This post is long overdue – I made this recipe over a month ago and just never got around to blogging about it. But trust me, it will be worth the wait.

One of the guys my husband works with owns a bison farm – Jordan Valley Bison. Random, right? Well, a lot of people up here do farming, canning, or hunting of some sort – so I suppose in retrospect it’s not too strange. My husband & I are not hunters by any means, but I did start canning last summer; we also have a vegetable garden once again this year which I hope will be much more plentiful than last year’s.

We purchased some bison at our local farmer’s market and my husband made sure to say hello to his friend’s wife, as his friend was working at the foundry that morning. She had lots of great suggestions for how to use the bison that we were purchasing – and gave us probably 3 or 4 different recipes. We chose this one! 🙂

Buffalo Chili – adapted from Jordan Valley Bison

• 1 lb bison burger
• 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 peppers (red, yellow, orange or green)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp dark chili powder (I used powdered smoked adobo chiles)
• 2 tbsp mild chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 46 oz. tomato juice (low sodium)
• 28 oz stewed tomatoes (chopped fine)
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 can light red kidney beans (drained & washed)
• 1 can dark red kidney beants (drained & washed)
• 1 can black beans (drained & washed)

1. In a large stockpot, carmelize the onion & celery with a good splash of olive oil.
2. Add the bison burger on top, flipping/mixing once, and breaking into smaller 1-inch chunks.
3. Add garlic & peppers. Stir to combine.
4. Add remaining ingredients & simmer for two hours on medium heat. Enjoy!

The photo is unappealing, but the flavor is delicious!

If you are not adverse to trying bison/buffalo, I highly recommend it. It has a bit of a gamier taste than beef, but is actually very lean. As you know, locally raised is definitely the way to go on this one 🙂

We made this dish on a cold, chilly Sunday – and it really hit the spot! I liked how many vegetables were incorporated into this chili. It also made a lot of leftovers, which were great the next day or two for Mike’s lunches.

It’s really neat to be able to really KNOW where your food is coming from and to know the people who are taking care of food for you. The amount of local products (and the quality!) available up here in northern Michigan still astounds me – and I love it.