Just as eating bison is an exciting new experience, you will find that cooking it is, too. Review the steps below to gain an understanding of the proper way to cook your bison in order to have an enjoyable, delicious and healthful meal.

First:
THROW EVERYTHING YOU LEARNED ABOUT COOKING TRADITIONAL BEEF OUT THE WINDOW. The old rules do not apply to cooking your prized Carolina Bison meat.

Second:
START FRESH — understand what you're working with. Carolina Bison is a lean meat. Our herds graze freely and are raised naturally without the added hormones and antibiotics that are often found in traditional beef. Our bison does not have the added fat that traditional beef contains, which acts as a moisturizer in the cooking process and causes traditional beef to take longer to cook than bison.

Third:
THAW PROPERLY — Carolina Bison delivers our top quality bison to you fresh frozen to ensure safety. To properly defrost your meat, do not thaw at room temperature - refrigerate your package for 24 hours.

Fourth:
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET – No matter the cut of bison meat, the finished, cooked product will not shrink in size due to it's lean nature. This is important to remember as you are cooking so you don't assume it needs to continue cooking when, in fact, it may be done.

Fifth:
DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR BISON MEAT — Carolina Bison requires a shorter cooking time than traditional beef. This is the number one mistake that first time bison consumers make. Because it is a leaner meat, it does not have the added fat to moisten the meat as it cooks. Therefore cooking bison to the usual doneness takes less time than traditional beef.

Sixth:
LET YOUR TASTEBUDS GUIDE YOU — Whether eating your meat rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well or well is a personal decision based on your tastes. While Carolina Bison recommends cooking your bison steaks rare to medium to achieve optimal results for the type of meat, use the temperature that pleases you. However, if you intend to cook beyond medium, it's best to cook at very low temperatures over a long period of time to retain moisture.

Seventh:
USE LOW COOKING TEMPERATURES — Do not cook your bison meat at high temperatures as it will result in a dry, chewy and tasteless product. Instead, cook at lower temperatures to achieve optimal results. Carolina Bison's recommendations are to cook steaks or burgers to your desired temperature on no more than medium heat. Whether oven-roasting, cooking stovetop, on a grill or in a crock pot, use a lid to help retain moisture. See recipes for recommended cooking times and temperatures.

Eighth:
Enjoy!

All of Carolina Bison's meats have been USDA inspected and passed. Some food products may contain bacteria that could cause illness if the product is mishandled or cooked improperly. For your protection, you must:

• Keep refrigerated or frozen. Never thaw at room temperature. Never thaw in microwave.
• Keep raw meat separate from other foods.
• Wash working surfaces, including cutting boards, knives, utensils.
• Wash hands before and after use.
• Cook thoroughly.
• Keep foods hot. Refrigerate leftovers immediately or discard.

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The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has made recommendations for all types of ground meats to be cooked to an internal temperature of 155ºF in restaurants. The USDA (United States Dept. of Agriculture) recommends 160ºF for home use. (155ºF – 160ºF translates to a bison burger that is in the medium to medium-well range). Carolina Bison recommends that you follow these same principles. This does not apply to steaks and roasts because any external bacteria is killed immediately upon complete cooking.

Because Carolina Bison uses specialized products that are not processed in typical high-volume plants, we use the best measures available in preparation, processing and handling of our meats — from our farm to your table, we take the utmost pride in delivering you a safe, prize-quality product.