Bison Brisket Squash Centerpiece: Listening

Flavorful buffalo brisket served casserole-style in a baked squash with a topping of zesty roasted Brussel sprouts and cranberries is a perfect centerpiece for an autumnal feast… and starting point to an important conversation.

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North American cuisine seems hard to define; after all, the “American” dream is a cultural mixing pot of the many immigrants that have found a new home here over the decades. I feel that if one were to peer at North America from the outside, they might name some popular dishes that have, no doubt, strayed pretty far from their international inspirations: pepperoni pizza, hamburgers, fried chicken, bacon donuts. The disconnect, for me, is not that many cultures are blending together to create fusion dishes that defy physical boundaries (I think that part is lovely), but that we aren’t considering the culinary history of this landscape BEFORE colonization. 

We tiptoe into that conversation delicately at Thanksgiving, which is a holiday with a lot of cultural baggage. (Like, you know, genocide.) Treating it as a harvest festival and celebration with family is mostly how it is presented today (and who doesn’t want a reason to eat delicious food with the people they are close to?), but let’s not just brush that problematic history under the rug, okay? 

Around this time of year, it surprises me to hear Indigenous peoples and their many contributions to our dinner tables spoken of in the past tense, as if they are part of a pleasant folk story or mythology that happened a long time ago. Despite the genocide and the many (Recent! Ongoing!) decades of stolen children and conversion schools, there are still  574 federally recognized Indian Nations in the United States today. Each with their own languages, customs, traditions, and culture. Cultures that should provide strong guidance to our food culture here in the U.S., but are buried, forgotten, invisible. When is the last time you thought to eat at an Indigenous North American restaurant as opposed to an Italian, French, or Chinese one? Why do we rely so heavily on imported foods, when there is such a bounty to be experienced here, both wild and cultivated? 

As a forager, I am deeply grateful for the voices of the Indigenous peoples of this area for teaching me so much about the landscape I love and the food available in it. The graciousness with which so many Indigenous authors share their cultures today is something I deeply respect. 

Not all Indigenous peoples are invisible, of course. Their voices are there; we just really need to get better at listening to them. One voice I am particularly thankful for is that of Shane M. Chartrand. Shane is a First Nations chef in Canada that is seeking to mend that divide through his cooking, his writing, and his restaurant, tawâw. Tawâw means “come in, you’re welcome, there’s room.” It really is the perfect description of Shane’s attitude towards food and culture. 

Shane has devoted a good portion of his life to learning and sharing the cultures and foods of many different Indigenous peoples. He was one of the First Nations children in Canada that were taken from their biological parents at a young age and put into the foster care system and later up for adoption, a heart-wrenching theft of family and background. So many children were taken during the 1960s to the 1980s, the phenomenon was known as the “Sixties Scoop.” He was eventually adopted by a Métis father and Mi’kmaw-Irish mother and, around age thirty, learned that his birth parents had been Cree. His subsequent respect and curiosity for learning more about Canada’s indigenous people and their cuisines has resulted in a profoundly beautiful concept. Even as “outsiders,” he welcomes us in to share in that dinner table culture with him: 

“For me, it’s about making something new and interesting out of various influences... It’s about finding those information bundles that we can all share and learn from. After all, food is a place where the Indigenous and non-Indigenous worlds can easily connect. Whether you have Indigenous ancestors or not, everyone in North America should be learning about the First Nations’ cultures that surround them...  tawâw’s  larger mission is to embrace a massive positive message about Indigenous cultures, something that we don’t hear nearly enough about in North America. In other words, if you aren’t from the Indigenous world or the culinary world, this book is still very much for you! I want everyone to be able to experience the beauty of the land and people around us, and the food that we can create with it. 

Dream with me.” - Shane Chartrand in his intro to tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine, which he co-wrote with Jennifer Cockrall-King

I agree with Shane. I believe that food is a point of connection and can often provide important bridges between past and present, culture to culture. That’s why I decided to create this delicious harvest dish based on one he offers in his cookbook, but instead adapt some of the flavors to the wild spices and favorite plants that are more familiar to me and my climate, here in Shoshone-Bannock land. I will happily share this dish with my family in the spirit of celebration, with much gratitude given to the Indigenous people that have directly contributed to both the recipe and the ingredients too. Thanksgiving is a celebration of what we have, as well as a reminder of ways we need to listen better. 

Bison Brisket Centerpiece Meal 

Serves 6-10 (depending on the size of squash) 

Tender and flavorsome buffalo brisket is layered in a squash casing and topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and cranberries for a wholesome autumnal dish. Make sure to scoop a little bit of that soft squash with every spoonful! This hearty dish has a lovely subtle sweetness from the squash and maple, and the textures all compliment each other really well. You’ll love the base of umami richness punctuated by zesty cranberries and creamy squash! 

Ingredients: 

3 lb. bison brisket

1 ½ Tbs. juniper berries 

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme 

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

6 minced garlic cloves 

4 c. high-quality bone broth 

1 large squash or culinary pumpkin 

½ tsp. Ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. Ground nutmeg

1 ½ tsp. Salt

5 c. brussel sprouts, halved

2 Tbs. olive oil 

Salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg to season

¼ c. thick aged balsamic vinegar

¼ c. maple syrup

1 c. dried cranberries 

½ c. wild rose petals 

Directions: 

1. Add the brisket, onion, garlic, juniper, and thyme to a slow cooker. Add the broth, then cover and cook on low for 12 hours. 

2. Preheat the oven to 400F. If using spaghetti squash, use a sharp knife to cut it in half from the stem to the bottom end. If using a larger edible squash, make a cut about ⅔ up from the base so you are cutting the stem end off. Scoop out the “guts” and seeds. 

3. Sprinkle the cut side and inside  with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Place the cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast for 30-50 minutes, or until the squash is tender but still firm enough to hold its shape. 

4. Meanwhile, rinse and cut the Brussel sprouts in half and toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg and cinnamon. Bake them alongside the squash until they are caramelized. Remove from oven and toss with the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and cranberries. 

5. When the squash has roasted, remove the pan from the oven and let the squash cool slightly

6. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and let the cooking liquid drain away. Pick away any juniper pieces. Shred the brisket using two forks. Place it in the bottom of the squash, then top with the brussel sprout mixture. Place back in the oven until everything is warm, then sprinkle the dried wild rose petals on top and serve hot. 

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