since 1992. Making their mark on North Pinckney Street, their stand offers over 20 cuts of meat, including steaks, burgers, and the oft-remarked upon bacon, along with maple syrup and cold-pressed sunflower oil.
The 440 acre farm located just east of Colby, about 165 miles north of Madison, was originally ran as a dairy under Leroy's father. The family transitioned to bison in 1989, and have focused their farming efforts on the indigenous American bovine ever since. Shoppers who miss Cherokee Bison Farms and its delicious summer sausage on the Square can also find them at the Marshfield Festival Foods Farmers' Market through the summer and at What's your most popular product? What's your most remarked upon offering? What's your favorite product elsewhere at the market? What's your pre-packaged, supermarket-shelved guilty pleasure? If you were to make a dish incorporating your products, what would you make? The recipe is: In a bowl, beat the egg and milk. Stir in the cheese, oats, onion and salt. Add ground bison and mix together well. Shape into eight loaves and place in well-greased 13x9 baking dish. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard; spoon over loaves. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink. A meat thermometer would read 160 degrees. It yields eight servings. This creates a hearty supper when served with baked seasoned potato slices and fresh market veggies or a side salad. This recipe also makes a great potluck item when you form the meat into meatball size servings and decrease the cooking time accordingly!
Burgers are always a best-seller due to quantity and affordability, but I think as far as popular without being burger, it's a toss-up between a bison hump roast, the snack sticks and the cranberry summer sausage.
We see many raised eyebrows about the bison bacon: "You can make bacon from a bison? I thought bacon came only from pork!" Our bacon comes from the brisket portion, and it is very lean, but it works super in BLTs, crumbled on salads or sautéed spinach or just on its own as a side with eggs in the morning.
There's no favorite product at the market -- but it's certainly our favorite market! Products vary so much with the seasons, so it's impossible to choose a favorite, but in early spring like this we wait rather impatiently for the asparagus. Grilled asparagus with a bison steak on the side is absolute heaven.
Chocolate milk!
Li'l Cheesy Bison Meatloaves
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar or Colby cheese
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 lb. Fresh Ground bison burger meat
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard