Did you Moose Me?

Here is my spin on chili. Used some Canadian moose meat I got from one of my trap buddies. I first made this recipe on a camping trip back in October out on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage.

Flambeau Chili

1 lb. Moose meat, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 lb. Ground Moose Meat
5 strips of Bacon
1 large white Onion
5 cloves of Garlic
4 whole Poblano Peppers, diced
1 can dark red Kidney Beans
1 can Pinto Beans
2 cans diced Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Paste
1 bottle Alaskan Winter Ale Beer
1 can Chicken Broth
1 TBS Cumin
1 TBS Coriander
1 TBS Chili Powder
1 tsp ground Mustard Seed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Pre heat large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil to the pan and add cubed moose meat. Sear meat on all sides. Do in batches if necessary. Remove meat to a platter. Next, add ground moose to the pan and fry until nicely browned. Remove ground meat to the platter with the cubed meat. Next, add bacon and fry until just crisp. Then add onion and garlic. Sauté, stirring often until soft. Then add tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, chicken broth, and spices. Then return all the meat to the Dutch. Mix gently and bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until meat is very tender. Add more beer or broth if needed. Add Poblanos and beans and continue to cook for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Last Friday Night

We are fortunate enough to have a trout farm about 2 miles from our house. They always have the freshest fish this side of catching them ourselves. Last Friday I bought 2 rainbow trout. They were butterflied and all bones removed, no heads. They are awesome marinated and then grilled. That's what I did. Served them with a baked brown rice and a watercress salad. Perfect. The marinade is from the Alaskan Brewery. I make it often with salmon, but it works also with trout. The recipe goes like this:

Alaskan Amber Marinated Rainbow Trout

·                    ½ cup soy sauce

·                    ½ cup Alaskan Amber Beer

·                    6-8 garlic cloves, minced

·                    ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

·                    3 Tbs. fresh ginger root, grated

·                    4 Rainbow Trout Fillets (6 oz. each)

Add first 5 ingredients in a bowl, mix well.  Place trout in a resealable plastic bag and add marinade.  Shake bag to distribute.  Place in refrigerator for 2 hours. 

Prepare hot grill.  Grill trout fillets, flesh side down for 5 minutes.  Turn fillets and grill another 4 minutes.  Remove from grill with spatula.



The Watercress Salad

*     1 Bunch of Watercress, washed and spun dry.
*     1/2 of Red Bell Pepper, sliced thin
*     1/2 White Onion, Sliced thin
*     1/3 cup White Vinegar
*     1/3 cup sugar


Combine the vinegar and sugar in an air tight vessel and shake vigorously to dissolve the sugar.  Store in the fridge until dinner.  Place the watercress in a salad bowl and add pepper and onion.  Add the dressing when ready to serve.