Jellied Moose Nose
Jellied Moose Nose
Jellied Moose Nose
The moose’s nose contains both white meat (from the nostrils) and dark meat
(around the bones). The skin must be removed before cooking, either by removing
it over an open fire, peeling the nose after cooking, or simply skinning the nose.
The cooks then cut the nose and season it with onion, garlic and various other
spices, which may include cinnamon, castors, allspice or mustard seeds. Meat from
other parts of the moose's head, such as ears and lips, can be added to the mixture.
When the mixture has cooled, the cook puts the pieces of meat in a baking dish,
moistens them with the broth and puts the mixture in the refrigerator to solidify the
broth. The resulting jelly is served as bread and eaten in slices.
Jellied moose nose is similar to European head cheese, trapping cuts of moose nose
within a gelatinized broth. The dish was even mentioned in the Nothern Cookbook,
a 1967 publication by the Canadian government that offered recipes and cooking
advice for “wilderness wives” living in the backwoods of the far north.
The resulting jelly is served as bread and eaten in slices. The deer is usually lean
and playful; however, the jelly moose nose is more complicated. By mixing
different cuts of moose head together, the jelly has a different texture, from the
chewiness of the nasal cartilage to the tenderness of the cheekbones.