Rocky Mountain cuisine is a North American

North American

North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...

 cuisine

Cuisine

Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...

 of Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 and Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 in Canada. Some distinguishing dishes include bison

Bison

Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

 and Rocky Mountain oysters

Rocky Mountain oysters

Rocky Mountain oysters are bull calf testicles used as food.They are often deep-fried after being peeled, coated in flour, pepper and salt, and sometimes pounded flat...

.

Description

Rocky Mountain Cuisine consists of natural ingredients, innovative thinking and an appreciation for what is truly Canadian. Its roots go back to the history of the Canadian Rockies. The railways brought the best of Victorian Kitchens and recreated lavish menus for their lodges. Meanwhile mountain guides from Switzerland, Austria and Germany were learning from the native people how to cook and appreciate local foods. Learning the art of curing and smoking game and fish helped people survive the long mountain winters.

Game meats fit nicely into the popular lighter culinary style of today. As naturally lean meats, they are ideally suited for cooking quickly over the high heat of a grill or wok, stir-fried or roasted and served with a light sauce, salad and vegetables.