Pan Seared Bison Steak Recipe

This pan seared bison steak recipe is served on a bed of red and yellow bell peppers that have been stir-fried and tossed with a grainy mustard sauce. Bison steaks are easy to cook and full of flavor, flavor, flavor.

If you enjoy cooking with bison, don’t miss my Bison Recipes category.

Looking for an easy steak dinner recipe? One that you can pan sear quickly on the stovetop? Something new and fun?

And this is a great recipe if you’ve been curious about trying bison over beef.

This bison steak recipe is easy enough for the beginner cook, clever enough for the adventurous and elegant enough for entertaining.

Is Bison healthy to eat? Bison meat is an excellent alternative to beef. It’s lower in fat and cholesterol. And learning how to cook bison is easy because it’s virtually just like cooking beef.

The most important thing you need to keep in mind is that with bison’s lower fat content, it will require less cooking time.

This Bison Steak recipe features Bison New York Strip Steaks resting on a bed of sautéed red and orange bell peppers and onions and seasoned with salt and pepper and zesty grained mustard. Mouthwateringly delicious.

Let’s take a look:

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Red and orange bell pepper, sliced into strips
• Sweet Onion, cut into rings.
• Olive oil.
• Coarse grain mustard.
• Bison New York Strip Steak.

Ingredient Substitutions and Swaps

• Coarse Grain Mustard: There are several brands available. I like Maille Old Style Whole Grain Dijon. Another option which is also readily found on supermarket shelves is Inglehoffer Stone Ground. And there are so many specialty stone ground mustard products available for purchase, use your favorite or have fun and experiment with different brands.
• Oil: Use butter to fry those peppers in place of the oil.
• Bison Steak: Substitute bison New York Strip with a bison sirloin, tenderloin or of course you can substitute with beef steaks.

Step By Step Instructions

• Step 1: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add two teaspoons of the oil. Once the oil is shimmering. Add sliced onion and bell peppers and cook until onion is golden, about 8 minutes. In a small bowl whisk mustard with water and add to onion and pepper mixture and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat and cover to keep warm. 
• Step 2: How Do You Pan Fry A Bison Steak? Get a pan nice and hot and then add seasoned steaks with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook about 4 – 5 minutes per side or until desired doneness is achieved.

Tips On How To Cook Bison Steak

• The Type of Pan Matters: Choose either a cast iron skillet or a French steel pan. A French steel pan is a carbon steel skillet commonly used in restaurants to sear meat. It’s non-stick qualities exceed that of a cast iron skillet and its lighter weight. 
• Room Temperature Steaks: Let the bison steaks set at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper or Montreal steak seasoning if you wish.
• Hot Pan Cold Oil: Heat the pan over medium high heat, and then add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering add the buffalo strip steaks.
• How Long Should You Cook Bison Steak? Let the steak cook for about 4 minutes before turning. When the steaks are willing to release from the pan, use tongs to flip the steaks. Cook about another 4 minutes.
• Use a digital instant read meat thermometer to determine internal temperature for desired doneness.

Bison Steak Temperature:

Here is a guide for internal temperature for bison.

• Rare = 140 degrees
• Medium Rare = 150
• Medium = 160
• Well done = 170

Pro Tip: When laying steaks in a hot pan with hot oil, carefully place the side nearest to you first and lay the steak away from you. That will keep any hot oil from landing on your hand. 

Bison Steak FAQ’s

Slicing Bell Peppers and Knife Skills

• I’m going to sound like a broken record, but knife skills are very important for anyone who loves to cook. Being mindful when slicing vegetables is important for two reasons.
• Cutting uniform slices and shapes are important to the cooking process. Pieces of food that are cut into the same size and shape will cook uniformly resulting in an overall enhanced flavor and texture experience. Not to mention a more visually appealing end result.  
• Learn how to hold a knife and practice, practice, practice.

Pro Tip Knife Skills: Always keep the hand that’s gripping the knife clean and dry. A wet hand could cause slips resulting in nicks or worse a nasty slice on your hand. 

What To Serve with Bison Steaks

Since this recipe comes with its own built-in side dish of sauteed peppers, a good choice would be mashed potatoes. Try this variation. Instead of the sauteed peppers, serve this recipe simply topped with dollop of Roasted Red Pepper Coulis.

If you’re looking for more ideas, check these out:

• Creamy Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad
• A simple tossed Green Salad.
• Garlic Butter Baked Potatoes
• Fresh Peach Blueberry Pie

Storage

As with any meat, Bison steaks should be cooked the day you bring them home. But they will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. If you can’t cook them within this time, remove them from the paper or container they came in from the store and place them in a freezer safe bag, press the air out. Or better yet, use a vacuum seal machine. Bison steak will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months and up to 6 months if vacuum packed.

Equipment Needed

Use either a:

• French Carbon Steel Fry Pan Pan
• Cast Iron Skillet

Recipe for Pan Seared Bison Strip Steaks

I hope you give this pan seared bison steak recipe a try. The bison steak in itself is a treat, and the mustard sauced bell peppers unique and delicious.

And if you have a favorite (bison) buffalo steak recipe, please let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

Want to hone your pan seared steak skills? Take a look at this Pan-seared Filet Mignon with Lobster Avocado Salsa Recipe. It’s a fool proof method that is finished in the oven.

Related Recipes

Pan Seared Bison Steak Recipe … It’s what’s for Dinner.

Looking for more bison recipes, check these out.

This recipe for Buffalo Bill New York Strip Steaks was originally published May of 2016 and updated May of 2022 with step by step instructions and new photos.