Sunday, January 27, 2008

You're in Caribou Flavour Country Now!

A few friends went out hunting yesterday and I asked if I could come take photos of their catch when they came back. I didn't go out hunting, as this is one experiance I don't mind missing while I live in the north. It's not that I don't eat or very much enjoy the meat, I am just not down with driving hours and hours out onto the land and then shooting up a bunch of cute furry mammals. I am not against the hunting part, but why do it when someone else will do it for you?
Their trip consisted of driving out onto the cold frozen land/sea for a few hours, coming across a heard, picking off a few caribou, cutting up the meat, and taking another few hours driving back to town. And of course if you get a bit hungry along the way, just shave off a bit to munch on for the trip back.
I guess the great thing about hunting in sub-zero temperatures is that the meat freezes right away. You can just put your catch right into the back your qamutiq (sled) and cover it with one of those classic blue tarps to make your journey home. Don't worry, the heads won't go to waste, one gentleman remarked that he really enjoyed eating the cheeks and the tongues are delicious. Here they are unloading the cut meat right into a storage shed, no need to have a freezer to put it in, just an unheated building. (photo below)Here is dinner, a few morsels taken from the larger selection stored in the shed. Some of the meat here was fried, but it is also popular here to just boil the meat. Or of course just eaten raw and frozen. (photo below)And of course the money shot. Look how brave your little girl is mom and dad. Oh and yes I am not wearing a scarf or hat, yes it was freaking cold. No I wasn't trying to be hardcore, just dumb and I did pay for it later, boy did my ears and cheeks burn. (photo below)

6 comments:

Kennie said...

Hmmm... caribou ... and Jen, that last picture is definitely one to get printed and framed :-).

Shelley said...

Wow that will make a lot of stew. I hope you don't mind I finally got around to working on my blog and have added a link to your blog!

Are you getting Kamiks out of that hide?

jen said...

Kennie,
I have one where I am pretend kissing it, however I thought slightly inappropriate to post up. hehee lol

Shelley,
They only use the skin to transport the meat back and I guess in case they need a blanket come random blizzard. I fought to find something to do with the skin, but apparently the hair is too long, too crappy to do anything with. Needless to say no Kamiks can be made with it. Summer skins are apparently better.

Anonymous said...

Ewwwww!

Anonymous said...

I am totally envious of you Jen. I am waiting for the winter road to open up so that I can go to Whati hunting. I haven't even seen a caribou since we got here. I have some friends down south that could probably use some of the fur for their fly tying collection. They tie their own flies for fishing.

Kennie said...

Inappropriate? Never ... :-)