Dinner At Oraibi

[Chuckwagon]

Dinner At Oraibi

It has been said John Wesley Powell understood the western United States better than anyone. During his second exploration of the Green River, he and his men visited the Pueblo Indians at the province of Tsuyan (pronounced "sue-yawn") on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in October 1870. As he entered the streets of Oraibi, (pronounced ore-eye-bee), the Pueblo "cacique" (chief) invited him to dine inside his kiva.

Dinner was delicious! Goat stew was served in pottery bowls with "piki", a bread of colorful paper-thin layers, cooked upon hot rocks. Melons and peaches were served as dessert, but most impressive were the little sausages of ground goat meat steamed inside cornhusks. Powell's men couldn't get enough of the tasty morsels and enjoyed them throughout the entire week before discovering how the goat meat was minced. The Indian women simply masticated or "pre-chewed" the goat meat before cooking it!

Today, in place of the cornhusks, use a thin steamed wrapper to encase the sausage. Certain ingredients have been "updated".

The Dough:
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup of boiling water
1 tblspn. bacon drippings

The Filling:
1 lb. ground pork (or pre-chewed goat)
2 tblspns, sherry
1 tspn. freshly grated ginger
1/2 tspn. white pepper
1/2 tspn. sugar with 1/4 tspn. MSG
1 tblspn. chopped onion
1 eggwhite mixed with 1 tblspn. cornstarch
2 cloves crushed garlic

Make the dough by mixing the ingredients, kneading it a bit, and allowing it to rest 20 minutes while you prepare the filling. Roll out teaspoon-size balls of dough into flattened 3" circles using the side of a chef's knife or Chinese clever, in a sliding motion. Gather up the sides around one teaspoon of the filling to form little "cache" bags. Simply steam the dumplings for 15 minutes over high heat.

I certainly hope you try J.W. Powell's "Pre-Chewed Sausages".
Best Wishes, Chuckwagon

[wheels]

Chuckwagon

Superb.

Phil

[vinner]

I have had a long standing rule to never try a sausage that another man... or woman... has pre-masticated. Guess I'll have to re-think my rule.

[mitchamus]

I'd like to try them cooked in the corn husks....

I'm finding it hard not to make jokes in this post...
Such as...
if you think the mincing was bad... you should have seen how they stuffed the casings!

[Chuckwagon]

... rolling on the floor... laughing my --- off!
That's funny!
Chuckwagon

[Ianinfrance]

I have had a long standing rule to never try a sausage that another man... or woman... has pre-masticated. Guess I'll have to re-think my rule.

Speaking purely personally, I've been masticating my sossidge for years!

[wheels]

[beardedwonder5]

Supple backbones abound.