Apache Cooked Rabbit and Pheasant

By Joseph Parish

Native American’s were actually the very first self sufficient group of people on our continent. They lacked the opportunity to hop down to the local supermarket for their bread and milk or other necessities and instead had to rely upon themselves for all their needs.

This same type of attitude applied to the way they cooked their meals as well. One of the foods that the Apache nation favored was rabbits and pheasants. For a change of pace you may wish to prepare these tasty dishes in the original apache manner. To aid you in this venture I have included the following information.

The Apaches would begin by digging a trench one foot wide and three foot long along the banks of a stream. They would then build a roaring fire the length of the trench which consisted of any local scrub growth and some of the dead brush that they could find. Driftwood that they came across was one of the more popular items which they would use in the fire. The exact length of the trench depended upon the number of rabbits or pheasant that they were preparing. The more game they had to cook the longer the trench would be.

The braves would wait until the fire had developed a glowing bed of coals at the bottom of the ditch and then they would place the rabbits and birds onto it. The game would be cleaned however; they did not bother to skin their catch. They would roll the meat in a thick sticky mud found at the bottom of the stream and after placing them on the coals they would completely cover the entire carcass with the mud.

They would let the rabbit and bird cook on these coals for about one hour and after they were removed each brave was entitled to ½ of a rabbit as well as ½ of a pheasant for their meal. The white men who were treated to these meals made in this manner often would comment that these was the best tasting meats that they had ever eaten.

So, there you have it a genuine Apache method of cooking some fresh game. Why not try it in the future?

Copyright @2009 Joseph Parish

http://www.survivaql-training.info