I tend to cook in a whirlwind without much documentation.
I will uhhh… try to write stuff down moving forward.
Non-Traditional Bison Harissa Bolognese
Please note that the amount of liquid in this recipe reflects reducing the sauce for at least 3 hours. You can make this a lot quicker if you reduce the amount of liquid, but speed was not my goal here. The sauce texture and depth developed over this slow simmer is worth it.
Ingredients
- 1lb Ground Bison
- Mirepoix - finely dice 1 medium onion, 2 celery stalks, and 1 large or 2 med carrots
- Bouquet garni - Fresh rosemary & thyme sprigs shibari’d with butcher’s twine for easy removal
- 6 finely minced or grated cloves of garlic (probably 2 or 3 for normal people)
- Salt and black pepper (measured with your soul)
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 can or 26oz of tomatoes (These can be crushed, pureed, or chopped I used Pomi)
- 2 tbsp Harissa paste
- 1 tbsp of good fish sauce (don’t yell at me, Italians use Colatura di alici which is just expensive fish sauce)
- Dried oregano (to taste)
- Balsamic Vinegar (to taste) start with 2 tbsp
- 2 Dried Bay leaves (I will know if you leave these out.
) - Fresh basil leaves to taste. (It can be overpowering, so I tend to start with 2 leaves and add from there)
- 1 1/4 cup of dry red wine (you can use white if that is your preference)
- 2 Cups of broth (beef or chicken)
Note: I’m not fond of dairy, cheese, or cream-based richness, so I didn’t add any milk or cheese here, but you can totally do that if you are into it. It would be 1 cup of WHOLE milk. For cheese, you can use 1 cup of Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano… or whatever, idk cheese… - Whatever pasta floats your boat, I used whole wheat Barilla. I like the texture.
Garnish
- Fresh Italian parsley
- Fresh basil leaves
Cooking
- [Med High Heat] In a heavy bottom pot (I used a 6qt Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven), brown and season the ground bison while breaking apart with a cooking utensil. I used a combo of duck fat and beef tallow since bison is very lean, but you can use olive oil if you’re using ground beef.
- After the meat is browned, remove it from the pan and set aside, leaving behind the fond and oil.
- [Reduce heat to medium] Add the Mirepoix to the pot, lightly season, stirring occasionally until soft, add garlic towards the end. You are not looking to brown any of it. (~6 mins)
- Make a space in the center of the vegetables and add the tomato paste. Let the tomato paste cook for a few minutes to remove bitterness, then add the Harissa. Sauté until incorporated.
- Add the red wine to de-glaze the fond from the bottom of the pot. Reduce by about half or until the odor of alcohol is no longer detectable.
- Add the broth, fish sauce, oregano, balsamic vinegar, bouquet garni, bay leaves, and some of the basil. Stir to incorporate, then bring the sauce to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium low, then stir in the ground beef that was set aside earlier.
- After 30 minutes, reduce heat to just above low. Taste and add more basil to your liking, a little bit at a time. It will get more intense as the sauce reduces, so be careful.
- Check on the sauce every 30 minutes. Stir and taste for further seasoning if needed. Don’t use a lot of salt all at once because it will also concentrate as the sauce reduces.
- If the sauce reduces too quickly, use more stock as needed. The sauce is complete once it reduces to the level shown here:
- Remove and discard the bouquet garni and bay leaves.
- In a pot, bring water to a boil and aggressively salt the water. Prepare the pasta according to package instructions, but pull the pasta a few mins early. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. Drain the noodles once al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water.
- Depending on your portions, prepare another pan. Transfer some of the sauce into the pan according to what you plan to serve.
- Add the pasta along with some of the starchy pasta water to the sauce and toss until coated well. The pasta water will thicken the sauce and add an appealing gloss.
- Plate, garnish, and pat yourself on the back for having patience.
- Do not stop to take pictures of your plating, otherwise you may encounter harm from hungry persons in the vicinity.
Guinness Extra Stout Bison Stew
Another snow day, another sloooooow recipe.
Ingredients
- 2lbs Bison Chuck Roast
- 2 large carrots (or equivalent in baby carrots)
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 large red onion
- 1lb Yukon gold potatoes (you can use others, but they may turn to mush depending on the type)
- 6 finely minced or grated cloves of garlic (probably 2 or 3 for normal people)
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Worcester Sauce
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- Fresh or dried parsley, basil, or oregano to taste
- 2 Dried Bay leaves (remember, I will know if you leave these out. )
- 2-3 Cups of low sodium chicken broth
- 1 22 fl oz Bottle of Guinness Extra Stout
- 1 heaping tbsp of BTB roasted beef base
- 1 tbsp of black garlic molasses
- 1 tsp granulated orange peel
Prep
- For the bison, cut into 2-3 inch cubes, then season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Dust the bison cubes in all-purpose flour, and set aside.
- Chop the carrots, onions, and celery into fairly large 1-1.5 inch pieces.
- My Yukon gold potatoes were small, so I cut them in half and did not peel them. If yours are larger, peel them and cut them the same size as the beef.
- Let ingredients come up to temp for at least 20 minutes. Using fridge-cold ingredients will mess with your ability to control your cooking heat.
Cooking
- [Med-high heat] In a heavy bottom pot (I used a 6qt Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven), coat the pot with beef tallow or a neutral, high heat oil. Sear the bison cubes for one minute on each side.
- After the meat is seared, remove it from the pan and set aside, leaving behind the fond and oil.
- [Reduce to medium heat] Add onions, carrots, and celery to the pot, lightly season, stirring occasionally until soft. You are not looking for any color/browning. (~6 mins)
- Make a space in the center of the vegetables and add the tomato paste and garlic. Let the tomato paste cook for a few minutes to remove bitterness. Sauté until incorporated.
- Add the Guinness to de-glaze the fond from the bottom of the pot, scraping with a wooden spoon to ensure it all lifts off. Reduce by about half or until the odor of alcohol is no longer detectable.
- Add your herbs, nutmeg, smoked paprika, Worcester sauce, bay leaves, molasses, orange peel, and beef base. Stir to incorporate.
- Add the bison cubes and potatoes at this point. Add chicken stock until the bison is covered. Stir until everything is incorporated. (If you used a different potato that disintegrates quickly,
- If you used cold stock, raise the heat until it comes to a simmer, then reduce to low (a light simmer) and cover.
- Cook covered for 2 hours. If you’re like me and have an incessant need to stir and prod, you can do that every 30 mins or so. (I was snowed in and bored).
- After 2 hours, take the lid off and taste for seasoning. Adjust with salt and pepper as needed, but remember we still need to reduce, which concentrates saltiness.
- Reduce stew, uncovered, for about 20-30 minutes. This will be your call based on the desired thickness. You should not need to add anything to thicken it since it has a flour and the starch from the potatoes.
- Let this cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. I was impatient and hungry and burned my tongue on a nuclear potato.
- Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves!