Beavertails

On March 1, the French classes were having a Mardi Gras party. My french class had to do a project about different Francophone carnivals around the world. My friend and I did ours on the Bonhomme Carnaval in Québec. While we were researching, we found beavertails, fried dough shaped as tails covered in sugar and cinnamon. We decided to make it for the party on Thursday.

Beavertails are sold at every major celebration in Canada, and along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa during the winter. They come in several flavors. The most popular ones are sugar and cinnamon coated. There are also plain ones, and ones coated in maple syrup. Also, in 2008 when Obama came to visit Ottawa, there was the Obama-tail. It was a cinnamon and sugar beavertail with a large chocolate O on it.

I found the recipe online, and it proved to be quite easy to make. Simply take flour, sugar, salt, yeast, water, eggs, milk, and a bit of oil and combine them into dough. Then, you take pieces of that dough and shape them into flat tails. Then you fry them in oil and immediately cover them with sugar and cinnamon.

While I was gathering the mise en place I was needed a teaspoon. I asked my parents to help me find one, and they gave me a tablespoon. I immediately knew that it was way too big to be a teaspoon.

When it came time to form the tails, I needed my family's help, for there was a lot to make in very little time. My dad, sister and I formed the tails while my mom fried them and dipped them in sugar. Of course, we made the tails much smaller than what is served in Canada. A beavertail is about the size of a dinner plate. We made them so you could easily pick them up and eat them.

In total, my friend and I made about a hundred tails for the party, and yet they still ran out within two periods. This proves that beavertails are quite delicious, eh? You should try them. Just type "Beavertail recipe" into Google and click on the first website that comes up.

Beavertail Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water
5 tsp dry yeast
1 pinch sugar
1 cup warm milk
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
4 1/4-5 cup all purpose flour
oil for frying
granulated sugar
Cinnamon

Large mixing bowl, stir together yeast, warm water and pinch of sugar

Stand for a couple minutes for yeast to rise

Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, oil, salt, vanilla, and most of flour to make dough

Knead for 5-8 minutes, adding flour as need, until smooth elastic dough

Put dough in bowl and in sealed bag

let rise for 3-4 minutes

gently deflate dough

Pinch out golfball size dough, shape into tail shapes and cover with wet towel till all pieces are made

Heat 3-4 inches of oil in fryer to 385 F

Add dough pieces 1-2 at a time

Fry until sides are deep brown

Drain tails on paper towels

Toss in sugar and cinnamon
Ayesha A