Eat This: Cibola's Buffalo Half Smoke

As I tossed a bunch of buffalo half smokes on the piping hot grill last week, I couldn't get Bob Marley out of my head. But me not being able to help (obnoxiously) singing "Buffalo Half Smoke" to the tune of "Buffalo Soldier" is not the point.


The point is these sausages, picked up from the Cibola Farms stand at the Penn Quarter FreshFarm Market, are an incredibly tasty locavore spin on DC's native dish, the half smoke.


Cibola Farms raises its bison out in Culpeper, Va., where the animals spend their time grazing in pastures and not being pumped full of hormones or other icky substances. The farm sells steaks, jerky and sausages at area markets.


The half smokes have a beautiful beefy flavor with a nice bite of spice and good snap from the casing. I piled mine on grilled buns with sauerkraut and spicy mustard.


There are plenty of markets where you can track down a package of the half smokes. Check Cibola's website for the full list.