Recipes

Bear Fat Challenge: Choux Swans

By Timothy Fowler

Choux paste is a simple mixture of milk, water, fat, salt, flour, and eggs. Black bears in the Boreal forest are getting fat from eating mostly berries and hip-high clover in the fall. Last year’s fall bear was delicious and yielded a dozen pint jars of delicious fat. Bear fat is perfect for pastry, including pie pastry and choux paste. 

 Kolby Morehead, the editor of this magazine, threw down the gauntlet last month, “Give me some fancy pastries!” 

 “How about choux swans?” I replied. 

I learned how to make choux paste as part of my bakery rotation in culinary school. Choux paste is what cream puffs, croquembouche, and gougeres are made of––fancy baked goods from the French kitchen. Why not stretch the bear fat in the pantry a bit and see what might work? My granddaughter helped me bake and assemble the swans, and her cousins exclaimed, “This is the best dessert we have had in our whole lives!” (Granted, Noah just turned five, so he has a few pastries ahead of him.) 

There are two directions to take choux paste: sweet or savory. Adding just a bit of sugar takes these cream puff pastries in a sweet direction. Next round, I’ll give the savory ones a test and share how to do that for a main course or appetizer. 

 

Equipment: 

 

Gram scale 

Large stainless bowl 

Wooden spoon 

Whisk 

Saucepan 

Piping bag with a large star tip 

Small ziplock bag to use as a piping bag for swan necks 

Flat baking sheets 

Silicone paper or silicone baking mat 

Serrated knife (bread knife) 

 

 Ingredients: Choux Paste 

 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup water 

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 cup, 4 ounces, or 115 grams bear fat (my preference is to use the scale) 

1 tsp salt 

1 tbsp sugar 

4 large eggs at room temperature 

Icing sugar for dusting 

Whipped cream in a can for filling swans. (You can whip your own cream if you like, but I wanted to make this easy.) 

 

Ingredients: Ganache Filling 

 

225 grams (8 oz) semisweet chocolate chips 

225 grams (8 oz or 1 cup) 35% fat whipping cream 

 

Method: Ganache Filling 

 

  1. Measure chocolate and cream. 

  1. Combine in a saucepan over medium heat. 

  1. Bring to a gentle simmer. 

  1. Whisk to combine cream and chocolate; when combined, remove from heat and let cool. 

 

 Method Choux Paste 

 

  1. Make ganache and let it cool. 

  1. Add the water, milk, fat, salt, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. 

  1. When the mixture comes to a boil, dump the flour at once, remove from the heat, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together and doesn’t stick to the wooden spoon. 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. 

  1. Empty the hot choux paste into a large stainless bowl and let it cool for five minutes. 

  1. Add one egg at a time and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to ensure that the batter is smooth before adding the next egg. 

  1. When all the eggs are added, beat the choux until smooth. 

  1. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. (At this point, the paste can be piped, covered, and refrigerated within four days.)  

  1. Fill a small plastic bag with a cup of choux paste and pipe ‘swan necks’ (see photo). 

  1. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and cool. 

  1. Next, fill a large piping bag (fit with a large star tip) with the rest of the choux paste. 

  1. Pipe ‘swan bodies’ in a teardrop shape (see photo). 

  1. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 F and bake for another 20 minutes. Cool the swan bodies on a rack. 

  1. When cool, cut the top third of the swan bodies horizontally, then in half lengthwise to make wings (see photo). 

  1. Fill the swan bases with ganache and whipped cream. 

  1. Place the wings and necks. 

  1. Dust with icing sugar. 

  1. Take Instagram-worthy photos and tag @timothydfowler and @bearhuntingmagazine

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