Iron Range cuisine explained

Iron Range cuisine refers to the cooking traditions and dishes of the Arrowhead region and Iron Range of Minnesota. Iron Range cuisine is based on Italian, Cornish, Scandinavian, and Slovenian cuisine. It was heavily influenced by Native American cuisine, seen in the use of wild rice. Many of the dishes were brought by immigrants. Other dishes were invented by the iron mine workers because they needed nourishing foods that they could bring on the go.

More recent immigration trends have introduced Vietnamese, Hmong, Lao, and Thai culinary influences.^[1]

Ingredients

In northern Minnesota, along the North Shore of Lake Superior, commercial fishing has been practiced for generations. Settlers were used to the cold, rugged work as many of these immigrants came directly from the coastal fishing villages of Norway. Ciscoes (also known as lake herring), lake trout, lake whitefish, and rainbow smelt are still commercially fished today. Smoked or sugar-cured trout is prepared from local fish in areas along the North Shore like Duluth.^[2] Barbecue in Duluth typically consists of smoked lake fish, such as salmon.

Wild rice is eaten plain or as a side with other dishes.

Dishes brought by immigrants

• baklava
• cabbage rolls- a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves stuffed with a variety of fillings; sarma, which uses a meat stuffing, is one such variant.
• lasagna
• potica- a rolled pastry made of leavened paper-thin dough filled with any of a great variety of fillings, but most often with walnut filling.^{[3] [4]}
• Pasties- It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetables, in the middle of a flat shortcrust pastry circle, bringing the edges together in the middle, and crimping over the top to form a seal before baking. They are popular in the iron range of Minnesota, especially as a lunch for iron miners.
• sauerbraten

Dishes invented in the Iron Range

• Pizza rolls- are a popular snack food in Minnesota. They were invented in Duluth, Minnesota.^[5]
• Porketta sandwich- is a sandwich consisting of slow roasted, season pork. It is served on a sandwich with greens (rapini or spinach) and provolone cheese. Porketta remains a popular local dish in towns such as Hibbing, Minnesota with distributors such as Fraboni Sausage.
• South American sandwich- This sandwich was invented in the iron range of Minnesota.^[6] It is a bar snack made with several kinds of minced meat, onions, tomatoes, peppers, celery and other leftovers in between two slices of bread.
• Walleye fingers- pieces of cut up walleye that are deep fried. They are especially popular in Minnesota because they are the state fish. It can also be served as a sandwich in Minnesota's pubs where the fish is very popular, deep fried walleye on a stick is a Minnesota State Fair food.
• Ting Town barbecue beef sandwich- is a sandwich that was served at a local restaurant that closed in 1970. It is still made today by Minnesotans in the Iron Range.^[7]
• Iron Range pot roast- a pot roast made with porketta or pork, potatoes, and seasonings.^{[8] [9]}
• Walleye chowder^[10]
• Pie à la Mode^[11]

Other

Lovit soft drinks were produced by Fitger brewing in Duluth.^[12]

References

1. News: Hanes . Phyllis . September 2, 1987 . Up north, a mother lode of food traditions. The families that settled here shared recipes and cultures . Christian Science Monitor . 2023-12-13 . 0882-7729.
2. Web site: Rubiner . Betsy . Discovering the North Shore's smoky delights . 2023-12-13 . Star Tribune.
3. Web site: Beth . 2016-04-19 . Iron Range Food Tour . 2023-12-13 . Discover the Range . en.
4. Web site: Pease . Krystyna . 2015-12-02 . Appetites: Preserving Iron Range recipes . 2023-12-13 . MPR News . en.
5. Web site: About Totino's® & The History Of Pizza Rolls® . 2023-12-13 . Totinos US . en-US.
6. Web site: 2022-07-30 . South American Sandwiches (of Northeastern Minnesota) Sandwich Tribunal . 2023-12-23 . www.sandwichtribunal.com . en-US.
7. Web site: Ting-Town Barbeque Beef Sandwich . 2023-12-15 . Allrecipes . en.
8. Web site: Iron Range Pot Roast Recipe - Food Reference Pork Recipes . 2023-12-15 . www.foodreference.com.
9. Web site: 2020-03-22 . Sunday's Pork Roast Dinner Recipe – Iron Range Pot Roast (Porketta) . 2023-12-15 . My Meals are on Wheels . en.
10. Web site: 2019-10-23 . Walleye chowder: discovering it’s a thing along the Gunflint . 2024-01-29 . Twin Cities . en-US.
11. Web site: Lundgren . Paul . 2017-10-24 . Duluth: Birthplace of pie à la mode? . 2024-02-21 . Perfect Duluth Day . en-US.
12. Web site: Sorensen . Dave . 2015-05-10 . Lovit Soft Drinks from Fitger's . 2024-02-21 . Perfect Duluth Day . en-US.