March 17, 2009

Slow Moose

Just prior to departing Maine, on my return home from a recent smelting trip, my friend Paul gave me a somewhat odd parting gift--a top round moose steak, vacuum-sealed and frozen. Actually, it wasn’t that odd, if you know Paul. About a year or so ago, Paul won Maine’s version of the Golden Ticket, giving him the legal right to try to shoot a moose. To make a long story short, the moose got gotten, and I got a small hunk of said gotten moose.

Unsure of what to do with it, naturally I turned to the information superhighway. I offered a few key words (such as: “moose” and “recipes”) to Google, and was directed to various blogs and websites--many devoted to the worship of Sarah Palin. Governor Palin, it seems, is a big fan of moose and there are multiple listings for Sarah Palin’s Moose Stew. Strangely, I didn’t see any wolf recipes.

Not one to mix politics with my food, I ignored all of the Palin sites and decided to strike out on my own, using a recipe for beef stew as a guide.

Pucho’s Slow Moose Stew

Ingredients:

- (about) 1 lb of moose meat (top round or whatever your hunter friend gives you)
- 1 cup stock (chicken, beef, or whatever)
- 1/2 cup dry red wine (I used Malbec, but I’m sure any dry red wine would do)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup (or so) of flour
- some olive oil
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 3 carrots (chopped)
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- 5 or so smallish potatoes (chopped into larges chunks)

Directions:

Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Cut moose into 1-inch cubes. Coat moose cubes in flour mixture. Brown moose cubes in olive oil and add onions until softened. Dump browned moose chunks and onions in slow-cooker. Deglaze pan with mixture of wine, chicken stock, and Worchestershire sauce. Pour mixture into slow-cooker (feel free to add more wine or stock, if needed--I added more wine), add bay leaf, paprika, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Set to cook on low for 10 hours or so. Go to bed. Wake up to an apartment that smells disturbingly of stewed meat. Check on the moose and get ready for work. Place stew in Tupperware containers and bring to work to impress your coworkers at lunch.


Yeah, it looks nasty, but it really was delicious

Bon appétit!

3 comments:

L said...

I love the smell of meat in the morning.

Anonymous said...

Morning Wood

Anonymous said...

It looks like it may have only been overcooked. Was there much liquid left for bread dipping? I think I might add a little more broth and cook it on low for 7 hours.