So, you have been out on your
trapping run and netted a good sled full of
beaver pelts for the
trading post. After heading back to the
cabin, you skin and bone the noble
animal and throw the
carcasses to the dogs, but all this
butchering leaves you a mite
peckish.
Waste not want not. Time to whip up some
soup!
In the fine tradition of
living off the land, Native Canadians bring us the most
bizarre concoction I have ever had the
privilege of eating. Think about it: A
beaver is a
rodent, basically a large
rat. This large rat lives primarily in
swamps filled with rotting
wood. You could
logically assume that beaver meat tastes bad. That assumption is entirely
correct. The
flesh of a beaver is so infused with the
oil that makes its fur so
luxurious it often rivals a
skunk for
noxiousness. Some scavengers won't even
eat it. The only part of a beaver that doesn't have any fur is its trademark
tail. Flat and covered in thick
leather-like skin, the tail is quite
flavorful. I would go as far as to call it a
delicacy, but no one traps beavers to eat the tails. It’s a nice
added bonus.
Way back in
grade school, a friend of mine named Jack Twoson used to bring a
thermos full of beaver tail soup to
school on a regular basis. He lived on a rather well off touristy
reservation just outside of town, and rode in with his father each day for school. Poor Jack was always very
sensitive about being
Native, but no made much of an issue about it. He was ashamed to admit what it was at first, but the
ghoulish sensibilities of your average grade 4 child soon made him a
celebrity. His fame was cemented when he did a presentation about
Native cooking as part of a project. We stood in awe of the kid that ate the animal on the
nickel.
Here is the
recipe that Rose Twoson, Jack's
mom, uses. This particular interpretation is from the
Wanipatei First Nations, an
Ojibwa band from just outside of
Sudbury,
Ontario. She says it's pretty close to
traditional, with the exception of the
carrots,
salt,
pepper and
bay leaves. The
potatoes are a substitute for
cat-tail roots, which Rose doesn't like.
Ingredients:
Two large
beaver tails. A large beaver tail is about a foot long and six inches wide.
Bones from one
beaver, cleaned well.
4
onions with greens
4 quarts
water
4
bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried
mustard - Rose uses
Labrador Tea, a plant that grows wild in
Ontario
2 tablespoons
salt
1 tablespoon
pepper
2 large
potatoes
3
carrots
First, you have to
skin the beaver tail. The tough outer skin is
inedible and quite tough. To take it off, broil the tail on a
cookie sheet for 10 minutes, watching for bubbling on the skin. Take the tail and carefully
fillet it as you would a
fish, removing the loosened outer
skin. You should have close to 3/4 of a
pound of
meat in two large pieces. In a large
soup pot, bring the bones, meat, water and one tablespoon of salt to a
boil. Reduce the heat to a
simmer after 10 minutes of boiling. Skin the potatoes, cut in quarters and add. Chop the onions and carrots and add to the mix. Add the pepper, bay leaves and mustard after the onions have been in for 5 minutes. Simmer for another 30 minutes,
stirring often.
After 30 minutes, remove the
bones and
meat. Add the last tablespoon of
salt.
Cube the meat from each of the tails.
Reduce the remaining soup
stock by half and reintroduce the meat. Serve
piping hot with some good
bread.
Yummy and
educational!