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Buffalo's Nutrition Beats Beef
January 2, 2008
Buffalo's Nutrition Beats Beef
Farmers' Markets DENISE MILLER For the Journal
EDITOR'S NOTE: Denise Miller of the New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association spotlights local growers and their products. Her column appears the first Wednesday of the month.
Unlike cattle, bison like to find a high spot and face into the wind. The same seems true -- literally and figuratively -- for Lana and Monte Fastnacht (pronounced Fosnot), owners of LaMont's Wild West Buffalo near Santa Fe.
As purveyors of gourmet buffalo meat, Lana and Monte face many hurdles in the ranching business they brought to New Mexico from South Dakota more than eight years ago.
"It's a hard life, but it's a good life," said Monte over a cup of coffee after many cold hours he had just spent trying to persuade 28 bison -- about 50,000 pounds of stubborn bull -- to come out of a semitrailer.
Still dressed in layers of outdoor work clothes, including a black cowboy hat and purple neckerchief, it's evident from weathered lines that Monte spends plenty of time in the sun, wind and cold, feeding, watering and tending his herd. The twinkle in his eye says that's just the way he likes it.
Lana manages the other end of the business. She rises at 3:30 a.m. to attend growers' markets, hauls hundreds of pounds of meat and coolers, handles deliveries and more. Weather permitting, you can still find her at the Santa Fe Winter Market.
Hearts on the range
The Fastnachts have been in New Mexico for more than 30 years, previously operating LaMont Shavings & Sawdust (which their son, Cody, now manages when he's not on call at the ranch). But raising bison is where their hearts are.
So what's the difference between bison and buffalo? Absolutely nothing, the Fastnachts explain. Bison is the technical name for North America's largest land animal, which can reach more than 2,000 pounds and jump straight up 6 feet in the air, while buffalo is the more commonly recognized western name.
"You know -- buffalo head nickel, give me a home where the buffalo roam," Lana said.
Buffalo is a sweet, tender meat, not at all gamey. It is exceptionally high in protein and minerals, and low in fat, calories and cholesterol. It can be prepared just like beef, including burgers, roasts, steaks, stews and much more.
It costs more than beef, but ounce for ounce, it has a more concentrated nutritional value, Lana said. Translated: It tends to satisfy you more while you eat less.
More meat, less fat
Bison is darker red than beef because of high levels of iron and other minerals. Also, because of the animal's higher metabolism, you do not see the marbling you usually see in beef. Marbling indicates that higher quantities of fat have been deposited in the muscle.
Many customers start with the relatively less expensive ground meat that is a mix of top-quality sirloin and round, or the superb green chile sausage that Lana is often cooking up at market.
"But once people get hooked on the meat, that's when they come back for the steaks and roast," she said.
Everything is sold boneless except the Porterhouse and Tbone cuts, and all of their meat is USDA-certified and all natural.
Filled up on barley
The Fastnachts think there are a few reasons for the particularly good flavor of their meat. First, not only are their bison strictly pasture-fed on grass, but during the bisons' last 60 to 90 days, they are "finished" on barley mash, a byproduct straight from Second Street Brewery in Santa Fe. The barley mash not only hydrates the animals, but it also gives the meat a nice flavor, Lana noted.
Two other factors contributing to the meat's quality, according to the Fastnachts, is that the bison are consistently butchered between 24-30 months old (optimum steak age), and that they receive humane treatment at slaughter.
The Fastnachts have between 100 and 150 American Bison that graze in Santa Fe County on hundreds of acres of land leased to them by the State Prison and Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch off Highway 14.
This unusual arrangement works well for the Fastnachts, who say they could never afford to purchase the amount of land it takes to raise bison, especially in New Mexico, where our dry grasslands take about 100 acres per animal to feed each season. Compare that to about the five or six acres per animal it takes in South Dakota, and it's easy to see why they feel fortunate making the proposition work here, even if it means regularly driving up from their home in Bosque Farms.
Not getting rich
But making a living at buffalo ranching isn't easy. High-jumping buffalo require special fencing, and the fuel costs for hauling the buffalo to Colorado Springs are high.
A 1,200-pound animal yields only about 650 pounds of meat, and of that, about 60 percent is burger meat, on which they only break even.
Three Santa Fe restaurants -- The Cowgirl, Joe's Diner and Harry's Roadhouse -- and the Mine Shaft in Madrid regularly buy their burger meat.
Featured growers
WHO: Lana & Monte Fastnacht, LaMont's Wild West Buffalo
WHERE TO FIND THEM: Santa Fe Winter Market, or order by phone or e-mail at 869-4438, lamontbuff@msn.com. They regularly deliver in Albuquerque and Santa Fe and take private orders.
FEATURED PRODUCT: Buffalo meat
NUTRITIONAL VALUE: Exceptionally high in protein and minerals, bison is low in fat, calories and cholesterol. It is high in iron (prevents anemia, helps build hemoglobin), selenium (an antioxidant that helps prevent cancer), phosphorus, zinc, potassium (key to lowering blood pressure), riboflavin, niacin and vitamins B6 and B12.
