Hidatsa Stuffed Sugar Pumpkin

Plaines Indian Cooking

I got this recipe from the book Spirit of the Harvest, North American Indian Cooking by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs. This was the first time I made this so I didn’t vary from the recipe.

cooked and served

Ingredients

1 4–5 pound sugar pumpkin

2 teaspoons of salt

1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard

1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or rendered fat (I used olive oil)

1 pound ground venison, buffalo, or beef ( I used Bison)

1 medium onion chopped

1 cup wild rice cooked

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon crushed dried sage

1/4 teaspoon pepper

This wasn’t difficult to make

Cut the top off the pumpkin and clean out the inside. Then rub the inside with salt and dried mustard.

In a pan, put in the oil, add the onions and meat and cook until the meat is browned. Take off the heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients then stuff the pumpkin with the mixture.

Put 1/2 inch of water in a shallow baking pan then place the pumpkin in the pan. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours