Have a Slice of Roast Beefalo

Cross a cow with a buffalo and what do you get? Cowed and buffaloed, as frustrated cattlemen have found after many crossbreeding attempts over the past century. Instead of turning out as beefy as a black Angus and as large and hardy as a bison, the hybrid offspring were sickly and infertile. Now, a rancher in Stockton, Calif., has apparently hit on the right combination of bovines to produce a meaty, tasty, economical animal.

After 15 years of trying and more than 1,000 experimental mixed marriages, D.C. ("Bud") Basolo has produced a herd of 5,000 hardy cow-buffalo hybrids. The animals, says Buffalo Bud, are cheaper to feed and more resistant to disease than standard breeds of cattle. They fatten faster than regular steers (less than twelve months to reach market weight of 1,000 Ibs ) and reproduce readily. Basolo expects to send off a herd of 2,000 for their meat-counter debut this fall in Los Angeles.

The hybrid meat will not soon replace filet mignon at finer restaurants, but compared with regular beef, it is more tender, contains significantly more protein and less fat. It tastes much like conventional beef but is slightly richer. Best of all, Basolo figures that it will eventually be priced 25% to 40% cheaper than the real thing.

The nomenclatural possibilities seem irresistible: "Cattalo," after an 1880s progenitor; "bisontennial," to commemorate the nation's forthcoming 200th birthday; or perhaps "beefalo." Basolo is leaning, understandably, toward calling his breed "Basolo."

There are some 30,000 buffalo roaming in the U.S. these days, but instead of trying to emulate Basolo's combination, cattlemen will probably find it easier to start with the hybrids themselves. Basolo is offering vials of his male animals' superior sperm to any interested rancher. Price: $7 for enough to impregnate one conventional cow.

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