For your next steak dinner, skip the beef and try this pan-seared bison tenderloin recipe with herb butter. Bison tends to be slightly sweeter and less greasy than beef, not to mention higher in protein. This recipe is adapted from one served at the Morrison, Colorado restaurant The Fort, which specializes in wild game meat and steak. Look for bison meat at a specialty butcher shop, or online from a company like The Honest Bison, which offers a wide variety of cuts. Look for citric acid at your local grocer, typically in the canning or spice section (where it is sometimes labeled as sour salt).
This recipe originally ran in our March 1999 print issue.
Yield: 4 Time: 40 minutes Ingredients For the herb butter: 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 1 tsp. finely chopped parsley leaves 1 tsp. finely chopped tarragon 1 tsp. finely chopped thyme 1 garlic clove, finely chopped Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper For the tenderloin: 2 tsp. fine sea salt ½ tsp. citric acid powder Pinch freshly ground black pepper Four 8-oz. bison filets (about 1½-in. thick) 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil Instructions Make the herb butter: To a medium bowl, add the butter, parsley, tarragon, thyme,
