Steamed dumplings are one of my all-time favorite foods. I'm not sure if it's all the memories I associate with them- pinching and creasing wrappers with my mother, being at a dim sum restaurant with the entire family, or pre-service meals of Chinese takeout with the crew at my former restaurant job, but they have a special place in my heart.

These beaver dumplings were born out of a craving for Chinese delivery, but with far too much meat in the freezer to justify ordering anything food related. The ground beaver leads itself very well to this dish, it has the classic beefy flavors of delivery dumplings, but leaner and with more nuance. We kept the filling fairly simple, but you can add or substitute anything you like in your dumplings. It’s hard to go wrong with dumplings.

Steamed Beaver Dumplings Recipe

Yields: 25-30 dumplings

Cook time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 lb total beaver meat and pork fat (20-25% fat)

.5 cup rehydrated mushrooms, minced (we used wood ears, shiitakes would also be fantastic)

2 bunches scallions, thinly cut crosswise

3 cloves garlic, minced

1.5” ginger, peeled, minced

2 shallots, minced

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp crushed szechuan peppercorns

1 package dumpling wrappers

Method:

Grind the meat and fat through a fine die, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cook a spoonful of the mixture and adjust seasoning as needed.

Place ~1T on a dumpling wrapper and wet edges with water, fold in half and seal. Add creases if you're feeling fancy.

Steam for 4 minutes, serve with dumpling dipping sauce.

*you can also pan fry, deep fry or boil the dumplings, it's all personal preference.

Dumpling Sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp chili oil or chili paste

Mix well before serving.