Water Buffalo Burgers

The other day the sun was shining and we went for a little drive.  We passed by the Arva Flour Mill outside London and noticed a sign advertising local and organic meats available, so we turned around and headed in.  We bought grass fed beef short ribs, organic pork chops and water buffalo, ground and sausages.  

We've had bison several times but we've never tried water buffalo. It comes from a farm in Stratford called Tenderbuff and it's supposed to be leaner than bison and even leaner than chicken!  

Coffee-Marinated Bison Short Ribs - Part Two

Last time we marinated bison short ribs in coffee and herbs and left it overnight.  Now it's time to braise them in more coffee.  

Here's what you need:

Marinated bison short ribs

4 slices bacon

2 onions

2 shallots

6 garlic cloves

1 small jalapeño or other hot chili pepper

1 cup strong brewed coffee

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup chili sauce or ketchup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Chop the bacon.

And cook in a large, heavy, enameled cast iron pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until brown and crisp.

Remove the crisp bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Drain the short ribs and discard the marinade.

Add the short ribs to the bacon fat left in the pot to brown.  I browned them in batches to give them plenty of room.

Once browned on both sides, remove to a plate and brown the rest.  Set the ribs aside.

Next, chop the onions.

And the shallots and garlic.

And the chilis.  I used a red and green chili pepper from the garden but a jalapeño works great.

Add the chopped veggies to the pot.  You should still have some bacon fat in there but if not, add some oil first.  Sauté for about 5 minutes until slightly softened.  

Now take 1 cup of strong coffee...

...and one cup chicken stock and add to the vegetables in the pot.  Bring to a boil, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

Stir in the ketchup, mustard, cider vinegar and soy sauce.

Then add the short ribs and bacon back into the pot.  Put the lid on it and slip it into a 325 degree oven for about two and a half hours.

Once it's done, it'll look a little something like this:

The ribs are tender, falling off the bones. 

Remove them from the sauce and set aside.

Now, the next step will depend on how your sauce looks.  You'll want to skim any fat from the surface and reduce it if necessary.

I removed a bit of fat but there really wasn't too much.  That's the nice thing about these bison short ribs.  Besides the great flavour, there's way less fat than beef short ribs. 

My sauce was also already pretty thick.  You can boil it for a few minutes to reduce it if necessary, but I didn't think so.

I added the ribs back into the de-fatted sauce to coat and warm through.  Now it's time to serve!

I served the ribs over mashed potatoes.

I smothered them in the coffee sauce and served steamed green beans on the side.

These ribs are so delicious.  They fall off the bone and the depth of flavour from the coffee marinade and sauce is such a nice compliment to the bison.  If you can find some bison, I highly recommend you try this.  Here's the original recipe from Epicurious.  

Coffee-Marinated Bison Short Ribs - Part One

This is an amazing recipe and a real showcase for game.  Bison short ribs are the star of this dish.  I get them from Lakeland Meats in the Niagara Region.  You could substitute beef short ribs but if you can get your hands on the bison, I highly recommend it.  

In Part One today I'll show you the marinade and next time you'll see the braising and finished product.  There are a lot of ingredients but the process is easy and the results are well worth it.

This recipe comes from the indispensable Epicurious, but honestly, when I first Googled bison short ribs this was one of the few recipes that came up.  Luckily it was a winner.  Here's what you need for the marinade:

2 cups chilled strong brewed coffee

1/3 cup coarse kosher salt

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (packed) dark brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 cups water

3-4 pounds bison (sometimes labeled buffalo) short ribs

As you can see, the bison is quite lean.  This makes for a beautiful braise with less fat to contend with.  

Cut the short ribs between the bones into single ribs.

Mix the salt and sugar into the coffee to dissolve.  I made this marinade a little differently than the original recipe, which calls for a lot of water.  The recipe is almost more of a brine than a marinade with a large amount of salt and water.  I reduced the salt a bit to 1/3 cup and omitted the water for a more concentrated marinade.  The finished product wasn't overly salty but didn't need to be seasoned at the end.  You could go with less salt in the marinade if using so much freaks you out, but it does infuse the meat with flavour and tenderness.  

Chop the fresh rosemary and add to the water along with the maple syrup and Worcestershire sauce.  You could also mix everything together in a bigger container if you're less lazy than me.  

Pour the water and coffee mixtures over the bison ribs in a large ziploc bag or container.

Remove as much air as you can from the bag and place in the refrigerator overnight.  

Next time we'll braise the ribs and end up with a delicious, coffee-scented sauce. Stay tuned!

Wild Boar Tenderloin with Cherry Chutney

Sometimes things I cook are just for sustenance - nothing fancy. Sometimes things don't turn out as planned. But sometimes I cook something and I'm just amazed by how well it turns out.  This is one of those times.

When we travel to the Niagara Region to visit family, we often stop at a little place called Lakeland Meats that sells a variety of frozen game meats. They even have game burgers on the grill on summer weekends.  We like game meats and they're not easy to find, so we pick them up when we can.  On our most recent trip we picked up elk steaks, duck breasts and wild boar tenderloin.


I enjoy fruit with game.  I find the sweetness compliments the meaty flavour of the game meats.  So what better than in-season local cherries to serve with the meat?  I used this recipe from Epicurious, just substituting the boar tenderloin for the pork.  I highly recommend trying this with either meat. Pork is much cheaper and easier to find and would be just as delicious.  

Here are the ingredients you need:

• Wild boar or pork tenderloin
• 2 cups fresh cherries
• 1 onion
• Cherry preserves or jam 
• Balsamic vinegar
• Allspice
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt & black pepper

The wild boar tenderloin is very similar to pork. The meat has a redder colour and a bit more flavour, but you could easily substitute pork tenderloin.  Trim any fat or silverskin from the tenderloin before seasoning. 

First, make the glaze by mixing 3/4 cup cherry preserves...

...with 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 3/4 tsp ground allspice.

Stir together and set aside 1/4 cup to glaze the meat on the grill.

Next, the fresh cherries.

Pit the cherries. If you have a cherry pitter, this is a breeze.  You can also smash them with a knife and remove the pit, but I chose the slow way of slicing them in half like an avocado and removing the pit.

You need 2 cups of pitted fresh cherries.

Next, dice one onion.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan and saute the onion for about a minute.

Add the cherries, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and the cherry preserve mixture.

Bring to a boil and simmer about 8 minutes until thick.  Add salt to taste.

Ideally, a partner can be grilling the meat while you make the chutney. If not, grill it once the chutney is done and reheat the chutney when the meat is cooked. 

Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper.

Grill over high heat until browned, then lower heat or move to cooler part of the grill and cook until done, about 15-20 minutes, brushing with the reserved cherry glaze every few minutes.

Once cooked through to about 145 F, remove from grill and let rest, covered with foil for about 10 minutes.

Slice the tenderloin. 

Then top with the warm cherry chutney.

I served this with basmati and wild rice and asparagus.

The cherry chutney is amazing. I wouldn't normally think to use allspice but it adds a warmth to the fruit and the bit of spice from the cayenne pepper makes this an amazing dish. It is very easy so there's no excuse!  You don't need a special occasion wild boar tenderloin.  Pork would be just as delicious.  With fresh cherries in season, you've gotta try this!