Bison sirloin cap (Picanha)

Bison are not just an impressive sight, they also provide fine meat with a distinctive taste. Bison meat is extremely lean and itself a flavour carrier, in contrast to beef, which gets its distinctive taste from the marbling.

Because bison is lean, it will cook more quickly so it is important not to overcook bison.

Good to know

They originally come from Eurasia and emigrated over the Bering Land Bridge between Siberia and Alaska to America during the ice age. 6000 years ago, today’s bison or buffalo developed from the original bison. According to estimates, 25 to 30 million bison lived in North America during the 16th century.

They became nearly extinct by a combination of commercial hunting and slaughter in the 19th century and introduction of bovine diseases from domestic cattle, before reserves were established. At this time, the meat of the slaughtered buffalo was not used; it was left to rotten in the prairie. Today, there are about 500’000 bison in North America. Two subspecies or ecotypes have been described: the plains bison, smaller in size and with a more rounded hump, and the wood bison – the larger of the two and having a taller, square hump.

With its length of 3.8 metres and a weight of 900kg, the bison bull is the biggest land mammal in North America. The female reaches a length of 2.40 metres and a weight of 500kg. Bison are herbivores, grazing on the grasses and sedges of the North American prairies. Their daily schedule involves two-hour periods of grazing, resting, and cud chewing, then moving to a new location to graze again. Thanks to their dark-brown, thick winter coat, they can endure temperatures of up to -40° C. The females give birth to a calf weighing 30kg after nine months, guarding and protecting it against enemies after birth.