History

The Twin Cities sit on Dakota land. Indigenous foodways were largely absent from the city's published restaurants until Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota, opened Owamni on the Mississippi at Mill District in 2021. The kitchen runs a strict no-Old-World-ingredient program: no wheat, no dairy, no sugarcane, no chicken or pork. Bison, salmon, manoomin, sumac and tepary beans replace the European pantry. Owamni won the James Beard Best New Restaurant award in 2022. Manoomin is harvested by Anishinaabe families on lakes north of Mille Lacs each September, parched over wood smoke, then shipped statewide.

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 3 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 lb bison shoulder, cut in 2-inch cubes
  • Sea salt, black pepper
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 yellow onion diced, 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups beef or game stock
  • 1 tbsp dried sumac
  • 1 cedar plank, soaked 1 hour (optional, for aromatic finish)
  • 1 cup hand-harvested manoomin (true wild rice)
  • 3 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt for the rice

Method

  1. Season bison generously with salt and pepper. Brown all sides in oil in a heavy Dutch oven over high heat.
  2. Remove the meat. Add onion and garlic; sweat until soft, about 5 minutes.
  3. Return bison. Add stock and sumac. Lay the soaked cedar plank on top if using.
  4. Cover. Braise at 300F for 2.5 to 3 hours until fork-tender.
  5. Rinse manoomin in cold water. Simmer in 3 cups salted water for 35 to 45 minutes until grains crack open and bloom.
  6. Plate rice. Top with bison and braising liquid. Garnish with sumac and toasted sunflower seed.

Tip from the editors. Real Minnesota manoomin cooks in half the time of paddy-grown wild rice and stays chewy rather than mushy; do not over-soak it or it will split.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat cedar-braised bison with wild rice

Cedar-braised bison with wild rice in Minneapolis

Owamni ★ 5.0

Chef Sean Sherman$95-150mill-districtBook 8 weeks ahead

Sean Sherman's Owamni at Water Works Park runs the country's pre-eminent Indigenous tasting kitchen in Minneapolis since 2021. Beard Best New Restaurant 2022.

420 S 1st St, Minneapolis, MN 55401 Book →

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