Eat like a Manitoban: Hearty Moose Stew with Winter Root Vegetables and Bannock Recipe | Travel Manitoba (2024)

FAQs

How do you make indigenous moose stew? ›

In a medium saucepan, brown the moose meat on all sides along with the onions. Add enough water to cover the moose; bring to a boil and let simmer for 1 hour. Add moose bone broth (or low sodium beef broth). Place vegetables in pot and cook for another 30 minutes (more if you like tender, less if you prefer crunchy).

bannock, flat, sometimes unleavened bread eaten primarily in Scotland. It is most commonly made of oats, though bannocks of barley, ground dried peas, and a combination of grains are sometimes encountered. Selkirk bannock is made from wheat flour and contains fruit.

Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil. This will cook out the flour taste and allow the starch to swell.

Mulligan stew, also known as hobo stew, is a type of stew said to have been prepared by American hobos in camps in the early 1900s. Another variation of mulligan stew is "community stew", a stew put together by several homeless people by combining whatever food they have or can collect.

Bannock became a staple for voyageurs, fur traders, prospectors, and later, Indigenous peoples. It is a quick and simple carbohydrate-rich food, which was hard to come by in many parts of Canada. Many would mix the dough right into their flour bag, and toss it onto a pan whenever the need arose.

Bannock is a type of fry bread, which originates from Scotland but was eventually adopted by the Indigenous peoples of Canada, particularly the Métis of western Canada. Bannock stems from the Gaelic word bannach, which means “morsel,” a short and sweet but accurate description.

The name Bannock seems to originate from the Old Celtic English “bannuc”, derived from the Latin “panicium” for “bread” or meaning “anything baked”. Made simply from oatmeal and flour, the first citing of a bannock or bannuc recipe in Scotland was in the 8th Century.

When cooking moose steaks, don't cook them in oils that, while they can give a crispiness, may also negatively affect the texture of the meat. Instead, consider cooking them in a butter baste. To get a good crust, first sear them on a high heat, then cook them on a lower heat to tenderize the meat.

Combine the cornstarch, mustard, salt and pepper; rub half over steak. Pound with a meat mallet to tenderize. Rub with remaining cornstarch mixture; pound on both sides with the mallet.

In this context, moose have always represented an important source of food and clothing for Indigenous communities and for many non-Indigenous communities. For many generations moose hide was used for ceremonial purposes and for making moccasins, jackets, gloves, rope, etc.