Buffalo Braising Steak Question?

Question

On impulse at a farmers' market this morning I bought a small piece of buffalo braising steak. I had to leave pretty smartly because I had to go to a meeting.

What I was wondering now is a what to do with it and b what sorts of herbs/spices etc would work with it? Bearing in mind I cannot have sugar due to diabetes. All contributions carefully considered.

Answer 1

you can cook it like beef but as with most game it will be leaner than domesticated animal flesh- add a bit of fat (butter, cooking oil, bacon grease) when doing your first sear or it will not get a really crispy edge nor will there be much fond with which to make a good flavorful pan sauce

Answer 2

Never tried it but I would probably treat it like venison and marinade in a red wine mix before braising.

Let us know how you get on

Answer 3

I don't know if you know braising or not, but it's basically cooking it in low heat for a long time.  Usually done in an oven with a dutch pot or oven safe pan (usually it can only tolerate to below 400 degree).

You can use the classic mushroom soup sauce.

Not knowing how much you bought: in a pan, Brown the beef on both side.  Take it out of the pan. De glace you the pan with 1 cup of white wine (optional) or just beef broth, for about a minute, then add a can of beef broth.  Pour in a pack of Leek soup mix or Onion soup mix and stir on medium heat.  Pour 1-2 cup of cream of mushroom (or asparagus) and stir.  Place meat back and make sure add enough broth to cover the meat.  Put the heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hour.  Check the meat in an hour for tenderness.  If it's the right tenderness, stop cooking, or cook for as long as you reach the right tenderness.  Add fresh mushroom ( however much you want - usuall 1/2 -1 pound) 45 - 60 minutes of cooking.  Salt and pepper to taste the last 15 minutes.  To thicken you can use the right amount of cornstarch.  Optional herbs: rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, parsley, chives  - any one or combination of those.

You can use a slow cooker, too.  You would just use less liquid and put it in highest low setting - just put everything in it after browning and de glacing.

Those are the easiest way of making it.

Answer 4

u could braise it in half red wine , half beef stock, for like 5-6 hours, remove it reduce the sauce , and mushrooms, and u got yourself a tender piece of meat with a delicious rich sauce.  rosemary would work well in the braising.

Answer 5

You can treat it like beef except it needs to cook much longer. If you can handle some level of spiciness & like ethnic Asian cuisine, the best way is to make an Indonesian or Malaysian style rendang or dry curry. In Asia, in the old days it was a popular way to cook tough water buffalo, 5-6 hours of slow braising to produce an amazingly tender & melt in the mouth dish. Although it's a dry curry it's still very moist & juicy and the various spices & seasonings had plenty of time to fully infuse the meat. Rendang is considered mild in terms of spiciness but the sheer richness of the taste will blow you away. It uses a lot of coconut milk but in view of your diabetes a good part of the coconut milk could be substituted with normal or evaporated milk.

With diabetes there is no need to completely deny yourself delicious food, the key is self-discipline & moderation. Even a few spoonfuls of a decadent treat once in a blue moon helps to make life more palatable, as long as you don't go berserk & eat up everything in sight :)

Answer 6

Treat the same as beef, it'll have a slightly gamier taste, but as far as cooking is concerned it behaves the same as beef.

A kind of Goulash would be a nice idea at this time of the year. You could also throw it on a slow cooker with vegetables in the bottom and the meat on top then add enough liquid to cover, half red wine and half demi glaze is preferable.