Ulu-ing is for little girls

After our Ugruk meat is stripped and hung, we have to take the blubber off of the skin. To do that, the Pro's (like Aana Lena and my Aana Katak, and my Auntie Clooney - she's the fastest) just whip their Ulu's under the blubber and cut it off. Easy Peasy.



For people like me, I have my husband make me an A-frame so we can put the skin, hair side down, blubber side up, over the board and I can whip it off like that.



It takes a bit of practice, but its not too hard. My sisters and I Kavraq'ed mine last night.

With the blubber off the skin, we chunk it off and throw it to the little girls. Cause cutting the blubber into strips is a little girls job.



Just ask Elsa! She said last night, "I am SO tired of being one of the youngest cousins. I NEVER get to KAVRAQ!" And its true. When you're an older (oldest female) cousin like me, you get to do all the "adult" stuff, like kavraq, and gut, etc. When you're a younger cousin, like my baby sister, you have to do the busy work. Work you can't really mess up. Like plucking geese! And washing dishes! (things I never had to do!)

The blubber is put into buckets, where it renders into oil, we stir it once a day or so, and wait until it literally melts into itself. Then with the dried meat strips, we put them back into the buckets and place it all in the freezer for later.



So, the little girls came out to help last night around 10:30 p.m. after my sister went home. They cut and cut and cut. Kaisa is the master cutter, but we all shared a laugh when she told us what she was doing.