Bison vs. Beef - Done Temp

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lauralee

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 31, 2013
17
12
San Diego, CA
I am still a novice at smoking and don't know much about BBQ/cooking meat to begin with.  I do know we like our beef medium rare and love a good tri tip.

So I picked up a 2 lb. Bison tri-tip the other day and knew in my heart that  low and slow in a smoker was the way to go.  But how hot and how long?  There's not too much info on Bison Trip Tip too be found so I read up on temperatures for beef Tri Tip.  Most things I read said bring it to 135 - 140 for medium rare, pull it, tent it and put in a cooler or wrap in foil/towels afterward for at least 30 minutes.  So that was my plan...

First I marinated it over night.  I've never done that before but didn't want tough meat and have read that tenderizes it.

I decided to put the smoker on 235 thinking 225 might take too long.  

I did read that with Bison it gets tough/blech if you go past medium.

OK - so I threw it in the smoker and went to back to work (home office), thinking I had a looooong time to go.  I confess I was not paying attention.  I thought an hour had gone by but it was really almost 2.  I checked on it and was FLIPPING HORRIFIED to see the internal temp was 171.

I freaked and yanked it, tented it.

If I pressed with my thumb it was pretty darn springy/firm.  There were some juices running out of it though.  I let it rest about 20 minutes (we were starving) then cut into it and LO AND BEHOLD it was pink all through and totally juicy and tender -- and tasty,

So here is my first question -- what gives?  How could I cook a piece of meat to 171 and not completely ruin it?  Is bison significantly different than beef?  I would say compared to beef it was done to medium at the most.  I do think I saw some higher temp recommendations online but I dismissed them - maybe they were bison specific.

Today left overs were much dryer after a reheat, but I don't know what to think for internal temp for next time - would 135 be raw?  Any thoughts?  I'm also interested in opinions on smoker temp, wood to use, and any random thoughts.
 
Last edited:
Sorry all who read my post earlier -- I originally said I read to cook it to 235 - 240.  I meant 135-140.  I accidentally cooked to to 171 but it was still pink and juicy inside.
 
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