Northern Exposure...Summer Beaver: The Feast Part III.............The vittals

Monday, June 9, 2008

The Feast Part III.............The vittals

Ok so here is the one I have promised....... the vittals.

Those of you reading late might want to start where you left off and follow in succession.

So to get the most out of these pictures click on them or double click on each and you will see the big version. The pot you see to the left is moose meet boiling of course with bones to get the marrow, yum yum. This is another picture of the moose and the pot to the left is a pot of odds and ends. So what did we have it the odds and ends pot. Beaver feet and tail and partridge.

Closer look at the odds and ends

I was not able to stay for dinner as my ride was leaving and the feast site was 15 min drive to the nurses station so too far to walk.

Partridge.

Beaver foot

They had frooze this goose in the freezer with the feathers on. I have never seen this done before.

Muskrat love?

Muskrat and whitefish

Whitefish

Another angle of white fish.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: I'm glad to see that partridge dead and cooked! Josh and I were attacked by one in Algonquin park. We had to cut our trip short because the bugs were SOOOO bad, we are covered in bug bites! If it weren't for the bugs we would have had an amazing time. Oh well next time will be better!

Looking forward to next, next weekend!
- Heather; June 11, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Anonymous said...: Wow That is some looking spread of diddles, it is quiet interesting to see how things are prepared, with heads and teeth still attached. Now I am quiet intrigued by the beaver feet do you just pick the meat off them or is there another process they go through.
Well I wish you could have sampled some of these viddles we could have a wealth of untapped resources down here that we are overlooking. Very interesting stuff cant wait until you get home so you can tell us more..miss ya luv ya counting the days...Rob; June 11, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Anonymous said...: Sorry to hear that you couldn't stay to eat. It all looks very appetizing.

EVE; June 11, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Wow Cyndi, I am sure you are upset that you missed the din-din.....Shirley's mouth was watering over the muskrat and beaver feet, as were mine.....glad you are having some fun....looking forward to seeing you during moving day, will be down your way on the evening of the 27th....love Jerry and Shirley....; June 12, 2008 at 4:33 PM
Anonymous said...: That sounds great Jerry and Shirley we are looking forward to seeing you both! I am counting the days, almost one week and counting! Take care.....
cyndisue; June 12, 2008 at 7:06 PM
Anonymous said...: well...who needs grocery store..You should have asked for a little beaver in a bag to go Cindi

...see ya later..Scott; June 13, 2008 at 8:54 AM
Anonymous said...: well...who needs grocery store..You should have asked for a little beaver in a bag to go Cindi

...see ya later..Scott; June 13, 2008 at 8:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Cyn...check your Facebook wall.. i need WORDS!! ASAP!
7 more days...6 actually!! Can't wait til you're home safe! Love ya; June 13, 2008 at 6:24 PM

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Pemmican, one of the ladies had made this for the feast.......

Pemmican was a staple of the Plains people’s diet with the name originating from the Cree word, “pimikan”, or ‘manufactured grease’. Pemmican was made from buffalo meat, although antelope, deer, elk and moose were also used. It was a mixture of dried meat pounded to a powder, a quantity of rendered fat, Saskatoon berries or choke cherries, and sometimes peppermint leaves. The whole mixture was stored in parfleches, or skin bags, where it could be stored indefinitely. Pemmican was portable and highly nutritious with 1 kilogram equaling 5 kilograms of fresh meat. It was one of the most important contributions native people made to the survival of the Europeans through the harsh Canadian winters.

How to Make Pemmican
To make pemmican the Indians began by cutting meat into thin slices or strips and drying it either in the sun or over a fire. After the meat was dried, it was spread out on a stone-headed mauls and then pounded. This pounded meat was called "beat meat" by the natives. "Beat meat" was then mixed with melted fat and marrow. One early European observer noted that 40 pounds (18kg) of fat were added to 50 pounds (22.6kg) of beat meat. Sometimes a paste made of fruits or berries were added to this mixture.
Pemmican was stored in folded rawhide containers called parfleches. They were flat which made them easy to store and transport. Parfleches were greased along their seams to keep out air and moisture. Pemmican could therefore be kept fresh for years. Three-quarters of a pound (.34kg) of pemmican a day was a sufficient ration of food, although a hard-working traveler might eat between 1 and 2 pounds a day.
"... to make this essential food, the women would cut buffalo meat into very thin strips and hang them on hooks or a rack over a slow, smoky fire. The fire was used mainly to keep flies off the fresh meat. After a day or two the fire was discontinued and the meat was allowed to dry in the sun and wind. Three or four times a day the women would crack the meat open to allow the outsides of the strips to dry. After the drying process, which took about a week, the meat was broken into small pieces and put inside a flour sack. The women then pounded the meat into powder. This powder was mixed with dried berries, and melted buffalo fat was used to bind the substance together into balls. The pemmican balls were then placed into bags made of green (untanned) buffalo hid, and sewn up tightly. A bag of pemmican, made properly, could be cached in the ground for several years and still remain usable.
Rubaboo is the name for a stew made of pemmican and any wild vegetables at hand. Boiled in a pot of water, the chunks of pemmican would fall apart. Additions - the likes of onion, turnip, asparagus, parsley, sage, bullrush root, cattail heads, dandelion root, wild parsnip, wild carrot, mushrooms, pine nuts, daylily roots, or wild rice, would turn it into an appetizing stew.

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