The big news though, and it's literally big news, is that my husband shot a moose yesterday. Woooo hoooo! Moose are between 900 and 1600 lbs. A typical bull moose yields a minimum of 700lbs of meat. It's a very lean meat and it'll keep us stocked up for winter. It's my favorite game animal to eat. We still plan to shoot some deer later this fall but now we can be a little more relaxed about it. But, it also means a lot of hard work. The meat has to hang for a few days and then we start cutting and butchering. I'm the packager and labeler. I try to stay away from the very sharp hunting knives. We'll make sausage, hamburger, steaks, roast, etc. My husband is a great butcherer so we'll have great meat.
Can you tell I'm excited? It's been a few years since we've had a moose. Yum.
22 comments:
Great luck in getting the moose for ya'll. But I do not envy you the butchering... Living in a rural area with cattle, others have shared their butchering with us. The meat is so much better than the grocery store.
Awww man, I am jealous! My hubby shot a moose when we lived in MN and it is good.
He just got back from 2 weeks of elk hunting and got skunked. Our freezer is empty and I've threatened to buy half a beef. That ought to motivate him!
Annie
Congrats!
I would love to taste a moose. I couldn't believe how big they were until I saw one with my own eyes.
Awesome! My husband got a moose in BC a couple of years ago and I will gladly pay for him to go hunting up there again (sadly no moose in Oregon). I'm hoping he bags an elk this year...love game in our household! We do our own butchering and wrapping too. Then you know your meat will be done right!
Hi! So what does moose taste like? I've had raccoon before, it's kinda like beef. ;-P
Julie, in Upstate New York
AWESOME!
I love that you are making a chanel jacket while thinking about how to use your butchered moose meat.
Yours is definitely one of my top 5 or 6 sewing blogs just for juxtapositions like this one (and you're an awesome sewist).
I live in South Alabama and am well aware of deer hunting, but I had no idea that people hunt moose. Do you eat moose meat? I have never tried wild game before.
Damn...he shot Bullwinkle.
;)
Congratulations on the kill. Moose meat is wonderful but you know that. Save a sirloin for me!
I agree with Elizabethe! Who else is packaging up moose while making a Chanel jacket? You are your own reality show. I was a big Northern Exposure fan and always liked how they portrayed the people in Alaska as such individualists. I can see where they got their inspiration!
My husband just shot an elk a couple weeks ago, so we're introducing new game meat into our diets as well :)
My husband would be very jealous of the moose kill!! Deer season starts here soon - he can't wait!!
You're awesome. Enjoy the moose preparations!
Am I alone in being totally horrified by this topic? How does shooting then butchering a harmless creature call for celebration and congratulations? Typical american top of the food chain mentality...
Sorry, I'm horrified too. I was stunned by reading the celebration in your post.
I always loved reading your sewing posts with my morning coffee. That was a shock!
My question - - do you use the hide (potential jacket)?? My neice raises sheep for 4H and after butchering they save the skin and dry it and then send it out for it to be tanned and whatever else it needs.
I have been wanting mooseburger for quite a while. I hear moose as healthy as grass fed beef, which we have been enjoying for a while. LOVE LOVE LOVE your juxtaposition of moose packing and jacket trim. Lovely.
Down here in texas we chicken fry our venison. Soak it in buttermilk for a day, batter it and fry it - yum. Very palatable.
Congratulations on getting a moose. I rarely have game meat (my family doesn't have any hunters). I really admire your family's outdoor spirit, and I enjoy reading you blog and learning more about all aspects of Alaska life. I do have to admit, I would have a tough time dealing with/processing all that meat at once--I usually buy no more than 5 lbs of meat at time, and it's usually wrapped in cellophane. :) 700 lbs! Yikes! my mind is boggling. I know that will put it to good use.
Do keep us posted regarding your Chanel jacket--I hope you are able to find some great trim for it.
Rose in SV
Oh lovely! all that yummy moose. Congrats to your husband on a job well done!
Jules and Kathy-
I can understand your confusion (and some horror) at all the congratulations for shooting a moose. Many people are vegetarians/vegans because of their concern for animal welfare, and that's very understandable.
I will just say that these animals, unlike those raised for food, live free-range and completely wild; they have fabulous quality of life unlike some more "domesticated" animals like chickens and cows. And the families I know who hunt/fish their own food are very careful to respect the animal even while being grateful for the gift of food that the animal provides. No one is celebrating the end of a moose's life, but rather the provision for a family's food through a long winter. (and, also, the skill it takes to acquire that meat through hunting; especially when the goal is also not to make the animal suffer unnecessarily.)
I don't expect you to agree with hunting, but hopefully you can understand the rationale behind it. And thanks for providing me a chance to share my heart with you :)
Congratulations on the moose; we got drawn for elk this year, so we're hoping that when our season opens, we'll be able to fill the freezer again!
For those who feel awkward about the celebration, I'd like to add my two cents; I totally understand why someone who has year-round access to fully stocked grocery stores might be horrified.
I'm not sure what it's like in Alaska, but I DO know that ending your comment with "Typical american top of the food chain mentality..." is both unkind and unfair, and kind of overly judgmental, particularly if it comes from someone who buys their meat at the local grocery store.
For many of us who live in remote, rural areas or have only one income, bagging big game to fill your freezer is a necessity, not an option.
In many northern parts of Canada, trucking beef to our local supermarkets is a huge undertaking in the summer, and is actually impossible in the winter. This is the time of year when beef and pork hauled in from far away starts to get scarce and/or incredibly expensive. Caribou, elk, deer, and moose are the norm, and beef and pork are unusual delicacies.
All over the world, there are people who must eat what they can catch, be it fish, fowl, or ungulate. That doesn't make them uncivilized savages. Neither does being at the top of the food chain. Just keep in mind that the food chain in my town might not include Sobeys or Whole Foods.
Having been born and raised a California city girl, the idea of hunting your own meat for the winter is so completely foreign to me! I'm happy for you guys though, especially since it seems like this isn't a catch he makes every year. But, yeah, my head is still reeling from the post itself. :)
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