White Fang Food (#115)

Our June film this year was Disney's White Fang. This film follows the story of a young prospector during the gold rush. During the film, he befriends a wolf.

While researching this film, I couldn't find much in the way of food scenes. There is a scene where the boy is fed by Eskimos, but it is unclear what the meal was. Also, there is a scene where the protagonist uses bits of meat to tame the wolf.

I decided that I wanted to make food that would be fitting to the kind of food a prospector in the Yukon might eat during that time. I used venison and elk as the proteins and made both jerky and a hearty stew. Along with the stew, I made some biscuits. For dessert, I made homemade Klondike bars. 

In addition to the food and snacks for my guests, I decided make some dog friendly snacks as well. I made a special batch of jerky with dog friendly ingredients and encouraged my guests to bring their dogs to dinner.

Venison Jerky (for People)

There are many ways to make jerky. You might have access to a smoker or dehydrator. If you don't, you can dry out your jerky in a traditional oven at a low temperature. The important part is the kind of meat you use and the kind of marinade you use. For this recipe, to fit the rustic gold rush vibe, I made my jerky from venison which I hand sliced very thin before marinating. I make a soy free marinade because I have guests with soy allergies.

Marinade Ingredients:

(Per 1 lb of thin sliced venison)

• 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 4 tsp kosher salt
• 4 tsp coarse pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 tbsp bourbon

Instructions:

1. Soak thin-sliced venison in marinade for 24 to 48 hours.
2. Move to wire rack and let air dry for two hours.
3. Smoke using your preferred method. I normally use a pellet smoker and smoke the jerky at a low temp that way, but my smoker quit working this week, so I cold smoked it for 2 hours instead and then moved it to an oven to finish dehydrating.

To dehydrate in an oven, set it to the lowest temperature (usually 170°F) and bake the meat on a wire rack. Check the meat regularly, at least every half hour to check dryness. Every time you open the oven, you ket moisture out so checking frequently helps it dry out more quickly. You want the meat to be stiff but still bendable. When done, move the meat to a ziploc and refrigerate. I suggest putting a paper towel in the ziploc bag as well to catch any excess moisture.

Venison Jerky (for Dogs)

For the dog jerky, I used the same meat and the same process but a completely different marinade. A lot of spices and ingredients that we eat all the time can make dogs very sick. This marinade uses dog friendly ingredients. Technically, it is made with human quality ingredients so people could eat it, but it's made for a dog's palate so it's not going to taste good to us.

Marinade Ingredients: 

(Per .5 lb of thin sliced venison)

• 1/4 cup organic unsweetened apple juice
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

For preparation, I followed the same steps as the other jerky above.

Rustic Wild Game Stew

For this dish, I wanted it to feel like something people might actually eat in the film. I cooked this stew with one pound of elk stew meat and one pound of venison flank steak that I diced into small cubes. This stew could easily be made with other meats though.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp beef tallow
• 2 lbs chopped game meat
• 8 oz (1 cup) diced yellow onion
• 8 oz (1 cup) sliced carrots
• 6 oz (3/4 cup) diced celery
• 1.5 lbs (4 cups) Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 6 to 8 cups beef broth
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 2 bay leaves)
• 4 oz (1/2 cup) fine chopped venison jerky (optional)

Directions:

1. Melt beef tallow in large pot.
2. Increase temp to medium high and brown the meat in the tallow.
3. Move the meat to a side dish and saute the onion, celery, and carrots in the tallow and meat juices. I am not a big fan of veggies, so I made this dish meat and potato forward. You could easily double the amount of carrots, onion, and celery if you wanted.
4. Once veggies have softened, return meat to pot.
5. Add 6 cups of beef broth and stir in garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano.
6. Bring to a light simmer and cover.
7. Let simmer for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
8. While simmering, wash and chop your potatoes into bite size chunks. Depending on the size of the potatoes, you might want to quarter them or cut into eighths. Even if your potatoes are really small, you should still halve them. Opening the potato helps it absorb the broth and flavors.
9. After the pot has simmered for 2.5 hours, add the chopped potatoes and the diced jerky. This is of course the venison jerky (for people) from the recipe higher up this page. The seasoned jerky adds flavor and smokiness to the stew. If you didn't make that, you may want to add additional spices to your stew instead.
10. Simmer stew for an additional hour or until potatoes and meat are tender.

This is a slow cook recipe. You can make it the same day and start 4 hours before dinner, or you can make it the night before and reheat it on the stove a half hour before dinner. If you make it early, store in the fridge overnight. Making it early means less work the day of, but it also helps maximize the flavors.

If you make this the night before or if you simmer for a really long time, it's possible that the stew could become too thick. If that happens, add up to two more cups of beef broth.

Campfire Biscuits

I knew that I would need a bread product to go with my stew. I decided that biscuits would be fitting. Because of the time and work I was already putting into the other dishes, I didn't want to make biscuits from scratch. Instead, I chose to use Pillsbury biscuits and make some small changes so they would look and taste more rustic.

First, I quartered the biscuits. Then, I tossed each piece in melted beef tallow. Then, I packed them into a baking pan. I didn't space them out like you normally would. Lastly, I sprinkled some coarse salt over them and baked them following the tin's instructions.

The result was that the biscuits were more savory and dense than had I baked them the standard way.

Homemade Klondike Bars

For dessert, I was inspired by the Klondike and decided that Klondike bars would be a fun play on that. I could have bought some, but I learned how to make ice cream bars for our Running Man movie night and it was pretty easy.

I decided to do it again and make some homemade Klondike bars using melting chocolates, square molds, and homemade vanilla ice cream. I made the vanilla ice cream using the same recipe as I did with See No Evil, Hear No Evil.

One thing that was different this time was that I was using a metal pan instead of a silicone one. It still worked well, but I sprayed the molds with coconut oil before brushing the chocolate into the mold. This helps ensure they come out easily.

Overall, the whole night was a hit. The food fit the theme well and everyone seemed to enjoy the dishes.

I decided to host this event in my backyard since the movie primarily happens outside. I also invited all my guests to bring their dogs. The dogs enjoyed their treats a lot as well.