Where to Buy Bison (Buffalo) Meat in Michigan?

January 10, 2012

One thing I like to do on this site is include information that I myself am looking for. I am looking into sources where I can buy bison meat. It’s not as readily available as beef, so I have had to search out some local sources. It was quite a search. I could only find a handful of sources. I found one website listing a bunch of places in Michigan but I could not find specific information (including contact info) about most of the listings.

So why bison? Well it is lower in fat and higher in protein than beef. I made a pot roast out of a bison chuck roast and I found it to be just as delicious, but without the huge chunks of fat. So this page lists all the places that I found in Michigan that carries bison meat. There are two listings, one for grocery stores and the other for buying direct from the farm (your best option!). If you have bought bison meat in Michigan, please share that info in the comments below. I would love to add your info my list.

Grocery Store Listings

Meijer | Locations throughout the state
I recently started seeing ground bison showing up at Meijer stores. I have seen it at the locations in Marysville and Ann Arbor. Hopefully it’s available in most locations. If you have found at your local Meijer store recently, please leave a comment below, sharing the store location.

Whole Foods Market | Locations in Ann Arbor (2), Troy, Rochester Hills, West Bloomfield
Whole Foods carries some bison meat. They pretty much always have ground bison. Sometimes they have bison chuck roast (which makes for an excellent pot roast) and New York strip. There are 5 locations in the state of Michigan.

Hiller’s | Locations in Ann Arbor, Berkley, Commerce Township, Northville, Plymouth, Union Lake, and West Bloomfield.
Hiller’s carries High Plains Bison products. They have 100% Bison Hot Dogs, Filet Mignon, New York Strip, and Ground Bison.

Oleson’s Food Stores | Locations in Petoskey, Charlevoix, Traverse City (2), and Manistee.
According to their website, they do offer bison meat, but it says the aren’t currently accepting orders. Contact the specific store for more info.

Veldheer Tulip Gardens | Located in Holland, MI
Not quite a grocery store, but this place that specializes in tulips, also sells bison meat. Check their website out for more info.

Marquette Meats | 3060 W. US 41 Marquette (Next to Westwood Mall)
Marquette Meats offers ground bison and bison steaks. Visit the store for pricing information and selection.

Arbor Farms | 2103 West Stadium Boulevard Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3896
Arbor Farms has a couple options for ground bison meat, located in their freezer section. If you want to buy already made bison patties for burgers they have that there.

Nino Salvaggio | Locations in St. Clair Shores, Clinton Township, and Troy
They sell bison patties in their freezer section for $9.99/lb

Ben’s Supercenter | Located in Brown City
Ben’s offers a complete line of locally raised bison meat.

Trader Joe’s | Locations in Ann Arbor, Farmington Hills, Northville, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Gross Pointe
For Christmas 2012, I got my wife some bison jerky from Trader Joe’s

Farm Listings

Schultz Fruitridge Farms | 60139 County Road 652 Mattawan, MI 49071
They have bison meat available year around. You need to call in advance for meat cuts, prices, and sales. Their phone number is 269-668-3724.

AJ’s Bison | 456 W. Hatmaker Road, Bronson, MI 49208
Has USDA inspected meat. For more information call them at (517) 369-9037

Peaceable Kingdom Bison Ranch | 810-387-2237
They sell bison meat at the Lapeer Farmer’s Market and Vantage Point Farmers Market (July to October) in Port Huron.

Cushman Bison Farms | 2427 W. 32 Road, Boon, MI 49601
Cushman Bison Farms located just north of Cadalliac in Boon, has bison jerky, steaks, roasts, and burgers. You can purcahse their meat through their website.

Butcher Boy Food Products | 13869 Herbert, Warren, MI 48089
Butcher Boy sells bison steaks, roasts, ground bison, hot dogs, and more. For a full product list and more information, please visit their website.

TMZ Farms | Available at True Value Hardware on Main St (M-36) in Pinckney, MI
TMZ Farms sells their meat at the True Value Hardware store in Pinckney. They also offer ordering over the phone. Call (734) 878-6425

Bison In the Kitchen

Bison Chuck Pot Roast – Slow Cooker Recipe

June 23, 2011

by Eric Samuelson 1 comment

I have made a lot of pot roasts over the years, but none like the one I made on Father’s Day. When I make pot roast I always buy a chuck roast (a 7 bone one if I can find one). And this time was no different, except the roast did not come from a cow, but from a bison. Bison cuts are pretty similar to beef. You have your ribeye, tenderloin, New York Strip, etc. Bison meat is leaner than beef. A chuck roast has a pretty decent amount of fat in it. This bison one didn’t have very many big pieces of fat in it and the roast was just as juicy, tender, and flavorful as any beef pot roast.

Ingredients
3-4 lb bison chuck roast
3 cups mushroom broth (3 teaspoons Better than Bouillon mushroom base dissolved in 3 cups of warm water) or 3 cups beef stock
2 stalks celery, cut into halves
1-2 carrots, peeled, cut into halves
1 medium onion (Vidalia if they are in season)
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
canola oil

Notes on Veggies
When I make pot roast, I don’t like to include potatoes at the start. I feel they just become water logged. I served some boiled small potatoes with the meal. I only include a couple carrots to add flavor. The onion was meant to add flavor as well so I just quartered it, halved those quarters, and toss them in.

Instructions
1. To start, sprinkle the roast liberally with kosher salt on both sides. This will help bring moisture and protein to the surface to help brown the meat. Before you place your roast in your slow cooker, take out a large frying pan. I recommend you not use a non-stick pan (more on that in a second)

2. Pour a little bit of canola oil (or vegetable) into the bottom of your pan, enough to coat it. Heat your pan up over high heat. Then place the roast into the pan. Cook until the meat is nicely browned, flip to do the other side. Remove the roast from the pan and into your slow cooker.

3. Now the reason I wanted you to use a pan that wasn’t non-stick, is I want to have some brown stuff stuck to the pan. I then take my mushroom broth and de-glaze then pan, by pouring a little bit of the broth in and scrabbing all of the brown stuff off the bottom. The brown stuff will add great flavor to your roast. I then pour the liquid from the pan and the rest of my broth into my slow cooker.

4. Now I add my celery, onion, carrots, and black pepper. Slap the lid on and set to cook anywhere from 6-10 hours. I choose 10, since I was going to be at the zoo all day.

You know your roast is done when it’s fork tender. If you wish you can make a gravy with the leftover liquid or just spoon it over your meat and potatoes or place it into some small bowls to dip in.

Check out these other pot roast related posts
5 Days with My Slow Cooker: Pot Roast
How To Make a Flavorful Pot Roast
Mushroom Base Pot Roast

Bison| Pot Roast| Slow Cooker

Bison In the Kitchen Pot Roast

Where Can I Buy the Bison Dogs or Burgers Served at Wrigley Field?

June 16, 2011

by Eric Samuelson 0 comments

If you have been to a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field this season, you may have noticed a different type of hot dog or burger available to you. High Plains Bison is now selling their 100% bison dogs and burgers at Wrigley Field. You might be wondering where you can get your hands on some of these products for your next cookout. You can purchase these hot dogs in some specialty or high end grocery stores. You can also have them shipped directly to you, by visiting the High Plains Bison website.

Want to learn more about these delicious hot dogs? Check out my review of them. High Plains Bison is the official lean meat of the Chicago Cubs!

Products I Like

Can You Buy 100% Bison (“Buffalo”) Hot Dogs?

June 16, 2011

by Eric Samuelson 2 comments

The classic American cookout food – the hot dog. It will be making it’s appearance in grills across the country, every weekend through Labor Day. People have different opinions on hot dogs. Some don’t care what it is, as long as it’s in their bun. Some can only have all beef dogs. And those on a diet, turn to the all turkey variety. But have you ever had a hot dog made of 100% bison? Do these even exist? I never came across them until this week. I found a package of bison dogs made by High Plains Bison.

Before we get onto to talking about the hot dogs, I need to point out you will not hear me using the word “buffalo” in place of bison. Buffalo and bison are two different animals. A buffalo looks more like a cow with gigantic horns sticking out of the side of it’s head. They may make hot dogs out of buffalo, but I don’t know. I am only concerned with the American Bison, like the one you see on the right.

High Plains Bison Dogs are 100% bison meat, no fillers are used. Also they contain no added nitrates or nitrites (except those naturally found in sea salt and celery powder), making these uncured dogs. The full ingredient list is: bison, water, vinegar and lemon juice concentrate, sea salt, turbino sugar, spices, and celery juice powder. It’s nice to buy a hot dog and know what every ingredient is. There is no sodium phosphates or potassium lactates. The bison meat used for these dogs comes from bison that has not been raised on hormones or antibiotics. In fact the USDA does not permit the use of hormones in the rising of bison.

Taste Test
High Plains Bison Dogs are some of the most amazing hot dogs I have ever eaten. They are plump and juicy just as advertised on the packaging. They have a nice smoky flavor that isn’t going to scare away traditional all beef hot dog lovers. They are filling. I often will eat 2 hot dogs in a meal, but 1 was satisfying enough.

Are Bison Dogs Better for You than Beef Dogs?
Let’s look at the numbers. I will compare the nutrition facts of one High Plains Bison dog to one of America’s most popular hot dogs, the Ball Park Beef Frank.

High Plains Bison Dog
Serving Size: 65g
Calories: 170
Total Fat: 14g
Cholesterol: 25mg
Saturated Fat: 6g
Sodium: 620mg
Total Carbohydrate: 2g
Sugar: 1g
Protein: 9g

Ball Park Beef Frank
Serving Size: 57g
Calories: 190
Total Fat: 16g
Saturated Fat: 7g
Cholesterol: 35mg
Sodium: 550mg
Total Carbohydrate: 4g
Sugar: 2g
Protein: 7g

Please carefully note that the serving size of the Ball Park dog is 57g, while the serving size of the bison dog is 65g. Yet the Ballpark dog is higher in calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, carbs, and sugar than the significantly larger bison dog. The Ballpark dog also contains 7g of protein, while the bison dog contains 9g. So it looks clear to me which dog is better for you. Bison meat tends to be leaner with less cholesterol and more protein.

Where to Buy High Plains Bison Dogs
I found them at Hiller’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan. You can buy all their products by visiting the High Plains Bison website.

Bison| High Plains Bison| Hot Dogs| Uncured

Products I Like

Where to Buy Bison (Buffalo) Meat in Michigan?

Bison Chuck Pot Roast – Slow Cooker Recipe

Where Can I Buy the Bison Dogs or Burgers Served at Wrigley Field?

Can You Buy 100% Bison (“Buffalo”) Hot Dogs?

Asparagus

Latest on the Brood

My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

More Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Featured On: