Buffalo rancher Ed Dillinger recommends this bison roast is from “The Buffalo Cookbook: the low-fat solution to eating red meat.” He said it is important to cook slowly over medium/low heat. “We say ‘low and slow’ to retain the flavor and not dry out the meat,” he told Kristin Hodges when she visited his ranch.
Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients:
For the roast:
- 4-5 pounds top round bison/buffalo roast
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
For the marinade:
- 3 cups red Bordeaux wine
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 5 shallots, peeled and minced
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried tarragon
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons raspberry wine vinegar
- Sea salt
- Black pepper, freshly ground
Preparation:
Place the roast in a large casserole.
Mix wine, olive oil, garlic, shallots, bay leaves, tarragon, thyme, parsley, wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste in a glass container and pour over the roast. Cover the casserole with a lid or plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for 6 hours or more. Turn the roast from side to side in the marinade every hour or so.
Let the roast and marinade sit at room temperature for one hour prior to cooking. Remove the roast from the marinade and pat the meat dry. Strain the marinade.
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
Place the oil in a clean flame/oven proof casserole or pot. Brown the roast on all sides. When browned, remove any remaining oil from the pot. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast (or keep an instant read thermometer handy to check internal thermometer) and place 1 cup of strained marinade over the roast. Set aside the additional stained marinade.
Cover the roast tightly with foil, and place in the oven. Baste the roast frequently with the pan marinade. When the meat thermometer reaches the desired temperature (approximately 3 ½-4 hours), remove the roast from the oven. (135 degrees: rare; 145 degrees: medium-rare; 155 degrees: medium.)
Prior to the roast being complete, heat the remaining marinade in a small saucepan, add a dash of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and keep warm.
Remove the cooked roast from the pan, slice and serve. Use the heated marinade as a sauce. Discard the pan drippings.
Each serving has 252 calories; 32.926 grams protein; 7,479 grams total fat (1.717 grams saturated, 1.089 grams monounsaturated, .287 polyunsaturated); 93.917 milligrams cholesterol; 174.000 milligrams sodium; 4.632 milligrams iron.
