It’s not often I get my hands on a beautiful piece of buffalo meat, also known as bison. Bison meat is naturally leaner and healthier than beef but you would ever know just by looking at these massive thick-cut steaks! So while I was in Seattle in August visiting my family, my dad offered to cook some bison steaks with me and I couldn’t turn that down. Would you?!? We decided to keep it really simple and just let the flavor of the bison shine in this recipe. So the fragrant fresh rosemary from my parents garden and some massive heads of garlic lead the way to one of the most incredible steaks I’ve ever made…
Garlic and Rosemary Bison Steaks
2 large bison steaks
1/4 cup Italian dressing
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3-4 large garlic cloves, sliced
2 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tsp red paprika
1/4 cup olive oil
8 strips beef bacon (or real bacon, if you don’t keep kosher)
fresh cracked pepper to taste
I washed off the bison, patted it dry and placed in a plastic container. I covered the meat in the Italian dressing, Montreal steak seasoning, paprika and placed the rosemary and garlic over the top. I covered and marinated the bison for 2 days in the refrigerator. You can marinate for 1 day if you don’t have more time.
Before cooking the meat, I washed and set aside the garlic for later. I also washed off the rosemary, dressing and spices than patted the meat dry. I also preheated the oven to 400 degrees F. I heated up the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat then when the sides of the pan were bubbling, I added the beef bacon very carefully. Be careful because the oil will splatter a little and it is very very hot! I sprinkled the beef bacon with  fresh cracked pepper.  I cooked for around 1 minute then flipped the beef bacon and cooked for another minute, until beginning to brown and curl up.
I took the beef bacon out of the pan, placed on a paper towel then added the 2 massive steaks to the hot pan. Again, be careful of oil splatter! I quickly covered the pan and browned the meat for 3 minutes. I flipped over the meat, covered the pan again and cooked for another 3 minutes to brown the other side.
I poured the excess oil and fat out of the pan then added the sliced garlic and beef bacon to the meat. I placed the uncovered skillet in to the 400 degree oven for 8 minutes to cook the bison until medium-rare. You can leave your bison in the oven longer if you prefer your steaks medium or well-done. I actually prefer my meat very pink in the center (my husband likes his purple…yuck!).
I took the bison out of the oven and let the meat rest for 5 minutes. If you don’t let your meat rest and you just cut right in to it, the juices are all going to pour right out. Just give them a chance to settle back in to the meat. Each bite of the moist bison tasted of fresh rosemary and garlic. And the salty bites of crispy beef bacon added just the right amount of texture and flavor. I could eat this for diner every night of the week!
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