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[garym053]

It's great today! Our 48th annual Wild Game Supper was last night, fed about 1000 people between 2:30 pm and 8 pm, and it went off without a hitch! It's over, the stress and sleeplessness is gone!! Yipee!!!
Thanks everyone! you are great!

[B-flat]

Gary,
:eek: :eek: :eek: You scared me for a while.  I didn't know what was going on.  So glad that you got a lot of sleep and that things are better for you.  Remember no leaving without a permit.:J

[NightOwl]

It's great today! Our 48th annual Wild Game Supper was last night, fed about 1000 people between 2:30 pm and 8 pm, and it went off without a hitch! It's over, the stress and sleeplessness is gone!! Yipee!!!
Thanks everyone! you are great!

Wow--feeding A THOUSAND people--no  wonder you were losing sleep, Gary!
 :S   Tell us a little more about the dinner, sounds intriguing.  Was it a fund raiser?  What all was on the menu?  Did you cook on grills or what?  Where is  a gathering of this sort held?

Hey, Gang, maybe we all ought to try to attend next year! :p  :W

[wiininkwe]

:W    YAAAAAAYYY, Gary!!!   It's good to eat a lot, and then sleep a lot, and then come back to the board all refreshed and ready to camp.

T

[garym053]

The Game Supper is a fund raiser for our church. 10% goes to Missions work, both local and nationwide or worldwide. The rest is used for repairs and improvements to our 200 year old church buildings and pasonage. I am co-chair of the supper and Treasurer for the church.

The supper is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We serve Rabbit Pie, Roast Rabbit, Pheasant w/Wild Rice, Smoked Wild Boar, Roast Wild Boar, Venison Steaks, Venison Roast, Venison w/ Blueberry Sausage, Game Sausage, Ground Moose patties, Roast Bear, Roast Buffalo, Game Chili (made with Gr. Moose & Venison), a surprise dish which was Porcupine Meatballs (which contained Bear, Boar & Venison, but NO porcupine!) and last and (definitely least!) Roast Beaver! This is served with Homemade Rolls, Winter Squash, Mashed potatoes, gravy, Coleslaw, Coffee, milk or cider and homemade Gingerbread with fresh Whipped Cream!

For future years surprise dishes, I will be experimenting with recipes for Rattlesnake, Alligator, Duck w/Orange Marmalade Sausage, and Ostrich w/Cherries Sausage.

My half of the chairpersonship involves all the meat and vegetable details! Over the 48 years that it has been going on, we've had guests from all states except 2, and 8 other countries! We serve 180 people per seating and have continuous seatings from 2:15 or 2:30 until we've served 1000 people! It's a lt of work, but the fellowship is fantastic!

[Papaso]

Wow that sounds interesting, where do you get all those ingredients? I know my local Publix has Pheasant, but bear, wild boar, or moose might be a special order . All kidding aside I would like to try some of those dishes, where are you from?

[B-flat]

Yummmmmm, rabbit, pheasant, venison, buffalo.  What, no elk?  Rattlesnake is quite tasty when fried.

[birol]

I hope this doesn't sopund ignorant. The purpose is to serve 1,000 people ? That is all ? What if there is still food left and more people who want to eat ? I am sure they are welcomed too ? Inquiring minds want to know .....

As this is a religious event obviously, I hope asking this question is not offensive ....

[wiininkwe]

mmmmm, wish I was there!!!   BTW, Gary, porcupine is actually quite good, it's a light meat, tasting like pork (haha, why are you not surprised?)   Anyway, during the depression it was considered the 'poor man's feast' because  they move slowly, and even someone who could not afford to have a gun could kill one.   The biggest challenge is the skinning, and they do have lots of fat to scrape.   Since they eat lots of tender leaves and things, the meat is quite tender, and sweet.

Hey, no moose?

T

[garym053]

Yes, did I forget to mention Moose!

We presell (in October) 900 tickets and serve 100 people who work the supper, that's how we came up with 1000! We have very little left over, as we've been doing it for 48 years and have it down pretty well. Whatever is left is sold afterwards or donated to anyone who wants it.

The Venison and Bear is donated by hunters in exchange for tickets to the supper. The Moose is purchased through the state of VT Fish & Wild Life. The Pheasant, Buffalo, Venison Sausage is purchased through a supplier from Game Farms. The Beaver are nusiance Beaver that are trapped. (Imagine a beaver dam flooding your yard, driveway and house!). The Rabbits are purchased from a Rabbitry. Some people were gratefull and others were disappointed that the pocupine meatballs contained no porcupine! I believe the recipe came from meatballs that use rice and are called porcupine meatballs, it wasn't meant to attempt to defraud people. It was plainly stated that they contained Bear, Venison, & Boar only!

By the way, personally I like the rabbit, pheasant, venison, moose, and buffalo, but I haven't aquired the taste for Beaver (tasteslike pond water!) and Bear (a bit gamey)

I don't want to break any rules here so if you are interested in me sending you information on it, private email me a mailing address and I'll see you are put on the mailing list next Fall!

Oh, by the way, it's in Bradford, VT, which is about 1/2 hour North of Dartmouth College on the opposite side of the Connecticut River!

[B-flat]

Thanks for sharing all this interesting information with us.  I have heard of the porcupine meat balls being made with rice....sort of to mimic the "pines" on the porcupine, maybe.  It sounds like an incredible feast.

 
By the way....are you all rested up now?

[birol]

Thanks for sharing all this interesting information with us.  I have heard of the porcupine meat balls being made with rice....sort of to mimic the "pines" on the porcupine, maybe.  It sounds like an incredible feast.

 
By the way....are you all rested up now?

And filled up ?  :W  :p

[garym053]

Yep, got filled up, then got (finally) rested up!

[NightOwl]

Gary, --from time to time I have been the victim of shrimp in some landlocked  restaurant which tasted to me like "river mud" so I love your  creative and picturesque  description of the way beaver tastes like "pond water."

I used to make "porcupine balls" when our kids were young--they are very good--and yes, Nancy you are right on with the explanation that they are named that because of the way the little bits of rice stick out.  )I think I got my original recipe for them from the good ol' Joy of Cooking.)

Sounds like it must have been a wonderful "harvest" meal.  And a high point of the year.   Wish I didnt live so far away from Vt.  (I visited there once many years ago and it is a gorgeous state--one of my ancestors came from there.)