In September the fall is coming to Alaska. The weather has cooled down and the unmistakable smell of the fall is in the air. All of the folks we were talking with at the Anchorage FAA facility either are hunting, or have been hunting, some successful and some are not.
My friends at the airport have gone already. One of them brought home a freezer full of moose meat, and for the asking provided me with three packs of freshly frozen moose liver. Have you tried moose liver fried with onions? If not, I recommend that you do. Tender and soft, with paté-like texture and mild flavor, moose liver is the best I have tried. I much prefer it to elk, bovine, deer or caribou even though deer liver is very soft and tender with its own flavor, especially if you are lucky enough to hunt in a clean enough area to dare to try it raw with salt. For the fried moose liver just make sure you don’t over-fry it, once you have it on the hot pan, cut in strips, with caramelized onions mixed in.
Cold nights and crisp mornings leave the undeniable aroma in the air that is so familiar to all people who ever had a calling for the outdoors. It grabs you by the nose stronger than a pair of pliers, and pulls from the office, from the city into the hills where the freshly fallen autumn leaves await to cushion your careful step.
Just go out and smell the fall. It is the best thing ever. I promise, nobody will notice if you ever get a tear in your eye from the crisp autumn wind.