Happy Cinco de Mayo with Finnish Pulled Moose Tacos

The first restaurant I ever worked at was a Mexican joint in Napa Valley, California. I still have a soft spot for those flavors.

Tequila. Cerveza with lime. Cilantro. Cumin. Roasted chilis. Chips and salsa. Moose.

Moose?

You know my man Johannes Leppihalme from Finland is slow cooking moose while everyone else is stuck on pork, beef and chicken. When I first wrote about his moose experiments he said he was going to do pulled moose and I mentioned "fusion tacos."

He took me seriously. How seriously?

Image via ArcticBBQ.com

I've been shredding pork shoulders and found that with the nice fat cap, the Boston Butt is very forgiving. But wild game is notoriously lean. Drying it out is very easy.


How does Johannes do it? I'll let him tell you:


Yesterday was a great BBQ day. I got inspired by your vision on "fusion taco" and took a shot on pulled moose. Great success!


I had 5lb moose roast to cook. Low and slow.

Image via ArcticBBQ.com

I rubbed the meat with black pepper and placed it on the upper level of my Weber Smokey Mountain.Temperature inside the chamber was 180F in the beginning. No smoking this time.

It took 4hrs sharp to get internal temp up to 165F. Chamber temp varied between 210F - 250F during the process, I wrapped the moose in foil when temp was 130F and then continued cooking.


I was afraid that meat would get dry as it is very low fat. However, once rested in foil for 30 minutes, I started pulling it apart and it responded well. It was not as easy to pull as pork shoulder, but I can confirm it was moist, even juicy and pulled apart nicely enough.

Image via ArcticBBQ.com

Dinner was served with pulled moose tortilla "boats", chili and nachos. Excellent!

A couple of things will always be true for me regarding food:

- Mixing cultures and styles yields delicious results.

- Things wrapped in tortillas are good.

So Feliz Cinco de Mayo everyone. Keep being creative with food.


Oh, and next time you're shredding moose or anything, we suggest a pair of these:

Get your Dragon Knuckle Claws at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XY7XCV9

Fern's Semi-Famous Solar-Powered Satellite BBQ

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Barbecue enough and you'll never stop smiling.

This is Fernando Martinez: San Diego BBQ lover. His passion pushes him to constantly get better. Not only can you taste it, you can see it.

"I started a very long time ago on a tiny grill that I propped up on bricks. I experimented with several different types of grills and cooking styles which have lead me to where I am today."

Where he is today is catering from a custom-built trailer featuring solar panels, two smokers, four 6V deep cycle batteries, a fridge system and satellite TV.

Yeah, they're watching football up there. Here he is cooking before Super Bowl LI:

In order to cook for his co-workers he used to load his Traeger in the back of his truck and drive it to work.

"There's got to be an easier way," he said. He says that a lot.

He wanted to mount his barbecue gear on the back of a trailer so he could easily tailgate and entertain. He found a $100 trailer for sale and headed down to see it, prepared to play hard-ball and offer $50.

When he found out a battered women's shelter was selling it, he paid $200.

When he outgrew that trailer, he bought a bigger one and aspired to cook as green as possible. His solar array and batteries allow him to barbecue off the grill for up to 43 hours.

Just because the barbecue is smoking doesn't mean the power plants must do it also.

He's a member of the Rub Life crew of BBQ enthusiasts, a bunch of skilled and down-to-earth slow-and-low meat lovers based in the South West.

Image via FernsBBQ.com

To me, chicken is one of the trickiest meats to cook. All of the parts are different sizes and shapes. So easy to over-cook, under-cook and burn.

I've asked him a couple of times about chicken cooking tips. So far, he's kept that to himself.

It's not a secret recipe if you tell everyone.

Maybe you can ask him.

May the Moose be With You

Pork, chicken, beef, whatever. As Jimi Hendrix would say: "Blah blah woof woof."

Shoulders and briskets. Ribs and wings. Let's do something new.

Image via ArcticBBQ.com

Bang. That's a moose roast, Son.

My man Johannes Leppihalme from Finland has the hook-up on the fresh Bullwinkle. It takes a certain touch to cook it with success, but he's been working at it.

I'll let him tell you:

Moose is dark and mild flavored meat. Younger the animal, tenderer it is. It is also low fat so you have to pay attention when cooking it. Moose cuts are very similar to beef. You can get great steaks, boneless rib eye, roasts, sirloin and tenderloin, you name it.

I don’t use much of spices on moose. As the meat is mild, black pepper, salt and sometimes mild chili go well with it. Bay leaf and juniper are also typical seasonings. Some people use garlic and ginger, but I don’t.

Most important on cooking moose is temperature control. You need to keep inner temp between 130°F - 140°F. Otherwise it will get dry.

Steak is always a steak. Good sear first and then cooked to medium rare. However, I prefer roast and it is always cooked low and slow. Another slow food I like is a good stew.

So far I have cooked moose only five times. Once I did nice ragú from minced moose. I cooked it almost 8 hours in a cast iron pot in red wine with root vegetables and tomatoes to get it right. That experience was a success and I served the ragú with pasta and ciabatta.

Four times I have tried to get the roast right. I think once the cut was not very good quality and the end result was chewy. On that dinner I got quite many guests to feed. Unforgettable evening. Still get nightmares.

On other three times I have followed instructions strictly and also the meat has been top quality. One time I smoked moose roast with apple wood. Twice I have just cooked it low and slow, without any smoke. When you do it low and slow (210°F - 220°F), keep it medium rare (130°F) and let it rest well after cooking, you can’t go wrong. Moose is not difficult to BBQ. Beef rules apply.

For cooking I have always used my Weber Smokey Mountain. Even for the ragú. I have perfected temperature control by some 100 times of cooking and I always use remote thermometer for monitoring.

Recently I have learned about pulled moose. That sounds interesting and might be my next experiment.

Image via ArcticBBQ.com

I think that is one of the most beautiful pieces of meat I've ever seen. A nice mahogany bark on the outside. Fresh and red on the inside. Not often do you see a digital picture you can smell.

He said he'll be cooking moose again this weekend and I'll certainly get you an update.

I'm looking forward to a pulled moose experiment. That has "Fusion Taco" written all over it.