Tour of Fifty States: Montana's meal

This week’s meal was from Montana. I’ve never been there, and Bill doesn’t remember much about it when he traveled through the state many years ago.  It’s definitely on our list of places to visit!  When I first thought of what to serve, I thought of cowboys on the frontier and their meal of choice, most likely meat and potatoes.  Instead of regular beef, I opted to get some ground bison (Costco sells it in a 2 pound package.)  For dessert, I went with something that I thought would be relatively easy to find on the prairie -- berries that could be made into a simple cobbler. 

Menu:  Bison Burgers, Home Fries, Berry Cobbler

Outcome:  The bison was extremely tender and juicy, even at 93% lean. I thought it wouldn’t be so juicy with such a low fat content.  It has a good, mild and somewhat “grassy” flavor.  We grilled the burger to a nice medium rare and served them on buns with cheese and the traditional condiments.  The home fries recipe is one I’ve made for years and years, and is one of my favorite ways to cook potatoes.  They are excellent with mayonnaise on the side!  The cobbler was served with some of our goat milk cinnamon ice cream, which complemented the tart berries perfectly.  By the way, leftover cobbler was wonderful on our French toast the next morning!

Next up:  Bill’s turn! He chose North Carolina!

Bison Burgers 

Ingredients

• 2 lb. ground bison (buffalo)
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh sage
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions

1. Form patties with the meat, using about 1/4 to 1/3 of a pound of meat per patty. Here's a tip on making the patty: if you press a slight indentation in the center of each patty it will help keep the burgers in a nice disk shape when cooking.
2. Grill or fry the burgers on medium heat, about 6-7 minutes per side, less or more depending on the thickness of the burger and the heat of the pan/grill, or until the internal temperature is 140°F for medium rare, or 160°F for well done. Don’t press on your burgers while cooking, and keep the flipping to a minimum.
3. Let the burgers rest about 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 burgers.

Home Fries 

Ingredients

• 6 large Russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/8" thick)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 6 Tbsp. or more of canola oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium to large skillet on medium high heat until sizzling. Place a single layer of potato slices on the bottom of the pan. Add a light layer of sliced onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
2. Add another layer of potatoes, another layer of onion slices, sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Keep layering until all potatoes and onions are used up.
3. 
   
4. Lower the heat to medium and cover the pan. Let cook for about 10 minutes, until the potato layer at the bottom is nicely browned. You can move aside a little bit with a fork to see if the bottom edges are browned.
5. Gently flip the potatoes over with a metal spatula, a section of the pan at a time, so that the layer that was on the top is now on the bottom, and the browned potatoes are now on the top. Add more oil, which will help the browning. 
6. Cover and let cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the bottom layer is now browned.
7. Once the bottom layer is browned, remove the lid of the pan and let continue to cook for 5 more minutes. This additional cooking will help the potatoes dry out just a little bit more.

 Serves 6.

Berry Cobbler with Walnut Topping

Ingredients

Filling

• 4 cups mixed berries (i.e. blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, strawberries), fresh or frozen
• ¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Topping

• ½ cup flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 4 Tbsp. (¼ cup) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9x9 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the filling ingredients - berries, sugar, tapioca, and lemon juice. Pour into the baking dish.
3. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, walnuts, baking powder and salt from the topping ingredients. Use your fingers to mix in the cubes of butter. Rub the butter into the other ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
4. Sprinkle the topping over the filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and crispy, and the filling is bubbling.
5. Let cool for at least an hour. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Serves 6.