I recently was invited to attend a culinary competition at NAIT. On the menu were local lake fishes, elk, bison, and pulses [legumes] from our province. Pretty cool to see pickerel starters done 12 ways by 12 teams – reminds me of home. The table I sat at, which happened to be served the menu from the winning team, was … Read More
Calf Moose Butchering Day 2010
For the last 20 years, I’ve butchered moose more years than not, always at my dad’s place with him involved. This was the first time I’d butcher a moose at our home, and to add to the fun, I was joined by good company: Allan from Button Soup, Kristeva of Howling Duck Ranch, and long-time-friend and sommelier-in-training Erin. Butchering is … Read More
Gone Butchering…
I dearly wish I had the time to edit video at the moment, and will as soon as I can afford an evening, but the bottom line is when there’s a carcass hanging, priority one is getting it dealt with. And from the time you pull the trigger to the time it’s all in a freezer involves a WHOLE lot … Read More
How to butcher an antelope.
How to butcher an antelope. First, acquire an antelope. Mine arrived this morning at 06:30, wrapped up all nice. Next, cut and trim as fast as you can before the temperature warms up and the wasps unleash their fury on you. This required that I start in the dark – a choice working environment when using knives. If the birds … Read More
Aging Moose and Elk
Yesterday’s post brought up an important topic: the aging of big game meats. Someone posted the following in a comment: “Not all meat should be aged. Young game animals are tender by nature. Aging game that has been skinned often results in excessive weight loss, dehydration and surface discoloration of the lean tissue…” I’d had this pang of guilt tucked … Read More
Calf Elk. Finally.
Calf elk neck. In my little world, this is exciting stuff. It’s an achievement. I grew up eating bull moose and deer – moose generally being preferred over deer. Elk were not around the parts my family hunted – so until the past few years, I knew little to nothing about elk. Once introduced to our kitchen, the general preference … Read More
‘Tis the Season to be Butchering?
Just got a call from ‘big game camp’. They had a busy day, and a calf elk and calf moose will need butchering later this week. This is good news. Extremely good news. And before you wonder how it is we need so much game – keep in mind that the animals are generally split between hunters. So we’ll only … Read More
Braised Shank of Calf Moose
Calf Ribs were the first thing on my agenda with the fresh calf moose this season. I’m glad Phil appreciated the post. On deck: bone-in shank. I’ve ccoked a few beef shanks over the past few months – it even appeared at my 30th birthday party. So when it came to butchering the calves this week, I decided to take … Read More
How to Butcher a Grouse
My dad showed me a really cool way to field-dress a grouse immediately after it has been killed – without the need for a knife. We used to step on the wings, and pull the feet to get a similar result, but this is cleaner and more consistent. By photo, left to right: 1. Ruffed grouse, head shot to protect … Read More
Calf Moose Ribs
A’ite. Now normally, the week of butchering is consumed with eating fresh tenderloin. And I’m all about the tenderloin, but in I’ve already had bull moose, cow elk, and bull bison tenderloins from this year’s ‘harvest’. Time for a change. Plus, I was super-stoked to try one of the products created with my new toy. The photo does not capture … Read More