Bison Sausage Stuffed Sweet Potato

Vanhgiq (Fish Ice Cream)

Background

In this episode, Indigenous Chef Flora Deacon and her sister, Janet, prepare Vanhgiq (roughly pronounced vun-khik or vuhng-ik). Vanhgiq is the Deg'itan Athabascan term for fish ice cream. It may also be recognized as Akutaq (Yup'ik), Akutuq (Iñupiaq), or Agutuk. This dish is a traditional food shared among Athabascan, Yup'ik, and Iñupiaq cultures. Traditionally, Vanhgiq is made with whipped fat/blubber or tallow from wild game (such as moose or caribou) or marine mammals (such as walrus, seal, or seal oil). With the introduction of commodity foods, shortening became a popular fat substitute; however, it is not nutrient dense like traditional fats.

For this recipe, the Kitchen was unable to source traditional fats, so locally sourced beef fat was used instead. Janet and Flora rendered the beef fat to make tallow, which proved to be an excellent substitute.

The wild Alaska blueberries and the cheefish (also known as shii- or sheefish, depending on the region) used in this recipe were generously donated for this project.

How to make Vanhgiq (Fish Ice Cream)

Ingredients

Vanhgiq (Fish Ice Cream)

  • 3 cups cheefish (also known as shii- or sheefish depending upon the region)

  • 1 1/2 cups berries (e.g., blueberries, salmonberries, etc.)

  • 2 to 3 cups softened tallow

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Preparation Instructions

Vanhgiq (Fish Ice Cream)

  1. Clean and cut fish into cubes, removing and discarding the skin. Boil the fish in water for 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. Using a large spoon (preferably slotted), transfer the cooked fish to cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, place the fish cubes in a clean cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
  3. Transfer the drained fish to a large bowl and break it into smaller, flake sized pieces. Carefully removed and discard all small bones - this is time-consuming but essential to ensure no bones remain.
  4. Once the fish is flaked into small pieces and all bones have been removed, gradually add the softened tallow, sugar, and olive oil. Use an electric mixer to blend until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
  5. Taste, then gently fold in the berries. 6. Serve and enjoy!

 


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