Jomay Steen, Journal staff
Those hunting for an exotic sandwich need only enter the new Cabela's, take a sharp left and stroll to the store's corner General Store & Express Deli, which features elk and wild boar sandwiches.
"If you've never had the opportunity to hunt or fish, it gives you a chance to taste the food," said Darrell Wells, restaurant supply manager.
Wells met with deli managers Terry Mobley and Cheryl Schuh recently as they put together the last-minute touches of the store within a store. The two women with their staff of six workers will be making about 300 to 400 sandwiches, 400 to 500 gallons of coffee and 30 to 35 garden and chicken salads on a daily basis.
"Once they try it, they'll love it," Mobley said.
Wells said the elk, a tender meat with a savory flavor enhanced by its smoky juices, tastes like good Italian pastrami. The wild boar has a flavor profile similar to a melt-in-your-mouth country ham. Both meats have fewer calories than beef.
"It's leaner meat and much healthier than traditional sandwiches," Wells said of the sandwich board, which included ham and turkey sandwiches, too.
Near the deli, the scent of chocolate wafts through the air from the fudge shop, along with the heady smell of Seattle's Best Coffee, which is part of the Starbucks brand.
"Everything Cabela's does is for the 'wow' effect," Wells said.
Mobley, Schuh and their helpers will make fudge from the time that the store opens until it closes, filling about six racks that are able to hold 20 trays each. The store will offer 30 different flavors of fudge, including sugar-free varieties.
According to last year's figures, Cabela's produced 236,000 pounds of fudge nationally with its stores in Lehi, Utah, selling 22,290 pounds of fudge and Wheeling, W.Va., in a close second at 18,448 pounds.
"This is a good reward. You've walked around the store for a good two to three hours; this fudge is the reward for your hard work," Wells said.
The deli is designed as a grab-and-go, and is able to seat about 23 guests. In the first weeks of shopping, overflow customers may want to take seats in the conference room, which seats 55 to 75 people, Wells said.
"We want to get them in, get them fed and get them back shopping," Wells said.
Cabela's also features rows of slow cookers, jerky kits, meat grinders, commercial grade stuffers, meat slicers, meat saws, smokers, a variety of Dutch ovens, skillets and kettles with their accoutrements, all-terrain grills, seasonings, dehydrated foods and other food items. This department also carries a variety of camping, meat and regular recipe books that use this kind of equipment, Wells said.
"All can be shipped directly to your house," he said.
Cabela's, at 3231 E. Mall Drive, opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7.
Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.
Brunswick Stew a family favorite
By Jomay Steen, Journal staff
Darrell Wells of Cabela's offers this recipe for Brunswick Stew, a favorite recipe that his family traditionally made when camping.
Brunswick Stew
4-5 pounds stewing chicken, cut into quarters
1 medium onion, sliced
2 strips bacon, diced
6 cups hot water
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes
1 can kernel corn
1 can lima beans
3 medium potatoes, sliced; or 1 can whole potatoes
1 can small potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Arrange chicken in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add onion and bacon; cover with hot water. Cook on a grate over a medium fire or suspend the Dutch oven from a tripod over the fire until meat is tender, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from stew. Remove bones and cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to stew and add tomatoes, corn, beans and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender.
From "Campground Cookery: Great Recipes for Any Outdoor Activity" by Brenda K. Kulibert
