I had never eaten Bison before so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Gamey? Tough? Dry? Well, I’m a tester, so you clear your mind and notice everything you can about it as you go along.
First, the Bison Bratwurst arrived frozen. There were five Bratwurst in one package, vacuum-sealed. After refrigerator thawing, I cooked two of them in a dry frying pan on medium heat. Each Bratwurst was about 7 inches long and 1 inch across.
At first, the pan was dry and I was suspecting that the meat was too lean for this method of cooking, but when the very thin casing started to brown and crisp, the whole scene changed. From a deep maroon color, the Bratwurst became juicy and turned a deep brown. Fat was in the pan and the smell was rich and spicy. I turned the Bratwurst several times, getting all sides crispy, and then sliced into one on a plate.
Wow! This was literally the best Bratwurst that I had ever had! Not gamey, the flavor was mostly a terrific selection and balance of spices. Not tough, this Bratwurst has a lighter consistency than all-beef hot dogs. Not dry, but like a very moist and terrific sausage. Every bite was pure pleasure and surprise. Note to self: always have a few packages of these in the freezer! The next day I cooked the last three. I did it the same way, except that I crisped them even more to see if they could take it. They did.
Still moist with the wonderful flavor and texture, I ended up using slices of it in these ways: in spaghetti sauce it was better than meatballs, superior to greasy pepperoni on homemade pizza and better than grocery sausage beside creamy scrambled eggs. Even eaten cold, with rich and hearty mustard, this was absolutely marvelous Bratwurst. If you didn’t read the label, or if someone didn’t tell you this was Bison, you would never, ever know. All you would think was that this was the best Bratwurst that you had ever tasted, and you’d be right. You’ve got to try this…you’ll love it!
