The Last Meal of Ötzi the Iceman
Clockwise from top left: Ötzi’s last meal of fire-roasted red deer, smoked goat, and einkorn cakes with fiddlehead ferns
City/Region: Ötztal Alps
Time Period: c. 3230 B.C.
Over 5,000 years ago, before the pyramids and Stonehenge, Ötzi the Iceman was killed in the Ötztal Alps near the border between modern day Austria and Italy. His body was soon covered with snow and ice, which helped preserve it for thousands of years until it was discovered in 1991.
There is a lot of speculation about what Ötzi’s life was like and what the circumstances surrounding his death were, but one thing that is known for sure is what his last meal was.
Researchers found red deer and ibex meat, einkorn, and ferns in Ötzi’s mummified stomach. This is just one version of what his last meal might have been, and while it’s plain compared to modern tastes, there’s a surprising amount of flavor in the meat and einkorn cakes, though I wouldn’t judge you if you added a bit of salt or seasoning.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs (1 kg) goat meat
- 1 lb (1/2 kg) red deer meat
Einkorn Cakes
- 2 cups (385 g) whole einkorn berries
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water, more or less as needed
- 2 fiddlehead ferns
Instructions:
- For the goat: Slice the goat thinly, about 1/4 inch (1 cm). Place a pan to catch any fat below the meat (we’ll be using the fat later for the einkorn), and smoke the meat using a grill with charcoal and wood or a smoker. You can also place a pan of water in the grill to help keep some moisture in the meat if you want. The goal is to keep the grill or smoker at a low temperature of 160-170°F (71-77°C) and let it go for anywhere between 6 to 10 hours, or until it has dried to a jerky-like texture.
- For the red deer: Cut the red deer meat into about 1 inch (3 cm) pieces. Stab the meat onto metal skewers and grill for about 5 to 6 minutes, rotating frequently, until there’s a nice char on the outside and the meat is cooked to your preference. For this, I basically made a wood fire in my grill and cooked the skewers over that.
- For the einkorn cakes: Grind the einkorn berries with a mortar and pestle until you have a very coarse flour. There should still be large pieces of einkorn visible.
- Place the ground einkorn in a bowl and add the fat reserved from cooking the goat. Mix them together and add water a little at a time until the dough holds together. You may need more or less than 1/2 cup (120 ml) of water.
- Wash the fiddlehead ferns and chop them finely. Add the ferns to the dough and mix well. Form the mixture into patties about 1/4” (1 cm) thick.
- Heat a clay comal over a fire until water sizzles when sprinkled on the surface. Place the patties on the comal and cook for about 3 minutes on each side until well browned.
- To serve: Serve the cakes forth with the red deer and goat for a possible version of Ötzi’s last meal.