Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet Recipes

Blueberry Grunt

A recipe that is perfect at blueberry-picking time

Origin: Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site
Region: Prairies (Manitoba)
Period: 20^th Century - present
Course: Desserts and Baked Goods

Historic drawing of blueberry
© Some Edible Fruit and Herbs of Newfoundland, Peter J. Scott

Building the Prince of Wales Fort on Hudson Bay in the mid-1700s took more than 40 years, as its massive size and small construction crew made for slow progress. In the short northern building season, work crews also had to hunt food, cut wood, haul water and, of course, continue to trade for fur. One small treat these men may have enjoyed was the wild blueberries that grew in abundance around their remote home. Named for the sound of simmering blueberries, this blueberry grunt is a simple one-pot combination of berries and traditional tea biscuits.

Blueberry Grunt

Ingredients:

• Blueberries
  • 4 cups | 1 litre blueberries
  • ⅔ cup | 150 ml sugar
  • ½ cup | 125 ml water
  
  
• Tea Biscuits
  • 2 cups | 500 ml flour
  • 2 tbsp | 30 ml butter
  • 4 tsp | 20 ml baking powder
  • ½ tsp | 2.5 ml salt
  • 1 tsp | 5 ml sugar
  • ½ cup | 125 ml milk or buttermilk

Directions:

• Put the blueberries, sugar and water in a pot; cover and boil gently until there is plenty of juice. Take off heat and pour into a 4-cup baking dish. Drop tea biscuits on top.
• Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Cut in the butter and add enough milk to make a soft biscuit dough. Drop by spoonfuls onto the hot blueberries. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 °F | 190 ºC. Serve hot.

Credits:

Recipe tested by Chef Scott Warrick, Algonquin College School of Hospitality and Tourism

Original recipe courtesy of Anita Stewart