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Preparing
Snake and Deer and a great recipe for each.
SNAKE?! Yuck!
Wrong, snake, yum!! Let us
be honest here, how many of you have ever even tried snake?
If you have you know what I am talking about.
If you haven't, please do try it. Anyhow,
the buckskinner had the advantage over a lot of settlers and pilgrims of the
period. He could live off the land,
and one of those creatures he made use of was the snake.
Their skins could be used for decoration, and if they were thick enough
for practical use. Now before you
go traipsing off into the woods snake hunting, let me say this:
Be practical. If you have never hunted snake, let someone who knows show
you how. You know beginner luck for
settlers was poor at best. Many did
not know the difference between non-poisonous and the lethal ones.
They died for their ignorance. Once
you have been taught to catch a snake, you are part of the way to a great meal.
You must grip the snake firmly behind the head, and cut the head off.
Once you get proficient at it you will learn to kill it without having to
cut the head all the way off. Now
you will slit the belly and remove the inards.
Buckskinners knew how to keep these for short distances and use them to
bait snares and traps. Now you have
to skin the snake, which is a fairly simple procedure.
Be careful not to damage the skin if you wish to use it.
Otherwise keep a good eye on the meat, for that is what you will eat.
I will give the recipe for
snake below, but remember you can fry them like any other meat.
Deer. Buckskinners, Rangers,
Woodsmen, etc. had the skill to kill deer quickly in their time with the
implements at hand. Modern man has
overcome some obstacles with rifles, scopes, etc.
Still one has to be cautious. Some
deer are only stunned by their wound, and can quickly regain consciousness. As all remember, a wounded animal is most dangerous.
Once you have brought the deer down, you must bleed it immediately by
slitting its throat. Clean the deer near a stream if possible, this will enable
you to clean and cool the carcass. Remember
that fleas and parasites will leave a cooled carcass. If you can tie the deer up from a tree overhanging the
creek/stream. You will remove the
genitals or udder by cutting circular around the area, being careful not to
puncture the sacks, or harming the meat. You
should also remove the musk glands at its rear legs, in the haunch area.
Making a shallow cut as to not pierce the stomach, slit the deer from
tail to throat. Now the American
Indian was most adept at this next technique.
Slide your knife under the skin, taking care not to cut into the body
cavity. Peel the hide back several
inches. Now you will open the chest
cavity by splitting the sternum. I
accomplish this by cutting along the area where the ribs join with the sternum.
Now you must reach inside and cut the windpipe as close to the base of
the skull as possible. Now that you
have the forward end of the intestinal tract free, work your way to the rear. Cut only where necessary to free the internal organs and
intestines, and lift them out of the carcass.
Remember to carefully cut the bladder away from the carcass.
From the outside, cut a hole around the anus, and carefully pull it into
the body cavity and out of the body. Now
starting at the hooves, begin skinning.
You thought that hunters had an easy job?!
No they work hard for their game. Maybe
that is why fewer people clean their own deer, preferring to let the butcher use
his skill.
However, the buckskinner/et al had
much more work ahead of him. From
the animal, very little could be wasted. I
will not go into great detail for the sake of modern etiquette.
The fat would be used for soap and candles, and a few of the other
internal organs could also be used. Keep
in mind that they could not afford to let the animal go to waste.
Now, onto the recipes. The first is
for snake, but I guess you could use beef or some other meet if you wanted to.
I really don't know as I have never tried it with other than snake meat.
After you chop the snake up into small cubes, you will already have your other
material components at hand. In a
small pan place sectioned onion, green pepper, and the snake in a mix of wine
(red) and orange juice. Let it sit
for about ten minutes, about the time it takes me to clean a straight stick.
Skewer them in random order onto the stick, and let it cook for about ten
minutes. Do not be alarmed when the
wine ignites, it seals in the flavor.
The second recipe is Scottish in origin, but beyond that I have no idea where it
came from. Bards pick up a lot of
things around the campfire and hearths. You
will need about a six pound piece of venison, two to three cloves garlic
(chopped), a teaspoon of each (Rosemary, Thyme, Salt, Pepper).
Rub all the herbs and seasonings into the meat and let it stand for an
hour. Now start cooking it, trying
to catch some of the drippings. From
the drippings, some wine, and flour you will make a nice "gravey."
It will take 15 minutes to lock in the juices, after that raise the meat
away from the fire to begin real cooking. If
you are cooking in a stove, I estimate that you should begin cooking for 15
minutes at 475 degrees, and then lower it to 350 degrees basting every 15 to 20
minutes. From what I recall someone
telling me, the internal temperature of the meat should be at 150 degrees for
medium rare. Good cooking to you!
That is all from this part of the kitchen, this issue.
Jerky,
The Buckskinner's
Snack
K. Take out da "bowie" n
get ready!
You are going to be making something that kept a lot of folks going when other
measures would not have worked.
Jesse showed a few of us some really neat things in life (He is a great
mountainman, who calls rattlesnake skins "hippie neckties." and could
shoot the wings off a fly.) Cookin' too!
Here is the recipe for jerky.
Take that sharp knife, and cut the lean raw venison (you city folks can
use beef) into inch or so strips about a foot long.
Make sure the strips are about an-half inch thick, don't try to make them
any thicker. If you are not
proficient with a blade, you might consider using partially frozen meat, as it
makes it a bit easier to cut. Take
the strips and place them in a mix of pickling salt (about 1 1/4 cups) and a
gallon of water, and let them soak for about five hours.
Now I will keep this easy for the sake of beginners, you are going to remove the
strips from the solution, and dry them with a towel. Get your oven to 140 degrees, after you line the bottom with
a pan and aluminum foil (this will be to catch the drippings)
Hang the strips from the racks, but don't let them touch.
Oh, and keep the door ajar. You
will recall if you ever saw a smokehouse or anything like it, there was always a
way for the moisture to escape. It
should take about five hours for the strips to turn black and a bit brittle. It would be best if you turned them once.
The jerky then can be removed and put into a jar in a cool place, with
some holes in the top.
Then as you need it, eat it! When I make it correctly, being sure to trim
off all the fat, and getting the cooking time down, the jerky lasts for months.
Trying is the only way of doing.
I have used it at a few reenactments for stews, as it reconstitutes and adds
flavor quickly to the broth.
The other recipe is for flat bread,
which you will often see in the hands of rendezvouers.
It is a very simple recipe, and requires you to carry very little.
You will need:
2 1/4
cups flour
1
package of yeast
1/2 cup of
water mixed with
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup
water mixed with
1 teaspoon of salt
1
teaspoon oil/round
You will take the sugar water and combine it with the yeast.
Let it sit for about 8 minutes, then add the salt water and about half
the flour. You have to mix this up
real good. Then you add the rest of
the flour, and mix again.
Get your heavy traveling skillet and fry the bread in 1 teaspoon hot oil for
about two to three minutes on each side.
You will know when it is done because there will be brown spots on each
side.
I normally get 4 to 6 rounds depending on my skillet size.
It is a very moist and chewy bread, and goes great with broth from jerky soup!
That is all from the kitchen.
A
recipe sent in from a reader (Thanks T.G.) which looks like a wonderful
breakfast. You will need 4 slices
of Canadian Bacon, 4 eggs, 8 fresh spinach leaves, pinch of nutmeg, 6 teaspoons
low-fat butter, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme salt and pepper. You will preheat the
oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly
brown the Canadian bacon on both sides, then cut into 1/4 inch pieces.
Now you will remove the stems from the spinach, and stack 4 leaves at a
time and roll together tightly. You
will slice it into 1/8 inch wide slivers, which should produce about 1/2 cup.
Place 1 teaspoon butter substitute in each circle (ramekin 1/2 cup) 1 1/2
to 2 minutes in oven to melt.Divide spinach among the four, sprinkle each with a
pinch of Thyme, and top with a piece of bacon. Break an egg on top of the bacon
in each ramekin. Sprinkle with
nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Melt the remaining two teaspoons and pour 1/2
teaspoon over each egg. Bake on the
center rack of your oven for 12 to 14 minutes.
Beats
the heck out of an egg Muffin!
O.K.,
so it isn't exactly a Thanksgiving Day favorite.
Ginger
Beer.
You
will need the following: juice of 2 lemons, 2 oz. cream of tartar, 1 gallon of
water, 1 lb. sugar, 1 oz. ginger, 1/2 oz. yeast. You are going to place the water in a very large saucepan.
Now add the lemon juice, sugar, and cream of tartar. After you get it to a boil,
stop and let it cool to luke-warm. Add
the yeast, and let sit for a day. Then
strain it, bottle, and use in about four days.
O.K. I get the idea, you want something a little
more traditional.
Egg
Noodle recipe.
The following recipe was given to me by Virginia Deihl. This recipe has been handed down for a while, and I can say
it is really great. You will need the following:
1 cup flour, 2 eggs,
Whip eggs until blended. Add a
pinch of salt, and a dash of garlic salt.
Dump all the flour into the egg mixture, fold it literally (dip fingers in flour
when it gets sticky, and sprinkle a little around edge of mixture and bowl)
Sprinkle a fair amount of flour on table top, and dump mixture on it, then
sprinkle it lightly, so the roller won't stick.
Use a roller to make it paper thin. Keep rolling pin dusted with flour.
Let the dough dry. Roll it tightly, take a sharp knife and cut it.
Remember, the thinner the cut, the thinner the noodle. Unroll the cuts,
so they are long noodles.
Get your stew or soup to a rolling boil, add a few noodles at a time, cook 20
minutes occasionally stirring.
This simple recipe yields a wonderful noodle, and adds a nice touch to the
Thanksgiving meal.
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