Mojave Community Culture

What do park rangers do that live and work in remote Mojave National Preserve? They have get together's with lots of food. It is part of ranger culture. All across the National Park Service rangers enjoy food, it is what brings people together. We are happy to share recipes from our rangers at Mojave National Preserve and sometimes we share recipes from rangers at other parks.

 

Cranberry Sauerkraut Chili Meatballs

Dave Hursey

Cranberry Chili Sauerkraut Meatballs

What can you do with that left over can of cranberry sauce from the holidays? Cranberry chili sauerkraut meatballs are what’s cooking at Mojave this week. This is a ranger favorite which has been prepared several times for Mojave rangers. It makes a great appetizer for New Year’s Eve. It has meatballs mixed with seasoned breadcrumbs, onion soup mix covered with a sauce made from sauerkraut, whole cranberry sauce, and chili sauce. For a vegan version you can substitute the burger for impossible plant-based beef burger and omit the eggs.
You will need:
Meatballs:
9 X 13 baking pan and tin foil to cover
2 lbs. hamburger or impossible plant-based beef burger or burger of your choice
1 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
3 eggs (omit for vegan version)
1 package of onion soup mix
Mix these ingredients and press into balls and let firm in refrigerator overnight.
Sauce:
1 bottle of chili sauce
1 to 2 cups of sauerkraut depending on your taste
1 can of whole cranberry sauce
1 cup of brown sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce. We chose to omit the sugar from our recipe
6 ounces of water
Stir the sauce mixture together and pour over the meatballs. Loosely cover with tinfoil and bake in the oven at 325F for 2 hours or until done.

 

Hot German Potato Salad

NPS Photo/Dave Hursey

Hot German Potato Salad

This recipe is a favorite with Mojave Ranger so much so they consumed 12 pounds of it at the employee Oktoberfest celebration. This recipe was served again today for a ranger’s going away celebration.
5 pounds red potatoes
2 Cups diced bacon or vegan bacon
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 and 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons corn starch
½ cup Water
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook potatoes in jackets. Let cool. You can then peel them if you wish or leave the skins on, then slice into bite sized chunks. Use a large pan or kettle and cook the bacon on low heat. Drain off bacon grease, reserving ¼ for later. Chop the bacon. Add the green onions to the reserved bacon fat and brown lightly in pan. Add sugar and vinegar (Mixed together). Heat until boiling. Next mix cornstarch and water together. Stir into mixture. Fold in potatoes and bacon. Fold in just a few potatoes at a time. Salt and pepper to taste. An option that we like to do is to transfer the food into a crock pot and set to warm so it will be hot during serving. For a vegan version, try using vegan bacon and either omitting the bacon grease or try and substitute with olive oil.

 

Bison Stuffed Mushrooms

Dave Hursey

Bison Stuffed Mushrooms

This week’s what’s cooking at Mojave recipe comes to us from ranger Dan Cox of Nicodemus National Historic Site . Dan recently sent this recipe to Mojave for our rangers to try. We cooked it up and it was delicious! We included a vegan version as well. In the past Dan worked at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico where he learned to cook New Mexico fusion.
New Mexico Bison Fusion Stuffed Mushrooms:
2 Packs of large mushrooms or smaller mushrooms if you want to make as an appetizer.
1 lb. ground, beef, bison, lamb, turkey or Vegan Beyond Beef for a vegan version
8 oz single pack of cream cheese, let soften at room temp for 1 hr. or substitute a plant based nondairy cream cheese style spread.
1 to 2 cans (4 oz each depending upon taste) of diced green chilies.
Salt, Pepper, garlic powder or spices of your choice

Core mushrooms with a melon baller or cookie dough scooper or spoon. You can use large or smaller mushrooms. We used the larger ones. Brown meat or Beyond Beef in pan, drain. Add green chilies. Slice soft cream cheese or Philadelphia plant based nondairy spread and add until it makes a mixture. Add salt and garlic powder or spice of your choice to taste. Spoon into mushrooms. Put on a baking pan or cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. We prepared this recipe different ways, on some of the mushrooms we topped with shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese the last 10 minutes of cooking and on some we spread on a hatch chili cheddar cheese spread after cooking and just before serving and some we just ate as the recipe calls for.

 

Turkey Wrapped in Bacon

NPS Photo

What’s cooking in Mojave for turkey day? Southern hickory smoked bacon brown sugar turkey with all the fixings for the rangers and volunteers stationed here. You can also do this recipe in the oven, but it will not have that smoked taste unless you add liquid smoke to it. We prefer to use a pan smoker to help keep the moisture in. A pan smoker has a pan filled with water between the coals and food that creates steam during the cooking process.You will need:

• A pan smoker
• Hickory chunks, chips, or pellets depending on your smoker or wood of your choice
• Charcoal
• Any sized turkey, for best results use a brined turkey.
• 2 pounds of bacon
• Toothpicks
• Spices of your choice. Some examples include salt, pepper, brown sugar, rosemary, rotisserie chicken spice etc. or whatever you like.
• An aluminum pan to put the turkey in once it is done.
• Meat thermometer

After your turkey has defrosted, pat dry with a paper towel. Spice to taste. In the past we have used 1 cup of brown sugar with 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp of rotisserie chicken spice for a rub and then sprinkled the turkey with rosemary. If you like it a little spicy throw in some chili powder. Make the recipe your own, be creative with the spices and rub. Make a weave out of the uncooked bacon and place on the topside of the turkey. (Over the breast) Use toothpicks to hold in place. The purpose of the bacon is to hold moisture in and to add flavor. The breast meat will come out juicy and tender. Smoke at 225F to 250F until the thickest part of the bird has an internal temperature of 160F. At this temperature count on 30 to 45 minutes of smoking time per pound. Be aware that smokers vary, and times vary as well depending on outside air temperatures. Start the night before to give yourself plenty of time. I have smoked bigger turkeys that have taken 16 hours. With the turkey, we are serving our rangers mashed potatoes with gravy, corn casserole, lima beans, okra, yams and stuffing and caramel apple pie for a dessert.

 

Acadiana Louisiana Gumbo

Dave Hursey

Acadiana Louisiana Gumbo

This week we are featuring a gumbo recipe from ranger Dave who recently came from Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in south central LA. (south central Louisiana that is) to Mojave National Preserve. Dave cooked gumbo recently for our all employee gathering.
Feeds 15 to 20 rangers. Half the ingredients for a smaller batch.
4 pounds of skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces.
1 can certified Cajun or Creole Seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
8 tbsp vegetable Oil
8 tbsp flour or gluten free option
2 large, sweet onions, chopped.
4 stalks celery, chopped.
1 green bell pepper, chopped (2 poblano peppers can be substituted)
2 bulbs of garlic, minced.
1 to 2 pounds of sliced Andouille sausage.
6 qt water
4 tbsp Chopped green onions.
4 tbsp Chopped parsley (Cilantro can be substituted)
4 cups okra optional
Rice
12-quart stock pot or Dutch oven
Cut chicken and slice sausage. Season the meat well with Cajun seasoning. In a pot or cast-iron Dutch oven, heat oil until hot and slowly add flour, stirring continuously so as not to burn, until well blended. Be careful, as the mixture can pop, and is referred to as Cajun napalm. This is called the roux. Reduce heat and continue stirring until roux is chocolate brown. About 30 mins. Add water and turn up the heat up and mix until the water and roux are well dissolved. Add 2 or more tbsp of Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Add onion, celery, peppers and garlic. Add chicken and sliced sausage, then bring to a boil and simmer one and a half to two hours or until meat is tender. If you are adding okra add it the last 10 to 15 minutes. Add chopped green onions and parsley/cilantro at the very end, then serve on top of rice. For a vegan version substitute pureed, diced or dried tomatoes or all three. Also use red beans and button mushrooms.