eG Foodblog: Shelby (2011) - From the field to the table. (warning, pi

[heidih]

My family is of Germans from Russia descent and we make a similar recipe to the bierocks that you made, only they are called fleisch keuchla (meat "something") - I have never found out what "keuchla" means and I don't know if it is German or Ukrainian. Since we spell it phoenetically I haven't been able to get an online translator to figure it out.

Well Kuchen is cake, and the la or le at the end makes it a little version of something so perhaps "meat cakelets"?

[Shelby]

My husband loves to fry up pheasant legs and eat them.....me...not so much.

(Notice the little "dot" near the top of the left leg? That's a piece of "shot" from the rifle. Be sure you pick all of those out of your bird because they really screw up your garbage disposal if they get in there. Not that I've done that. )

They have too many pin-bones in them and I get irritated.

I don't like to get irritated with my food.

I like to make pheasant salad out of them instead.

First, get most of the yellow fat off and all of the little feathers and shot.

I also threw some pheasant heart in, too.

Boil the heck out of them until the meat starts coming off. I boiled these for like three hours. They're tough suckers.

Take them out to cool.

Separate all the meat from bones.

I used sliced almonds, cherry tomatoes, onion, celery and a hard boiled egg in this one. I also added salt, pepper, regular mayo and curry.

It's great as a sandwich, on lettuce etc.

[andiesenji]

I love the name "Aunt Hattie Anne".

It never occurred to me to can the filling, thank you for the idea!

Aunt Hattie Anne was a real character and spent a lot of time tramping through the woods gathering herbs and wild foods, mushrooms and experimenting with canning, drying and other preserving techniques. She was born in 1899 and died in 2002, so none of the stuff she consumed had any bad effects on her. She was very well educated, had a degree in pharmacology but married a gentleman farmer and never practiced.

P.S. I prepare pheasant in a manner similar to hassenpfeffer so it is in a fairly thick gravy and is served over noodles.

Are you familiar with this site: Wild Game Recipes.org?

Edited January 6, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[Ufimizm]

My family is of Germans from Russia descent and we make a similar recipe to the bierocks that you made, only they are called fleisch keuchla (meat "something") - I have never found out what "keuchla" means and I don't know if it is German or Ukrainian. Since we spell it phoenetically I haven't been able to get an online translator to figure it out.

Well Kuchen is cake, and the la or le at the end makes it a little version of something so perhaps "meat cakelets"?

I grew up in rural eastern Wisconsin which has a large German American demographic and never heard of these before. They sound really good though. I know that I have heard the term "Fleischkugel" before and called my dad (87 years old raised speaking German) and he said this was basically a German style meatball. When I described the fried stuffed meat pies, he agreed they sounded good but has never heard of them before either. I think your recipe is more of an adaptation of Germans moving around and using what they had to make something tasty and calling it as close to what the language allowed them to call it. Fleisch=meat kugel=ball

[Shelby]

I meant shotgun

Proofread Shelby, PROOFREAD!

[Darcie B]

My family is of Germans from Russia descent and we make a similar recipe to the bierocks that you made, only they are called fleisch keuchla (meat "something") - I have never found out what "keuchla" means and I don't know if it is German or Ukrainian. Since we spell it phoenetically I haven't been able to get an online translator to figure it out.

Well Kuchen is cake, and the la or le at the end makes it a little version of something so perhaps "meat cakelets"?

You may be on to something! And now I have to make kuchen...the German from Russia kind, which is a raised dough baked with pastry cream and fruit (usually prunes).

[cookingofjoy]

My mom always made the cinnamon-sugar crust with the leftovers, too. I very infrequently make pie, but that's still my favorite, I sneak it before the kids find it

This is just past the season, I guess, but I really liked these truffles that used the ginger.

[Darcie B]

I grew up in rural eastern Wisconsin which has a large German American demographic and never heard of these before. They sound really good though. I know that I have heard the term "Fleischkugel" before and called my dad (87 years old raised speaking German) and he said this was basically a German style meatball. When I described the fried stuffed meat pies, he agreed they sounded good but has never heard of them before either. I think your recipe is more of an adaptation of Germans moving around and using what they had to make something tasty and calling it as close to what the language allowed them to call it. Fleisch=meat kugel=ball

Hmmm...that to me doesn't make as much sense, especially if you hear the pronounciation of fleisch keuchla. It sounds a lot more like kuchen than kugel. My great grandparents used a lot of 'old country' words and made mashup words that were part Ukranian, Russian, German and English. I might ask my 93-year-old great aunt if she knows. My grandmother is not one to get excited about etymology - I've asked her and she just shrugs her shoulders.

If your dad wasn't in the "Germans from Russia" group, that might also lend more weight to the theory that this is an adaptation of something Russian/Ukranian. We also grew up eating holubtsi (haluptsi, pick your incorrect spelling, beef & rice in cabbage rolls) which is definitely Ukranian.

[Darcie B]

Boil the heck out of them until the meat starts coming off. I boiled these for like three hours. They're tough suckers.

Have you ever tried roasting the pheasants instead of boiling them?

[Kim Shook]

I agree with whoever it was that said that this is one of the most interesting and entertaining foodblogs ever! It is familiar and foreign all at once. I am loving your food and your home and your good humor! The idea of pheasant salad is really wonderful!

[Shelby]

My mom always made the cinnamon-sugar crust with the leftovers, too. I very infrequently make pie, but that's still my favorite, I sneak it before the kids find it

This is just past the season, I guess, but I really liked these truffles that used the ginger.

I am sooo going to do this after this week, thank you!

Boil the heck out of them until the meat starts coming off. I boiled these for like three hours. They're tough suckers.

Have you ever tried roasting the pheasants instead of boiling them?

Yes, but I was in a hurry, and multi-tasking today...

I agree with whoever it was that said that this is one of the most interesting and entertaining foodblogs ever! It is familiar and foreign all at once. I am loving your food and your home and your good humor! The idea of pheasant salad is really wonderful!

Kim, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Means a lot from you!

[Shelby]

Where has this week gone????????

I can't believe it's almost Friday already!

I got a new toy today. I've been longing for this a long long time. A fresh pasta maker!

I'm going to sleep with it like Randy slept with his Zeppelin

Edited January 7, 2011 by Shelby (log)

[Shelby]

So, of course, I had to make fresh spaghetti and meatballs!

I could eat pasta morning, noon and night. Seriously.

I love mozzarella stuffed bacon meatballs. I always use venison meat, btw...if I forget to add that.

Bacon, onion soup mix, venison, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Edited January 7, 2011 by Shelby (log)

[Shelby]

Homemade sauce:

Pasta:

I need a LOT of practice, so don't judge lol.

Green tomato pie turned out pretty darn good

Edited January 7, 2011 by Shelby (log)

[Shelby]

Good night everyone!!! I appreciate you all so much for your comments and reading!!

[ScottyBoy]

Such a wealth of knowledge about living in your area and an incredible amount of time and effort put into this one, thank YOU!

[heidih]

Those meatballs look pretty spectacular. Is Onion Soup Mix in the same category as Velveeta for you? My first meal for a spouse long ago was big giant turkey legs (with all those pin bones like your pheasant) slow cooked in the oven just sprinkled with a packet and tightly lidded at 275 while I was at work. It was really good

[Pierogi]

I noticed in one of your pictures that you use powdered buttermilk. I use it too as the liquid stuff isn't available where I live. I actually like it as a flavor and I think it works great. But the powder in my can always turns hard. And makes hard balls that are impossible to sift. Does yours do that? Have any solutions?

I discovered the powdered buttermilk not too long ago, so, my can is just opened. I wonder if we should dump the powder out into a ziplock bag and store it in the fridge? Or if just storing the can in the fridge would help? I LOVE this stuff because I never seem to have buttermilk when I need it. And, I agree. The flavor comes out more in the powdered version.

Hi Ambra and Shelby. FWIW, I've been using the same brand of powdered buttermilk as Shelby for over a year now. In fact, I'm still on my first container. I've stored it in the fridge and it has not clumped or turned hard.

Agreed ! I have it too, and its been in the fridge for over a year, and it's still very granular and free-flowing. Just used it on New Year's day for the cornbread with my Hoppin' John.

ETA---Should've read the rest of the blog *AND* the other 37 responses advising refrigerator storage before I jumped in with my esteemed opinion.... Sorry for piling on....

Edited January 7, 2011 by Pierogi (log)

[Pierogi]

...(anyone have any great ideas on how to use up the rest of this bag of ginger? It's POWERFUL stuff.)

Now, here's something *original* I can offer !! LOL....

I have a rockin' recipe for ginger scones from a celebrity restaurant here in LA that was published in the LA Times several years back. It uses crystallized ginger, powdered ginger and fresh grated ginger. They were spicy for sure.........but gooooooood. Here's the link for that: Hans' Scones

I've also made the triple ginger scones from "150 Best American Recipes" that adds powdered, dry ginger to the mix, and they are also very very good. If anyone wants that recipe, let me know and I'll PM it to you, since it doesn't seem to be available as a link.

[Joel Hicks]

I am an aussie reader, and i have no idea what "mush" is.

looks like polenta or cornmeal????

can you let me know what it is?

[EliseMF]

Oh how I loved those books. Its about to snow. Remember when they brought i the pan of snow and poured boiled maple syrup on it? I think I have to try that again. I did it once when I was about 10, and i got a pan of wet diluted maple syrup.... will report.

Today is a Great Day for Pea Soup!

[ChrisTaylor]

I am an aussie reader, and i have no idea what "mush" is.

looks like polenta or cornmeal????

can you let me know what it is?

Your guess was right.

[Shelby]

...(anyone have any great ideas on how to use up the rest of this bag of ginger? It's POWERFUL stuff.)

Now, here's something *original* I can offer !! LOL....

I have a rockin' recipe for ginger scones from a celebrity restaurant here in LA that was published in the LA Times several years back. It uses crystallized ginger, powdered ginger and fresh grated ginger. They were spicy for sure.........but gooooooood. Here's the link for that: Hans' Scones

I've also made the triple ginger scones from "150 Best American Recipes" that adds powdered, dry ginger to the mix, and they are also very very good. If anyone wants that recipe, let me know and I'll PM it to you, since it doesn't seem to be available as a link.

Cool. I've never made scones, so, along with kolaches, I'll have two fun, new things to try!

I think I have that cookbook...lemme look.....

[Shelby]

Oh how I loved those books. Its about to snow. Remember when they brought i the pan of snow and poured boiled maple syrup on it? I think I have to try that again. I did it once when I was about 10, and i got a pan of wet diluted maple syrup.... will report.

Today is a Great Day for Pea Soup!

I read that part just yesterday again.

I've ALWAYS wanted to try that. In fact, I was sitting here trying to figure out how I could make ice cubes into a snow texture.

I can't wait for your report to see how it was!

[Shelby]

Those meatballs look pretty spectacular. Is Onion Soup Mix in the same category as Velveeta for you? My first meal for a spouse long ago was big giant turkey legs (with all those pin bones like your pheasant) slow cooked in the oven just sprinkled with a packet and tightly lidded at 275 while I was at work. It was really good

It doesn't rank as high as Velveeta, but it's up there.

If it would have been earlier in the day, I would have peeled beef bouillon cubes and diced up onions. I was getting tired lol.

Edited January 7, 2011 by Shelby (log)