Bison Cross Rib Roast Seasoned With Mountain Spice

a 5lb bison cross rib roast seasoned with Mountain Spice and cooked on the BBQ for 1.5hours at 275° F. Served with a roasted onion and a glass of Merlot

Slow low heat is crucial for a delicate lean meat like bison in order to keep it tender. Too much heat and it turns to leather.

The roast sat for a day in extra virgin olive oil with a generous dry rub of Mountain Spice on it.


Here's the recipe for Mountain Spince. It is said to be the creation of Chef Michael Mandato at Jasper Park Lodge.

1/4 cup crushed juniper berries
1/4 cup crushed black peppercorns
1/4 cup crushed sun dried blueberries
1/2 cup coarse salt
1/4 cup toasted and crushed coriander seeds

Mix all ingredients well, store in an airtight container until needed.

If you don't have a spice grinder, you're probably going to want to get one. A burr-type coffee grinder purposed solely for spices is also good.

Bison Ribs, Redux

The Gorilla never tires of bison ribs. As per popular demand, here's how to prepare them:

Coat in BBQ sauce and leave in the fridge overnight in a covered container to let the flavor soak in.

Soak wood chips in water for fifteen minutes in preparation for putting them in the smoker. Applewood is The Gorilla's favorite, but any wood smoke you like will do.

Put smoker box in BBQ and preheat to 275°. Low heat is crucial to keeping the meat tender and carmelizing the BBQ sauce without making it blacken.

Shoot for a two hour cooking time. In this case The Gorilla took them off at 1hr 45 min because they looked done and he was really, really hungry.

They turned out perfectly, a little red-pink on the inside and with the fat all hot and gooey.

Now The Gorilla is hungry again!

Ribs: It's What's For Dinner

Two racks of bison ribs.