The Good Life – November-December 2023

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: JEFFREY MILLER
While the roast is the star of the show,
an appetizer from the smoker helps
pique the appetite of the holiday
guests. Each spring, as soon as the
ice is off the river, I set out to trap
beavers. The plush, soft pelts make
amazing mittens, hats and hand
muffs. Beyond the fur, however, is
the delicious meat the large rodents
provide. On the Lewis and Clark
expedition, the consensus favorite
meat of the explorers wasn’t bison or
venison. It was the beaver.
The backstraps, or loin, of the beaver
are similar to those of a deer, albeit
much smaller. After removing the
pelt, I use a sharp knife to peel away
the tender meat along the back. Even
though we eat most of it before the
holiday season, I make sure to keep
a few packages of it hidden in the
freezer.
Smoking the loin is an easy
process. I first marinade the
meat, with the silver skin
removed, in a cup of soy
sauce and a few tablespoons
of oil.
After an hour in the marinade,
I move the meat and dust
it with a dry rub. There are
many different kinds of dry
rub on the market, and I
usually use some sort of
barbeque flavor.
The loins go into the smoker,
heated to 225 degrees, for an
hour and a half.
BARBEQUED BEAVER
After that, the meat is placed
on a piece of tin foil. I add a
healthy dollop of barbeque
sauce on the meat, along with
a few tablespoons of honey,
and then wrap it all tightly.
It goes back into the smoker
for another two hours.
Unwrapping the foil reveals
tender, juicy meat, perfect for
an appetizer. Even those who
profess not to like wild game
meat have a hard time not
going back for seconds.
26 | THE GOOD LIFE