- [Announcer] This program made possible by Forest River.

(mid tempo music) We have always been dedicated to helping people experience the joy of the outdoors, by building a full range of recreational vehicles.

At Forest River, your needs, interest, and lifestyle are at the forefront of everything we do.

Forest River, Follow the River.

To learn more, visit forestriver.tv.

- Oh, I'm in just an absolutely beautiful location right now.

Just shooting another wonderful episode of "Wild Harvest."

And I have discovered this gorgeous little flower down there, if you can see it.

That, all those white blooms that's Claytonia lanceolata, Western Spring Beauty.

I can help you to identify wild edible plants but the only way to be 100% sure and completely accurate is to read up on your books, cross reference those books, check online, and most importantly consult a local expert.

Learn from someone who knows the plants in your area.

Take a course.

And that way you'll be very confident in your next wild harvest.

(gentle music) You know, wild edible plants and medicinal plants for that matter, they don't just grow arbitrarily, accidentally popping up here and there.

That's why, depending on where you are will determine the kind of plants you're going to find.

So if I want variety, I gotta travel, and that's why I always find myself in a place like this the side of a hill right in the middle of the Rocky Mountains putting the wild back in the wild harvest.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) That's stunning.

What a perfect day.

And here's what I'm looking for right here actually.

This is Juniperus communis, the most widespread conifer in the entire planet.

These berries that we're looking out here, this is the female plant.

Only the female of the species produces the berries.

By the way, rich in vitamin C, amongst many other things.

[Paul] Okay.

Here's the catch to this though.

These aren't berries, these are cones, this is a conifer.

These are little cones that are so tight in with their scales, that they look like berries, just- these are not berries at all, these are juniper cones.

[Paul] Ah, I had no idea.

[Les] You see the texture of that berry?

[Paul] Yeah.

[Les] That's a nice sort of ripe purple one, right?

It takes almost two years for these berries to ripen.

You get to a stage where they're still green but they are mature, then they go from that green mature stage to being purple and black.

Culinarily, this is the stage that most people use them.

Yup.

Is when they've turned this purpley blue purpley black color.

This particular plant, this juniper is used widely in a medicinal way, throughout cultures all across the planet.

But it goes way back to the Greeks.

The Greeks used to feed the berries to their Olympians, to promote stamina.

And then in 1650 along comes this dude who's looking for a tonic treatment for kidney issues.

And he takes the juniper berries, he makes a tonic and it proves to be really really popular.

Because basically he invented gin.

Gin is from the mature green berries.

But we're gonna mess with both berries here today, 'cause we have lots of them, and you don't need much.

Yeah, the smell of, on that one's not that strong.

It's a green one that I picked.

Oh, I didn't expect that much sweetness, that was a good one, really sweet.

So you see there's a lot of room to play with the berry and the stage that it's in, in terms of whether it's used for gin or culinarily.

I think we're gonna have fun with this because here's what I'm gonna do.

I actually don't wanna look for anything else.

So I, I would love you to harvest both the green and the purpley blue ones.

Ah, let's just start doing some gathering.

Junipers are such widespread conifers, that they even grow at altitudes of over 4,900 meters, making for one of the highest tree lines on earth.

[Paul] There's so many of these.

[Les] To positively identify Juniper communis, remember, that the needles are joined at the base and also that with the seedlings, the needles are sharp and prickly.

And as must be done with all berry gathering, or should I say cone gathering, I have to eat some along the way.

Junipers are gymnosperms, which means they have seeds but no flowers, no fruits and no berries.

Gin by the way is a shortening of the Dutch word for juniper.

(gentle music) (liquid gurgling) (gentle music) Hey Paul.

[Paul] What do you got there?

I thought I'd go little extra step and do some mixology for us this time.

We're dealing with juniper berries, which make gin but they also make other drinks if we want them to.

So I thought we could make our own wild forged Bloody Mary.

I could use one I think This is just basic tomato juice, took the juniper berries, crushed them up, dropped them in, and this has been soaking for only 24 hours.

And this is neutral green alcohol, same process, 24 hours overnight; and it smells like gin to me.

[Paul] Yeah, in a big way.

Wow, look at the color.

I know, isn't that beautiful?

[Paul] That's amazing.

These are predominantly green, and these ones are, are a mixture of both green and the bluish purple ones.

Okay, I'm just gonna have a slight hint of it.

- You have to try it.

Wow.

I know.

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

Oh, I wasn't expecting that, I was expecting more.

Okay, it's just gonna be the alcohol shock, right?

But that is juniper front, middle and, and back.

All the way through that's juniper.

Nicely too.

It's not like this gross flavor, it's really balanced.

Like you said, the whole pallet.

I love it.

But holy cow for overnight, that's a win.

(gentle music) So the, the one thing I've never really had a chance to do, I mean I've squished them in the past and smelt them, you know walking through the forest sort of thing but to eat them is interesting.

And the fact that I learned earlier that these are cones and not berries is kind of a revelation on its own.

The ripe one is soft and sweet.

It's almost in the category of berry.

It's that sweet.

I had no idea.

The green one, it's got a great texture a great mouth feel.

The flavor is similar, but it's more green.

It actually tastes more like the juniper bush itself if that makes sense.

It's making me think, this could be great for an application for doing a bison tartar.

(gentle music) So I think the green juniper, because it's, it's got a fresher flavor will work really well in a tartar.

Tartar is very mild and flavored.

And these green juniper berries, I think they've got enough oil and enough roundness and freshness that it won't overpower the tartar, but it will compliment it nicely.

Now tartar sounds intimidating, but really it's not.

It's raw meat, and yes, that's kind of one of those things that make you go, "hmm," but it's actually quite delicious.

And if you think of tartar being a meat salad and all the ingredients that are going into flavor it, like a salad dressing, you're on point.

(gentle music) I'm chopping up some capers.

Capers add a brightness, that the acid in them and the salt in them actually add a little point of punctuation which tartar really needs.

(gentle music) (mid tempo music) - All right.

(ice clinking) (mid tempo music) (shaker rattling) (mid tempo music) Oh yeah.

Okay, this is a nice piece of bison.

And to clean it up for tartar it's really important to get rid of all the silver skin.

That's all of this tissue that you see me taking off right here.

(gentle music) I think that's a good pile.

(gentle music) Sharp knife is really an asset for this part.

I wanna make sure that the juniper berry, is the star of the show.

And because the juniper is so strong I'm cutting them very, very fine.

The main reason is I wanna make sure that I have even distribution of that flavor.

(gentle music) Fresh egg yolk, green onions for freshness, olive oil, little bit of lemon zest.

Then time to mix it all together.

It's there, but I'm gonna use a little bit of that gin, just to help finish it off.

(gentle music) All right, okay.

I know what we have here.

I know we have tartar.

[Paul] Yes.

Ahh did I hear you say it was bison or beef?

[Paul] It is.

[Les] Bison tartar.

[Paul] It's bison tartar.

Tartar is like a meat salad.

So because the meat doesn't really have a lot of flavor on its own, you add flavors to it.

So what I did is a typical tartar, the traditional garnishes but I used some of the green juniper.

If it's not enough, and I want really to tell the story of juniper, I added a little bit of the gin on top, so we can top dress the tartar with a bit of the- [Les] I thought that was lemon juice, but it's not, it's gin.

It's gin.

Well, to go with it, what I brought along was the first shot at our Bloody Marys.

So what do you want first?

Should I just go for the tartar?

[Paul] I think so.

So that is bread off the barbecue.

Do I, do I drizzle?

Yeah, right on top of the meat only.

[Les] The meat only.

[Paul] Just kind of spread it around a little bit.

All right, I'm going for it, can I?

Let's do it.

All right.

I taste the gin.

You do taste the gin.

I taste the gin.

So the first bite for me was, "Where's the gin?"

Honestly that was- - Oh, really?

The first, the first thing was where is, I'm not... Or at least where's the juniper?

I didn't get it in the first few moments.

Then it coated the whole tongue, and at the end of that, when I swallowed, it's like, "oh there it is."

Now, I've got it completely, I've got it.

I have actually, for the first time I even had have it on my lips.

Again, this is one of those things, where it's like got a little twist of bitterness, but the kind of bitter you like, it's all there.

Oh, you know what?

Let's have a sip with this now.

[Paul] Yeah, good idea.

Okay, cheers.

Cheers.

(glass clinking) Here we go.

(gentle music) That's delicious.

Oh, I'm, I'm- That's so good.

Okay, so here's, here's, here's my pull back on the whole thing.

I am getting the juniper in all of this but I'm not getting it when it first goes in my mouth.

I'm getting it like six seconds later, and there it is, which is kind of cool.

It's that whole, it's like having a nice glass of wine and, and the after taste is even better than the fore taste.

Yeah, time delayed.

I absolutely love this.

Ah, I think if I were to be critical of it at all almost wanna push the envelope just to touch more with the juniper, just to see what would happen, because I'm enjoying the flavor so much.

Yup.

But it's not lost in there, it's still featured.

So cheers, man.

Cheers.

This is, this is just terrific.

(gentle music) All right, time for a little plant identification.

Juniperus communis.

There are probably 40 to 45 plus varieties of this species, and it's the most widespread conifer on the planet.

Now let's take a look at some of the identifying features of this.

The needles are dark green on the top and tend to be whiteish underneath.

They also are opposite.

So if I pull this apart here.

You see how those needles are opposite each other.

They go in a whorled formation, all the way around the twig.

See these green berries.

So this is actually a cone, a conifer cone, just like a pine cone, spruce cone, hemlock cones, juniper cones.

It's these bluish ones that are quite tasty.

That's pretty nice.

Now there is a toxic oil, every juniper shrub has it, called thujone, and can cause serious problems with kidneys and the digestive tract, the stomach.

There are varieties of this species, just a few that actually have the oil in high concentrations.

And so that makes it a juniper berry, you wanna stay away from, you don't wanna touch it.

However, luckily, and fortunately, this particular version of the species, Juniperus communis, has the oil in small concentrations.

It's a wonderful, wonderful shrub, a lot more than just an ornamental in your front yard in the city.

Then again, every single plant on your front yard in the city has a lot more to it than just an ornamental quality.

Check it out.

(gentle music) Now that is one nice rack of pork.

I've got kind of a classic idea when it comes to utilizing juniper.

I'm making a brine, not a heavy brine.

And I also think I'm gonna use a little bit of that gin that Les made.

For this brine, I'm using some green juniper berries.

I don't think I need a lot because they do have a lot of flavor.

(pestle grinding) A little pinch of salt.

I'm just gonna mix that all around, just so the salt is dissolved.

That should do, now that goes into the fridge until it's time to barbecue.

(mid tempo music) As I've been working with the green juniper a little bit more, I realized there might be an opportunity here.

The fact that it has such an oily component to it that would be well suited for making pesto, with the green juniper, some pistachios and some onions.

(pestle thudding) Starting with the juniper.

Pestos are great for seasoning pastas, rices, using on meats, works in salads.

One of the most versatile things you can have in your pantry.

All right, time to taste this.

(mid tempo music) Well, that's really dynamic.

The juniper comes through like a herb but not like a juniper flavor profile.

It's actually sweet, herbacious, bitter, unique.

I can't wait to pair this up with some apples.

(knife thudding) (mid tempo music) You have some dried cranberries, just to add some sweetness.

Some of the pesto, little bit of salt.

Sugar.

Alright, just have to taste this, see where I'm at.

That works, I just have to let that stand.

(mid tempo music) One thing that to me screams old European flavor is a braised red cabbage.

Little sweet, a little tangy, lots of color, loads of flavor.

And traditionally a place that you find dried juniper berry.

Here we go.

Alright, time to take this over to the stove.

(mid tempo music) Now for some of the ripe juniper berry.

Now these I'm gonna squish in my fingers, help release the flavor.

Smells really good.

Right, time for the cabbage, (cabbage sizzling) Some salt.

Oh, I've got some beautiful honey.

It's like adding a shot of amber.

A little bit of cider vinegar.

I want this to cook to the point that the cabbage is soft and the vinegar and the honey and the cabbage juice create a glaze.

(mid tempo music) And just because I can.

(mid tempo music) (pork sizzling) (gentle music) (utensils clanking) (gentle music) Oh wow.

Oh my goodness, look at that.

Wow, yeah, that's beautiful.

So what do you want me to start with?

[Paul] I would start with the meat.

[Les] Okay, done.

That is barbecued pork.

That's been brined in a juniper gin brine.

So I used your gin, I've added some more berries and I made a brine out of that.

And then away from you, there's an apple juniper salad.

Wow, on that one.

That's all I'm gonna say for now.

Okay, and on top?

That is the juniper pesto, I made out of pistachio nuts and green juniper berries.

Wow, what a journey.

That's a serious culinary journey on that plate right now.

The blend of the juniper and the pork, spot on.

The juniper was not overpowering but it wasn't just all pork, and like, where's the juniper kind of thing.

It's there.

The fruit salad, that is one of the most unique flavors I've ever tasted in a fruit salad.

I don't know if that's a chef Paul happy accident at this very moment, when you were doing it all, but in this proportion, all of these ingredients it's just a big, wow.

And the juniper present throughout the whole bite.

So far the juniper and the meat, perfect blend.

The juniper in the salad, all throughout, all there and a flavor I've never had before.

So the pesto, this is the best pesto I've ever eaten in my life.

[Paul] Right on.

It's unbelievable.

[Paul] This is the story of juniper.

This is the story of the cottage, the green berry, the ripe berry, the fact that they have such different characteristics, the fact they don't taste invasive, like it's strong, but it's pleasant.

Oh my gosh, it's absolutely perfect.

I'm, you know, I like to call you if you don't get it, I'm saying it's spot on.

I just- it's a win.

It's a full on win my friend.

You know, the last time Paul and I got together to film "Wild Harvest," we forged in the middle of a city.

This time we were on the side of a mountain in the Rocky Mountains.

Next time might be on the edge of an ocean, in the middle of a desert or the Florida Everglades.

No matter where you live, right outside your door is a prolific and abundant wild harvest, just waiting for you to enjoy it.

So whether you are a homebody or a world traveler either way, variety, that's the greatest element of the "Wild Harvest."

(upbeat music) If you'd like to continue the "Wild Harvest" with me and chef Paul Rogalski, then please check out our website at wildharvestfilms.com, where we have recipes and foraging tips along with deleted scenes and outtakes from the making of Les Stroud's "Wild Harvest."

[Announcer] Directly inspired by the series, Chef Paul and expert forger Les Stroud, bring you "The Wild Harvest Season Two Recipe Book," highlighting all of Paul's dishes and complete with behind the scenes stories.

It is available for 29.99.

In addition, a DVD of this season is also available for 19.99.

To order, please go to wildharvestfilms.com, "Wild Harvest TV Show" on Facebook or "Les Stroud's Wild Harvest," on YouTube.

(gentle music) (birds chirping) - [Announcer] This program made possible by Forest River.

(mid tempo music) We have always been dedicated to helping people experience the joy of the outdoors, by building a full range of recreational vehicles.

At Forest River, your needs, interest and lifestyle are at the forefront of everything we do.

Forest River, follow the river.

To learn more, visit forestriver.tv.

(effects whooshing)