If you’re looking to grill healthier this summer, bison is a great alternative to beef whether it’s a burger, a steak, or in the case of this great recipe from The Honest Bison, tri-tip!

For those unfamiliar with The Honest Bison, it all started as one family’s quest to eat healthier and get fit. When it turned out that sourcing authentic, unprocessed food was harder to do than it sounds, the family decided to do what they could to change that and thus The Honest Bison was born featuring 100% grassfed and humanely and sustainably raised bison cuts.

As bison is a much leaner red meat, The Honest Bison team has also shared the following four tips for perfect bison grilling!

1. LESS TIME. LESS HEAT.

Since bison is naturally leaner than beef, it takes less time to cook and requires much lower temperatures. And grass fed bison is even leaner than regular bison. The last thing you want to do is overcook it. A general rule of thumb is to aim for 1/3 of the cooking time at 1/3 of the temperature you would normally use for beef, and you’ll end up with a tender, juicy piece of heaven. 

2. CUT OUT THE GUESSWORK.

Once you get used to cooking bison, you’ll start to figure out just how long you need to cook it but until then, we really recommend investing in a good meat thermometer if you don’t already have one. This will take the guesswork out of cooking and ensure that your bison steak is always perfectly done. Depending on how you like your meat, aim for the following temperatures:

Rare: 110-120 degrees       Medium Rare: 121-125 degrees      Medium: 126-130 degrees

Note: The temperature will rise a few degrees while resting (see tip #4) so remember to take that into account.

3. KEEP IT SIMPLE.  

Our bison doesn’t need a ton of extra ingredients in order to make it tasty. All you need is a little sea salt and some olive oil. First, rub the salt on the meat, and then spray or brush on a small amount of olive oil before cooking.

4. PATIENCE IS DELICIOUS.

As hard as it will be to wait, don’t cut into your meat the second it comes off the grill. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes to seal in all the juices. It would be a shame to let all that goodness spill out onto the cutting board.

And there you have it. Simple. Delicious. And perfectly cooked every single time.

GRILLED BISON TRI TIP, SANTA MARIA STYLE

Ingredients

1 bison tri-tip (about 2 lbs)

For the “California” Rub:

2 tbsp finely ground coffee

1 1⁄2 tbsp kosher salt

1 1⁄2 tbsp granulated garlic

1 heaping tsp black pepper

1 tbsp brown sugar

1⁄4 tsp cayenne pepper

1⁄4 tsp ground cloves

1⁄4 tsp cinnamon

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sprinkle meat with rub and massage tenderly. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour or longer. Remove from refrigerator an hour before cooking.

2. Preheat oven to 300 and prepare a hot charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to high. Place roast on grill and cook for 6-8

mins per side or until an even char develops on all sides. Grill for no more than 20 mins total.

3. Remove tri-tip to a baking sheet or oven safe dish. Cover with tinfoil. Place in 300 degree oven for 10-20 mins, or until internal temperature reaches 120F (rare). DO NOT OVERCOOK.

4. Rest roast on a cutting board for 8-10 mins, during which time the internal temperature should increase to 125 (medium rare). Slice against the grain. The center should still be distinctly red. THIS IS PERFECT. Bison is supposed to be cooked less than beef and is ideally always served medium rare.

5. Serve with grilled veggies of your choice and enjoy!