Caribou Stew
WARNING: If you don't like meat or hunting then you can just skip this post. Just read the first paragraph for a quick personal note and then move on.
As much as I enjoy sharing my culinary exploits on this blog I am anticipating an even greater lull in blogging activity in the coming months. A crawling baby (soon to be walking I expect), a long recovery after knee surgery for my husband and maybe even some academic pursuits for me will have me running around like a caribou with my head cut off. That was lame.
On to the meat of the story (Oh that was even worse. Perhaps taking a break from writing is a really good idea).
A generous friend recently gave us some caribou meat. Generally speaking I am not opposed to hunting as long as the intention is to use the animal as fully as possible.
We were very grateful for the meat because as a meat lover I am always conflicted when it comes to buying it. To me, meat from a wild animal, killed and prepared locally is a sustainable and healthy choice.
Now on to the deliciousness. I wasn't quite sure what to do with the ground caribou but I quickly envisioned a stew of sorts. A quick scramble in the fridge yielded this "recipe." I confess that the measurements are approximations. I did not measure while cooking but I am pretty good at judging quantity. And I really think that things like this can't be messed up too badly.
If you don't have a generous, hunting friend or a gun of your own I think ground beef, lamb, bison or even soy crumbles would work well. However, if the opportunity presents itself I suggest trying caribou. It was unbelievably delicious.
Caribou Stew
Serves 4
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 pound ground caribou
Large onion chopped
1 carrot diced
1 stalk of celery diced
1-2 cups chopped mushrooms
1-2 cups cut green beans
1 small sweet potato peeled and chopped
Pinch of dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 cups chicken or beef broth
2 Tbsp. flour mixed with 1/2 cup cold water or broth
In my large soup pot I browned up the meat with about 1 Tbsp. of olive oil then removed it from the pot. The caribou was quite lean and I didn't need to skim any fat. I did keep all the juices.
Next saute the onion, carrots and celery with a bit more oil. After a few minutes add the mushrooms and butter. I personally think mushrooms need butter. Add the thyme and bay leaf and continue cooking until the mushrooms are tender but not too soft.
Return the meat to the pot along with the broth, sweet potato and green beans. Simmer for about 10 minutes (until the sweet potatoes are almost done). Add the flour and water mixture a bit at a time and let the stew simmer, gradually adding more flour mixture until the stew reaches the desired thickness.
We devoured the entire pot with popovers from the Tassajara book. It would also be delicious over rice, quinoa or good ole egg noodies (aka noodles).
As much as I enjoy sharing my culinary exploits on this blog I am anticipating an even greater lull in blogging activity in the coming months. A crawling baby (soon to be walking I expect), a long recovery after knee surgery for my husband and maybe even some academic pursuits for me will have me running around like a caribou with my head cut off. That was lame.
On to the meat of the story (Oh that was even worse. Perhaps taking a break from writing is a really good idea).
A generous friend recently gave us some caribou meat. Generally speaking I am not opposed to hunting as long as the intention is to use the animal as fully as possible.
We were very grateful for the meat because as a meat lover I am always conflicted when it comes to buying it. To me, meat from a wild animal, killed and prepared locally is a sustainable and healthy choice.
Now on to the deliciousness. I wasn't quite sure what to do with the ground caribou but I quickly envisioned a stew of sorts. A quick scramble in the fridge yielded this "recipe." I confess that the measurements are approximations. I did not measure while cooking but I am pretty good at judging quantity. And I really think that things like this can't be messed up too badly.
If you don't have a generous, hunting friend or a gun of your own I think ground beef, lamb, bison or even soy crumbles would work well. However, if the opportunity presents itself I suggest trying caribou. It was unbelievably delicious.
Caribou Stew
Serves 4
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 pound ground caribou
Large onion chopped
1 carrot diced
1 stalk of celery diced
1-2 cups chopped mushrooms
1-2 cups cut green beans
1 small sweet potato peeled and chopped
Pinch of dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 cups chicken or beef broth
2 Tbsp. flour mixed with 1/2 cup cold water or broth
In my large soup pot I browned up the meat with about 1 Tbsp. of olive oil then removed it from the pot. The caribou was quite lean and I didn't need to skim any fat. I did keep all the juices.
Next saute the onion, carrots and celery with a bit more oil. After a few minutes add the mushrooms and butter. I personally think mushrooms need butter. Add the thyme and bay leaf and continue cooking until the mushrooms are tender but not too soft.
Return the meat to the pot along with the broth, sweet potato and green beans. Simmer for about 10 minutes (until the sweet potatoes are almost done). Add the flour and water mixture a bit at a time and let the stew simmer, gradually adding more flour mixture until the stew reaches the desired thickness.
We devoured the entire pot with popovers from the Tassajara book. It would also be delicious over rice, quinoa or good ole egg noodies (aka noodles).
posted by Janice at
10:23 AM
3 Comments
