Welcome to the column to go to when you’re a broke, tired college student in a dorm. Today, I want to make a comparison between two different ingredients. Recently, I had the blessing to try something I had not gotten try before. That thing was ground bison. As a result, I want to share the differences between it and its more common cousin, ground beef.

Some things to get out of the way, both the ground bison and the ground beef I normally eat are 90/10, meaning 90 percent lean meat, 10 percent fat. So, the lean meat and fat percentage is the same for both products. This is important for both taste and texture comparison. I also made burgers out of the bison and put the same condiments I normally put on a beef burger, ketchup, mayo and melted American cheese on toasted bread.

For me, ground beef has a strong, meaty flavor. It has a nice chew but is still juicy if cooked right, even at that percentage of lean meat to fat. It also typically has a smokier taste. The texture has a bit of a crumble.

The bison I tried was supple. It still has a strong flavor, but it has more of a buttery texture and flavor than normal ground beef. The patty did not have the crumble or chew that beef has but one that I would describe as soft but strong.

Photo of a ground bison label. (Contributed/wholey.com)

That being said, I would get ground beef more often. Not because I did not like bison. Contrary to that, I preferred bison more. However, the price is much higher than ground beef. On top of that, Kroger, where I bought the bison, only has it as a part of its Simple Truth brand, meaning it only comes as organic, compared to having non-organic ground beef with various percentages of lean meat to fat.

Ultimately, if you can splurge on ground bison, I highly recommend trying it. 

Author