Know any Native American Recipes?

Let's each of us share any Native American recipes we may know! I grew up in South Florida and was friends with some Miccosukee Indians that live in a village in the Everglades. My best friend Cindy Jim loved to share her culture with me and also some of her favorite Miccosukee foods.

So my 1st recipe to share is a drink they serve called : Sofkee
A really simple drink made in a dutch oven full of water and add a cup of grits and a pinch of baking soda and cook slowly until grits are well cooked. Turn off the heat and allow to cool, drink throughout the day using a sofkee spoon! Enjoying the water on top and the grits that have sunk to the bottom.

Then second recipe is : Fried Pumpkin Bread

visit this site if interested in the recipe: Fried Pumpkin Bread

Hmm I know of absolutely no native American dishes.. My father always told me that we have some Mohawk Indian in our blood and that they were known as the "heart eaters". Fortunately, no recipes have come from that as far as I know.

Jafo232 said:

Hmm I know of absolutely no native American dishes.. My father always told me that we have some Mohawk Indian in our blood and that they were known as the "heart eaters". Fortunately, no recipes have come from that as far as I know.

Click to expand...

Aw jeeesh, after I read this & quit laughing I sobered up and decided I would not push the issue too much on that recipe!!!

Navajo Fry Bread

2 cups unsifted flour
1/2 cup dry milk solids
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lard, cut into 1/2-inch bits,
plus 1 pound lard for deep frying 1/2 cup ice water.

Combine the flour, dry milk solids, baking powder and salt, and sift them into a deep bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of lard bits and, with your fingertips, rub the flour and fat together until the mixture resembles flakes of coarse meal. Pour in the water and toss the ingredients together until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Drape the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest at room temperature for about 2 hours.

After the resting period, cut the dough into three equal pieces. Then, on a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a rough circle about 8 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. With a small sharp knife, cut two 4- to 5-inch-long parallel slits completely through the dough down the center of each round, spacing the slits about 1 inch apart.

In a heavy 10-inch skillet, melt the remaining pound of lard over moderate heat until it is very hot but not smoking. The melted fat should be about 1 inch deep; add more lard if necessary. Fry the breads one at a time for about 2 minutes on each side, turning them once with tongs or a slotted spatula. The bread will puff slightly and become crisp and brown. Drain the Navajo fry bread on paper towels and serve warm.

Makes three 8-inch round breads.

Alligator Tail Steak (Seminole Indian)

2 pounds alligator tail meat
Juice of lemon
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup lard or butter

Cut tail into strips lengthwise, 4 x 2-inches wide. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Mix flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Blot the alligator pieces, and dip into flour, then into beaten eggs. Let eggs drip off and dip into flour again.

Heat lard or butter in a large skillet and sauté the alligator pieces quickly. Do not overcook or they will be tough. Serve immediately.

VARIATION

Follow the above recipe and cook the alligator tail as directed. As soon as the meat is browned add 2 cups of water and ¼ cup fresh lemon juice to the skillet. Cover and simmer for 2 to 3 hours or until very tender.

Cathy,

Alaskan natives eat some "fun" stuff- 'tho most of it isn't cooked!

Of course they use seal oil as a dipping-sauce/condiment for most everything.

Most fish and big-game they hunt/trap/harpoon/capture is eaten both cooked and uncooked, such as whale, walrus, seal, sea lion, musk ox, moose, caribou, salmon, etc.

And NOTHING is wasted. There are 12 different "Eskimo" native cultures (among them are: Aleuts, Inuit, Athabascan, Y'upiks and Tlinget...) and they believe when an animal surrenders it's life to them, they are to use the entire sacrificed body given up for their survival. Flesh and all soft tissues (eyes, muzzle/nose, ears, innards, etc.) are consumed. Blood and milk is harvested/consumed. Bones are utilized- as is skin/fur, and even seal gut and whale baleen (which is the 10-15 ft. long fern-like "fronds" inside a whale's throat used to skim/strain microscopic plankton and critters from sea water for eating). Bladders are used to make leak-proof bags and canteens, intestines are slit open wide, dried and sewn together and stitched into thin leak-proof liners for parkas and anoraks. And skin is used to surface kayaks and to stretch across drums for music.

An interesting "delicasy" that natives love are fish eggs. When playing outside near a creek, they'll wade into water and snatch twigs and branches out of the water and if a herring has deposited eggs onto the weeds or branchs they insert it into their mouths and pull it out squeezing all the eggs off with their tongue/lips/teeth. They also catch and pick up swimming fish with their hands and if she's fat around her middle w/ eggs, they'll hold her hind-end directly to their mouths, gently squeeze her belly and savor the eggs that squirt into their mouths. They call this "candy"! Interesting to observe- but way to freaky for me to try- HA!

Lastly, Eskimo Ice-Cream? It's a "delicious" mixture of rendered whale/walrus blubber (like rich Crisco) sugar and berries!

Wow good recipes CanMan! I have had fries Gator Tail! The best I ever had was at a restaurant in Central Florida near Ocala, called "The Yearling" and it was fabulous tasting! The restaurant actually was located close to where the story "The Yearling" took place and was written. My love of Florida runs deep, the history intrigues me! The crystal clear waters of the natural spring fed rivers and watering holes are a thing of exqusite beauty and excellent swimming on a hot summers day!

The Indians I knew were similar to the Alaskan Indians Kevin, my girlfriend told me a legend about spiders, their belief against killing a spider was that if you did it was akin to killing your Mother. I love it, spiders are beneficial! It is neat how all living things are considered worthwhile. I still hate mosquitos though, and I know my Miccosukee friends did not mind swatting them too! LOL

Take um snake, bash in head with stick and cut off head. Bury head deep so Chief don't step on. Cut off end of snakes tail. Run stick through snake to push out gunk. Put stick and snake over fire and burn snake till done. Peel off burned snake and eat stick. Stick taste like chicken.

Yew-w-w-w-w IC what tribe taught you that horrid recipe Them's some heapin' stupid red man~~~~~Tonto would kick them out of his tribe..LOL He would say must eat snake not stick STUPID!

Kinda reminds me of an old Indian joke that I never understood until I got older. I remember my Grandfather telling it often when I was a kid:

Three Indians sitting around a campfire and one stands up and says:

"I can tie dingum in one knot. "

Second Indian stands up:

"I can tie dingum in two knot."

Third Indian stands up and says:

"How come"

Fascinating thread! The history and preservation of Native American Indian culture is such an important part of our history in the US - I wish I knew more!
I Googled for the info - and found two recipes for tortillas (old method and new method):

from the cookingpost.com/comersus7f/store/recipes
"Traditional Native American Recipes from the Cooking Post"

Blue Corn and Flour Tortillas (Modern Style)

1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 2/3 cups Tamaya brand blue cornmeal

Combine flour and cornmeal in bowl. Stir in water and make dough

Shape into twelve balls and roll each between two sheets greased wax paper. (Or pat between palms the old style).

Cook in a slightly greased griddle with medium heat until lightly brown on both sides.
____

Blue Corn Tortillas (Old Style)

Tortillas can be made with blue cornmeal by mixing with salt and water. Pat the dough into thin sheets between your palms, brown quickly on both sides on a hot griddle with very little oil.



I have to admit, I have always just hopped into my car, and went to the supermarket for my tortillas. I bet they are pretty spectacular when made fresh (just like everything else). I have not tried either of these recipes, but it is something I would like to do. Anyone have good tortilla success?

I thought Tortillas were made by Mexicans.

CanMan said:

I thought Tortillas were made by Mexicans.

Click to expand...

Hi CanMan -
The "CookingPost" site came up on Google when I searched for Native American food. They are based in New Mexico, and are apparently the "Pueblo of Santa Ana". So I searched Wikipedia to find out more: "The Pueblo, named Tamaya in the native language, administers a total reservation land of 73,000 acres (295 km²) in the Rio Grande valley and is composed of Native Americans who speak an eastern dialect of the Keresan languages".

Then, searching a little more, I found this: (from: native-languages.org/pueblo) "Pueblo Languages and the Pueblo Indian Tribes"- which briefly discusses the Pueblo Indians being part of New Mexico and Arizona, and descended from the Anasazi, and who also inhabited parts of southern Utah and southern Colorado according to infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0840457.

There is amazing diversity among the Native American Indian tribes that lived (and live!) throughout the United States! I wish I knew more!

Hey Cuci!

I am fascinated with Native American History also! I thank goodness for the internet as it is such a rich source of info. When I first started this thread I referenced a web-site, I just love finding "true gems" like that! The Indians I knew were just such wonderful friends and I will always consider myself fortunate to have known them so well!

Jafo232 said:

Kinda reminds me of an old Indian joke that I never understood until I got older. I remember my Grandfather telling it often when I was a kid:

Three Indians sitting around a campfire and one stands up and says:

"I can tie dingum in one knot. "

Second Indian stands up:

"I can tie dingum in two knot."

Third Indian stands up and says:

"How come"

Click to expand...

OK Jafo it went right over my head, what am I missing here?

Read it a few times and put your 'adult' brain in motion and it might come to you, or it might not come [sic].

Oh gosh CanMan I got it!!! Thanks for the tip!

CanMan said:

Read it a few times and put your 'adult' brain in motion and it might come to you, or it might not come [sic].

Click to expand...

Here's another pretty neat web-site I came upon and would like to share it is interesting: Native America Cuisine - Restaurants

Now THAT looks like a good list for someone with a motorhome and a website blog or Twitter.