On Bees and Butterflies + Bison Smashburgers

Pontification on pollinators and mashing meat.

I suppose it’s a bit of karmatic irony that, after a summer of sermonizing you all to get outside more often and walk around barefoot, I was twice, in a two week span, stung by a bee after stepping on one, barefoot¹.

As the saying goes, CWD preaches and God laughs.

See, I’ve been dead set on converting our yard from patchy grass and rocks to a lush clover field². Beyond being springier, easier to maintain, and more drought resistant³, I was drawn to the idea that the blooming white clover would be beneficial to the bees and butterflies. Given the current plight of the bees — and Kiddo’s proclivity toward eating honey — it felt like the least we could do was provide an easy meal for them in our backyard⁴. And it’s worked — we have a propensity of pollinators amidst the bloom of clovers⁵.

This does, however, make it a bit more difficult to go barefoot in the backyard. I need to be a bit more careful walking around, watching where I step — you never know which flower will be playing host to a honeybee. Perhaps it would have been easier, if the goal is to save the bees and butterflies, to just eat more grass-fed meat — as suggested by my friends at North Bridger Bison.

Photo of the NBB herd, shortly before Matt field harvested our bison. One can only imagine the biodiversity beneath all that snow.

See, by choosing to eat more meat that is truly pasture-raised, that come from animals that eat a diet of what they can forage themselves, you help shift the incentive to produce more of it⁶. When a farmer or a rancher raises their animals using regenerative farming practices, the end result is not just healthier cows, bison, sheep, or chickens — it’s a healthier ecosystem. Pastures filled with all sorts of plants: flowers, grasses, forbs, shrubs, weeds. Each plays a part in the greater picture. And, the fields are teeming with life — bees and butterflies, birds and mammals, all good things. When the land and animals are managed responsibly, there’s also less pressure to spray the crops with herbicide and other chemicals, which not only is better for the soil and water system, but also better for the aforementioned bees, butterflies, and other insects.

At the end of the day, this results in better tasting meat⁷ — and prairies teeming with all sorts of life⁸.

Mrs. CWD and I are nearing the end of the half bison we received from Matt and the NBB family earlier this year. We’re through the large muscle cuts — no more ribeyes or sirloins, briskets or chuck roasts — but we do have a few pounds of ground bison remaining. In honor of the two bees I inadvertently sent to an early grave, this week, we’ll support pollinators by making grass-fed bison smashburgers⁹.

Let’s have at it.

In a medium bowl, combine ground bison (or beef) with some salt, pepper, and diced onions. Mix well, and form into golf ball sized balls. Heat a griddle or large, flat pan to hot, then drop the burgers onto it. Smash with a burger press or heavy pan — flip, and add cheese. They’re done when the cheese has melted.

Serve stacked two or three or four high on toasted buns. You choose your condiments.

And there you go, smashburgers. I typically prefer my burgers to be big ol’ honking pucks of ground meat. I typically prefer them smoked on the Traeger. But, I have to admit, after making these, I can see why there are chains devoted to making smash burgers: they’re pretty good. I think Mrs. CWD and I will be making these again.

I don’t have too much else for you this week. It’s the middle of August — summer is ticking away by the second and we’ll be making the most of it, spending time with the extended Family CWD. But pay attention: already, some mornings, you can feel a slight nip in the air. Temperatures dip below 70. It smells crisp. Fall is coming — are you ready for it?

1. Fortunately, and unlike Brother CWD, I am not allergic to bees and walked away (twice!) with just an itchy and slightly swollen foot.

2. Blame the weekly emails from American Meadows.

3. Saying this during a summer in which we get 4-5 inches of rain each week feels particularly difficult.

4. We’ve also planted hundreds of dollars worth of native wildflower seeds, which we’re just starting to see take literal and proverbial root.

5. Kiddo now says, when she sees them: “I like the bees! They’re making me honey!”

6. This is also the goal of encouraging a Seasonal Seven, as well.

7. Cooking grass-fed meat does require a bit more finesse — you can’t overcook some cuts, you can’t undercook others. But, using better ingredients just forces you to become a better cook — there’s more at steak… or, rather, stake!

8. A stark contrast from the traditional agriculture that’s more commonplace — and world’s away from the industrial superplex needed to produce “meatless” meat! But that’s a rant for another day.

9. As many of you know, my favorite burgers are more like giant meat pucks — half pound monstrosities, smoked on the Traeger. But since for our “iron anniversary,” Mrs. CWD got me a cast-iron burger press, and I’ve been dying to use it, I figured it would be okay to switch up the preparation this week.