I realize I have been asking a lot of you lately. I mean first I try and make you love chicken thighs and now I am throwing bison at you? Man, I am just pushing all the scary meat on you lately, aren’t I?
Roll with me for a second though, because remember as part of my 2012 goals I am trying to eat more game.
Here’s the thing about bison though? Is is kind of awesome. It’s ground beef’s leaner and more iron-rich brother. Bison typically graze on grass and most of the time they aren’t fed commercial grains. It is super protein dense and contains tons of nutrients, but the caloric density is lower than beef and even pork. You know I hate counting calories, but I don’t pass up a good caloric bargain when I see it, so bison is a total WIN!
Let’s just say if ground beef is Donnie Wahlberg (who I love, of course, NKOTB forever!), then bison is Mark Wahlberg during the Calvin Klein underwear years.
Have I sold you yet? WHAT MORE CONVINCING COULD YOU POSSIBLY NEED?
If you are interested in having shirtless Mark Wahlberg over bison for dinner it but still a little bit scared, might I suggest trying it in chili? You can’t really go wrong trying a new meat in chili since there are so many other flavors going on, right? I especially like this chili because it is complex and full of vegetables. I originally saw a Bison Sweet Potato chili over on Paleo Girl and that really got my wheels turning. I decided to meld her recipe with my favorite-ever Damn Good Chili and thus, this recipe was born!
| Bison Sweet Potato Chili |
- 1 TBS Coconut Oil
- 1 lb Ground Bison
- 1 Large Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed (small-ish bite sized!)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 scallions, diced
- 2 small zucchini, diced
- 2 small yellow squash, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Jalapeno, seeded and diced (leave the seeds in if you like it HOT!)
- 1 4 oz can green chiles
- 2 TBS Cumin
- 1 TBS Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1 Cup Tomato Sauce
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 Cup of Beef Broth
- 1 Bell Pepper (color is your choice) diced
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Melt Coconut Oil in a large heavy bottomed pot (I used my 7 qt Dutch Oven)
- Add your onions, scallions, zucchini, squash and sweet potato and cook until vegetables have some color (about 10 minutes)
- Season layer with salt and pepper
- Add the bison, break up with your spoon and brown meat until it is no longer pink
- Add the garlic, jalapeno and green chiles and cook for another minute or two
- Season layer with salt and pepper and then dump in all your spices
- Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and beef broth and mix it all together
- Bring pot up to a boil and then lower to a simmer
- Simmer pot for 30 minutes, covered
- Uncover, add in diced Bell Pepper and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until desired consistency is reached. (I like a thick chili)
- Dish up and top with scallions, or any other desired toppings
- Enjoy!
See…that doesn’t look too scary, does it?
Yum! This looks incredible… I love chili! And I love bison meat… I found a local (to me in Wisconsin) farm called Northstar Bison that offers only grassfed bison, as well as other grassfed meats. Score! 🙂 Their bison breakfast sausage is incredible.
http://www.northstarbison.com/
Mmmm…bison breakfast sausage sounds Uhhhh-mazing!
I’m a bison whore.
Which is to say, I love bison. Not that I am a large hooker. Thank you and good day, sirs.
I’m a Mark Wahlberg whore. 🙂
This seems…promising. But does bison taste really gamey?
It totally doesn’t. I swear. Especially in this particular recipe. It might if you just started out with a burger or something, but it’s super good mixed with veggies and spices and then cooked in a tomato-y beef broth. Delicious! (Work your way up to the other stuff!)
I’m going to make this and imagine Mark Wahlberg in his CKs every time I look at my bowl!
Right? (sigh…He was such a babe!)
Was?? He still is. Even though I now think Donnie is the hotter Wahlberg. Have you seen him on Blue Bloods? Yes, please!! 😉
Sweet mother of deliciousness. Get in my mouth parts.
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Yum! On my list to make this fall. Your Wahlberg metaphor should be used again and again.
If I can work Mark Wahlberg into a blog post, it has definitely been a success! 🙂
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