The historic The Fort restaurant has staked its reputation on serving incredible game dishes that personify the Old West. This bison recipe only strengthens it.
The Fort in Morrison, Colorado, has been serving juicy buffalo prime rib since the 1960s, and customers have always loved it. We roast it surrounded by the skins and outer layers of onion, which impart amazing flavor to the meat as it smokes and chars in the oven. When Holly Arnold Kinney, the daughter of original owner Samuel P. Arnold, was a little girl, the aroma of roasting buffalo and caramelizing onion made her mouth water. It’s no different, today, Kinney says. When the roast comes to the table, our guests are tempted to shout “Hip, Hip, Huzzah!” – and for good reason!
World’s Best Buffalo Prime Rib Roast
(Serves 8 – 10)
1 (5- to 6-pound) buffalo prime standing rib roast or 1 (4- to 5-pound) boneless prime rib roast
½ cup beef base concentrate
¼ cup freshly pureed garlic (about 2 heads)
½ cup dried rosemary
Coarsely ground black pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
Outer peels of 4 large onions
Rub the roast with the beef base concentrate and then the garlic. Sprinkle the rosemary and pepper over the roast, letting it stick to the beef base. Wipe the vegetable oil on your hands and gently rub the herbs into the roast.
Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the roast on a foil-covered roasting pan. Arrange the onion peels around the base of the roast and place in the oven. Roast for 8 minutes, so that the onion peels burn and the smoke lightly penetrates the meat. Then reduce the heat to 250 degrees. Roast for 18 minutes per pound, or until a meat thermometer reads 125 degrees for rare and 138 degrees for medium rare. The low temperature will keep the roast tender. Don’t cook the buffalo any longer — because of the meat’s leanness, it will be tough if cooked more than medium rare.
Remove the roast from the oven and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 – 20 minutes before carving. The temperature will rise about 10 degrees while resting, bringing the meat to the correct serving temperature.
Recipes edited and excerpted with permission from Shinin’ Times at The Fort: Stories, Recipes, and Celebrations from the Landmark Colorado Restaurant by Holly Arnold Kinney (Fur Trade Press, 2010).
Find more recipes from The Fort here.
