More gathering than hunting. . .

Our freezer use to look like this

Wild-caught Alaskan salmon 

(which Austin caught this summer)

Wild-picked raspberries and blueberries

(almost enough to last us through the winter)

And to the right there,

the neck of a moose.

(courtesy of a friend) 

Looks pretty good, right? 

So then why, you may ask, must we venture out into the treacherous daytime of the night, also known as 5am, on Black Friday to purchase a deep freezer?

BECAUSE WE GOT A MOOSE!

It all started 2 months ago. . .

When Austin found out that the Alaska State Troopers have a list.

A road kill salvage list.

And that is exactly what it sounds like. 

Waste not, want not!

Over 300 moose are killed a year by cars in the Mat-Su Valley area in which we live. Those moose live happy, healthy lives in the North Land and, although meet an unfortunate end, continue the circle of life through this program. Some of those moose go to shelters and organizations to help feed the needy.

The rest go to people like us, people who recognize the importance of not wasting resources. . . people on the list. 

This is how it works:

You are nice and warm, snuggled in your bed with a big, soft, down comforter tucking you in.

The phone rings.

It's 2am.

It's -10 F outside.

A moose has been hit.

You must:

1. Be there in thirty minutes.

2. Have three people.

3. Remove the moose from the road.

4. Responsibly dispose of the gut pile. 

(i.e., not in someones front yard)

Well, at least that is how everyone told us it was going to go down.

But we got lucky.

It was 8am!

It was 35 F !

And Katrina's dad, Rob, while an hour away in Anchorage, was technically "in town". While waiting for him to arrive, we pushed, shoved, yanked, and cranked on that big, beautiful, 800 pound beast. And it took us all of that hour to get her up onto the trailer.

Thank the man in the clouds that Rob showed up when he did, therefore relieving Katrina of gut yanking duties.

We found a pull-out on the highway behind which was PUBLIC forest land, backed the truck up and the men went to work.

The Beast curiously sniffed around while Katrina remained at a safe distance, far enough where her gag reflexes weren't being triggered.

Things got a little "no guts no glory" after this. And because there were a lot of guts there was a lot of glory.
Austin, elbow deep in the belly of the beast, describes it "like being inside someones mouth. Dark, humid, and stinky"

I'm sure many of you do not wish to see all the bloody details and step by step of how to gut North America's biggest game animal, but I HAVE to show you this one. . .

Poor girl's stomach was a little bloated (and a little gassy)!

We all watched it expand before our eyes and waited for it to blow any second. . .

Now you know why Katrina was keeping a safe distance!

When all the guts were successfully scooped out, it was time to get rid of the evidence.

Happy Thanksgiving Ravens! 

 And all other forest creatures that feasted!

Next step, trucking the moose back home where she was skinned and quartered. Then the head had to be turned into the Department of Fish and Game for further examination. 

WARNING: THESE ARE PICTURES OF A DEAD, SKINNED ANIMAL!

6 hours into Operation Road Kill, 

Austin became rabid with Moose Fever.

And in his hand he yields the all-powerful Ka-Bar,  never has a graduation present been so useful.
(Gracias to Austin's cousin Chase!)

Signed, Sealed, Delivered. (almost)

From here the moose meat was taken out of our hands when we delivered it to a game processor. There they will make a variety of styles of meat, from ground to sausage.

Considering that neither Rob nor Austin had gutted, skinned, or quartered an animal before, they did a kick-arse job!

The trade off for all this hard work?

Oh, about 400 pounds of fresh, organic meat!

(hence the Black Friday Deep Freezer)

And an introduction to a new series on our blog:

THE ROADKILL CAFE

Every time we make something interesting, tasty, and fun with our newly acquired moose meat, we will be sure to share it with you!

And if you have never had moose meat before, don't knock it until you try it! It's natural, organic, lean meat that both tastes better and is better for you than beef!
And if you're lucky, maybe Santa will put a couple sticks of moose jerky in your stocking!
  Until then. . .