Moose Stew: A Gastronomical Rite of Passage
The annual moose hunt in Newfoundland is about more than just getting meat for the winter. It’s about time spent with fellow hunters, family, and friends passing on tradition, culture, and craft—and cultivating the next generation of hunters. Traditionally the meat is ground, turned into sausages, cut into steaks and roasts, or even bottled. (Yes, that’s one huge bottle, or many, many small ones!) The preserved bottled moose finds itself heated over the fire in the woods during rabbit hunting season and made into delicious stews for the family table. Served up with lots of thickly sliced homemade bread slathered with butter, it’s a taste of home and a treasured meal.
In recent years in the Newfoundland culinary scene, this beautiful wild game has risen to great heights. The province allows the meat to be prepared and served in restaurants under strict regulations, taking it from subsistence eating to culinary centre stage. Today you can find it turned into dry-cured bresaola, delicious ragu, ravioli, carpaccio, and tartare—a taste of the old made new.
The Perfect Pairing:
Wild game, rich dumplings, root vegetables—in many ways, moose stew is like the Newfoundland version of a beef bourguignon. So what do you pair with a bourguignon? You know: a deep, luscious Bordeaux. Those left bank of Bordeaux notes will deepen the flavours of the stew and elevate any of its hidden flavours.