Ground Bison Stir Fry

[Ben]

When I was at the Costco this week, I decided to grab the ground bison instead of the ground beef. I didn't want to just do a boring fallback of bison burgers, so I was perusing recipes that use ground bison, and one recipe was for ground bison stir fry. It had mentioned that bison worked better than beef because of its flavor profile. I just happens that lately I have been buying the big bags of Kirkland frozen stir fry vegetables to make stuff like chicken stir fry, so I thought I would give this a go.

I actually didn't use much of anything from the recipe I saw. I just threw some stuff together, but man, did this come out great. There really was a different, but really delicious flavor using the bison. This is what I did:

Because the frozen veggies always seem to collect water as they cook, I actually did them up in a separate pan, getting them about 2/3 done. In a large cast iron pan, I cooked up 2lbs of ground bison. While the bison was cooking, I added around 3tbsp of brown sugar and a few dashes of soy sauce. When the bison was 2/3 done, I added in the veggies - spooning them in to leave the water behind in the other pan. I then added maybe 4-5tbsp of hoisin sauce, thoroughly mixing everything as it all finished cooking.

I served it over jasmine white rice, and I will definitely be making this more often. Super quick to prepare and delicious. The above quantity is enough for three meals for me.

[K Frame]

That sounds really good.

My local grocery was carrying ground elk, venison, boar, and bison for awhile. It kept going on sale, and then it just disappeared. I guess people weren't buying it in sufficient quantities.

What brand Hoisin Sauce do you get? I've been trying to find one that I like. Invariably, though, I'll get one and I either don't like the initial taste or it leaves a nasty after taste.

[cordex]

Definitely something to try.  Plus I've got a source for locally raised bison.

[Ben]

What brand Hoisin Sauce do you get?

The brand is Sun Luck. I have no idea as to how it compares to others. I get it whenever I make my every 1-2 month trip to the fancy Albertsons in the big city, which seems to stock more gourmet-ish stuff. I know we have a couple of Asian markets in the region that likely have something better, but I have never been to them.

[K Frame]

I've used Sun Luck sesame oil. It's very good. I'll give the hoisin a try if I can find it locally.

[Kingcreek]

I like bison meat. That stir fry sounds great.
Back when I hunted pronghorn in Wyoming we always picked our meat from the locker and stopped at a market in Casper that sold fresh bison butchered weekly, and also sold dry ice. We would top of our coolers for the trip back.

[RocketMan]

I usually buy the Lee Kum Kee brand of sauces.  They have a good hoisin sauce and an oyster sauce among other things.  They used to make a 'Fine Chili Sauce' that I used as a baste for chicken wings.  We had frequent pot lucks at a long ago employer in COS and I'd make those wings.  Never any leftovers to take back home.
Unfortunately it seems they've discontinued that chili sauce.

[Ben]

an oyster sauce among other things. 

Veering my own thread again, what is oyster sauce? I see it called for in a lot of Asian recipes. All I can think of when I read the name is oysters that have had the juice squished out of them. 

What does it actually taste like?

I took more bison out of the freezer today to make the stir fry once again tomorrow. 

[K Frame]

Yep, oyster sauce has oyster juice in it, along with salt, sugar, and some other stuff.

It's used to add a savory umami flavor.

Fish sauce can be substituted for oyster sauce, but it won't have the same flavor profile. Also, because fish sauce is about 9,000 % salt, you have to watch added salt in the recipe.

[zxcvbob]

Veering my own thread again, what is oyster sauce? I see it called for in a lot of Asian recipes. All I can think of when I read the name is oysters that have had the juice squished out of them. 

What does it actually taste like?

I took more bison out of the freezer today to make the stir fry once again tomorrow. 

It's like ketchup made with boiled-down oyster juice instead of tomatoes and spices.    It resembles hoisin sauce but it's thinner and saltier, but way thicker than soy sauce or fish sauce and not as salty.  IMHO, oyster sauce and a dash of toasted sesame oil are essential for making fried rice.

[K Frame]

Ben, have you ever tried cooking with gochujang?

It's a Korean pepper paste that's an absolute staple of Korean cooking. Along with the chilies, there's rice and some other stuff added and then it's fermented.

It's generally really thick, but the spice level can vary widely on what you want.

I decided to give it a try a year or so ago when I saw some videos about Korean cooking.

I hit on a quick dinner "stir fry".

I saute a couple of ounces of shrimp, then set them aside. Then I boil a ramen packet and at the last minute add some broccoli and cook just long enough for the broccoli to either heat through (frozen) or just start getting soft (fresh).

Before that I've prepped the sauce by mixing the ramen packet with a couple generous tablespoonsful of gochujang, 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar or honey, some soy sauce, some rice wine vinegar, and some sesame oil. I mix that together really well and let it sit for 10 or so minutes for the sugar to completely dissolve and the flavors to marry.

When the noodles and broccoli are done I drain them well, throw them into the pan the shrimp was in and heat over high to drive off most of the remaining water and finish cooking the broccoli. Then I throw in the shrimp and the sauce, heat it through, plate it up and eat a spicy, savory, sweet, dinner.

[Ben]

Ben, have you ever tried cooking with gochujang?

I've never heard of it. The "spicy, savory, sweet" sounds good though. 

Is it a popular sauce? I wonder how available it is in BFE Potatoho?

[K Frame]

I actually get mine from Amazon, even though there are a couple of really good Asian markets in the area.

[K Frame]

I made an interesting, and very tasty, stir fry last night.

6 ounces of ground turkey, sauted nicely, then maybe 14 ounces of yellow summer squash cut into thick rounds and sauted until just starting to go soft, then my gochujan sauce and heated until every thing was nicely heated through and the squash was at a good eating texture.

I didn't make noodles or rice, but next time I make this I probably will.