Moose Burgers and Sweetener-Free Ketchup

One of Alaska’s primal perks is the abundance of clean, beautiful, wild game.  Many Alaskans have extra freezers in which they store a year’s supply of moose, caribou and salmon. While spring is an amazing time of year up north, it also coincides with diminishing vacuum-sealed freezer goodness. I currently find myself both hoarding what meat we have left and day dreaming about eating it every night- particularly in the form of moose burgers.

Juicy moose burgers….smothered in all kinds of tasty toppings: dijon, Primal Kitchen avocado mayo, bacon, tomatoes, onions. Until recently ketchup has been the one weak link in our moose burger game. If you Google “paleo ketchup” you will find that most recipes call for dates or maple syrup. Trying to avoid unnecessary sweeteners, I’ve concocted a number of sub-par batches. This time, determined to channel my inner kitchen goddess, I tapped into my ingredient intuition and really listened to my spice rack. (Actually, I just read a bunch of recipes and took a few ingredients from each.) The end result was a ketchup that is tangy, sweet, and actually delicious by itself. On moose burgers...wow.