The must have item when visiting the Canadian capital of Ottawa is a beaver tail. This fried dough pastry has become synonymous with Byward Market where a chain called BeaverTail® serves thousands of these long oval shaped pastries. BeaverTails® are made of a half wholewheat flour mix risen, spread and deep fried. A donut in another form if you will. And on a recent trip to Ottawa I was passed the recipe by lovely Canadian food writer Paula Roy!
Most people have a Winter memory of eating BeaverTails (although they're popular year round) when the Rideau Canal is frozen solid. There are four BeaverTail® branded huts situated along the canal and people skate along the ice covered canal and buy the pastries with hot chocolates.
They come in a variety of toppings from the heavily laden down numbers like the "Triple Trip" aka chocolate, peanut butter and Reese's pieces to savoury ones like garlic butter and cheese (where they resemble a Hungarian Langos). The most popular though is the Killaloe Sunrise with cinnamon sugar and lemon which is a balance of tart and sweet. They're soft and light and now you can make your own BeaverTail® style pastries using a copycat recipe inspired by the original.
When Paula offered to send me the copycat BeaverTail® recipe for these after dinner I was delighted to try making them from scratch (because realistically it is going to be a while until I get back to Ottawa). It took me a while because I don't really like deep frying but I will make an exception for donuts.
One of my friends Miss America is a donut nut. He loves pastries and donuts more than anyone else I know. After dinner we were giving him a lift home and driving through a rather dark and deserted area of the inner city of Sydney. Miss America piped up and said that he wouldn't have felt safe walking home or going home by public transport. But he had a solution.
"A woman that I worked with was a little eccentric but she used to bring a frozen chicken to work with her," he said. "It had to be frozen so she could use it as a weapon in case anyone attacked her," he explained. Apparently every day she left for work while it was dark and worked long hours so it would often be dark when she walked home, especially in Winter. So the chicken would go in the work freezer (I guess there's no chance of anyone pinching a frozen raw chicken for lunch) and it would accompany her to work day in and day out.
"Really? Did you see the chicken?" I asked.
"Yes I did sight the chicken," he said nodding his head. "It was real," he said sighing, before adding perhaps a little superfluously, that she really was a little eccentric.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you have safety protection when you go out? And have you ever considered carrying a frozen chicken? ;) Have you ever eaten a Beaver Tail style pastry?
Step 1 - In a large mixing bowl (a stand mixer is ideal), combine the yeast and warm water. Let stand 3minutes to activate. Add sugar, milk, eggs, salt and melted butter to the bowl, stir to combine.
Step 2 - Mix both flours together and add to make a soft dough. Knead for about 5 minutes using a dough hook or 8 minutes by hand. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Place the finished dough in a greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 45 minutes to an hour.
Step 3 - Punch down dough to deflate then divide into 10 equal sized portions. Let rest, covered with tea towels, for 10 minutes. While dough balls rest, combine sugar with cinnamon in a broad, shallow dish.
Step 4 - Working with one ball at a time, roll out into an oval about 1/4 inch thick; cover again with towel and make sure that they lie on a floured surface. Heat about 4 inches of oil in a deep fryer or large, tall saucepan. The oil is ready for frying when it reaches about 196C/385F.
Step 5 - Give the ovals one last gentle stretch and then add them to the hot oil (as many as will fit at one time without being too crowded). Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown on both sides.
Step 6 - Remove from hot oil with tongs and drain on paper towels for a moment. Dredge the beaver tails in the dish with cinnamon and sugar; flip to coat both sides and shake off any excess. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the pastry and eat while warm. Paula says the key is to serve them straight away while they are hot rather than waiting for them all to finish frying.
Created with whole wheat flour and fried to soft, crispy perfection, BeaverTails trace their origins from bannock, a non-rising dough stretched over two sticks that early settlers cooked over a fire, taking after how Indigenous people flame-cooked beaver tails to access the meat inside.
Start a fire in the main fire ring and create a base of coals. Pull coals from the fire into the grilling channel and place the beaver tail onto the grill. Roast the tail for approximately 20 minutes, rotating it every couple of minutes to get an even roast. Some charring on the skin is okay.
Grade 1 beaver tail is most commonly used for watch bands, footwear, electronics accessories and wallets. Grade 2 beaver tail is most commonly used for holsters, sheats, card cases and other small leather goods.
According to its makers, BEAVERTAILS® pastries are whole wheat pastries that are stretched by hand to resemble the tail of one of our best known symbols: the beaver. The pastries are then fried in oil (or, as described by BEAVERTAILS®: “float cooked on high quality canola oil”) and then served pipping hot.
We have BeaverTails® locations in the USA, Dubai, Japan, France, and Mexico! And the list is constantly growing! BeaverTails® is for the lovers; our delicious pastries have played a part in at least 35 marriage proposals (that we know of).
Elephant ears are frequently called beaver tails (especially in Canada), otter tails, scones, fry bread, fry dough, and a handful of other names. What is this? Perhaps most commonly, elephant ears are simply referred to as “fried dough” as that's exactly what it is.
Beaver meat is very low in fat (10%) when compared to beef, pork and chicken (33 – 55% fat) but the feet and tail contain a lot of fat. Traditional fats are healthier for us. Grams of fat in beaver parts per serving: Meat = 1 gram of fat.
The tail of a beaver is mostly meaty. It is difficult to describe the taste, though. It has similarities with other large rodents, like porcupines, but that wouldn't be particularly helpful if you've never tasted porcupine meat. It tends to be rich and oily, in the way that pork is, but the flavor is nothing like pork.
A beavertail grip safety is just a grip safety with the top extended out to keep the web between your thumb and trigger finger from getting pinched by the hammer when the gun recoils on firing. Whether you need one or not depends mostly on the size of your hand.
This beaver tails dessert is popular in Canada, especially in Ottawa, Ontario. Also known as pigs' ears, this whole wheat pastry is fried and covered in an assortment of goodies.
The BeaverTail is a fried dough pastry that is sold in a variety of flavours. Most flavours of BeaverTails are topped with sweet condiments and confections, such as whipped cream, banana slices, crumbled Oreos, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate hazelnut.
Beavers mix castoreum with urine to mark their territories and make their fur and tail more water-resistant. The food industry finds it strong, tar-like, musky odor to be useful in flavorings.
In 1978, at a community fair in Killaloe (west of Ottawa), Pam and Grant Hooker began to sell pastries that they dubbed “beaver tails,” made from a Hooker family recipe. Today, BeaverTails is a chain of restaurants that sell these pastries, with locations in many Canadian cities as well as in other countries.
Beaver tail is an excellent source of protein. In just one pound alone, there is 100 grams of protein- making this especially great for active, work dogs. Please note, pieces of beaver tail may come with fur.
After glazing over the myriad bakery options, I opted for a Beaver Tail, which is the Buc-ee's version of a cinnamon roll. Very sweet, the long and flattened baked good was delicious. It had a great mixture of cinnamon, icing and flakiness.
Beaver tails are a great source of glucosamine. These are a bone in item. These are roughly cut 2-3” wide and will range in thickness. Some will be super thin while others are much thicker.
BeaverTails is a Canadian restaurant chain, specializing in pastries known as BeaverTails, that is operated by BeaverTails Canada Inc. Its namesake products are fried dough pastries, individually hand stretched to resemble beaver's tails, with various toppings added on the pastry.
The pastries that we now call BeaverTails came from a recipe belonging to Grant Hooker's grandmother, who was of German origin. She fried pastry dough, then topped it with butter, jam, honey or cinnamon sugar and served it for breakfast.
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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