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Home » American Recipes » Bison Stew

Bison Stew

By Hank Shaw on February 20, 2023 - 11 Comments

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5 from 9 votes
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A rich, hearty bison stew made “three sisters” style with corn, beans and squash as a hat tip to Native American cooking. And worry not if you’re fresh out of bison: Any red meat works here.

A pot of bison stew done three sisters style, with corn, beans and squash.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

If you’ve never cooked bison before, it is, essentially, grass-fed beef in flavor. The only other difference is that bison tend to be slaughtered older than cattle, so the meat can be a little tougher. So a bison stew is a great answer to that.

Side note: While bison is the more correct term, lots of people use buffalo. So if you want to call this a buffalo stew, go right ahead.

I really wanted to make this recipe an homage to Native American cooking, using native ingredients wherever possible. So, naturally, I went with a “three sisters” style stew. This bison stew is close to my other recipe for three sisters stew, one I make with grouse or other poultry.

In this one, I used sweet corn and lots of wild lambsquarters and amaranth greens, both of which are native to the United States. You can use whatever green thing makes you happy. Chard, kale or spinach are good alternatives.

You don’t see a ton of heavy caramelization in native cooking, so I went with a simple simmer of the bison. There is one trick to this: Barely cover the meat with water, bring to a boil, skim off all the froth you can, and then add more water or stock. This helps keep your stew clean.

If you want, you can sear the meat first if you’d like.

Most of the ingredients are easy to get in any supermarket, especially if you substitute beef or venison for bison. But there is one I use that is admittedly esoteric: green alder pepper.

I first heard about this North American spice through the Quebecois restaurant Au Pied du Cochon. Green alder pepper tastes like a floral black pepper with a little resiny, piney thing going on. You can buy it online in the link above or just skip it.

Hank Shaw holding a bison shank.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Bison Stew Meat

Really any cut you can stew will work. I used a hunk of bison shank because it was so big I wanted to use it fresh; it would be a giant hunk of meat in my freezer otherwise.

Any shank, neck, shoulder, ribs, oxtail, etc. are good options. And again, any red meat works. Beef, mutton, venison, goat, jackrabbits, goose legs, even wild turkey legs would all do well here.

Storing and Serving

Most of the time I’ll serve a bison stew all by itself — it’s a complete meal. But bread is a good side, as is a nice salad.

The stew will keep a week in the fridge, and it freezes well.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me at huntgathercook.

A pot of bison stew with corn, beans, and squash.
Print Recipe
5 from 9 votes

Bison Stew

This is a "three sisters" style stew with corn, beans and squash, plus wild greens like amaranth or lambsquarters. Any greens (chard, kale, spinach, etc.) are fine.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time3 hrs
Total Time3 hrs 20 mins
Course: lunch, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 562kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 pounds bison stew meat, see above for other options
  • Salt
  • 4 ears of corn
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 ounce dried mushrooms, crushed roughly
  • 1 pound dried beans
  • 1 to 2 pounds winter squash, cut into chunks
  • 2 tablespoons bison fat, beef fat, butter or oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound greens, lambsquarters, amaranth, spinach, etc.
  • Green alder pepper (optional)

Instructions

  • Cut the bison meat into big chunks. Just barely cover with water in a large pot and bring this to a boil. Once the foam collects on the surface after a few minutes, dump the water. Return the meat to the pot, add enough water to cover by several inches and return to a simmer.
  • Slice the kernels off the ears of corn. Reserve the kernels and cut the cobs in two pieces. Put them in the pot with the meat. Add the bay leaves and salt to taste. Simmer 1 hour.
  • Meanwhile, heat the butter or bison fat in a pan over medium high heat and brown the onion. When it's mostly browned, add the garlic and cook another minute. Scrape all this into the pot with the bison.
  • After 1 hour, add the mushrooms and beans and keep simmering. After another hour, add the squash. When the bison is tender, fish it out and cut it against the grain into pieces you'll want to eat in a stew. Discard the corn cobs.
  • Add the corn kernels and greens and cook 5 minutes. Add more salt if you want, along with the green alder pepper, if using.

Notes

Bean choice is up to you. I like Hidatsa beans or great northern beans here. 
If you want to try the alder pepper, you can buy green alder pepper online here. 

Nutrition

Calories: 562kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 1735mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 9669IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 9mg
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Filed Under: American Recipes, Featured, Recipe, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for Chris GoodenChris Gooden says

    March 4, 2023 at 2:42 pm

    Hank,
    Making this now with whitetail shanks! Out of curiosity, why dump the water instead of skimming the froth like your other recipes?

    Reply
  2. Avatar for Carolyn TutchtonCarolyn Tutchton says

    February 28, 2023 at 6:21 am

    This was delicious and enjoyed by all. I made it with beef, pinto beans and acorn squash. I left out the mushrooms for my mom but had some dark mushroom flavored soy sauce that added some good color and flavors. I added the beans a bit earlier cause I didn’t know how old they were and they were nicely cooked. I will be adding this recipe to the permanent collection. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Avatar for BarbieBarbie says

    February 25, 2023 at 1:06 pm

    What type of beans do you recommend for this recipe? Should we soak them overnight?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      February 27, 2023 at 6:24 am

      Barbie: Any bean you like. And yes, you can soak them overnight if you want. I generally don’t though.

      Reply
  4. Avatar for Paul HarveyPaul Harvey says

    February 22, 2023 at 9:46 am

    Hi Hank:
    Keen to try this recipe tomorrow. I obtained some green alder pepper, but am wondering…do I throw a few of these in, or do I grind them? and, how much do you suggest.
    Looking forward to your input, and the finished product tomorrow.
    Love your recipes!
    Cheers,

    Paul

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      February 22, 2023 at 12:38 pm

      Paul: Ooh! Cool. Grind them and add in the last 5 minutes.

      Reply
      • Avatar for Paul HarveyPaul Harvey says

        February 28, 2023 at 7:28 am

        Fantastic, yummy recipe!
        Thanks hank.
        Paul

  5. Avatar for Dave HedlundDave Hedlund says

    February 21, 2023 at 7:43 pm

    Just made a batch this afternoon. I used venison shanks, chard, & butternut squash. I’ve had trouble getting beans to not be hard in other soups I’ve done, so I tried lentils, and they worked well. Very good and colorful too! I need to look into the green alder pepper. We have a lot of alders in WI and MN. I’ll have to look into what types they are for future use. I use the wood for smoking fish.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for RondeenaRondeena says

    February 21, 2023 at 12:35 pm

    will certainly try!

    Reply
  7. Avatar for dennis congdondennis congdon says

    February 20, 2023 at 1:30 pm

    I have a nice cow heart gonna slice and chunk see how that turns out.gonna put a super sear on it.Gotta have a little cayenne thow.Thanks Dennis.

    Reply
  8. Avatar for TadTad says

    February 20, 2023 at 4:38 am

    On my list for the weekend!
    Looks delicious.
    Have a great week Hank.

    Tad

    Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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