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Рецепт Spaghetti Western: Bison Meatballs in a Spicy Tomato Sauce
by Monte Mathews

A few years ago, I witnessed the

its arrival in the meat case. Not only

had it arrived but also it was billed as ‘the meat of the future’. A chart compared it favorably to both beef

and chicken. It was lower in cholesterol, lower in fat, higher in protein and,

from this particular purveyor, free of all those pesky antibiotics. To be fair, there was an asterisk next to

chicken. It had to have its skin on to

fail so miserably in those comparisons.

The man who presided over the meat case could not say enough good things

about buffalo. Its taste, its texture,

its ease of preparation was all music to the meat department. It had to be slow-cooked of course and it was

helped by sauce of some sort but it was altogether a new item to add to any

cook’s repertoire. I asked from where in

the west did this buffalo hail. “The

West?” My meat man looked amazed. “It’s from a farm in New Hampshire. That’s

how come it’s so fresh”.

"The Plains were black and appeared

in motion"That

there are actually buffalo in sufficient numbers, in New Hampshire or anywhere

else, to provide meat in today’s supermarkets is a true tribute to this

animal. Not a true Buffalo, it is more

correctly “Bison”. That’s the name The National Bison Association want to

encourage. This distinguishes this

American native from the Asian Water Buffalo and the African Cape Buffalo to

which it is not related. But it’s a

tough sell. Buffalo is ingrained in the

any history of the American West. And

well it should be: this great beast was all but wiped out in one of the most

ignominious slaughters in history. As the

country pushed west of the Mississippi in the 1820s, ‘the plains were black and

appeared in motion’ wrote an unknown contemporary writer. These were the great herds of bison whose

numbers have been estimated variously between 60 and 100 million animals. Weighing up to 3500 lbs., bison had fed and

clothed the Plains Indians for hundreds of years. The killing of a single male bison provided

1250 lbs. of meat. But the buffalo’s

role in Native American life hardly stopped at being a foodstuff. The hide was cured and used for clothing,

teepees, saddles, harnesses, lassos, and bowstrings. Tendons and sinews became thread. The hair was braided into rope, the stomachs

used for cooking pots and water buckets, the bladders for rafts. Horns became spoons and ladles. Even buffalo

chips were used. Called “Prairie Coal”,

they provided fuel in this largely treeless landscape.

Buffalo Bill Cody hard at work

In

a matter of a very few years, the buffalo population was decimated in the

west. In order to raise cattle on the

land, early settlers slaughtered the free-ranging animals. As they built railroads, huge numbers of

buffalo were dispensed of to secure their right of way. Once the trains ran, the Railroads hired

professional gunmen who rode the rails killing any buffalo that wandered onto

their tracks. Buffalo Bill Cody came by

his name honestly: In one single year, working for the Union Pacific Railroad,

he dispatched 4280 of the animals. But

there was something even more sinister at work here. The Native Americans were so dependent on the

animal that the white men believed that by eliminating it, they would eliminate

the Indians themselves. If only they had

studied a little harder.

Saved from extinction in the nick of timeIf

the Plains Indians were proof that ‘you are what you eat’, consider these

facts: They had no reported incidence of cancer. They had no reported incidence of heart

disease. Their average life span was 85 to 90 years of age and when they died,

it was generally from lack of dental care.

They could no longer eat what had sustained them and that, of course,

was buffalo. By 1906, there were 260

buffalo in all of the United States. Fortunately,

government protection was finally granted the animals. Today there are well over 100,000 bison in

public and private hands. Every year,

15,000 buffalo are brought to market, yielding some seven and a half million

pounds of meat. They’re still

concentrated in the West but they’re moving East to places like New Hampshire

and New York.

I am always on the lookout for

anything to break the protein monotony of chicken, beef, pork and fish. So when I was casting about for a new

meatball recipe, I was pleased to see one from the Bison Council. The group is dedicated to promoting,

preserving and stewarding the North American Bison. They’re a powerful force in getting their

members “to maintain the highest standards and ideals of animal care and

husbandry, sustainability, food safety, purity of ingredients and

quality”. And at their root, they are

driven by great affection for the “majesty, power and nobility of the North

American Bison”. And if these meatballs

are any indication, they are doing a spectacular job. It’s a good idea to shop around for

buffalo. I found wild gyrations in price

in two stores that are side by side. The

ground buffalo I bought came in at $7.99 a lb. at one of them and was fully

double that at the other.

I

made a few changes to the original recipe.

What I discovered was that the meatballs are helped by stewing them in

plenty of sauce. Spicy is a relative

term: here I added Sriracha because we love spice. If you don’t, just eliminate

it. These meatballs would make a great appetizer or

turn an hors d’oeuvre into a conversation piece. They retain every one of their

health benefits over beef with less fat and fewer calories and they deliver a

bold taste. I chose to make them a

center of the plate item that I served with pasta. It made a really special meal. Almost as special as a bison itself. Here’s the recipe.

Recpe for Spicy Saucy Bison Meatballs from the Bison Council

Prep Time 15 minutes. Cooking Time

30 minutes. Makes 25 meatballs.

2

hands.

Form

into golf ball sized balls and place on an oiled cookie tray,

c be careful

not to overcrowd and let the meatballs touch.

Bake

in oven 15 minutes.

Makes

about 25 meatballs.

Mix the green relish, ketchup, tomato sauce, onion, brown

sugar, Worcestershire sauce, water, vinegar and cracked pepper together in a

large non-stick pan.

Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring

frequently.

Add cooked meatballs and cook gently for another 10-15

minutes until meatballs are heated through.

Serve over spaghetti, fettucine or linguine.