Posted on 12/11/2010 2:04:42 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
On her new TLC live-action show, Sarah Palin's Alaska, Palin bludgeons a gigantic halibut to death and then displays its still-beating heart triumphantly for the at-home television audience writes New York Times' David Firestone.
During an earlier episode, she gunned down a docile, unresisting female caribou with six shots, two rifles and help from her dad, recounts Maureen Dowd, also in the New York Times. "The poor caribou in the Arctic Circle, a cousin to Santa's reindeer, had to die so Palin could show off her toughness to voters," writes Dowd.
Of course Palin's point, that "if you want to have wild, organic, healthy food you're gonna go out there and hunt yourself," is sanctimonious and privileged.
"Does Palin really think the average housewife in Ohio who can't pay her bills is going to load up on ammo, board two different planes, camp out for two nights with a film crew and shoot a caribou so she can feed her family organic food?" asks Dowd.
It is also wrong.
Lead and wildlife diseases including the Mad Cow-like Chronic Wasting Disease make eating the caribou less safe than other meat, not more.
Department of Natural Resources officials increasingly warn against lead in hunted meat, some barely detectable, leading some food pantries to refuse donations altogether. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detected "fatal degenerative neurologic illnesses in men who participated in wild game feasts," who all died, in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5207a1.htm
But do-it-yourself-slaughter to prove you're not squeamish or in denial about where your meal came from, is increasingly popular in warmer climes too, often coached by gourmet chefs and foodies.
Last month, New York Times City Critic Ariel Kaminer describes her decision to take the life of a turkey, "a beautiful bird, a Bourbon Red turkey whose rich brown feathers were flecked with white," at the Islamic slaughterhouse Madani Halal, in Ozone Park, Queens.
Imran Uddin, who helped hold the knife, "pronounced, 'Bismillah Allahu Akbar,' Arabic for 'In the name of Allah the great,'" recounts Kaminer. "Then, in one swift movement, we cut her throat. The bird's body went slack, and her head -- still attached -- sank slowly into the blood-lined tray beneath. After a few moments, she roused again for a quick bout of flapping."
Earlier this year, the New York Times' Christine Muhlke witnessed the first use of a mobile slaughterhouse in Stamford, NY. Even though she describes herself as a "meat hipster who serves pickled pigs' tongues," Muhlke registers horror at the frenetic "wild thrashing."
And last year a New York Times article about do-it-yourself slaughter recounts University of Illinois student Jake Lahne observing "Animals do not want to die.They can feel pain and fear, and, just like us, will struggle to breathe for even one single more second. If you're about to run 250 volts through a pig, do not look it in the eyes. It is not going to absolve you."
Killing your own meat could spare the animal the horrors of factory farming, inhumane transport and the disassembly line on the killing floor.
But while it more honest than letting someone else do it, the act is also not just about you.
"Enlightened carnivorousness," -- being okay with the deaths -- is irrelevant to the pain of animal, notes Pete Singer, the father of the animal rights movement, also in the New York Times.
While Palin delights in the fact that liberals "get all wee-wee'd up" about her baby shower, held at a shooting range, and her teenage daughter gutting salmon, is it really about liberal squeamishness?
Squeamishness implies necessary evils like giving blood, drawing blood, cleaning up noxious fluids or even euthanasia -- not voluntary and unnecessary cruelty.
After all, people could overcome squeamishness at watching a stoning too.
how could I refuse!?
Do you prefer wine or beer with that?
Shows what Maureen knows about Ohio. All a concerned Ohio huntress needs to do is stay close to home and take down a deer. They grow fairly large here with the ready supply of soy and grains.
It’s not the “nasty” grains, but the added chemicals that enhance growth.
Well, her dad wanted her to use his rifle, but he had taken a nasty fall while carrying it and apparently knocked the scope out of alignment.
They didn't know this of course, so after Sarah shot and missed, dad took the gun and worked another round in the chamber and had her try again. (I'm sure he thought she may have just missed...it's very easy to do)
After firing all five rounds from her dad's gun, and missing every time, she took the other guys gun (which was also a much larger caliber) and one shot from it dropped the caribou. It was a perfect shot.
At camp they checked dad's gun and the sight had been knocked out of whack. No one could hit anything with it and it needed to be sighted in again.
Now, this is a T.V. production, and they could have very easily edited out all the missed shots to make her "look good." That's obviously not what this is about.
Sometimes when hunting, things go wrong. Sights get knocked out of alignment, etc. She is giving viewers a real look at life in Alaska. I think it is award worthy programing.
So yes the caribou has eaten those "nasty grains".
In fact the caribou gets most of it's energy from eating those "nasty grains". If it didn't eat them it would soon die.
Fillet of Caribou with Wild Game Sauce / authentic Alaska recipe
Marinate 4-24 hours: 1.5 to 2 lbs caribou tenderloin, 2 to 3 cups of red wine, 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, 3-4 minced cloves of garlic, 1-2 minced shallots, 1/2 tsp dried mustard, tsp sea salt, tsp cracked black pepper.
COOK Slice marinated caribou into 1/2 inch thick medallions. Dust w/ seasoned flour. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil to a heated sauté pan and sear medallions on each side for 1 to 2 minutes over high heat until medium rare.
Arrange caribou medallions on a plate and cover with game sauce. For side dishes, serve wild rice or roasted red potatoes with a vegetable medley of sautéed baby carrots, broccoli, and yellow squash. Serve with Cabernet or Zinfandel.
Game Sauce
Brown 4-8 oz caribou trimmings, 2-3 oz maple smoked bacon, 3 tbsp vegetable oil. Add cup diced leeks, cup diced carrots, cup diced celery, cook a few minutes. Add 4 oz tomato paste cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Allow sauce to thicken and begin to stick on the bottom, but not burn.) Pour in 4 oz port wine to deglaze. Cook a minute. Add two cups water, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer (uncovered) 30 minutes. Strain the sauce and reserve only the liquid. Combine liquid w/ cup heavy cream, return to heat, bring to a boil, then reduce to desired thickness. Add 1-2 c sautéed mushrooms, 2-3 tbl currants, additional port wine, salt and pepper to taste.
A room temp Amarone would be lovely.
Your Response: Did it take Palin six shots, two rifles and help from her dad to bring down a caribou?”
Explanation, Devil in the details.
1. “Gunned down” She shot her in the back at high noon?
2. “female caribou”. Anything wrong with harvesting a female caribou? I'm sure they had all the necessary permits and were doing nothing illegal or unethical.
3. “with six shots” Out of context. Would have been easy to edit out the missed shots, she didn't. The first gun she used was not properly sighted in, as was proved later in the show when her father couldn't hit a much closer target with it.
4. “two rifles”. Yes, after figuring out, ( missing four times tells someone who knows how to shoot, that it isn't them) She used the other guy's gun (which had already killed a caribou), and with ONE shot, took the caribou.
5. “help from her dad” What is wrong with this? All he did was coach her and reload the rifle one round at a time. Maybe so she could keep her eye on the target and not lose sight of it?
6. “recounts Maureen Dowd” This is the biggest clue that you should pay no attention to her expert opinions on hunting. The only hunting I'll bet she has done is for a cogent thought.
7. “the New York Times.” Again, consider the source. Would a story in the NYT about Sarah Palin be accurate? I rest my case.
Did any of these clowns take basic biology in High School? Ya know, where you dissect a frog and pull the brains out of a dead fish? I know I did. And since I was not a cook at that point, I almost passed out in wussy disgust. Now I can easily throw an active lobster into a boiling pot and dress a turkey. I ask yet again: what planet to these people live on?
I see your Putin and raise you a Palin.
Didn't get chance to see the show - so thanks for the background. Was wondering myself. And as to your statement of being able to easily edit it out - I agree. That's the difference between doing the right thing when everyone is watching, and doing the right thing when they aren't. Apparently this is about real life - not a puff piece. Good for them.
Take care.
They are into eating healthy, but too dumb to know that the meat with no chemicals added is from wild animals.
Nothing wrong with Moron O’Dowdy that a good, over the knee, bare handed spanking wouldn’t cure.
The girl cries out for it in desperation.
She is so horny she just can’t sit still. How pathetic.
A woman in that much distress really shouldn’t pen a blog.
Just a thought.
Hey Moreen, gigolos are cheap! Go get your rocks off and then your mind may come back to rational thought.
I sense a discerning palate. IMO, Amarone is one of the few reds that work well at a higher (room) temperature. I usually prefer my reds at about 60 degrees. Of course, I have no idea about room temperature in Alaska.
Whoa Dude, Now that make think of one word only!
LUNCH!
Gotta try it.
Somebody should ask Dowd if she’s concerned about the number of rockets it takes for the Palis to kill one Jew.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.