Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 22/99) - A little warning to NWT caribou hunters -- don't let Mabel English catch you leaving the heads behind.

"They don't know anything, that's what I say," said English of the hunters who throw away the heads of caribou they've caught. "They're stupid."

For hunters who are being wasteful, English offered some advice on roasting caribou heads.

Start by skinning the head, cutting out the glands, which look like clumps of fish eggs. Some people leave the bit of fur around the nose. Wash the head, being careful to remove fur that may have stuck to the head. Be sure to run water down the mouth and nose to clean out any willows or grass that the animal may have had in its mouth when it was shot.

Place it in some water in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for 2-3 hours at 350 degrees. Be sure to puncture the eyes with a knife or fork. They can explode. Turn the head every hour, at the same time checking the meat with a fork. Once it's tender, it's done. If you like, add a packet of onion soup or onion-mushroom soup mix.

Angus Beaulieu of Fort Resolution had much the same recipe for oven roasting, but he saves the mixture of grease and water that's left, strains it then uses it for boiling, then frying rice.

"I can't explain the flavour, but it's very tasty," he said.

Successful cooking of the head begins right after the caribou is shot, said Angus.

"You have to cut the head off or slit the throat right away for it to be any good," Angus said. "Even if you leave it for five or 10 minutes, the food in the stomach swells and comes up and covers everything."

For boiling, Angus cuts up the head into smaller parts so they will fit into the pot. Take a knife and draw it back toward the neck from either side of the mouth to remove the bottom jaw. With an axe, he cuts a V shape starting just below the eyes to separate the nose part from the head.

Throw the pieces in a pot and boil until cooked.

Alfonz Nitsiza said the head is often the first part of the caribou hunters from his home of Wha Ti eat.

After they've caught some caribou and are ready to start skinning and cutting them up, they light a fire.

"We throw the whole thing into the open fire and let the hair burn off," said Alfonz. "The skin is used like tinfoil. It stops the meat from burning. We turn the head around so all the hair burns off, then poke it with a stick and stand it by the fire to cook."

The hunters then go to work skinning and cutting up the caribou they've caught, turning the head every now and then.

"By the time you finish two or three caribou it's done," said Alfonz.