Will on the Grill

If you remember the last issue with the Spicy Game Chili, I have to say the consensus around the office is great. I made up a huge pot and actually charged fellow workers $5 for all you could eat. Well, at least until it was gone. I had two types of bread to go with it. One was biological sesame seed bread and the other was an old-fashioned ball bread. It was great and everyone had a healthy meal. That is one of the reasons why I share these recipes with you. There are more ways to cook caribou or moose than just in lard. Not that there is anything wrong with it if you are going out on the land and working hard. But for daily, around the community food, it can lead to unhealthy weight problems. We all have to remember the diabetes epidemic that affects our people and eating healthy is one of the ways to beat it. Regular exercise can also help you prevent it or control it. The important thing to remember is eating healthy doesn’t mean eating something you don’t like. Quite the opposite if you try some of the recipes in this column.

Moose Pot Roast — 2 Ways!

This makes a dandy hot moose sandwich. Just pile the meat on a nice crusty roll and serve au jus, with bowls of the unthickened natural juices for dipping.

4 lbs. moose or caribou roast (one of the tougher cuts) 2 kg

1 1/2 oz. onion soup mix (1 envelope) 40 g

2 x 10 oz. cans beef consommé 2 x 284 mL 2x 10 oz. cans water 2 x 284 mL

1. Place the roast in a roaster and sprinkle with onion soup

mix. Add consommé and water.

2. Cover and cook at 275°F (140°C) for 5 hours.

3. Slice roast (if it hasn’t fallen apart already), serve on split

crusty rolls with the juice from the pan for dipping.

Serves 10-12.

VARIATIONS: I have used the above method on goose pieces also. You can cut the cooking time down to 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Instead of serving the roast au jus, I thickened the pan juices with flour and water for gravy. Very good!

Mushroom Onion Pot Roast

1 1/2 oz. onion soup mix (1 envelope) 40 g

2 x 10 oz. cans mushroom soup 2 x 284 mL

1. Mix onion soup mix with mushroom soup. Pour over roast in roaster.

2. Put the lid on, put roast in the oven and cook as in above

recipe. Thin gravy with water, if necessary, before serving. SERVING SUGGESTION: This version is great with mashed potatoes and a salad. The gravy is already made when you take off the lid!

Gavin’s Caribou Strips

This hors d’oeuvre is a winner. It has even been served it to the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba.

2 lbs. caribou strips, approximately 1/2 by 2 1/2″ (1×6 cm) 1 kg

1 cup flour 250 mL

2 tsp. DLS* 10 mL or 1 tsp. (5mL) each of salt & pepper 1/4 cup vegetable oil 60 mL

2 tbsp. butter OR margarine 30 mL

Garlicky Wine Marinade:

2 cups dry red wine 500 mL 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp. soy sauce 30 mL 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 2 mL

1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients and add the

caribou strips. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight if it is more convenient.

2. Mix the flour and seasoning. Dredge ** the drained caribou

strips in the flour and sauté*** in the oil and butter, a handful at a time, until nicely browned. You may have to add more oil and butter.

3. Serve with wooden toothpicks.

Makes 8 dozen strips.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: These taste great alone or you can serve them with a sauce for dipping such as the Fruit Sauce below. Another great-tasting and very simple dipping sauce is 1/4 cup (60 mL) of your favorite bottled barbecue sauce mixed with 1/4 cup (60 mL) peach or apricot jam!

* Dymond Lake Seasoning

** DREDGE: To shake in flour until completely coated.

*** SAUTE: To fry quickly, stirring constantly over high heat to seal in the juices.

Fruit Sauce

3 tbsp. cider vinegar 45 mL

1 cup apricot OR peach jam 250 mL

1 /4 tsp. paprika 1 mL

Combine all ingredients and pour into a small glass dish.

Wave Broccoli

3-4 pieces broccoli

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

1/2 pkg. (3 oz.) dehydrated onion soup mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped 1/4 cup seasoned dry breadcrumbs

Chop up broccoli. Mix butter, soup mix, pecans and water chestnuts. Stir gently through broccoli. Pour into 2-quart microwave casserole. Cook for 4-10 minutes on High power (100%) until very hot. Sprinkle with crumbs before serving.

Traditional Tea Biscuits

The flaky layers in tea biscuits are what makes them so light and easy to break apart. You ’ll have hot biscuits in 20-25 minutes. Sounds good to me!

2 1/4 cups 4 tsp.

1 tsp.

1/2 cup 1 cup

flour 560 mL baking powder 20 mL salt 5 mL

shortening 125 mL milk 250 mL

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender, cut shortening into dry ingredients, until mixture is crumbly.

2. Add milk all at once and stir lightly with a fork, just until a

soft sticky dough is formed. Do not overmix.

3. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead

gently, 8-10 times. (That’s what makes the flaky layers.)

4. Pat out dough to 1/2 (1.25 cm) thick. Cut into circles with a

1 3/4″ (4.5 cm) cutter. A glass works fine.

5. Bake biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet at 450°F

(230°C) for 12-15 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Makes 18-20 biscuits.

Jeanne’s Magic Disappearing Chicken Wings

3 lbs. chicken wings 1.5 kg 1 cup flour 250 mL

1 tsp. DLS* 5 mL OR 1/2 tsp. (2 mL) salt and 1/2 tsp. (2 mL) pepper

3 eggs, beaten

Tangy Sauce:

3 tbsp. soy sauce 45 mL 3 tbsp. water 45 mL 74 cup white sugar 175 mL 72 cup vinegar 125 mL V2 tsp. salt 2 mL

1. Cut off wing tips and discard or freeze for another use. Cut remaining wings in 2 pieces. (You will now have one piece that looks like a tiny drumstick, and one piece that still looks like a wing — sort of.)

2. Mix flour with DLS* or salt and pepper in a small, shallow pan.

3. Dip wings in beaten egg, then roll in flour mixture.

4. Place wings on a well-oiled baking sheet and bake at 400°F

(200°C) for 1/2 hour, or until well browned.

5. Remove the wings to a casserole or roaster.

6. Combine all sauce ingredients and pour evenly over wings.

7. Bake, UNCOVERED, at 350°F (180°C) for 1 hour. Stir

once during baking.

Serves 18-20 as a taste teaser or 8 for dinner.

SERVING SUGGESTION: At home, we serve these as a meal with rice. This also makes a great dish to take to a potluck supper.

Note: These are best when the sauce thickens and becomes sticky. Make lots! These wings do a disappearing act!