Uncle Jack’s Rocky Mountain Recipes
So, as you may have noticed, food is something of a
recurring theme on this blog, albeit a somewhat sporadic one. Well, this is very
much true of Uncle Jack’s writing as well, but even more so. I’ve been trying
to collect some of his recipes, but as the majority of them are scribbled in
the margins of other writing in a manner that rather suggests a ‘first
available piece of paper’ approach, combined with a callous disregard for
orientation, this is something of a challenge. I’ve managed to find a few that
are legible, and where possible I’ve tried to look for similar recipes to fill
in gaps and to provide some comment on whether it’s what you could consider a
‘normal’ recipe or not.
Poutine au Gratin
Ingredients
Potatoes
Cheese, and/or curds
An onion
Flour
Water
Stock, any will do
Mushroom ketchup, Worcester sauce, or other flavouring
Milk, if available, water if not
Method
Cut the potatoes in to chips and set them to fry. Begin
an onion gravy, frying the onion, then adding flour, water, stock and
seasoning. If using mushroom ketchup, I would recommend selecting for flavour
as opposed to other effects for this recipe. Cut cheese and curds while the
potatoes and gravy cook. Once the potatoes or gravy are ready, begin a cheese
sauce. You can begin it earlier if you have a third pot or pan. Make a roux,
and add milk and cheese in the usual manner. Place the chips in a pot or bowl
with the cheese or curds, then mix well with the gravy. Top with the cheese
sauce, and bake until golden brown.
I have literally no idea why you would do this. The fact
that Uncle Jack tried poutine and decide that what it needed was an extra layer
of cheese sauce possibly says more about him than any of his other writing.
It’s also very peculiar that this recipe exists at all since poutine is generally agreed to have emerged in
Quebec in the 1950’s. How it appears in a notebook more about 140 years earlier
is quite beyond me.
Switchel
Ingredients
Water
Cider vinegar
Maple syrup, honey or molasses
Dried ginger, ground, or fresh ginger, sliced
Choice of Gin, Rum, Brandy, Whisky, Vodka, Tequila,
Triple Sec, or other spirit. Or better yet, a mixture of as many as you have.
Use water as a base, and add the other ingredients
according to taste. Alternatively, omit the water.
Switchel is a fairly well-documented energy drink, of sorts,
with variations being documented as far back as Roman times: https://savoringthepast.net/2015/08/17/switchel-the-original-energy-ade/
There isn’t normally any alcohol in it though. And without the water, it’s a
rough approximation of a Long Island Iced tea. Though admittedly a cocktail recipe
that boils down to ‘mix all your spirits together’ isn’t really much of a
recipe.
Collops of Mountain Unicorn
Ingredients
1 Haunch of Mountain Unicorn, or other large cut, sliced
in to collops
Bacon, lardons, or fatty trimmings from the animal
Herb paste
Bay, sage, rosemary, and garlic, mixed into a paste. Add
an egg, if you have one.
Spiced gravy
Bread, ground or grated small , vinegar, ginger, cinnamon,
clove and galangal, if you have it.
Lard the collops of unicorn with the bacon, or other fat.
Mountain unicorn is a very dry meat, and this will help to keep it moist.
Spread the herb paste upon the collops, then bind them
tightly together with string, and skewer. Spit roast the skewered collops by an
open fire. Catch the juices in a tray, and mix with the ingredients for the
spiced gravy. Add some claret, if you have it.
Serve the collops with the sauce, and such vegetables as
you prefer.
This seems to be pretty close to a fairly common way of
roasting lean meats. What a ‘Mountain Unicorn’ is, I’m not sure. Probably a
Bighorn sheep, based on the somewhat whimsical way that Uncle Jack seems to have gone about identifying and naming local animals. Having done a little bit of research, it seems pretty similar to the recipe here:
Taggity Pie
Ordinary pie paste
Potatoes
Cheese
Onion
Coriander
A large pinch of paisley
4 pods of conundrum, cracked
A sprig of time
One large leak, diced
Grated chess, to garnish
If you are making this, you know How and Why. You should
also know Why Not.
Yes. The less said about this one the better, I think.
Snake Soup
A snake or two, preferably vipers
An onion
Two small carrots, or one medium carrot, or half a large
carrot
Some potatoes
A bit more carrot
Spinach, if you must
Strong wine
Such herbs and spices as you have available, to taste
Chop the vegetables, then set them to boiling. Kill and
clean the vipers, keeping the hearts. Cut in to pieces about two inches in
length, and add to the pot, along with salt, pepper, wine and seasonings. Boil
until tender, then serve with a bread roll. Garnish with sliced lemon, if you
have it.
This one is… well, weirdly authentic, actually. Take a look:
http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/vipersoup.htm
I’m honestly not sure if this being a ‘real’ recipe, rather
than one of Uncle Jack’s own invention is more or less unsettling.
While researching some of Jack’s recipes I found a few that
I was rather more inclined to try. And what with it having been Christmas, and temperature here in Jasper hovering at around -25 C at the moment, it's been a good time to stay in and cook.
Switchel is pretty good, though I’d definitely
suggest lemon juice instead of vinegar, at least at the ratios I've been using. I can definitely see an apple vinegar and maple syrup variation with some cinnamon, either instead of or as well as the ginger being rather good. Why I've only thought of that as I write this I don't know, but I'll certainly try it next time I'm making some.
The pies that you may remember were based on the recipes I found here:
Strange as it sounds, it actually came out really well! I think I overcooked it slightly, so I may well give it another go at some point, though I'll definitely be reducing the quantity of filling. Once I've fine-tuned the recipe I'll add it here.
Right, that'll do for now. See you all next time!
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