by Laura Pearce
When my Virginian ancestors came west over the Oregon Trail in 1850, they relied on the wisdom and citizenship of good neighbors who were always willing to share what they knew with their fellow pioneers. I am fortunate to have the detailed and well-maintained diary of my great-great grandmother, Florence Tyler Grice (1829-1904) that is in and of itself, a rich, colorful history of a settler’s life in what is now Marion County Oregon.
Her husband, Walter Larkin Grice (1825-1894) was a skilled hunter and fisherman. Until crops could be made, wild game was needed to stretch their meager provisions of flour, dried beans and meal. Foraging for indigenous edibles such as currants, huckleberries, blackberries and wild crabapple allowed traditional recipes to be used (with a few substitutions), resulting in culinary favorites our family has enjoyed for generations.
The following is an excerpt from Florence’s diary that recalls a visit to a neighbor’s home.
It is interesting to note that while she knew it was a Sunday and September, she was unsure of the date.
************************************
Sunday, September ?, 1851, Marion County, Oregon Territory
Cloudy, light rain off and on. Much mud.
Stayed day with MacDonald’s up Opal Creek. No rest this Sabbath. Helped Mrs. MacDonald put up elk meat from kill Mr. M. Got Friday.
She has a good method I will use when Pa gets elk or deer. Poured salt and spice in bottom of 2 quart tins and packed chunked meat on top, no fat, sinew or bone.
Weighed meat down with clean smooth stones from creek bed. Put tins into wash boiler added water about 1\2 way up to top of cans. Heat water to cook, bank back fire and cover boiler with green elk hide. Cook this way three hours. Sealed cooled tins with tallow. Put up 38 tins. Mrs. M. sent us home with five tins. Home after dark, tried cooked meat for supper. Very good. Will try with mincemeat.
This is Florence’s recipe in its entirety copied from margins in her diary.
Venison Mincemeat
2 quarts cooked elk meat/venison
2 cups suet
5 quarts apple (pared and peeled & minced)
6 cups sugar
2 cups molasses
2 cups cider
1 cup vinegar
1 cup spirits (your guess is as good as mine, in latter years we used brandy)
2 lbs. Raisins, use currants if raisins have gone moldy, but dry currants prior.
Cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves to taste.
Cook until apples are tender and mix is well heated through.
Pack into crocks and seal.
************************
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have pictures of that Sunday afternoon on Opal Creek!
Hunting and preserving game is still a passion in our family. In this photo, taken when I was a child in the mid 1960’s, My father, Walter Martin (right) had just bagged this beauty in the in the Cache Mountain area high in the Oregon Cascades.
After a cutting and wrapping party, Mom and I followed Grandma Florence’s Recipe to the letter and ‘minced’ what didn’t go into the freezer. We used modern canning methods of course. You’d be a fool not to.
Enjoy!
Laura Pearce
San Dimas, CA.
*** Laura Pearce is a free lance writer for hire.
Published U.S. Legacies 2003
- Log in to post comments