BeaverTails, despite their name, are not actually Beaver’s tails. They are whole-wheat pastries stretched to the shape of a beaver’s tails, hence the name. They have flavours ranging from Maple, Chocolate and Oreo to the traditional Cinnamon Sugar.
When we visited a winter carnival in Quebec City, we spied yet another booth selling BeaverTails, and we decided to try this uniquely Canadian treat. I tried a little bit of my friend’s Oreo BeaverTail (looks weird when I type it out) and it was pretty good! The white syrup tasted like the melted Oreo filing, while it was topped with a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce and crumbled Oreos.
I ordered a Cinnamon Sugar & Lemon BeaverTail, cause I couldn’t decide between Cinnamon & Sugar (CHURROSSSS) or Lemon & Sugar, so this was the only way I could get the best of both worlds.
BeaverTails look so similar to Fish & Chips, just look at the photo below. It looks like a freshly fried fish fillet with a lemon wedge. All that is missing is the mushy peas, fries and maybe a splash of vinegar for a delightful British meal.
I was expecting a drizzle of lemon syrup or for them to squeeze the lemon juice for me, like how it’s done on Lemon Sugar Crepes. It was inconvenient to have to squeeze the lemon in the freezing cold. My fingers were so numb, and I could barely squeeze out all the juice in the wedge. It was quite a sight watching me (and others I’m sure) with trembling fingers, trying to get the sour goodness out.
To me, it was disappointing. I was expecting the thickness of a churro and the crisp bite that a churro has. But this was very thin, and didn’t have a crunch to it. I grew tired of it near the end, especially since the cold winds cooled it down quickly, and I was just left with soggy thin pastry. The cinnamon sugar coating was good though, I mean you can’t go wrong with that.
That said, my friend tried the Apple Cinnamon version and he loved it. So it might just be me! Maybe I was unlucky and didn’t get a good one, or maybe my expectations were too high. Nonetheless, BeaverTails are still worth a try at least once when you visit Canada. They definitely taste best hot, and even better eaten in the cold with a cuppa hot chocolate. The prices range from 5-9 dollars, depending on the topping and whether you choose to get a set.
Foogo! 