
The little bottle in the middle is truffle oil!!
And the finished product—not quite so beautiful.

Not as pretty perhaps, but much more yummy!!
So I’m a new contributor here and I will probably do things a little differently. I know not how to use a recipe. And therefore I cook with my gut and have no clue exactly what I do any given time I make something and everything is always a variation on the theme.
I enter the kitchen with the spirit of adventure and I do have some distinct “guts” that help me achieve exactly what I want often, but other times things turn out quite differently from what I intend—generally when I’m doing something I’ve never done before. So if you are experimenting with this “recipe” try to approach it with that spirit.
The secret to food always being tasty is the quality and combination of ingredients. Where things differ from my intent most often is in texture, which can be very annoying at times, but, nonetheless, I tend to end up with something edible.
So this is the recipe as best as I can describe being that I measured nothing! This, can, of course, be prepared with beef as well as bison.
The Recipe
3 lb bison roast (this of course can vary depending on your needs) I had to cut up the roast into chunks for stew as the market did not have stew meat. I had my husband and sous chef help with this.
one large onion (diced or slice in thin half circles)
2 or 3 large fennel roots (sliced in thin half circles)
2 lbs mushrooms (sliced thin)
1 cup of white wine
One large log of goat cheese
3 tablespoons dried tarragon (I’ve never cooked with fresh tarragon–if you can do that you’d probably use a lot less)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Slice the onions, fennel and mushrooms and saute on medium high heat to brown just a tad.
Brown the meat in some olive oil or organic butter in a separate pan–do not cook thoroughly, just brown it on high.
Combine the meat and the veggies and toss about in a large pot.
Pour the cup of wine over it and cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add salt and pepper anywhere along the way as needed. I do suggest you put at least some of the pepper in early on as it’s nice if it cooks with it for a while. You may find you need a bit more at the end.
After 20 minutes check and see how much liquid is there. You’ll want to uncover and simmer the liquid down to below the surface of all the goodies. (perhaps half way below or a little less–cook the meat up to an hour—if you use other cuts of meat or beef you may want to cook longer)
When it’s all done stir in the goat cheese and put in a teaspoon of truffle oil–more or less to taste. (this is optional—I only have truffle oil right now because my sister gave it to me as a gift. It’s outrageously expensive!)
Have fun!!
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#1 by Wandering Coyote - April 11th, 2009 at 14:35
Wow! I was totally intrigued when I read the title of the post. This looks like an awesome meal, and I LOVE bison/buffalo meat.
#2 by Gianna - April 11th, 2009 at 14:39
thanks WC,
This recipe with these measurements makes quite a large amount…so I’m eating it for a couple of days!!
Are the instructions clear enough by your standards?
#3 by Wandering Coyote - April 11th, 2009 at 14:41
Oh yeah, the instructions are just fine. Stew is stew after all!
#4 by Gianna - April 11th, 2009 at 14:46
ha! you gave me a good laugh! great!
Van doesn’t know this but I fantasized starting my own cooking blog but basically am simply too overwhelmed to add another regular duty…I’m looking forward to contributing here as I’m able!
#5 by Wandering Coyote - April 11th, 2009 at 15:21
Food blogs rock! I’m glad you have an outlet now!
#6 by Van - April 11th, 2009 at 16:06
No, I didn’t know that! Sweet. =) I’m very happy this is an outlet for you!
#7 by Van - April 11th, 2009 at 16:09
The meal (pre and post) look very tasty. I love bison as well, and I’m trying to convince the family to have it this evening. The goat cheese and truffle oil sound like a great balance of taste as well…
Nice job!
#8 by Gianna - April 11th, 2009 at 16:10
oh by the way! I put it over brown rice…it was good…
would be good with white rice or egg noodles would be really good…(I can’t eat wheat so that’s out for me!)
#9 by Van - April 11th, 2009 at 16:11
BTW – I use fresh tarragon all the time, haven’t tried dried. Does the taste differ much between the two?
#10 by Gianna - April 11th, 2009 at 16:12
I actually don’t know…tarragon is a relatively new herb in my repertoire…all I know is fresh is ALWAYS better…gotta try it next time.
#11 by Van - April 11th, 2009 at 16:12
I could really see this tasting amazingly good over egg noodles. Now you’ve got my mind working away.
#12 by Tina - April 11th, 2009 at 18:31
We tried fresh tarragon and didn’t like the taste. Maybe the packaging was mislabled at the market because I love the dried tarragon in meals. Most other fresh herbs are fabulous but the tarragon didn’t do it for me.
#13 by Bob - April 11th, 2009 at 18:51
Oh man, I love bison! Haven’t had it in ages. The stew looks fantastic.
#14 by will hall - April 11th, 2009 at 20:18
I had this wonderful stew for lunch, and dinner during my visit here in Asheville — with the chef! Thanks for nourishing me so deliciously; I had a much needed nap right afterwards and now feel deeply refreshed. And thanks to the bison spirit who made it all possible
#15 by Van - April 11th, 2009 at 20:38
Interesting. I’ve found that tarragon needs to be used as soon as possible after harvest or it (for me) gets a funny taste to it. I’m going to find something this week to make w/ dried tarragon just so I can get an idea for the difference.
#16 by Gianna - April 11th, 2009 at 22:35
ha!
Will you are sneaky!!
thanks very much!!
#17 by Van Santos - April 11th, 2009 at 22:37
I’m jealous, Will! Tho, I did end up having bison for dinner… this would have been great (especially if it was with the chef!)
#18 by clementine - April 12th, 2009 at 14:41
Gianna,
I can’t wait to try this. It sounds delicious and easy to make.
I’m not a fan of reality tv but I love Top Chef, since watching that show I’ve felt the need to experiment in the kitchen. I grew up in a small town-we had dinner every night around 5ish and I remember a lot of meatloaf and mashed potatoes!!! ha.
So…this website is exciting (thanks Van!)
#19 by Van Santos - April 12th, 2009 at 20:31
It is my pleasure! I gain a lot of happiness knowing that people are really enjoying this experience. Really, what else could one ask for?
#20 by Gianna - April 12th, 2009 at 20:47
oh…I love meatloaf and mashed potatoes…and that just gave me the idea of unleashing my killer ground turkey meatloaf upon y’all…
it’s like no meatloaf you’ve ever had!!
#21 by Van Santos - April 12th, 2009 at 21:14
Bring it on!