Beaver Tails |
If you’ve ever skated on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa (our nation’s capital) in the winter months, you’ve probably stopped and had a beaver tail. This kid friendly Beaver Tail recipe is easy to prepare and fun for the whole family. Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 5 teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil
- 4 1/4 - 5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- oil for frying
- granulated sugar for dusting
- cinnamon
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, mix warm water and 1 tsp of sugar. Then add yeast. Do not mix. Allow mixture to stand for a couple of minutes to allow yeast to swell or dissolve.
Stir in remaining sugar, milk, vanilla, eggs, oil, salt and most of flour to make soft dough. Knead 5-8 minutes (by hand or with a dough hook), adding flour as needed to form a firm, smooth, elastic dough. Place in a greased bowl.
Cover bowl with cloth (If not using right away, you can
refrigerate the dough at this point). Let rise in a covered, lightly greased bowl, about 30-40 minutes. Gently deflate dough, (if dough is coming out of the fridge, allow to warm up about 40 minutes before proceeding).
Pinch off a golf ball sized piece of dough. Roll out into an oval and let rest, covered with a tea towel, while you are preparing the remaining dough.
Parents Only: Heat about 4 inches of oil in Test by tossing in a tiny bit of dough and see if it sizzles and swells immediately. If it does, the oil temperature is where it should be.
Stretch the ovals into a tail - thinning them out and enlarging them as you do. Add the beaver tails to the hot oil, about 1-2 at a time.
Turn once to fry until the undersides are deep brown. Lift beaver tails
out with tongs and drain on paper towels.
Fill a large bowl with a few cups of white sugar . Toss beaver tails in sugar (with a little cinnamon if you wish) and shake off excess. Try a squeeze of lemon.
You can also top off Beaver Tails with fresh preserves, maple syrup or whipped cream.
Stephanie Phillips is the owner and chief “oodily doo” officer of The Cookerydoo, a cooking school devoted entirely to children ages 3 and up. You can visit them at www.cookerydoo.com
