The Power Of A Good Title; Forget-Me-Not Moose Bologna

I sit down at the start of the Take One Cookbook week and flag all the recipes for the week. I try to get a balance of different types of dishes, signature recipes, funny asides, etc. Sometimes, a recipe gets picked just on the power of a good title.

For example, on pages 34 and 35 of Alaska "Sourdough" Cookin', I could choose Good Luck Pickled Deer Tongue, Frontier Jellied Moose Nose, Land of the Midnight Sun Muskrat, Roast Alaskan Venison Supreme, Oil Capital Barbecued Reindeer Burgers, or today's pick:

Forget-Me-Not Moose Bologna

12 lbs. moose meat
1 pound suet
1 1/2 ozs. black pepper
1 oz. salt
3/4 oz. coriander
1/2 oz. mace

Grind moose meat. Add spices and mix well. Some water may be added to aid in mixing. Pack ground meat down in a pan and leave in refrigerator overnight. Grind through grinder again, using smaller cutter. Mix and grind once more. Stuff into casings. Boil in water until sausage floats. Hang up to dry.

Yes, the Forget-Me-Not Moose Bologna wins! It is a rare/exotic meat, an unexpected presentation, and... it's cute! Jellied moose nose seems just a bit too far gone from something I'd ever want on a sandwich, but not the (moose) bologna. Thirteen pounds of meat and meat products, less than one cup of seasoning! I assume the coriander is coriander seed, not fresh coriander/cilantro.

I don't know how many casings you'll need for this; it's not listed in the ingredients, and I suspect that the author assumes anyone already making his or her own sausage will have an intuitive sense of how many casings are needed for any given amount of force meat. Also in my list of assumptions: they mean natural sausage casings, not artificial.

I've never had moose. I do remember fondly my dad's venison summer sausage. Thinly sliced, and served with crackers and sliced Tillamook... mmmm. Perfect cold dinner or snack.