the seal thing, just don't laugh

[weiss]

I have been wondering lately, what are regulations for occasional seal hunting in BC. I know fishermen shoot those routinely. Anyways, I guess the real qustion is - how to cook, or whether it is anything worth eating. Google search didn't bring much in terms of recipes, something laughable like "whole roast seal stuffed with seagulls" but nothing for real cooking directions. If any of you folks ever heard of any way cooking the seal meat - lemme know

[Jeff88]

The Way Eskimo Cooked Seal MeatThe Way We Cooked: Vintage Gourmet
BY PAUL AKNIK, NOME, ALASKA
July 1955

Sirs: I am one of the dietitians at this four-hundred bed hospital for Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts. Our patients come from all over Alaska, but particularly from the Artic villages. Many of them speak little or no English, are homesick at first, and miss native foods such as fish head soup, and squaw candy (smoked salmon sticks). A couple of days ago I bought a few seal. One very intelligent patient offered to “write out how to do seal.” I’m sending you the recipe, and defy you to duplicate it—or serve it!




First thing cutting up sealFirst thing, see if your knife is sharp. You lay the seal from the back on the floor, and cut it open on front and take the skin off with blubber from the meat and cut the seal meat with bone and all.




About the blubberYou clean the blubber (fat) from the skin and cut the blubber in strips about 2 by 6 inches and put them in clean barrel and put loose cover on barrel and put the barrel with blubber in dry place where no heat. Pretty soon that blubber will dissolve and become oil and then it will be ready to use with meat or diced fish or green leaves.




Cooked seal meatNow you put lukewarm water in pot, add salt so the taste will be okay not over salted, and put the meat in pot with water and let the meat stand in pot till it come to boil. After it boil for while, see if the meat is cook. Get one of the meat in pot with fork and tested the meat, cut the meat with knife and see if it cooked. Put the seal liver in boiling water and let it stand for few minutes. The liver will be half done (just like you order half done steak) also you have to cook seal gut in boiling water and stir it up once a while, you have to clean inside the seal gut first before you cooked the seal gut. The water you use for cooking seal meat it's good. And we like to have seal meat with raw onions. There no waste in seal for the Eskimo that know how to use it. The skin they use it for rope, mukluk pants, and mittens.




As I write, the first week in April, spring is coming: the days are long. Plenty of snow yet—we had ten feet this winter. The moose have gone back of the timber line, and the bears are out of hibernation. I make this sound like a lumber camp area, while actually it is a big city. Ten minutes’ drive in any direction, though, takes one into real country.




Do you know what I'm doing right now? I'm cooking some seal oil!




MARY MILBURY
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA




Very nice, we’re sure, but we really prefer our seal à la Fifth Avenue, wrapped around a lady!




This exclusive recipe is pulled directly from Gourmet’s archive. It has not been re-tested by our food editors since it was published in the magazine, but it’s a pretty good indication of the kinds of things we once ate and drank with great pleasure.



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[pnbrock]

If I knew a recipe to encourage you to shoot more I would surely tell you. PlEase take as many as you want.

[Ozone]

There is no open season or LEH on seals or sea lions in BC

[dabber]

I think I'll pass on the seal dinner and have moose steak. May be some day when I'm really hungry.

[Peter Pepper]

Somebody needs to tell the indians that they're not allowed to hunt seals.....problem solved.

Cook seal just like spotted owl. It's great!

[d6dan]

You can buy the seal meat canned in Newfoundland. Make yourself some flipper pie.:wink:

[reach]

I've had it before and it was pretty gamey. My dad likes it but then again he also likes buttermilk.

[Moose Guide]

I think I'll pass on the seal dinner and have moose steak. May be some day when I'm really hungry.

I'd eat seal before bear!!!!

[Steelwheels]

Cook seal just like spotted owl. It's great!


Throw in a little eagle meat ..could make for a interesting Stew

[Paulyman]

A baby seal walks into a bar and sits down, The bartender say"s "what'll it be?" the baby seal say's "anything but Canadian Club"

[sparkes3]

nothing wrong with seal meat or flipper pie, i will ask mudder what she would do before she put it in the oven .

[Jim Prawn]

Why did the walrus go to the Tupper Ware party?.....




He was looking for a tight seal!
JP

[Surrey Boy]

There is no open season or LEH on seals or sea lions in BC

I was thinking, most of them are shot illegally. I would advise against seal hunting or willfully causing a seal to die, except in self-defence.


I'd eat seal before bear!!!!

Black bear is one of my favourite meats. I've found all mine to be mild and lean, better than than beef or venison. I don't understand why folks object to it.

[The Dude]

I've had tinned seal meat. It was fine, kinda like canned tuna. Wish we could buy meat and furs here, and shut the anti's up a little.

[Moose Guide]

Black bear is one of my favourite meats. I've found all mine to be mild and lean, better than than beef or venison. I don't understand why folks object to it.[/QUOTE]

Black Bear is my least favorite, just barely ahead of skunk:) I have eaten my fair share of bear but would choose moose, elk, deer, pork, beef, lamb or chicken first! If you like bear, feel free to eat my share as I'll be eating elk! Now, where can I get some seal to try!!!

[Fella]

My wife and I have this old mennonite couple as surrogate grandparents, and "grandpa" has spent a lot of time in the high arctic, so he's eaten seal in both its raw and cooked forms many a time. He definitely prefers more "conventional" game. Apparently seal is very fishy tasting.

[RAMIFICATION]

I work with a native who recently got written permission from his band to basically fish for whatever he wants, whenever, however. On this permit they also green lighted seal hunting but recomended that the meat should not be used for human consumption?

[longstonec]

I know acouple natives that will sometimes eat seal up the coast. All I know is that it has to be a young seal to taste any good. 100lbs and under they said.

[Weatherby Fan]

Seals ans Sea Lions have been protected under the federal fisheries act since 1970.........wrongfully so,I know a few Commercial Fisherman that still have a licence to hunt them commercially if ever allowed to again,
There are far to many of both on our coast in my opinion and should be harvested.

[lorneparker1]

There is no open season or LEH on seals or sea lions in BC

Why do you guys shoot so many on your farms then>?\


Lorne

[Ozone]

Why do you guys shoot so many on your farms then>?\


Lorne

Following a set of strict guidelines and licencing, most farms can dispatch a nuisance seal.

[open-sights]

I have cut open a seal before to view what the meat looked like, deep dark red meat with thicker graining - similar to bison in texture or even mtn goat I would say. I wanted to carve off a few back-strap steaks but was discouraged by fellow hunters that made valid points about possessing meat that has no open season.

[Surrey Boy]

Is there no asian restaurant in the province serving such meat?