Bison on the Menu

Once upon a time when one of my personal heroes, Daniel Boone, first came over the Appalachian Mountains and into Kentucky, he was greeted with not just deer and turkeys and bears, but also huge herds of bison . It’s been an unfortunate omission of history that most people don’t realize that Kentucky and the surrounding states were home to bison herds that rivaled those seen in movies like Dancing with Wolves. This is of course because our herds were hunted into oblivion by early settlers.

In recent decades some intrepid Kentucky farms have begun to rebuild Kentucky’s bison population. The largest farm in the state, Kentucky Bison Co., has a herd of 400 animals on 1,100 acres not too far from The Big Stick’s home base in eastern Jefferson County.  Meat from their farm is being served at some of the best restaurants in town these days and in a town known for its restaurant scene, this has been a great development.

Consuming Louisville reports today that a popular Louisville restaurant, El Mundo, has made the decision to switch from beef to bison meet in all of their dishes.

El Mundo is now taking advantage of Louisville’s access to bison through Kentucky Bison Company and making the switch on all their beef menu items to the leaner bison meat.

Menu items at El Mundo featuring Kentucky Bison Company meat include the Grande and Garden Burritos, Enchiladas, Quesadillas and Chile Rellenos. The restaurant also offers periodic specials using bison, including Fajitas.

“We introduced Kentucky Bison Company meats in specials so we could get an idea about how well it would be received,” says owner Bea Chamberlain. “It has been very successful. Customers like it, and I personally feel like serving local, lean meat is the right thing to do. For us, making the switch to Kentucky Bison Company is the first step toward making all our menu items as natural and local as possible.”

This is the first Louisville establishment to take such a bold step and I am extremely impressed with their willingness to do so.  As a hunter I have long known that there are more healthy meat options out there for people willing to be a bit more adventurous in what they consume. This afternoon, for example, I have a deer burger packed in my lunch. It’s much more of a mental hurdle than a taste issue for most people. It seems that the patrons of El Mundo have made that leap. I hope more restaurant goers follow suit.