la.foodblogging

So here’s something I never thought I would write or blog about ever… Moose. That’s right, moose.

About a month ago, a friend gave me some frozen moose meat. Apparently, his family went hunting and long story short, there was a very unfortunate moose that day. He had more than he could use and figured since I’m a foodie, I’d know what to do with it. I unabashedly admit, I didn’t have a clue. He told me to cook with it as I would with ground beef.

Over the weekend, I decided to make a lasagna out of it… and invited four guinea pigs friends over to try it with me. I started out by browning the moose meat. After it was cooked, I proceeded to drain the meat and was surprised to find significantly less oil to dump out than when using beef! I tried a bit of the cooked moose meat, and I never would have guessed it was something other than beef. With nothing more than salt, the moose meat was fairly flavorful. I had expected it to taste at least a bit gamey, but I was happy to be wrong. The rest of the lasagna recipe is as follows:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles, then drain. In a bowl, mix one egg with 24 oz of ricotta cheese, 1 cup of shredded parmasean, and 2 cups of mozarella. Spray or brush a casserole dish with olive oil. Coat the bottom of the dish with tomato sauce. Layer the dish with noodles, then the cheese blend, (moose) meat, and tomato sauce. Next add a new layer of noodles, cheese blend, meat and tomato sauce. Now top with final layer of noodles. Cover the top with tomato sauce and mozarella. Cover the whole thing with aluminum foil and place into the oven for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and lift up the foil. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then serve.

My guests were well aware that true to its name, Bullwinkle Lasagna was made with moose meat. Though a couple participants had their doubts, their reaction to the taste of the meat was the same as mine. They couldn’t tell the difference between moose meat from beef. In the event this dinner would have turned out disasterous, salad and garlic bread were also available, but fortunately, the lasagna turned out to be a hit. I’m not sure I would ever go out and seek moose meat - not even sure where in Los Angeles to find moose meat - but if you ever see it on a menu, don’t shy away from it. Be adventurous.

See you all next month.

By Pauline (see more of her posts).