Extreme Cuisine – Moose

By / Food / March 5th, 2009 / Like

It all started with a conversation about modern Native foodways with Chef Instructor David Wolfman from George Brown College in Toronto (see Tidings July/August 2008). Is there really much call for moose nowadays? Apparently, in parts of Canada and the United States, like Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, the Yukon and Alaska, eating moose is so common that a whole mess of recipes has been created.

Perhaps, like me, you’d rather hunt for moose at your local butcher shop than in a forest. That’s easy enough to do, as long as you let your butcher know what you’re looking for at least a week in advance so he can order it for you. Unlike some wild game that is now typically farmed (like boar), moose still roam free. This fact makes the process of obtaining moose meat a little more difficult. In Canada, selling the meat is strictly regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Moose meat is very lean, dark, and almost purple in colour. It will taste best and be at its most tender if it’s braised in a lot of liquid. Because moose forage on twigs, roots and conifers, like spruce trees, the meat will definitely taste a bit gamey. If you’d like to mellow the flavour, marinate the cut in olive oil, red wine, rosemary and bay leaf. Otherwise, tantalize your taste buds and enjoy it as is.

 

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Looking at the small things that make life great and the people who create them.

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