Bison Butchering

[Robson Valley]

You'd like bison, either wine-braised or kebab-grilled.
Winter time here needs roasted vegetables.

I cook fish Pacific Northwest style.
Halibut & all the salmon species but never net-pen fish.
You need western red cedar hand cut planks like I make and lots of alderwood chips.
PacNW mussels, clams, oysters and crabs are good.

Cheap cuts of meats are economical cuts and traditionally are tough. No arguments about that.
Lamb shanks and pork side ribs. Chickens, both big and little.
3 hrs at 275F in the smoker BBQ with apple wood will change your mind.

 

[Janne]

How did the First Nations cook buffalo in the past?

 

[Tengu]

I have enough trouble storing a chicken in my limited freezer space let alone contemplate a bison.

I am sure they are nice but Id rather have a duck...

 

[Robson Valley]

When they were able to kill a small herd over a jump, they cooked some over fire.
The greater urgency was to slice/dry/smoke the rest of it for preservation.
Then the work commenced with the hides and the bones.

Bison. Take a look at a cardboard box which holds a dozen bottles of wine.
A side of 2 yr old bison, as boney as they are, cuts down to about 5 of those boxes.
I didn't realize it in the beginning but with the freezer capacity for that and a lot more,
bartering gives me variety. The economy is in the bulk food deals like 5kg carrots, etc.

Heard of an 18 month old beef butchered.
I got 8lbs liver in 1 lb packages in trade for 1 big bison roast.

Farm chickens go for about $4/lb, beautifully cleaned, wrapped and frozen.
I put my name in for 6 of them.

Seems costly each time. Then I spin that variety out over a whole year and it isn't a big hit, at all.

 

[santaman2000]

When they were able to kill a small herd over a jump, they cooked some over fire.
The greater urgency was to slice/dry/smoke the rest of it for preservation.
Then the work commenced with the hides and the bones.

Bison. Take a look at a cardboard box which holds a dozen bottles of wine.
A side of 2 yr old bison, as boney as they are, cuts down to about 5 of those boxes.
I didn't realize it in the beginning but with the freezer capacity for that and a lot more,
bartering gives me variety. The economy is in the bulk food deals like 5kg carrots, etc.

Heard of an 18 month old beef butchered.
I got 8lbs liver in 1 lb packages in trade for 1 big bison roast.

Farm chickens go for about $4/lb, beautifully cleaned, wrapped and frozen.
I put my name in for 6 of them.

Seems costly each time. Then I spin that variety out over a whole year and it isn't a big hit, at all.

$4 per pound for chicken!?

 

[Robson Valley]

Chickens aren't cheap up here. I'll check again but that's what I recall.

 

[santaman2000]

Chicken here is about $1.39 (US) whole or down as low as $0.75 (US) for leg quarters if you buy a 10 pound pack. Just checking the conversion that would be about $1.77 and $0.50 Canadian respectively.

 

[Janne]

Cheapest beef here is about 6 USD here per pound. Good for slow cooking, hamburgers.
We do not buy US chicken, but Jamaican chicken.
Sounds weird, but they do not use hormones and such.

If I eat US chicken I would need a man braziere soon!

 

[santaman2000]

Cheapest beef here is about 6 USD here per pound. Good for slow cooking, hamburgers.
We do not buy US chicken, but Jamaican chicken.
Sounds weird, but they do not use hormones and such.

If I eat US chicken I would need a man braziere soon!

You do realize hormones have been banned in poultry production here for over a half century don't you?

That $6 per pound for beef sounds about right although there are SOME cuts cheaper and sales bring prices down (and sometimes we can get cheaper Mexican beef) Mind, hormones ARE allowed in beef production here.

 

[Janne]

No. But the Organic chicken (US) are labelled a ’hormone free’?
You mean ALL US chicken are hormone free?

 

[Robson Valley]

Don't know diddly about chickens. Grouse, yes.
The poultry hormone issue depended upon an Act which prevented growers from using carcinogenic growth hormones.
Then, there came a need for a chemical analysis to confirm primary results.
There' isn't one.

Bison runs $5/lb on the hook this year and I don't know what cost to cut. $ 0.50+ at least.

You do realize how hard this is to do if you live in a big city? What a nightmare.

 

[santaman2000]

No. But the Organic chicken (US) are labelled a ’hormone free’?
You mean ALL US chicken are hormone free?

Yep. The labeling is just a marketing gimmick. There are valid reasons to want organic foods; but that ain't one of them.

 

[Janne]

Thank you for that eye opening information!

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

How did the First Nations cook buffalo in the past?

Mobile hunting tribes, such as our people didn't use pots. We used the animal to cook with. We removed the stomach, put the meat, fat & water in that and put hot stones in with split sticks. The stomach was supported by a tripod of sticks close to but not over the fire. Sometimes the meat was roasted over fire, or slow cooked in ground oven with flavouring vegetables. But up here no vegetables like you have - just berries. Sometimes we smoke fish & meat and eat it. You don't need to cook food when smoked. It has totally different flavour. Also was kept by mixing with different berries, and all crushed up and put in animal bladders to keep. My grandmother used to do this on long hunting trips when I was younger.

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

I have never tried to shoot an animal at 250 meters.. 275 yards....
I do not want to be nasty, but I kind of feel he asked for it.

Lying down, a flat trajectory round, no wind, animal standing still showing the side, maybe. If I was hungry.

I don't know how far I can shoot animal, but hitting a large animal at that range is quite easy. But hitting it in the right place is not. Bush, trees and so on all get in the way. Then you have to aim for the heart, or head for some animals. And the heart is not always easy to hit or aim for. You need to know where the big bones of big game are positioned according to how the animal stands, or you'll aim for heart but your bullet will hit bone.

When I used to guide hunters from cities, they often wanted to take long shots. Much longer than we would, but we'd have to stop them. We always try to get close enough to the animal that we are not going to miss and make for quick kill. Some white folk just can't wait maybe.

 

[Janne]

It is difficult to find a range of 250 meters in Scandinavia, due to hills, trees and forests.
I think my longest was about 150 meters. A straight clearing for power lines.

I have shot on targets for longer distances though.

 

[Robson Valley]

With lots of practice, I'd shoot 200m with confidence. Hand loads make a difference.
The British Columbia fire cycle of 70-100 years and logged off cut blocks mean plenty of open shooting.
100m is plenty when I finally understood that it was energy, foot-pounds, that would do the real damage.

I really do get a kick out of cutting raw bison with flint blades. It's so easy.
Alas, tonight is going to be local pork surprise but I still get to use flint.

Stay warm. We have a big, honest mountain blizzard happening but only -5C.

Bang! The young bull moose goes down.
Nope, stuck his head up. Bang! Down again.
Nope, stuck his head up. Bang! Down again.
What's happening? Hunter walked up to take a close look.
He'd shot all 3 of the young bulls in a group.
Wasn't me.

 

[Janne]

Joe, you should open a new thread and tell us about ’your bush ways’.
I am sure all of us would find it hugely interesting and informative.

 

[Robson Valley]

Best would be to live it for a month and travel with him.

 

[Janne]

That would be a treat of a lifetime!