Bison Steak with Blood Orange Relish

Bison is a fantastic lean red meat, perfect for those watching their fat intake. Also, the bragging rights of having bison for dinner are worth it too. I couldn’t believe how wonderfully tender and delicious this meat is. I used it to kick off my birthday celebration this past weekend but really any celebration will do. Valentines day? Awesome. The dog finally sat when you asked him to? Perfect. Your pet rock didn’t have an accident inside the house? Fantastic! You get the idea. We are lucky enough to live so close to Alberta the land of bison goodness, if you aren’t able to find it I imagine a nice cut of sirloin would be a tasty substitute. I love the colour of the blood orange on this plate. Such a nice deep red, a great way to liven up the visual presentation of a basic meat and potatoes meal.

• 8 oz Bison steak
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 blood orange
• 1/2 gala apple, sectioned and sliced thinly
• 1 tbl dried parsley (2 tbl of fresh)
• 1/8 tsp anise seeds
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper

1. Smash the garlic clove and cut in half. Rub the garlic clove over both sides of the bison steak. Season with sea salt and pepper and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
2. Cut both ends off the orange. Stand the orange on one of its ends and cut away the peel, don’t leave any of the pith. Quarter the orange by cutting from top to bottom. Slice the wedges thinly starting at the short end.
3. Combine the orange, apple, parsley, anise, and vinegar gently in a small bowl. Add the sea salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready for use.
4. Grill the bison. I suggest a medium or medium rare doneness. I gave it 10 minutes on one side and 5 on the other. Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes and slice thinly.

Serves 2. Each portion of bison (3-4oz) and relish contains 174 calories, 2.3 grams of fat and 2.3 grams of fibre. The relish alone split into two portions is 50 calories, .2 gram of fat and 2.3 grams of fibre. I served this with some twice baked potatoes since I had saved so many calories and fat on the main portion of this meal I could go nuts on my side dish. Hurray!