October 2011 Printable Recipes Just about any recipe you would normally use for soups, stews and roasts can be adapted for wildlife. You can replace chicken with grouse or partridge; beef with moose, elk or caribou; and pork with bear. Try our local fish baked, broiled, battered, stuffed, or smoked (see last month s recipe page). Fresh fillets are a wonderful nutritional addition to your table. Add wild fresh fruit such as blueberries or raspberries to make scrumptious desserts to finish off your wild harvest. Wild Meat Cookbooks: Northern Cookbook, by Eleanor A. Ellis Harvest without Planting by Erika E. Gaertner Wild Game Cook Book by Seine River Wildlife Association Game & Fish Cuisine by George Politis The Edible Wild by Berndt Berglund and Clare E. Bolsby Homemakers Magazine Marinade for Game Birds 1-cup olive oil, 1-cup dry white wine, Juice of 3 lemons, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 2 branches fresh oregano Whisk olive oil; wine, and lemon juice together to form an emulsion. Add the herbs, and refrigerate until needed. Marinate meat for 3-4 hours minimum, or ideally, 24-48 hours. Game birds should be rinsed and dried before marinating. Change spices as desired. Marinade for Big Game 2 ½ cups dry red wine, 1 cup olive oil, Juice of 2 lemons, 2 stalks celery coarsely chopped, 3 stalks fresh parsley, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 2 bay leaves, 1-2 tbsp. crushed black peppercorns Whisk together red wine, olive oil and lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients and refrigerate until needed, but use up before to 2 weeks. Adjust spices as desired. Marinate meat for 3-4 hours minimum or, ideally, 24-48 hours. Ptarmigan Stew with Dumplings 3 ptarmigan or grouse breasts skin and bone removed, 2-3 tbsp. oil, 3 tbsp. dried onion, 2 tbsp. dried red and green pepper flakes, optional, 3 tbsp. pot barley, 2 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 3 tbsp. flour, 1 cup cold water Cut ptarmigan breasts into serving pieces. In large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Cook ptarmigan pieces until browned. Add onions, pepper flakes, barley, salt, and pepper to pot. Add cold water to cover, bring slowly to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2-3 hours. Half an hour before serving, make a paste of the flour and water and add to the stew, stirring so that the flour does not lump.
Half an hour before serving make dumplings as follows: Sift 1 cup flour with 1 ½ tsp. baking powder and a pinch of salt. Cut in 4 tbsp. chilled shortening. Add enough milk or water to make a soft dough. Drop by large spoonfuls on the top of the stew. Replace lid and do not remove until ready to serve (about 15-20 minutes). Moose Swiss Steak 1 ½ pounds moose round steak, ¼ cup flour, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 4 tbsp. oil, 1 onion diced, ½ cup celery sliced, 2 cups canned tomatoes, 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp. cornstarch, ¼ cup cold water Trim all fat from steak (if there is any) and wipe with a clean damp cloth. Mix flour with salt and pepper. Dredge steak in seasoned flour. Heat oil in frying pan, add steak and brown on both sides, then remove and keep warm. Add diced onion, sliced celery, canned tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce to frying pan and stir till well mixed with the drippings from the steak. Add the steak, cover, and simmer until the steak is fork-tender, about 1½ hours. The steak and juices can also be transferred to an ovenproof dish, and baked, covered at 325ºF for 1 ½ - 2 hours. Dissolve the cornstarch into the cold water. Pour into the sauce to thicken and heat through. Serve over potatoes, beans, or rice. Fish and Pineapple Mystery Packages 2 pounds fish fillets, 2 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. ground ginger, 1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks drained, 1 red pepper cut into strips, 6 tomato slices Cut fillets into 6 portions. Season with salt, pepper, and ginger. Cut six 12 squares of aluminum foil. Grease them. On each square, place a portion of the fish, 6 pineapple chunks, 4-6 red pepper strips, and one tomato slice. Seal the foil with double folds and pinch to make the packages steam-tight. Arrange packages in a single layer on cooking sheet. Bake in hot oven (450ºF) for 15-20 minutes or until fish is cooked. Serve the packages unopened on individual plates. Wild Rice Breadsticks 2/3 cup wild rice, 1 tbsp. liquid honey, 1 tsp. dry yeast, 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour, 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, ½ tsp. fine salt, 3 tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 tsp. coarse salt Bring 4 cups water to a boil; add rice and boil gently, uncovered, over medium heat for 30-40 minutes or until rice is tender. Drain, and reserve 2/3 cup of the liquid. Pour liquid into a small bowl. Stir honey into reserved liquid until dissolved; let cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast over liquid; let sit about 10 minutes until frothy.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours and fine salt; stir in rice. Stir in yeast mixture and 2 tbsp. of the oil to form shaggy dough. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until dough is elastic, adding more flour if dough is too sticky. Form into a ball; place in a greased bowl and turn to grease. Cover with wax paper; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes. Gently push down dough; turn out onto lightly floured work surface and knead lightly. Divide and form into 3 equal balls; cover with tea towel and let rest 10 minutes. Divide each ball into 12 equal pieces. With hands, lightly roll each into about a 4-inch cigar shape and let rest for 2-3 minutes. Roll each cigar into 12- inch rope. Arrange on 2 greased cookie sheets. Brush tops with remaining oil and sprinkle with coarse salt, gently rolling bread-sticks to let salt adhere to sides. Let stand in warm place for 15 minutes. Bake at 375ºF for 15-18 minutes until breadsticks are crisp and golden. Cool on pans on rack. Note: I would recommend cooking the wild rice a bit longer than suggested in this recipe. And go easy on the coarse salt! Mixed Berry Cobbler 1 can peach pie filling, 2 cups frozen blueberries, 3 large apples, peeled and sliced, 2 tbsp. cornstarch, 2 tbsp. sugar, 2 cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tbsp. baking powder, ¾ tsp. salt, ½ cold margarine, 1 cup milk Grease 13 x 9 glass pan. Combine peach pie filling, blueberries, sliced apples, cornstarch, and 2 tbsp. sugar. Set aside. Stir together flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. With pastry blender cut in margarine until mixture is crumbly. Add milk; mix lightly with fork until just combined. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto fruit mixture. Bake at 375ºF for 30-35 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream. Blueberry Pockets 1 cup blueberries, 2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 ¾ cup white flour, ¾ tsp. salt, 2 ½ tsp. baking powder, 3/8 tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. allspice, 1/3 cup shortening, 1 cup bit-size shredded wheat biscuits crushed to ½ cup, grated peel from one lemon, 2/3 cup milk Grease 12 muffin cups. Combine blueberries and 2 tbsp. sugar, let stand. Sift together flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Stir in cereal crumbs and lemon peel. Add milk; stir until mixture holds together. Knead lightly 10 times on floured surface. Roll or pat to ¼ inch thick. Cut into 3 squares. Place dough squares into muffin cups. Fill with a heaping tbsp. of blueberries. Bring corners together, press edges
together lightly, letting biscuits gently fill the cups. Bake 20 minutes at 400ºF or until brown and bubbly. Recipes For Fun: Fried Beaver Tail 2 Beaver tails, ½ cup vinegar, 1 tbsp. salt, 2 tsp. baking soda, ¼ cup flour, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, ¼ cup butter, ¼ cup sherry or cooking wine, 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1 tsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce Skin the beaver tails first. Clean thoroughly and wash well in solution of salt water. Let soak over night in cold water to cover, adding ½ cup vinegar, and 1 tbsp. salt to the water. The next day, remove from the brine, wash, and cover with solution of 2 tsp. soda to 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Drain. Mix flour with salt and pepper. Dredge beaver tails in seasoned flour. Melt butter in heavy fry pan and sauté tails at low heat until tender. Mix wine with mustard, sugar, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Add to beaver tails and simmer gently for 10 minutes, basting frequently. Linda s Notes: The tails are very fat so if you don t like the fat after soaking make into a rich broth or roast the tails to render the fat (lard). Pot Roast Woodchuck 1 woodchuck, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 1 cup boiling water, ¼ - ½ cup flour Clean and wash chuck. Cut in small pieces. Soak 2 hours in cold salted water. Dry. Season with salt and pepper and roll in flour. Fry in hot bacon grease until brown. Add 1 cup boiling water, cover, and cook slowly (about 4 hours). Add more water if needed. When done thicken juice with flour. Roast Skunk 1 skunk, 1 cup clear soup (bouillon cube), 2 sliced carrots, 1 tsp. onion juice Dissolve 1 bouillon cube in 1 cup hot water. Skin, clean, and remove insides. Remove scent glands. Parboil in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain off water. Then place meat in fresh water and steam until tender, about 1 hour. Transfer to roasting pan and put in oven at 375ºF degrees. Add 1 cup of clear soup (bouillon cube), 2 sliced carrots, and 1 tsp. of onion juice and cook uncovered for 2 hours. Nancy s Recipes: Just a note to say we always cooked our moose like a beef pot roast. We would rub the roast (about 8-10 lbs) even when it was frozen with spices and herbs and flour. Put in a roasting pan with a cup of water and then make a tin foil tent and cook it at 350ºF. The frozen roast would be started at around one o clock and be ready just before 6:00. Mashed potatoes, carrots and peas, and gravy would round out the supper. Don t forget one of the earlier recipe pages (December
2007) has a delicious moose mincemeat recipe. I used to make that as an exotic gift for people who loved mincemeat pies or tarts. Black Bean And Turkey Sausage Soup (Peak of the Market) For a short cut you could used drained and washed canned Black Beans. I doubled the broth and added a can of drained and rinsed canned beans as well as the 1 cup dried black beans. Since I didn t have turkey sausage but had turkey from Thanksgiving I used that. To make up for not having the sausage, I used 2 tsp sage, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, and ½ tsp thyme. 1 cup dry black beans, 6 cups water. In a large saucepan combine black beans and water, bring to boiling, and reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. 2 cups chicken or turkey broth, 2 cups water, (or 4 cups broth) 1 cup finely chopped onion, 1 cup finely chopped celery, 1 tsp ground coriander, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 4 garlic cloves finely chopped, 8 oz. of turkey sausage or meat. Monterey Jack Cheese shredded for garnish in the soup. Return the beans to saucepan, stir in the 2 cups water, broth (or 4 cups broth), onion, celery, coriander, salt, pepper, and garlic. Bring to boiling and reduce heat and simmer covered for 1-1 ½ hours or until beans are very tender. If desired you can mash the beans or mash the canned beans (see my notes) and then stir in the meat and heat through. Serve topped with shredded cheese. Nancy s Note: This soup is an unappetizing grey colour but is very good especially with the recommended cheese or Tex Mex shredded cheese. English Pasties Before anyone gets outraged because it isn t a true Cornish pasty let me explain how our tradition came about. This is the recipe my Dad taught me and it must have been an adaptation of his Mother s recipe. Our pasties were basically meat pies but placed in a boat shaped pastry shell and eaten as a supper or packed in a backpack for an outdoor excursion of retrieving a canoe or fishing and hunting. Since I don t do measurements I can give you the basic ingredients, which you can adjust. The pastry recipe I used is Diane s Recipe in 2009. 1 recipe of pastry placed in fridge until ½ hour before making pasties. 1 lb cut up into small cubes of beef stew meat, 4 to 5 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced into small pieces, 1 cup frozen baby peas, 1 medium sized onion diced, 1 cup to 1 ½ cup hot water with 1 bouillon cube dissolved. Flour and seasoning such as garlic powder, salt and pepper mixed together.
Heat a small amount of oil in a deep frying pan or wok. Sauté beef cubes until brown, add onion and stir until they are browned, add potatoes, sprinkle remaining seasoned flour over mixture stir well then slowly add liquid and stir until well blended. Cover and simmer until meat is tender and potatoes are soft then add baby peas. Remove from heat and let stand until cool. Beat egg in a small dish. Roll out pastry and use a saucer for a template to cut out a circle. Add two heaping large spoons worth of the meat mixture. Brush the raw beaten egg around the outside of pastry circle. Bring pastry up and pinch securing pastry edges together forming a canoe or boat shaped pasty. Poke on both sides to allow steam to escape and place on cookie sheet. Brush more egg on pasty and bake in the oven at 400 F for 20 minutes. Cool on rack. Excellent warmed up or cold. Spicy Carrot Cake Heat oven at 350 F 2 cups finely shredded carrots (about 4 medium), 1 cup raisins or chopped nuts 1/3-cup water, 3 eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla Mix all ingredients on medium speed and beat for one minute. 2 cups flour, 1 ¼ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp. ground cloves. Mix all together and beat slowly into the egg mixture, scrapping often for 2 minutes. Fold in carrots and raisins. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan or 2 round cake pans. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 350 F or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool then frost with your favourite frosting. Philadelphia Cream Cheese Frosting 1 package softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup butter or margarine, 3 cups sifted powdered (icing) sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition of sugar. Scrape sides of the bowl until all is well mixed. Ice the squares or round layers with icing in between the two layers. Fried Beaver Tails This recipe is from a 1947 cookbook and it is for raised doughnuts. It does take time so start around 7:00 pm the night before. 1 package or 1-tablespoon yeast and 1 cup warm water. To the warm water add the yeast and let stand for 10-15 minutes or until all the yeast is bloomed. 1-cup milk scalded cooled to lukewarm, add the yeast and water mixture and stir until blended.
In a very large bowl mix 3 ½ cups flour and the liquids and beat until smooth. Cover and place in a warm area to rise for 3 hours. ½ cup shortening or margarine, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ tsp salt, 2 beaten eggs. Cream the shortening or margarine and sugar until smooth and creamy; add salt then beat in one egg at a time until the mixture is light and fluffy. Measure out additional 4 cups flour When the sponge is ready add the sugar egg mixture to the sponge and mix well (will be slightly difficult to do). Then add 4 cups flour, knead slightly so it is well mixed and let rise overnight. In the morning knead again and let rise until double in bulk in a warm place (1-2 hours). When ready roll dough out to 1/3 inch thick on a lightly floured surface; cut with doughnut cutter. Combine a few of the holes together and roll out in the shape of a beaver tail, add deep criss crosses. Let the doughnuts and tails rise until they are double in size for about 45 minutes. Gently heat at least one-inch oil in a large skillet. Heat until oil is at 350-375ºF (check with a thermometer). Gently slip the topside of the doughnut or tail down into the hot oil. When that side is golden brown gently turn over without puncturing the dough. When both sides are golden brown remove from oil and drain. For the Beaver Tails: (this step is optional) brush both sides with Real Lemon juice and then shake in white sugar with cinnamon (1 cup sugar with 2 tbsp cinnamon). Before serving ice the doughnuts in white icing sugar glaze (1/4 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 cups icing sugar or more sugar to make it thicker) or chocolate glaze (same recipe as the white icing sugar glaze but add 2tbsp cocoa powder). Only ice as many as you are going to eat. The doughnuts freeze well without icing. Quilters Recipes Elaine s Chocolate Zucchini Cake ½ cup margarine, ½ cup oil, 1 ¾ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 ½ cups flour, 4 tbsp. cocoa, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. cloves, ½ cup sour milk, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 cups zucchini, chopped Cream sugar and margarine in a medium sized bowl. Add oil, eggs, vanilla, and sour milk. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into the dry. Add zucchini and stir just until moistened. Bake in a greased 8 x 8 pan at 325ºF for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar if desired.
Glenys' Banana Loaf (from Kraft Foods) 1 egg, ½ cup Miracle Whip Dressing, 1 1/3 cups mashed fully ripe bananas (about 3), 1 ½ cups flour, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup chopped walnuts, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt Beat egg, Miracle Whip dressing, and bananas in a large bowl until well blended. Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl. Add to banana mixture; stir just until moistened. Pour into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing the loaf to a wire rack and cool completely. Nancy s Note: this delicious recipe was also featured in September 2011 Recipes