Text 16018, 81 rader
Skriven 2008-11-02 23:30:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE SACERDOTE
Ärende: Labrador tea
====================
-=> Quoting Dave Sacerdote to Jim Weller <=-

 JW> We even brewed [...] some Labrador tea.

 DS> Yellow or black, and how do you get the damn dog to stay still?
 DS> I couldn't even get Leo in the tub for a bath, let alone brew
 DS> a pot of tea.

[snerk]

I was of course referring to the various species in the Ledum genus
of the Heath family that grow profusely throughout arctic Canada,
Alaska and Greenland. In Labrador they call it Indian tea. And it
does grow as far south as New England.

It makes a fairly tasty and aromatic tisane and the Dene and Inuit
use it to relieve the congestion from colds and flu. Because it
helps the lungs under those circumstances they tried using it to
cure TB after First Contact, sadly unsuccessfully. And because they
consider it beneficial to the lungs, that Elder lady also told Neekha
it prevented lung cancer in smokers so the kid picked a whole bushel
of it for me and is pushing me to drink one full cup with every
cigarette. I told her if I drank 40 cups a day my kidneys would wear
out. [g]

 DS> How did she like the muskrat?

It's a fine grained, dark, often gamy meat. She liked it, I think
mostly for the novelty. I had it once long ago and found it overly
gamy but that would depend on the age and the sex of the animal and
the cooking method. The old lady used canned tomatoes, onions, sage
and Wooster sauce to cover the gaminess. She also said, "Back in the
old days before the stores (that would be 1955 in this part of the
world), we would jes' boil it and it was STRONG." It's a meat that
is improved with soaking in salt water with a dash of vinegar or
even baking soda added to it, before cooking. You can use any rabbit
or chicken recipe to prepare it.


MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Basic Instructions for Skinning Muskrats
 Categories: Game, Info, Canadian
      Yield: 1 text file
 
           muskrats
 
  (basic methodology may be used for other animals)
  
  The muskrat should be skinned as soon as possible after being
  trapped. Slit the skin on the inside of the hind legs from the
  paws to the vent and cut off both hind and fore paws and the tail.
  Then work the skin off inside out using the knife as little as
  possible, taking particular care when skinning around the eyes and
  lips. The skin should then be scraped with a dull knife to remove
  all flesh and fat, washed with lukewarm water to remove the blood,
  and placed fur side in on a wedge- shaped stretching board made of
  soft wood, to dry.
  
  Remove the head from the carcass, then eviscerate the animal.
  Insert the knife blade, sharp edge up, at the tip of the
  breastbone. Cut through the thin meat over the belly down to, and
  encircling, the vent. Lay the body cavity open and remove the
  viscera by grasping them above the stomach, pulling down and out
  from the body cavity. Remove the heart and lungs, and wash the
  muskrat thoroughly with warm salted water. With a sharp knife, cut
  out the musk glands from inside the legs, the white tissuey skin,
  and all fat. Soak the meat for two or three hours in a weak brine
  solution (1 tbsp. salt to 1 quart water) to draw out the blood,
  then drain and pat dry.
  
  Source: Northern Cookbook.
 
MMMMM

Cheers

YK Jim

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