running between 200 & 205. Not wanting to dry the piece out, I decided to pull it.

BisonBrisket4B.jpg
BisonBrisket5b.jpg

The result looked and smelled really good. It cut nicely. You can see a good smoke ring, and the glisten of moisture.

The result? My wife nailed it. The "flat" strips "were kind of like bacon, but without the fat." The point pieces "reminds me of jerky." So, great tasting near leather.

The moral of the story. Be prepared for a few hours of foiling with a bison brisket. Or, like me, be prepared to make some great chili the next day. Another 6 hours simmering will give you melt in the mouth tender meat.

Comments

  • Gator Bait
    Gator Bait Posts: 5,244
    Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I wish some of these more exotic meats were as available and priced like beef, I would love to try them.

    Gator
  • JLOCKHART29
    JLOCKHART29 Posts: 5,897
    The color looks really great. I would have thought it would have been fatter than that but more like deer really than beef. You think if you pulled it sooner it would have been better seeing as how it didn't really break anything down with longer cook?
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    The price isn't too much more than beef, considering the higher amount of protein bison has. I'm lucky to have a farm just down the road, and so get the bison nice and fresh. Unfortunately, the farm has become quite popular, and altho they are expanding the herd, its hard to get steaks unless you get there just after an animal is processed.
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    The structure was different than beef, but all the muscles were sheathed in connective tissue, and bison cartilage is almost like leather. I'd hoped that because it went thru a plateau, the connective tissue would have turned to gelatin, but it remained quite tough. After simmering it for chili (which benefited from the smoke and rub flavoring), the meat texture was like satin. So a few hours in a foil pouch would have really helped.
  • KcLeaf
    KcLeaf Posts: 62
    what about brining it,