Bison can make for a lean alternative to beef

I've recently been searching for a local source for organic beef. I can track it down online easily enough, but since organic cuts already cost more than conventional beef, by the time you figure in shipping the cost can more than double. Sure, there's real value to organic beef, but the final per-pound price can be downright prohibitive.

I found organic ground beef ($5.99) at one natural food store and sprinted home to give it a try. The raw ground beef had a beautiful, bright-red color and when I started to form the burgers, it smelled clean like fresh ground chuck did when I was kid.

After misting my well-seasoned iron skillet with vegetable oil, I cooked my burgers to medium-rare, and then let them rest a few minutes before taking a no-condiment bite.

Absolutely delicious. That's how a hamburger's supposed to taste.

Next time I was at the store I spotted fresh-ground bison. Despite it's price ($6.99 a pound) I was lured by the rich color of the meat and it landed it my cart.

Bison's leaner - much leaner - than beef, no matter the cut. According to USDA numbers, a 3.5 ounce serving of bison brings 143 calories (15.2 percent from fat) and 2.4 fat grams to the table. That same size cut of choice beef delivers 219 calories (42 percent from fat) and 10.2 fat grams. That's over four times as much fat and over 50 percent more calories. What a difference.

Is bison better for you than beef? It depends.

Most conventional beef starts out grass fed, which is good since cattle have always eaten grass. They're grass-processing machines. Conventional beef cattle generally are finished at lots where they're fed corn and other grains to bulk them up quickly. That unnatural diet produces fattier meat.

Like with organic beef, the USDA prohibits the use of antibiotics and hormones on bison, so bison's good alternative if that's an area of concern to you.

If you're concerned about your diet's omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids you'll want to look for bison meat from animals that eat a strictly grass diet. That meat contains a good-for-you 4:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Bison finished on grains, however, have five times more omega 6s, a ratio considered not so good for you.

While I've had a tough time finding cuts of organic beef other than ground, I have spied bison tenderloin steaks (at a budget-breaking $22 a pound) and bison flank steak ($9.99). Since I like beef flank steak I decided to give its bison brethren a try. The results were mixed: the bison flank was not as tender, but did deliver a richer flavor.

Until I find a local source for organic, grass-fed beef or naturally raised beef, I'm big on bison.

Try this recipe: Since bison's pretty expensive, I wanted to stretch it to make more servings. I tweaked my sloppy Joe recipe with bison and came up with this incredible and lean version. You must try it.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe requests. Write him at don@theleanwizard.com.