5 Things Feature: Corned Bison

This week’s all about Corned Bison. With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Tuesday, we anticipate a lot of Sunday slow-cookings of corned meats, potatoes, cabbage, and such, amongst Irish-American and Irish-American adjacent families and St. Patty’s enthusiasts alike.

Since it’s been a busy week for our business, this 5 Things we’ll forego the retrospective on our week—or abridge it: it was busy, we’re a little short on staff and still looking to hire some cool, hardworking individuals. Send resumes to greg@nwsmokehaus.com—and instead answer a few common questions about our Corned Bison.

What does “corned” even mean and how many cobs are involved?

“Corned” refers to treatment of meat with “corns” of large-grain rock salt, often with other spices such as coriander, cinnamon, mustard seed, ginger, and the like. Unfortunately, there are zero cobs involved, unless you’re making the stock for a corned bison and sauerkraut soup. If so, cobs away!

Fun fact: our Corned Bison is one of a small handful of our meat products that never touch the smoker. After it cures for several days, it is instead cooked in our Alto-Shaam oven, which is designed to hold moisture and maintain exact temperatures for a long time.

Why corned bison?

Bison is delicious. Bison tastes wild and powerful and natural. It’s lower in cholesterol and higher in protein than beef. The bison we use comes from North American Bison. It’s hormone-free, antibiotic-free, regionally sourced from a cooperative of smaller, family-owned ranches, and the bison themselves live great lives and are humanely harvested.

How should I eat corned bison?

This would be a good start. Ignore the “beef” in the title—we used to primarily make bison pastrami and corned beef, but now we’ve flipped the script—this recipe is a great use of a whole shoulder of NWS Corned Bison. If you’re still thinking about cobs, I’d advise stripping an ear of corn of its kernels, then tossing both the kernels and the cob in with the bison and kraut. Remove cobs before serving.

Another option is something like this substituting corned bison for the Smoked Berkshire Ham. Trust us, it’ll be good.

If you want to skip the grueling work, you can enjoy a similar experience with our ‘06 sandwich with corned bison, in our deli, or via delivery, if you feel like staying home and avoiding the looming pandemic.

Where can I get a good deal on corned bison?

Glad you asked! We’re running a mail order special: Buy a whole shoulder of NWS Corned Bison and receive an included pound of our Hausmade Sauerkraut. It’s a perfect match.

Is there anything else I should be excited about, specifically referring to corned bison?

Wow, you’re just asking all of the questions I currently want to answer, and in an eerily similar fashion to the way I would phrase it. There is!

In a couple short months, we’ll be debuting a new corned bison sandwich, alongside an exciting (and secret! Don’t pry.) collaboration with our neighbors at Duluth Pack.

Now get out there (or stay in!) and have a safe, healthy weekend. You deserve it. And have a spooky Friday the 13th ⊂(≖.≖⊂ )∘˚˳°

Product Feature: Smoked Jerky

"Do you have any jerky?"

The above has been a common refrain while acquainting our customers with the deli cases. And now we can finally answer in the affirmative.

Jerky is here! Our beloved owner, Eric, always eager to listen to what the people want, then give them a better version than they expected, spent some serious one-on-one time with his home smoker developing these recipes, and is finally ready to present his work to the world!

Right now, we're offering three flavors of Haus-smoked jerky, with plans to grow that list. Like all products at NWS, our jerky is made with the highest-quality—locally-sourced where applicable—meats, perfectly seasoned and processed by skilled hands.

Let's take a closer look at each of the flavors:

Maple Bourbon Bison Jerky

Sometimes simple is better.

Our Smoked Maple Bourbon Bison Jerky follows that philosophy, letting mouthwatering strands of North American Bison Eye of Round speak for themselves, with just the right amount of maple syrup and bourbon, and a healthy dose of salt and pepper.

Maple Bourbon Bison Jerky is available in our deli for $19 1/2lb

Umami Tsunami Bison Jerky

Ride the savory wave!

Experience another side of bison, packed with a palate-awakening blend of flavors—Tamari, Worcestershire sauce, Sambal, Shio Koji, ketchup, and, of course, black pepper—and smoke-finished to perfection.

And it's fun to say aloud.

Umami Tsunami Bison Jerky is available in our deli for $19 1/2lb

Wild Sockeye Salmon Jerky

Our savory-sweet Wild Sockeye Salmon Jerky will make your mouth water!

Flavored with a blend of ingredients that will remind longtime Smokehaus fans of our old sockeye gravlax—fresh ginger, fresh garlic, and lemon juice—and tied-together with sugar, and the potent umami combo of Sambal Oelek and Shio Koji, this sockeye salmon jerky is destined to be a hit.

There's nothing fishy about it, except the Wild Sockeye flavor you love.

Wild Sockeye Salmon Jerky is available in our deli for $20 1/2lb

Our smoked jerky is a perfect answer to hunger right out of the deli case, or saved for later on. It's smoked and dehydrated, so you can take it with you on the trails, on a plane, or in the car. We've priced it out to sell by weight, and rest assured, even a quarter-pound goes a long way.

Expect more flavors coming soon. Rumor has it Eric's got Turkey Jerky on his mind.