[Music] [Walter] Within the Appalachian mountain range of America's east coast, is the Blue Ridge.

A mystical segment of rugged ridges and weathered peaks.

Within these ranges you will find Boone, North Carolina, named for famed pioneer Daniel Boone.

The town today has evolved from the dangerous and difficult lifestyle of its early settlers.

But the past survivals skills and reliance on the bounty of nature are still influential to the community's modern culture.

In this episode, I'll step back in time to cook a few authentic pioneer recipes that Daniel Boone himself might have enjoyed Including pan seared fried trout.

Roast bear with a side of butternut squash and maple syrup, and a honey apple pie.

I also try my hand at fly fishing and meet with a chef who is bringing bona fide Blue Ridge cuisine into the present day.

From the high country of North Carolina, all this for A Taste of History!

[Music] [Narrator] This program is made possible by.

Pasture-raised Australian beef and lamb, adding variety into your weekly meals or a unique touch for your next celebration, widely available at your local market.

For recipes and more, we're at aussiebeefandlamb.com [Music] [Walter] The North Carolina high country is geographically known for having some of the oldest rivers in the world.

[Fish splashing] So I made my way down from the mountains to a peaceful creek to visit Ollie Smith, a favorite local guide for fly fishing in this part of the world.

[Music] [Walter] Ollie.

[Ollie] Chef, it is a pleasure to have you down here.

Took some doings to get you out of your office and into my office, about to embark on your very first fly fishing trip.

Am I right?

[Walter] You deserve a medal for getting me out of the kitchen clothes and into [Ollie] The waders.

[Walter] Unbelievable waders.

While I'm standing here talking to you, my eyes are obviously watching a whole bunch of the beautiful big trouts floating around here.

So I'm excited.

[Ollie] The game has kind of changed from when the Cherokees were here and all we had were Brook Trout.

And then right around the 1880's Brown Trout were brought from your neck of the woods in Germany, and the Rainbows came here from the western slope of the Rockies.

100 years ago, this is what you would have seen up and down the rivers.

They split bamboo rod.

This kind of came in the Appalachians when tourism came in and people started coming in from out of state.

This is not a very efficient way to catch trout until you're good at it.

Most of the pioneers and even before that, the Cherokees, they did it the easiest way possible with a series of weir dams.

Or they would use poison.

They would actually take black walnut bark, crumble it up and it would stun the fish.

And then you just scoop them up.

Very quick, very easy.

This is not quick and easy.

Fly fishing is a hard way to catch fish.

That's why we do it.

That's how we're going to start today.

I'm going to show you how to catch a fish the hard way.

[Ollie] Okay, Chef.

I want you to get this concept locked into place.

You will not feel the bite.

[Walter] You're kidding.

[Ollie] When I say hit, you have a fish on it.

It's not like fishing in the ocean.

In my pack here, I probably have 200 different flies, and I never know which one they're going to eat.

[Walter] And the only way to find out is trial and error.

[Ollie] Trial and error.

Or you might get lucky and actually see some bugs on the water that you recognize and then you match the hatch.

So we are going to fish the floating fly, and then I'm going to put a wet fly underneath it.

So we're going to have one on top, and one underneath the surface.

[Music] Now, if that marker goes under, that means they took the wet fly.

But if they take the big dry fly, you'll actually see a splash.

That guy almost ate it.

He almost ate it- right there!

I got a fish on.

Now, look, chef!

Look my hand up here.

I'm going to let him take line.

[Walter] Okay.

[Ollie] Okay.

Now I got my hand on the reel.

[Walter] Yep.

[Ollie] Now, when he really tugs I'm gonna let go of the reel.

Because if I try to keep cranking, it's going to break the line.

[Fishing line cranking] [Ollie] That's a happy noise.

Don't touch the reel when you hear that noise.

Now, look, he's coming towards me, so I'm going to turn the reel.

I got to go to the right and get him off that rock.

Get off that rock- ah!

He got me on the rock right there.

So that fish won that battle fair and square.

Now, do you think you can do that better than I can?

[Walter] I can try.

[Ollie] Just follow through with your thumb right there.

And now- there he is!

Okay, let go of everything.

Okay.

Now, let go.

Don't touch it.

Don't touch it.

Don't touch it.

[Fish Splashing] Okay, Now take it hard to the right.

Okay, Now you can reel, reel fast.

Keep that rod up high.

Doing good, man.

It's going to take 5 minutes.

He's still coming.

So you keep reeling.

[Walter] I see it.

[Ollie] Okay, let go let go!

That's when you gotta let go.

When he's really tugging.

You're doing good.

This is part of the learning curve right here.

[Walter] This guy's coming here to say hi to me.

[Ollie] Nah, he's coming over to give you the finger, Chef.

[Laughing] [Ollie] Nice.

Good cast Chef!

Little faster.

Little faster.

Little faster.

Keep the rod good and high.

All right.

Let go.

Let go!

That's it.

You got it!

Now, reel fast.

Fast as you can.

Fast as you can.

I'm going to go down there and chase him back up here, Chef.

Come here.

Come on.

You're doing great bud!

[Water splashing] [Ollie] Yes!

[Walter] Gosh, let me take a picture with it.

[Ollie] And you caught a German Brown!

Whoo!

[Walter] I know this fish, I mean not him personally but Okay, my compadre, I had to come all the way here from Germany to catch a German brown trout.

It would have been very delicious, but we can't eat him!

[Ollie] Don't listen to him.

[Walter laughs] But you passed the test, my friend.

But you passed the test, my friend.

[Walter] Thanks!

You are now a fly fisherman.

How's it feel?

[Walter] Oh, man.

Tiring.

[Ollie] Your life is complete.

[Walter] You're the man.

[Music] [Narrator] Boone, North Carolina lends its name to one of America's greatest folk heroes legendary pioneer Daniel Boone.

Born in Pennsylvania, Daniel and his family traveled south along the Great Wagon Road to Carolina in pursuit of land and a new home.

The Blue Ridge Mountains gave Boone a massive amount of land to explore, forgoing school, church and even his family's home.

He chose instead to wander and hunt in the endless woods and mountains.

Boone befriended several native tribes, including the Shawnee and the Cherokee.

And from them, he began to learn how to follow trails and to live off the land.

[Music] [Walter] Hundreds of years later, the Hickory Ridge History Museum is maintaining this bygone era.

So I'm going to meet up with fellow cookbook author Mary Bohlen to prepare an incredible menu in a one-of-a-kind setting.

[Music] [Mary] Walter, thank you for being here with us.

And welcome to North Carolina, the high country.

Today, we are at the Tatum cabin.

It was built in 1785.

[Walter] Well Mary, obviously, I was very intrigued after reading your book and really understanding the philosophy of the earlier pioneers and the hardship they went through and still producing beautiful fresh food [Mary] Yeah, and many of the people who settled here came down the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia.

They were looking for cheap land because the land in Philadelphia and up in Virginia, it had already been bought up and it was a form of freedom, something that many of the people from Europe had not had the opportunity for.

So today we're going to be doing mountain trout.

We're going to be doing Bear, black bear, that's local.

And we're going to be baking a butternut squash with maple syrup.

And one of my favorite dishes to prepare is apple pie, and you're going to love it.

The first thing we're going to do today is cook up this trout.

I'm just going to put the pot over the fire and warm up the lard so that we can begin frying the fish.

You know, a lot of people put lemon on their fish.

[Walter] Too expensive.

[Mary] You just want lemon?

Guess what?

We we're just poor yeoman farmers.

You know, we don't have lemon, but we have lemon balm.

Lemon balm is an herb that was found in many colonial gardens.

A few days ago, I picked and dried it and then crushed it up.

So we'll be using this on our fish today.

This is a rainbow trout.

And it was caught yesterday in one of our trout ponds.

[Walter] I learned from Ollie that a lot of the trout in the region are farm-raised to maintain a healthy ecosystem within the streams and rivers.

- Yeah, so what we're going to do is salt this.

[Walter] Now that is so intriguing to me.

[Mary] This is the lemon balm.

Oh, that's going to give us.

You can smell it.

[Walter] Oh unbelievable.

[Mary] This is corn meal from Lenny's Mill, not too far from here.

Fresh ground, corn meal.

We're very fortunate to be able to have local products.

Okay.

Now, we are going to place this in the pan and fry it up real quick.

And it'll start.

[Walter] It'll start bubbling.

[Mary] You can hear it?

[Walter] Oh big time.

I can hear it I can see it, and I can smell it.

[Sizzling] So you just let it brown on one side, flip it once, and done.

[Mary] Yeah, let it brown.

[Walter] Oh, yeah.

The flavor that comes off there now, beautiful.

This is where many times you get it wrong.

Too many people add too many things into it- Less is better.

And this is a perfect example.

And this fish, in my opinion, we can serve it up.

[Music] [Mary] A little parsley.

Would they have put a little schmaltz over it or no?

[Mary] You want to?

[Walter] I think so.

[Mary] Good!

I'm learning something from you.

[Walter] Isn't that so beautiful?

[Mary] I think you'll like it very much.

Fresh trout.

[Walter] I know so.

[Mary] Fresh lemon balm.

[Walter] Wow.

[Mary] I know!

[Walter] It is sensational the flavor, what makes it so unique to me since I've never really worked with dry lemon balm is the lemon balm.

The flavor comes through.

You would think, if I'm blind tasting, that you squeezed some lemons over there, like people would do in our days now, you know?

It's absolutely spectacular.

Seriously.

[Mary] I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Very Appalachian Mountain fare.

[Music] [Walter] After cooking with Mary, I wanted to see how one particular chef has utilized the same products in a modern way.

[Ken] Chef, it's a pleasure having you here at the restaurant.

I wanted to work with local produce and local growers and the things that we can find in forage.

We were thinking about going vegetarian at the time until we found The Gamekeeper restaurant, and I said, well, it's The Gamekeeper.

Number one, we have to do the game.

Let's do it in the style of the people that came before us.

Let's work with the animals that were indigenous.

Same stuff that Daniel Boone had, and we try to bring it to the table as simply as possible.

When I found out that you were coming, I said, Succotash, that's the one we want to have on the menu, because that's the one that the Native Americans had.

They had the three sisters, They had the corn and the squash and the beans.

We start out with the corn.

We take all the kernels off but then we save the cob and make a broth with it.

That's the essence of it.

Then we mix the field peas in with some green beans and some okra.

And then what we've done here is we've taken a locally made venison sausage, and we put it on the wood fire grill to top it off.

[Walter] A spectacular presentation.

By the way, did you know that Succotash was also one of Benjamin Franklin's favorite dishes?

[Ken] He was a wise man.

[Walter] Now, I'm sure he never had it this good.

[Laughing] I can guarantee you that.

But.

Mm.

I like the way that you maintained the Black Eyed peas, the corn, the okra.

So it still identifies itself.

It's not cooked into a mush.

And the flavor is also spectacular.

It has a little bit of a tang to it, a little bit of heat to it.

I really like that.

[Ken] There's other game that you can get here.

I have a bison short rib, and the short rib is one of the best cuts and we cook it slowly for hours and until it's falling off the bone.

We pair it up with some roasted potatoes and beets.

[Walter] Beautiful.

[Ken] Preparing this kind of food makes us be able to live a little bit of the life of Daniel Boone and think about how it was to be a pioneer back then.

You're going to love the next dish.

Chef Tyler put together a grilled elk medallion with Blackberry glaze, fried peaches and roasted butternut squash.

The elk, the best flavors come forth when it's medium rare, I think, with a little bit of salt, a little bit of pepper.

Not too much.

We marinate it the night before, we use a little oregano on the outside, a little bit of olive oil, then onto the hot fire.

A few minutes on one side, a few minutes on the other side.

And then we let it rest for a minute or two.

We have fried peaches.

We've put into a fritter batter and fry golden brown.

[Music] [Walter] It's a beautiful presentation.

I'm going to try a little bit of that elk.

Oh, that is beautiful.

The flavor that comes from the wood penetrated the meat .

The squash, you made it into a creative basket.

It can be eaten as the vegetable of this dish.

I will remember this dish for a long time to come I can tell you that.

It is beautiful To serve this kind of food it's got to make you feel good.

You really captured the essence from the past and bring it into today's life.

- Thank you, that's such a big compliment coming from such a great chef.

Thank you so much.

[Music] [Mary] Walter, our next recipe is roast bear.

Have you ever had bear?

[Walter] Yeah, I had bear mostly as a ham when I grew up in the Black Forest.

Because the Black Forest is full of bears, you know.

[Mary] Well, in the 18th century, this part of North Carolina was full of bears.

So the bear that we've got today is from a 300 pound bear.

This is a roast or a ham.

We have bear season here starts in December.

[Walter] It's before the bear goes in hibernation so he has extra fat.

[Mary] Yes.

You can do anything with a bear that you can with a pig or a hog.

[Walter] Yeah.

[Mary] So bacon, and they have roast and they render the fat to make oil.

[Walter] I'm very familiar with all those root vegetables over here, but this is kind of a weird looking thing.

I don't know, whatever it is.

[Mary] Oh!

Walter, they're called walking onions.

And the reason is when it grows up high, the weight of this will bend it over.

These little bulbs are on the top, so it bends over, hits the ground.

- And it grows again.

- And then we start again.

So they're continuing to move.

And that's how I got the name walking onion.

You see, they've already started growing!

[Laughing] [Walter] Fantastic.

[Mary] We're putting in the bear oil.

[sizzling] This oil is harvested from the back of this bear.

[Sizzling] What we're going to do is salt and pepper it real good, roll it in flour and then put it on to cook and we will brown it.

Sear it real good on both sides.

It's important that we cook it thoroughly.

It tastes much better that way, and it's much healthier for you that way.

[Walter] Any time you cook something over 165 degrees anyway, all the bacteria is usually gone.

But you're right.

You wouldn't want to make a steak and eating it medium rare like you would with a cow.

[Mary] The vegetables that we're using are the turnips.

You can tell that by the pretty purple color, potatoes, parsnips and then the rutabagas.

[Walter] Oh, beautiful.

You've got a nice fire going there.

[Mary] We're going to also add some thyme and then we'll go to the Walking Onions.

[Walter] Now, that's what I got to see.

Do you just use the bulb?

[Mary] No!

[Walter] The whole thing?

[Mary] The whole thing.

[Walter] So the flavor.

Okay, I got you.

Oh, it's like a scallion.

So later it disintegrates.

[Mary] Mhmm.

[Slicing] [Sizzling] [Walter] There you go.

Beautiful.

[Mary] We're going to add some dandelions.

This grows in the yard.

[Walter] Dandelion gives a little bitterness to it this is what makes it good.

[Mary] We're going to add some water.

[Walter] So, in a modern oven what would you think about 350?

[Mary] 350 for maybe two and a half, 3 hours, like a beef roast.

While the bear is cooking.

We're going to turn our attention to the butternut squash.

Isn't that pretty?

[Walter] Very.

[Mary] So we're going to scrape out the seed.

[Walter] Now, you know, a lot of people toast the seeds, too.

[Mary] They could toast them.

[Walter] Yeah.

[Mary] Save them for the garden next year.

I'm going to puncture it.

Just a little bit.

[Walter] Ahh, so that the spice can penetrate.

[Mary] Yes.

We're going to put the butter in.

This is a local butter Nutmeg, since you brought me a nutmeg from Philadelphia.

- Yep!

- See, I wouldn't have had one unless you'd brought it to me.

[Walter] Ah, hand-carried!

[Grinding] And then the maple syrup.

A lot of people think of maple syrup, and they think of [Walter] New England.

[Mary] They think of New England They think of Vermont.

But guess what?

We had it here, too.

[Walter] That is fantastic.

[Mary] Put it in the Dutch oven.

I usually put a little bit of water in there, sort of steams it.

[Lid closes] [Shoveling hot coals] [Walter] And then some on top.

[Music] [indistinct chatter] [Mary] Walter, I just checked the bear roast and I think it's done.

[Walter] Oh, look at that.

That's what I've been smelling for the last 3 hours, that's beautiful.

[Mary] The rutabagas really smell good.

[Walter] Always.

And maintains the color so well.

Unbelievable.

[Music] [Walter] It's beautiful, the flavor that comes right through there.

[Grinding] [Mary] Can you smell the butter?

[Walter] Oh, yeah.

[Music] [Walter] Oh, they didn't worry about the calories then.

[Mary] No.

They would work it off.

[Walter] Yeah.

I'm going to try a little bit of that.

Wow.

Gosh, this is good.

All the vegetables have penetrated the meat, or perfumed it, it's unbelievable.

Obviously, I can't wait to try to squash Wow!

Man, that is a vegetable and dessert in one, great idea.

The taste is spectacular.

It really gives the viewer a chance to see what frontier life was all about.

It doesn't get better than that.

[Mary] Thank you so much.

We're glad to have you.

[Music] [Mike] The mountains of North Carolina are an exceptional area to grow apples.

We have a great climate.

It's cool in the fall and spring, plenty of rainfall and rich soil.

Apples make vinegar and in a day before refrigeration, the only way you could preserve food was with drying or pickling.

In North America, Crabapples were the only native apple here.

The settlers brought their own varieties with them, and I'm holding a Gragg apple, also known as a Winter Queen.

If this apple is just off the tree at this time of year, it's a very tart, almost bitter to eat out of hand.

After it has been in storage all winter, you will find that it develops a full rich flavor of its own and it will keep and stay pretty.

All through the season.

[Music] [Mary] Walter, one of my favorite dishes to prepare is apple pie.

And I use Hannah Glasse's, puff paste recipe or receipt.

And I've already cut up the apples.

These are Winter Queen apples.

It's a heritage apple that goes back to the early 1800's.

Very tart.

Great for pies.

[Walter] Mm.

Reminds me of a Granny Smith.

[Mary] It is very much like that.

[Walter] Yeah.

[Mary] One of the best pies I've ever made was an apple pie sweetened with honey.

And you would have never known that it was not sugar.

And this is local, honey.

We do have a little bit of cinnamon [Grating] [Mary] Ooh,I can smell it!

[Grating] Another layer of apples.

[Walter] Not surprisingly, this pie is cooked in a Dutch oven.

Not in a regular normal beehive, so that's an interesting part.

[Mary] Think about how many pies Rebecca Boone would have to make for her family.

[Walter] 15 people she had to feed?

Twelve kids.

[Grating] [Mary] Oh, it'll be nice and pretty when we finish it.

[Music] [Walter] It's beautiful already.

[Mary] I'm putting little flat pebbles in the bottom of the pot it'll help keep it from burning and helps the heat circulate.

[Music] It'll take about 45 minutes to cook, but remember, there's no clock here and I don't know what the temperature is.

A lot of times you can take it by the smell.

[Music] [Mary] Ready to taste?

[Walter] That's what I'm here for.

[Mary] This is a taste of history.

[Walter] It definitely is!

Marvelous.

It's a piece of art.

Look at it here Beautiful.

[Spoon slams on table] [Laughing] [Walter] First apple pie ever with honey, I love your crust.

I'm very familiar with Hannah Glasses recipe because I've used that a million times.

Very well done.

And it's just beautiful.

I think you're a natural.

Maybe you and Hannah are related.

God only knows.

[Mary] Walter, it's been a wonderful day.

Thank you for coming.

I hope you come again.

[Hammering] [Music] [Walter] I had a wonderful time in Boone, and the high country of North Carolina.

And after spending a few days here, I can see how the ridges of these majestic mountains would help you rediscover the wonders of America's natural beauty.

You can come to the high country to appreciate the hard and demanding lifestyle of the region's pioneer ancestors and the revitalize yourself in the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

And all this for A Taste of History.

[Narrator] This program is made possible by.

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Adding variety into your weekly meals, or a unique touch for your next celebration.

Widely available at your local market.

For recipes and more, we're at aussiebeefandlamb.com Viewers can find DVD's and cookbooks at atasteofhistory.org including the all new A Taste of History cookbook complete with step by step instructions of recipes seen on the show.

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