Text 21925, 108 rader
Skriven 2007-10-28 22:26:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: Re: CHOPPED LIVER 71026
===============================
-=> Quoting Glen Jamieson to Jim Weller <=-

 JW> In the bad old days we had to survive on long life cream and milk or
 JW> do without every spring and fall. But now, there's shorter
 JW> interruptions in supply as ferries are stronger built for ice
 JW> breaking, technology gets ice bridges built faster and air freight
 JW> gets cheaper. Also helicopters can sling containers over the river
 JW> from one truck to another for a modest fee.

 GJ> I would expect the cost of helicopter transfer of containers would be
 GJ> anything _but_ modest!
                         
Just $150 per tonne.

 GJ> hovercraft. Has anyone tried that method to get your
 GJ> off-season fresh cream to you?

As a matter of fact, a local entrepreneur is looking into that right
now.
                    
MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Rose Twoson's Beaver Tail Soup
Categories: Native, Game, Soup
  Servings: 8

      2 lg beaver tails
           Bones from one beaver,
           cleaned well
      4    onions with greens 
      4 qt water 
      4    bay leaves 
      1 TB dried mustard
      2 TB salt 
      1 TB pepper 
      2 lg potatoes 
      3    carrots 

So, you have been out on your trapping run and netted a good sled
full of beaver pelts for the trading post. After heading back to the
cabin, you skin and bone the noble animal and throw the carcasses to
the dogs, but all this butchering leaves you a mite peckish. Waste
not want not. Time to whip up some soup!

In the fine tradition of living off the land, Native Canadians bring
us the most bizarre concoction I have ever had the privilege of
eating. Think about it: A beaver is a rodent, basically a large rat.
This large rat lives primarily in swamps filled with rotting wood.
You could logically assume that beaver meat tastes bad. That
assumption is entirely correct. The flesh of a beaver is so infused
with the oil that makes its fur so luxurious it often rivals a skunk
for noxiousness. Some scavengers won't even eat it. (That's untrue,
young beaver is quite tasty roasted or stewed after a single
soaking in lightly salted water- JW) The only part of a beaver that
doesn't have any fur is its trademark tail. Flat and covered in
thick leather-like skin, the tail is quite flavorful. I would go as
far as to call it a delicacy, but no one traps beavers to eat the
tails. It's a nice added bonus.

Way back in grade school, a friend of mine named Jack Twoson used to
bring a thermos full of beaver tail soup to school on a regular
basis. He lived on a rather well off touristy reservation just
outside of town, and rode in with his father each day for school.
Poor Jack was always very sensitive about being Native, but no made
much of an issue about it. He was ashamed to admit what it was at
first, but the ghoulish sensibilities of your average grade 4 child
soon made him a celebrity. His fame was cemented when he did a
presentation about Native cooking as part of a project. We stood in
awe of the kid that ate the animal on the nickel. 

Here is the recipe that Rose Twoson, Jack's mom, uses. This
particular interpretation is from the Wanipatei First Nations, an
Ojibwa band from just outside of Sudbury, Ontario. She says it's
pretty close to traditional, with the exception of the carrots,
salt, pepper and bay leaves. The potatoes are a substitute for
cat-tail roots, which Rose doesn't like. 

First, you have to skin the beaver tail. A large beaver tail is
about a foot long and six inches wide. The tough outer skin is
inedible and quite tough. To take it off, broil the tail on a cookie
sheet for 10 minutes, watching for bubbling on the skin. Take the
tail and carefully fillet it as you would a fish, removing the
loosened outer skin. You should have close to 3/4 of a pound of meat
in two large pieces. In a large soup pot, bring the bones, meat,
water and one tablespoon of salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to a
simmer after 10 minutes of boiling. Skin the potatoes, cut in
quarters and add. Chop the onions and carrots and add to the mix.
Add the pepper, bay leaves and mustard after the onions have been in
for 5 minutes. Rose uses Labrador Tea, a plant that grows wild in
Ontario Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring often.

After 30 minutes, remove the bones and meat. Add the last tablespoon
of salt. Cube the meat from each of the tails. Reduce the remaining
soup stock by half and reintroduce the meat. Serve piping hot with
some good bread. 

From: "allseeingeye" at www.everything2.com

MMMMM-------------------------------------------------

Cheers

YK Jim


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