Nose to tail

Loading The Bullet

2011-11-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

Smoking all afternoon today. Its warmed up to -25C so, thought I would take advantage of the warm weather and fire up the water smoker. Thought about the side ribs and decided to do kind of a play on hot dogs! Took all the flavours of your classic frank, (pepper, sage, nutmeg, salt, sugar) made a rub, sprinkled a little ground chili, for good measure and left them over night. I made a ketchup and celery seed BBQ sauce to brush them with when there done. Smoking everything with old growth willow. Looking forward to trying these. I'm also smoking pork belly and country ribs (pork shoulder ribs) The pork belly, I did straight up salt and tons of pepper. The shoulder ribs I did Texas chill powder and a bit of sugar and salt.

Will post the results on here and my twitter feed. These side ribs are for a local rib off challenge in town tonight. Not sure how many ppl are going, but should be fun. Im not planning to take home the blue ribbon with these ribs, but who knows, everyone like a good ole frank right? haha

Side ribs, country ribs and pork belly

Freeze Up

2011-11-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

My new home! :)

Still getting my feet wet in my new digs. Having fun with the fact that I have no power or water. Makes everything slightly more challenging, but nothing worth stressing out over. Not to mention the fact that were are in the freeze up time right now, where people are waiting on this side of the Yukon river till it freezes solid enough to walk on to get back into town! This could be between 3 to 5 weeks depending on the weather.
Back in the cabin, I'm still getting used to my new gas range. It really wails out the heat when you need it, so adjusting recipe bake temps may take a little while. Cooking a lot on my wood stove top as well. It seems to be hovering around -15c during the day and dips into the -20's overnight so stoking the fire twice a day to cook has not been a issue. Juggling with my food coolers is fun and has taking a bit of a "break in" period to get in the swing of things.

Smoked some pork that I got from Joan at Grizzly Valley farms yesterday. Dam near lit my shed on fire while doing it too!! haha, note to self............ remember to remove ugly drum from porch before firing it up, it tends to warm up under the fire box. hahaha rookie move. After averting a possible scenario, the pork came out epic! The pig was a cross between a English large black and a Tamworth. Soooo delicious words don't do justice. Will be smoking the ham in the next week or so.

one hell of a slab o bacon! :)

So Busy!

2011-10-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

I’ve been sooo busy the last month that I’ve had no time to write or do much cooking really. Ive bought a cabin that does not have power or water, so I’ve been working on setting it up. I will have Internet at my cabin via satellite after the weekend. Time has gone by so fast, I’m trying to keep up. My head is not stuck in the mud, don’t give up on me yet, I plan to get back at it in November! Hope you all had a great thanks giving. There is however a large black pig butchered and hang in various spots around town and at my cabin!! hehe

Fall Is Here!

2011-08-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Leaves are changing, frost is biting down at night and the nights are getting darker. Ive actually started to panic, because winter will be here and I'm not ready yet! I have not put up any vegetables yet, as Ive been so busy with work. I have a healthy amount of mushrooms to eat, so should be good in that department. Just put a order in with our farmer for some winter veg to store. Planning on doing some beet pickles and going to try ole Aunt Mildred's cauliflower pickle relish. Check out this summer series short films by the great people at www.klondikesun.com The first one is me talking and cooking about shrooms, the second one is a friend of mine, talking about the community gardens in town. Very cool! :) I think we can expect more great stories and films because of the big boom happening in the north. Cranberries are looking plump and just need a bit more frost to pick up and wood is starting to be piled outside the many cabins of the north in anticipation for winter! Heres a link to a related article by Alyssa Frieson from Whats Up Yukon related to the mushrooms up here. http://www.whatsupyukon.com/index.php/component/content/article/270-august-11-2011/3394-mush-rush-101.html

Shammy Season!!

2011-07-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

Porcini, Yukon Style

Pan o shrooms, ready for stew on Saturday

Beautiful Comb Tooth

Been really busy working and shrooming. We have such a short season that I can't spare any time to do anything but pick! Trying to stock pile up to get me through winter! We have had a ton of rain and hardly any sun, so certain species of mushrooms are abundant and others are not making a appearance at all! Would not write this season off all together, my bags are still being filled twice a week at least! We are celebrating food day here at Kate's this Saturday, thought I would share my menu with you all. If anyone is up in the Klondike this Saturday, you will want to stop by for a bite to eat, or to say hi! lol

Warm and Cozy
House candied Yukon Char, micro greens, fireweed peddles, sourdough croutons, honey berries, pecans, aged cheddar, warm maple syrup and shallot dressing
Farms and foragers- Icy waters, Suzanne Guimound, Fatkid, Emu Creek Farm, Luc Bergeron,

Umami Soup
morel mushroom, candied fennel, cashews, birch syrup crème fraiche, extra virgin olive oil
Farms and foragers- mushroom camp, Dowdell’s farm, Bonanza Market, Ole Uncle Berywn

Étouffée
Cajun style stew with grass fed beef short ribs, house smoked pork sausage,
Fatkid’s shrooms (pigs ear, porcini, leccinum, puffball, comb tooth and woodland agaricus mushrooms) holy trinity served dirty rice and house made sourdough
Farms and foragers- Circle D Ranch, Fatkid, Dowdell’s Farm, Kate’s green house, Bonanza Market

Ye Ole Stout Cake
Expresso stout and chocolate cake with birch syrup, 1,2,3 toffee, cream and crumbled caramel
Farms and foragers- Yukon Brewery, Ole Uncle Berwyn

Summer stuff

2011-06-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

Summer has arrived in the Yukon! Well actually, it feels more like south east Asia than Dawson lately! We've had rain almost everyday in June. Which means only one thing to me..... Shammy's!! aka Mushrooms! Nettles are flowering now, mushrooms are just starting to pop, in large numbers. Looking forward to this Wednesday to get out and get some goods! I have got a big shipment of grass fed Yukon beef coming in tomorrow from Circle D Ranch in Whitehorse. Can't wait to work some of this stuff onto the menu. Short ribs and blade roasts, two of my favorite cow parts! hehe

Happy grass grazers, in Whitehorse

Smoked chicken for our St.John Babtist day poutine

Fresh nettles!! My favorite!!

June Fun!

2011-06-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Things have been moving along pretty good up here lately. The weather is tempting to be summer like. Leafs have sprouted on the trees and we have harvested all the spruce tips we could get out hands on. The Weber, bullet brothers have been quite busy so far in June, with 120lbs a week going in and out, along with pastrami, bacon, turkeys, Cornish hens, lamb shoulders (rubbed with spruce tip harrisa), and all sorts of vegetables. Were hooked on the pit roasted flavour the bbq produces, and have no desire to slow down. The birch syrup has arrived, a good season, late and long. I try not to drink the stuff right out the bottle! Looking forward to the upcoming porcini/morel season, and the local produce starting to hit the market.

Eastland Johnny-Cakes

Sourdough

The Weber brothers

16 hours beef brisket = epic bbq flavour!

Little chickens, the lastest craze, little chickens, you'll be so amazed! lol my little chicken song!

Spruce tips!

Moving Along

2011-05-07T00:58:00.000-07:00

Things have moved into place as of lately. Spring is finally here after a crazy long winter of cold and fun. Ive recently taken up the position as co-chef at Klondike Kate's restaurant in Dawson City, Yukon. Menus have been developed and somewhat refined, and lots of ideas are being processed. I'm really excited with what the future will hold. If your in town, come by and say hi!

The ground is still frozen, and things are just starting to see life here now. Birch sap is flowing, and we eagerly await the first wild pickings. Spruce tips are just around the corner as well as fireweed shoots, dandelion wine and the ice breaking on the river. Yes, the river is still frozen, No, its probably not a good time to go visit your pal on the other side...hehe I bought a large black/Tamworth cross pig for the fall, for my meat locker and am looking at getting some of the "Farmers 3" Angus beef in my hands for the season. Were still a month from seeing morels and almost 2 months from our Porcini crop. Chomping at the bit....ya for sure.

Just one little pit rocking the pork now, but have one on order and a much large pit in B.C. coming up soon!

Fennel and Chili Crusted Elk Jerky

2011-04-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Been making lots of jerky lately. I make large batches at a time, multiple flavors and use different kind of meats. The concept I use is very simple. I weigh the meat I'm using. Calculate out 2% salt. Add spices of the day, in this case, roasted fennel seeds, smoked paprika, espelette chili, black pepper, garlic granules and onion powder. Rub into the meat well and marinate overnight. Lay in dehydrator or smoker depending on flavor, and dry.

I like my jerky on the chewy side, so I do not dry till it snaps. Takes a while to get used to when to pull it out. It hardens a little more when it comes out of the cooker so pulling it at the right time is crucial. I'm happy with this combination of spices with the elk, marries well with the gamey love.

Bison, Truffles and Morel Mushroom Pakoras

2011-04-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

Had a chance to have some more bison tenderloin. Also still had some black truffle butter, so I decided they should get to know each other a little better. This was a good decision. I love low temp cooking. Gives you the freedom to do what ever in the kitchen, and not have to worry about perfecting the meat. The meat of course comes out perfect every time. This technique works especially well for game meat or anything that is really lean and partial to over cooking. Lined some fresh black truffle butter along the top of the bison tenderloin and vacuumed packed it.

Cooked it at 132f for 4 hours in my ghetto love water oven :) Prepared the morel mushroom pakoras and sweet potatoes at this point.

Seasoned it with salt and pepper and seared it off in pork fat.

Picked some fresh mint from my window and pulled out some mustard apple chutney for the pakoras. Sliced some more truffle butter for the bison.

Dessert was a random, but delicious. Made some molasses thumbprint cookies. Filled them with birch syrup and topped with dark chocolate, cranberries and almonds

Spicy Salami And The Dog

2011-03-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

Cut down the spicy salami I had started a few weeks ago. These are the sausages that survived a dog theft when I was making them. I had them in my kitchen air drying for a few hours, before I put them in the dry room. I heard something rustling around, I got up, went to the kitchen, to find a crime taking place. The small dog was franticly trying to get as many sausages outside to his little stash as he could before being caught. I would have to say, he did pretty well. He took 50% of the sausages in the end. Little shit!!!!! hahaha So the photo above is what I ended up with in the end. Guess I should of had my door securely latched! Salami is tasty by the way! :)

Moose sausage gift packs for hungry friends and family

Sleepy Days

2011-03-16T17:55:00.001-07:00

Been pretty lazy the last couple weeks. Doing more baking than anything. Eating sourdough, basically twice a day. Think I have my loaf dialed in! Got some salami on the go and just finished some really good dry cured bacon chops. Published a few more articles in the ole paper. Some good recipes worth checking out for sure. I added the links below, let me know what you think. :)

Happy sourdough starter, well maybe a little sad, but still happy enough to work with me!

The secret sourdough recipe in action. Plenty of flax, wheat germ and whole grains involved here!
There she blows, in all of her splendor. Hail ye, to the sourdough gods of the Yukon....Jeez long winter may be setting in! lol

My Bacon Chop----> http://www.whatsupyukon.com/index.php/component/content/article/232-march-10-2011/2809-the-cutting-board-mysteries-of-the-bacon-chop.html

My Korean Belly----> http://www.whatsupyukon.com/index.php/component/content/article/230-february-24-2011/2781-the-cutting-board-my-korean-belly.html

Date and Almond Cake----> http://www.whatsupyukon.com/index.php/component/content/article/228-february-10-2011/2743-the-cutting-board-smiling-bears-keep-me-awake.html

A Few Of My Favorites

2011-02-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my favorite books to read for inspiration and ideas. In no particular order. Although, I don't generally use recipes, I still base alot of my creative drive from recipes old and new.

From top to bottom

The River Cottage Meat Book 2004, Hugh Fearnley Whittinstall {Long time mentor of mine, Hugh explains the fundamentals of meat cookery, along with some great recipes}

Au Pied De Cochon 2008, Martin Picard {Picard sets the bar in Canada for festive heritage cuisine. Specializing in pork and foie gras. Just buy it!}

Casa Moro 2004, Sam&Sam Clark { An amazing collection of Spanish food recipes. Very inspiring.}

Wild Fermentation 2003, Sandor Ellix Kats {Plow threw the boring story telling of the life of the author, and dig into the tome of amazing recipes for everything fermented. I love this book!}

The Whole Beast: Nose to tail eating 2004, Fergus Henderson {This book I have read so much, and cooked almost everything in it from front to back}

Innards And Other Varity Meats 1975, Allen/Gin { A wealth of knowledge and wisdom regarding everything guts related!! LOVE IT!!!}

Varity Meats 1982, The editors of time life magazine {This is a book of techniques and recipes for offal. Very informative and incomparable. Highly recommended if you you cook the whole beast.}

Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery 1967, Jane Grigson {A book of everything pork, from sausages, brawn to meatballs. Read front to back many times}

The Early Canadian Gult Cookbook 1898, The ladies of Gault {A great book of family recipes that Canadians have been using for more than 100 years. Great preserving ideas and baking recipes}

Notes From A Country Kitchen 1979, Jocasta Innes { How to brine, brew, salt, smoke, pot, press, pickle and preserve- all in your own kitchen. A true roots cooking book. Great illustrations and artwork. Still one of the best gingerbread cakes Ive ever made comes from this book}

America Cooks, Favorite Recipes from the 48 states 1948, The Browns {This is one amazing book that truly has it all, from deep southern cooking to making smithfield hams. There is 19 recipes for chowder alone!!! This book truly rocks my world!}

Charcuterie 2005, Ruhlman/poleyn {A great book to get you going into the art of meat preservation. Very clear recipes that work. The breakfast sausage rules!!}

Above: table of contents from "Innards and other varity meats" Love it!!

The restaurant came to my home last night!

2011-02-15T12:00:00.001-08:00

Had dinner in last night, as our dinning options here are quite limited. We also wanted to avoid all the Valentines hype. Its fun planning and cooking a menu in your own home for a special occasion. If you do most of the work ahead, you don't have to spend the night cooking either. The longest thing I had to cook, was the Porcini risotto, which took 20minutes. Just enough time for short wine break. I copied the menu I cooked for your viewing pleasure!! lol

Cold Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon

Blood orange, olive oil

Pacific White Shrimp

Kobocha squash, smoked paprika

Kluane Porcini

Swiss mountain cheese, risotto

Ancho Chili Crusted Organic Beef Strip Loin

Cornmeal crusted Pacific oysters, roasted fennel, remoulatde

Sourdough Bread Pudding

Dates, pecans, chocolate

One of my favorite combinations. Savory smoked salmon, bitter olive oil, sweet blood orange and mint

Spicy and smokey paprika, pacific white shrimp, creamy kobocha squash, Berkshire bacon and a touch of agave nectar

Definitely my favorite risotto in the world to eat. Ive found a way to perfectly preserve porcini and other boletes with out changing there texture or flavor. Proof is in this risotto. The mushrooms were picked in Haines Junction last July!!

Very simple but delicious surf and turf. Cornmeal fried oyster, sous vide organic beef strip loin, roasted fennel and celery seed remoulade. Yes I'm eating poyboys for lunch tomorrow! ;)

Last was a bread pudding made with a rye sourdough, I made earlier in the week. We eat dates almost everyday in my house, so to throw some in was a given. Bourbon custard, pecans, chocolate and buttermilk caramel. Soo good! I love buttermilk!

Apple Bread....Do it!!

2011-02-02T13:03:00.001-08:00

This is a amazing loaf to have in your repertoire. Its a nice alternative to banana bread, and the smell in your house while its cooking will drive you slightly nuts! It can easily be made into a nice dessert by caramelizing some apples and laying them on top with a scoop of ice cream. This recipe is more than 70 years old!

Apple Bread

yield: 1 large loaf

1.5 cup shredded granny smith or other tart cooking apple
3/4 cup chopped dates (I use Iranian or medjool dates)
1/4 cup chopped pecans and walnuts
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar or 1/2 cup agave nectar
1 egg, beaten
2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt

Method

Preheat oven to 350f. Have all ingredients ready to go. Chop nuts and dates. Peel and shred apples
Cream together butter and sugar till light and fluffy
Add the beaten egg and blend till smooth
Add the apples, nuts and dates
Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk/yogurt a little of each at a time
Place into a parchment or wax paper lined loaf pan of your choice
Let stand for 10 minutes
Bake until done and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. About a hour
Leave in pan overnight before slicing if you can!

I spent a day last week, processing a few salmon I had in my freezer. Smoked and canned 8 pints worth of wild coho and Chinook salmon!

This photo was taking just outside gravel lake on the north Klondike highway. I love the Yukon winters!

The Dump Cooker Comes Through Again!!!

2011-01-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

Had the house to myself this evening, so I thought I would indulge in a little smoked pork. I don't normally get that excited about loins, but in this case, the pig was young and insanely tender. The whole loin was only 2.5 pounds! When you cook a whole loin, wrapped in the fat back like this you cant really go wrong. Especially if you got a epic scavenged dump cooker like the one I found!!! ;)

I started off with a cure of equal parts sea salt and brown sugar. Then I added some mustard seeds, bay leaf, allspice, coriander and black pepper. I gave the loin a nice rub down, and left it to cure for 2 days. Then rinsed it thoroughly, and left it to dry uncovered overnight in the fridge.

Fired up tha ole dump cooker, and got the fat back browned up nicely all over.

The smoker has not seen much pork lately, so I think it got a little excited when it finally got a taste!!! EASY THERE TIGER!!! GRRRR

Slid the loin in the front, moved the fire to the back, and lowered the temperature to 275-290f. Also threw in a handful of speckled alder for flavour. Let it smoke for 3 hours, till I hit a internal temperature of 135f. Removed it from the heat and foiled it for a half hour.

I started getting excited at this point of the operation. It came out perfectly medium.

I had braised some beans with cranberry ketchup, grilled some savoy cabbage and tossed it with cider vinager and wild sage to eat with it.

Topped with a little cauliflower relish. And enjoyed a sixer of pilsner.. Good times! Also, a new article ive done in "Whats up Yukon" Here------------------------------------------------------------------> http://www.whatsupyukon.com/index.php/component/content/article/226-january-27-2011/2708-the-cutting-board-dont-be-groused-out.html

Rappie Pie The Movie

2011-01-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

For any of you that missed the recipe in "Whats Up Yukon" during xmas, here's a recap with some extra tips thrown in there. The first time you make this you gonna be surprised how complex this dish actually is to make. You will find yourself sweating and needing a drink by the time the pie goes into the oven! Also made a little micro video of some of the key steps involved. The video is taking from two separate pie sessions. Had fun making it! I made 2 large pies and one small one with this recipe. They freeze really well for later use, so don't be discouraged to make the whole thing. Its also great warmed up with some bacon and sunny side eggs on top! For the best flavour don't, skim the fat from the stock, only the scum that floats during the first hour of cooking. When duck/chicken fat soaks into the potatoes, it gives it that extra little bit of love that keeps you coming back for more! ENJOY THE SHOW!! LMAO!!!

Acadian Rappie Pie

(Serves 10 generously)

INGREDIENTS

1 medium free range chicken or 2 rabbits, 2 grouse, 1 duck/1 rabbit, et cetera

4 lg onions, peeled and chopped (reserve one for broth)

15-lb bag of baker style potatoes

4 tbsp salted green onions (or substitute sliced regular green onions)

bacon fat or butter

1 large (7L) or 2 medium roasting pans

METHOD

Ø Place the chicken and one onion (quartered) in a stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken is tender and broth is tasty (takes up to three hours). Skim off any scum that surfaces during the cooking process. (you can add some more aromatics at this point if you like)

Ø While chicken cooks, peel your spuds, placing them in a clean sink covered with water. Brian recommends “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen to get through this part. (Get into it, I know you want to)

Ø Heat a pan and add the bacon fat or butter, the chopped onions and salted green onions. Cook till golden (about 15-20 minutes) on medium-low heat. Reserve. (I like the slightest bit of browning on the onions)

Ø If your chicken is not cooked by now, relax and use this time to clean up a little in the kitchen. Preheat your oven to 375F and place your roasting pan inside. (If you plan ahead, start the cooking before you start anything)

Ø Now it's time for the dodgiest part. When chicken is tender, carefully remove the chicken from the pot into a large bowl. I have heard of people being seriously burnt by dropping the chicken back into the pot and being hit by a tidal wave of boiling broth! (For god sakes just be care full!)

Ø Do not dump broth down drain! Shred all the meat, discarding skin and bones.

Ø You should now have a pot of broth, a pan of cooked onions, a bowl of shredded chicken and a sink full of peeled potatoes.

Ø Measure your broth - you will need 13 cups. Add hot water or other stock to make up the amount needed. 13 cups is roughly the amount of juice you will squeeze from the potatoes.

From here on out everything happens pretty fast and you need to really move. Have ready a food processor with a fine grater, 1 large clean bowl, one medium bowl and a clean white tea towel or pillow case. Keep the broth simmering. (I used cheese cloth with good results last time)

Ø Working in batches, start shredding potato through your food processor (or, painfully, use a box grater). Place grated potato in towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the potato, into the medium bowl.

Ø Discard juice. Place the squeezed potatoes in your large bowl. Add onions to potato, and add the broth a couple cups at a time, stirring to incorporate. Taste the mix and adjust the seasoning. It will need salt and pepper. The mix will be slightly wet and turning translucent.

Ø Pull hot pan out of the oven, brush with bacon fat and ladle in half of the potato mix. Add the shredded chicken in one even layer.

Ø Ladle the rest over the chicken and smooth the casserole. (at this point you can lay slices of salt pork or bacon on top if you like)

Ø Place in oven and turn down to 300F and cook for 3-4 hours till pie has set slightly and crust is nice and golden.

Ø If needed, turn up to 375F for 30 minutes to brown more.

Serve with pickled beets, chow-chow and butter biscuits.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays Everyone! Xmas ham was stellar this year, as was the turkey. Decided instead of glazing the ham in the oven, to through it out on the rotisserie, basted with maple syrup for a hour and a half. Would have to say, I would DEFINITELY do this again! Also frees up the oven for other things. This year, I brined a organic turkey with black cardamon, mustard and coriander for 24 hours. Removed the legs, wings and back. Roasted the breasts on the bone low and slow for 3 hours at 200-250f. Smoked the legs and wings with applewood for 4 hours, then crisped them up on the grill over high heat and glazed with birch syrup. Made a gravy from the roasted back, neck and pan fried liver. Used the giblets and heart in the stuffing with sage, thyme, chorizo, dried fruit, pecan, sweet onion, pork belly and homemade molasses 9 grain bread. Moistened the stuffing with turkey stock and a bit of egg. Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and pickle sides. Made some buns for late night sandwiches.

Been doing a little writing on the side for the local paper the past few weeks as well. You can check out the articles and feel free to comment on them here.. http://www.whatsupyukon.com/index.php/component/content/article/224-decemer-23-2010/2667-the-cutting-board-acadian-as-rappie-pie.html

and here http://www.whatsupyukon.com/index.php/component/content/article/222-december16-2010/2656-have-pig-will-travel.htmlI

will also be posting some more info and tips for the rappie pie here soon. Until then, enjoy your new years and hope that 2011 will be as amazing as 2010 for you all!

Smoked Venison And Bison Sausage

2010-12-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

My sweet jelly bean is buried! I thought that since I wasn't going anywhere today. . I should find something to do with myself this morning. Had pulled some venison and bison a couple days ago.

So I made some heavily spiced sausages. I wanted something I could put on some fresh baked bread and chow down on!
I smoked them for 3 hours with a mix of birch, alder and willow. Air temp outside was -25c at the time. Cold but warmer than last night!

The finished sausages..... This was normal sized batch for at home. I do 5lbs at a time, which is perfect for the size of stuffer and mixer I have . I also made two large "meat" rings.

My lord! soooooo juicy and delish! Im having these tonight, with some fresh baked ciabatta, mustard, caramelized pears, and rhubarb habanero ketchup . I will have to wait a while though.... "product testing" has me full at the moment!

Pumpkin Pie Is Good!

2010-11-25T17:35:00.001-08:00

In Canada’s restaurant industry and in some homes we have a strange but good occurrence that only happens once or should I say twice a year. Thanksgiving in Canada is great because we get a double feature. If you mess up Canadian thanks giving you can always make up for it at American Thanksgiving. As we scan the Canadian magazine rack about a month before Thanksgiving we see Halloween and thanksgiving special issues. There’s a bit of a build up, it comes and just when you think its over, you return to the news stand to find now that bon appetite, and the like are starting there Thanksgiving issues.

Seems like a epic harvest year every year in Canada, although by the 4^th week of November most of us are curled up to our wood stoves or shovelling snow instead of frolicking in apple orchards and pumpkin patches. For 3 months of the year it seems to be all about ham, turkey goose or large joints of meat. We get a 2 week break and all of a sudden there pounding the Xmas stuff at us. Cookies, cakes, more ham, more turkey, more goose etc…. Tires me out just thinking about it.

One traditional item that could be at the Canadian or Americans Thanksgiving, Xmas or Easter table is pumpkin pie. Now I don’t claim to have the most die hard, rare, family heritage, forget me not, heirloom variety, 100 mile recipe….but I do have one that works and has been receiving minor tweaks multiple times a year.. Feel free to freak out the on the recipe yourself and go bananas. Or play it safe and follow the instructions..

Pumpkin Pie (the heirloom, family, 50th generation, sustainable, die hard, no fail, Julia Child, jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, Thanks giving, Xmas or Easter version)….with a Yukon twist.. lmao!

The key to my pie is slow roasting sugar pumpkins and processing the pulp in house rather than buying tinned pumpkin puree. But if your in a pinch I would rather see you use tinned than buy those pies at the grocery store that seem to be able to sit a room temperature for years without spoiling. Something is seriously wrong with that picture. Again, as much as I would like you to make your own pastry, use frozen if you must. They don’t ask, you don’t tell!

For one 9-10 inch pie

3 cups cooked pureed pumpkin (or tinned)
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup Yukon birch syrup (sub molasses if Berwyn has not hooked you up)
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp minced ginger (or 2tsp dried ginger powder)
½ tsp salt
2 beaten free range eggs
1 ½ cups evaporated milk (use full fat versions)
1 9inch tart or pie crust “blind baked” (for instructions on blind baking http://www.wikihow.com/Blind-Bake)

Pasty dough

1 ¼ all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tbsp home made lard (or add 2 more tbsp butter)
1 egg yolk (save white for the crust glaze)
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Method

For the crust:

1. Preheat your oven to 350f.

2. With your fingers rub the butter and lard into the flour till it resembles sandy pebbles.

3. Add sugar and salt.

4. Make well in center of flour and add egg yolk and a bit of water.

5. Mix to from a ball. If necessary add a bit more water to bring dough together. The key is to work it as little as possible.

6. Roll the dough out and fit into your pie or tart pan.

7. Bake to pastry off to a light golden color. Don’t go crazy and cook it till its right brown, the pie is returning to the oven later. Brush with left over egg white and return to oven to set the white.

8. When done turn your oven down to 250f.

For the filling:

1. Place pumpkin puree in your blender.

2. Add everything but the eggs and blend until ultra smooth.

3. Add eggs and pulse 3 or 4 times to incorporate.

4. Pour filling into prebaked pie shell.

5. Bake in a low 250-275f oven till filling has set in the middle when lightly shaken. About 1-1 ½ hours.

6. Cool to room temp or even better fridge temp before serving.

Serve with vanilla flavoured whipped cream and warm birch syrup drizzled over.

From top to bottom: Carving up Thanksgiving dinner, sous vide breasts and smoked legs/wings, one of the dogs at the shelter just saying "Hello!"

Back In The Home Slice

2010-11-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

Park Farm...An amazing setting

After a 3 week journey to England and a 2 week visit to River Cottage Park Farm I am back home. A great trip was had, meeting lots of great people, cooks and chefs. Most of my time was spent in Dorset and East Devon in England's southwest, an area that is known for amazing produce, pork, lamb and organic products. The country scenery was absolutely incredible. It was like living in "the shire" from Lord of the Rings. Not to mention some wicked strong cider and real ales out the pie hole! Most of my time was spent with some great people at River Cottage's Park Farm.

In the kitchen there was various whole animals coming in and out including, Gloucester old spot pigs, wild venison, rabbits, pheasants, and various fish including herring, mackerel and pollock. There was a good amount of charcuterie going on as well which included, various salumi, prosciutto, terrines, pate, bacon, hams and pancetta all of which were amazing. The whole operation is looked after by Chef Gill Meller, who does a great job and has a real touch for good taste and texture combinations and rustic English country style cookery. He is also a master of pork crackling. mmmmm crackling (drooling now) Whole beast cookery is part of the norm at Park Farm so I was not surprised to find myself swimming in pork spleens, livers, heads and trotters and of course copious amounts of caul fat to wrap almost everything in. The produce was world class with a good variety of items to work with and grown by people who really care about what they’re doing in the veg patch.

Although the Brits have a large amount of traditional fair and puddings to choose from, I found it quite funny that some of the boys in the River Cottage kitchen seemed very interested in Canadian and American style pumpkin pies (which recipes are random and so ample that you can argue for days over the "right way" to make one). So I'm putting together a recipe of the pie I made at Thanksgiving this year that was REALLY good. The boys in the Queens land will appreciate the non complexity and shear simplicity of this "western" dessert/pudding... lmao You never know, they might even give a recipe for rarebit in exchange..??? Post for the pie will come soon!

In Whitehorse, its been snowing and fairly mild so Ive got the x country skies out and I’m waiting for my boots to arrive. Went down to the spruce bog craft sale tonight. Lots of great goods from many Yukon personalities. I got a couple of prints for my wall and left a happy camper. Now to deal with summers bounty of berries etc in full force. More to come on that……

From top to bottom: The good ole wood fired oven...love it!, The chicken run, Spleens please!, Some local produce at the washingpool farm in Bridport, The boys "taking care of business"

Slacker Bread ie No knead steez

2010-10-17T13:40:00.001-07:00

Been enjoying some time off from the kitchen these last few weeks. Planning and conspiring for next spring work projects, and getting ready for England next week.

On a trip to Dawson City a couple weeks ago I met a master Artisan bread maker/baker who was working a batch of "no knead bread" Watching and pretending not to take to many notes I watched her work her magic on the loaf. Since returning to Whitehorse ive been making alot. Ive termed it slacker bread by actually making it several times!

Using Jim Layhey's recipe from the new york times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

Ive converted it to grams for simplicity's sake, mostly because I hate baking with teaspoons, cups, etc... I also have been tweaking it out in different ways as well. Multigrain, rye bread, ciabatta, pizza dough, etc... Here's the weights that I use.

390g flour

300g water

7g salt

5g traditional dry yeast

Combine all ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, let sit for 20hours, shape it, proof it for 2ish more hours and bake it for 30 minutes in a preheated pot with a lid @450f. Uncover for another 15mins if necessary to brown crust some more.

(note the recipe above is not the exact recipe used by the master bread baker in Dawson's back forty)

For more details follow link above. Its good bread that requires very little attention.

I just received 6kg of Manitoba creamed honey from a little town called Anola. A friend of mine from Winnipeg (wink wink) was kind enough to pick it up and mail it out to me. So it comes down to the slacker bread toasted, room temp salted butter, and a huge heap of the most amazing creamed honey. Few things in life make me as happy as this!

Other projects to come include, working my summer harvest of rhubarb, lowbush, highbush cranberries, black currents, red currents, moss berries, alpine bear berry and blueberries. A few angles im thinking of working.

Rhubarb ketchup
Low brush cranberry ketchup
Rhubarb, habanero and sweet onion sauce
Rhubarb bbq sauce
Various vinegars with all the berries
Various schnapps with all the berries
Highbush cranberry and alpine bear berry juice reduction
various fruit leathers and candy bars
Granola bars with semi dried berries
Low brush cranberry brownies

Most of this will be done when I return from England as im running out of time here!

Done at Dalton Trail Lodge, River Cottage On the Horizon

2010-09-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

The season is over at the fishing lodge I was working for the last 4 months. I'm heading up to Dawson for one last low brush cranberry round up and some big potluck feasts. Then I'm off to stage at River Cottage(http://www.rivercottage.net/) in Dorset, England for a couple weeks. I have a week and a bit after the stage to do some exploring in London and eat at St.Johns (http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/home) etc...

Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall of River Cottage is a culinary icon in the world of seasonal, ethnically produced natural foods that has earned him a tremendous following in England and North America. Ive been following Hugh since his days on the road as "cook on the wild side" a self produced t.v. series where he converted a old land rover into a "gastrowagon" where he planned on leaving the city in search of wild foods and self sufficient living. He also has wrote numerous cook books (all of which I can personally recommend)

http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=books&field-author=Hugh%20Fearnley-Whittingstall

I’ve always loved Hugh's philosophy and way of eating, sharing and respect for the food. I’m extremely stoked to say the least to be part of the crew for a few weeks this fall. Counting the days now…..

(Memories form the DTL) From to to bottom, 1) Go fish, 2) scoping out the smoke house, 3) red currents, 4) braised lamb with gnocchi,stunted peppermint and Swiss mountain cheese, 5) Roasted pork belly with uncle berwyn's birch syrup, white sweet potato, grilled wild onions and Dowdell's sweet fennel slaw

Nitro Cavitated Fresh Yukon Truffles

2010-09-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

After picking my prized truffles the other day. I let them sit in the fridge wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel in a ziplock bag for 3 days. Each day opening and inspecting ripeness so see if I was gonna get any scent at all from this rare form of truffle. The smell is not far off Oregon white truffles and intensified as it sat. Yesterday I had a wiff and knew it was time to shi#t or get of the pot if you know what I mean. After reading this http://www.cookingissues.com/2010/08/11/infusion-profusion-game-changing-fast-%e2%80%98n-cheap-technique/ AMAZING article which has opened up a lot of new doors for me. I thought I would try to make some instant truffle oil. Here's what I did.

The first thing you must do is admire your bounty! What a stinker this one was!

I used a mandolin to slice the truffles very thin

Placed them in a whip cream dispenser about (2 ounces of truffle) with 150ml of light olive oil and charged it with N02 (the regular whip cream cartridge) Shook it vigorously for 10 seconds and left it to infuse for 3 minutes. Quickly released the pressure form the canister.

Popped the olive oil and the truffles into a clean sterilized jar for storage. Instant truffle oil. Really good truffle oil. Really Really good truffle oil. Tips....Make sure all ingredient's are room temp. Make sure your using very ripe truffles or you will probably be disappointed.

So far using canister infusion I have infused Klondike distilled vodka with peppermint and I also did some moss berries. Both were very good. I have plans to make some habanero vodka soon!

On another note, there are still boletus edulis to be had, but I woke up this morning and there was ice on the ground! Winter is creepin up on us! I have a whole pig to process in the next week or two into winter delights for my freezer/fridge/cupboard!

Yes, there are truffles in the Yukon!

2010-08-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

I will not say where, but I will say this.... Squirrels love truffles and mushrooms. If there is a area with a abundant amount of squirrels around. Chances are that there is lots of mushrooms and truffles if you know where to look. I found this truffle on the side of a river at the base of a white spruce tree. It was not quite mature when I picked it, but it is really starting to stink up my fridge today! I'm sure tomorrow it will even more. I will post on flavour, aroma and texture later.

We are reaching the end of our mushroom season in the north, while our friends in b.c. and southern Canada are just beginning there's. This is the time of year I start thinking about Prince Rupert, Terrace, Haida Gwaii and the entire Skeena valley which is famous for there epic fall mushroom crop. Don't think I'll get there this fall, but it will definitely be on my mind.

Rozites caperata or "the gypsy" I get all giddy when I find these. One of my favorite wild mushrooms of all time!!

A pan full of 2 types of chanterelles. Cantharellus cibarius and tubaeformis

Some cooked lacarria, chanterelle, boletus, lactarius and hedgehogs for pizza tonight

.
Some of the days haul. In plain english, delicious milky, velvet top boletes, butter boletus, belly button hedgehogs, bitter hedgehogs, yellow foot chanterelles, chanterelles, gypsy's and some laccaria's.

Moose Pastrami and "Mocksutake"

2010-08-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Had a friend from dodge, hook me up with a nice moose brisket a few weeks back. With hunting season upon us now I thought it would be a good time to start working the game a few different ways than normal. When I first got my hands on the moose brisket the first thing that popped in my head was pastrami. It didn't take me long to have it corned, rubbed, smoked and transformed into some amazing pastrami. Rubens to come in near future. Guess ill take a crack at making some rye bread now. Any ideas?

The brisket was cured with salt/sugar, spices and sodium nitrate for 5 days. Then rubbed with copious amounts of coriander seeds and black pepper

Into the scavaged dump cooker it goes. lol

After being slowly smoked for 6 hours the brisket is cooked and sliced for samples. It will be steamed later before being sliced for sandwiches. Oh my man....

Went on a hike through a old growth boreal forest north of Haines Junction yesterday. Hoping to sniff out some boletus edulis. I was just thinking I was gonna get skunked, then I seen the troops in the distance......... MUSH RUSH My first thought was, lacterious pepperatus, but as I came up on the troop and noticed no depression on the caps, I knew it was as catathelasma imperiale or imperial cats. When I posted my find on facebook a friend referred to them as "mocksutakes" I like it! No wait... I love these mushrooms. The texture is crunchy and very savory. Cooking these mushrooms requires patience as they like to be braised, stewed or cooked confit. A under rated mushroom worth seeking out if you get a chance to.

The Yukoner's answer to the matsutake. Although, ive herd rumor of matsutakes occurring up here I have yet to find any so far. As of today I'm up to 18 edible species of fungi in the Yukon territory! The list keeps getting bigger!

Botargo part two + projects

2010-08-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

One of the many wild blueberries ive gotten this year

Almost forgot about the botargo I finished last weekend. Taste is great and it keeps for a long time vac packed in the fridge. I'm planning to make some taramasalata with it in the near future. I hope to stock up on a bit more of this for the winter.

To make it all I do is make a dry cure, 2 parts salt, 1 part sugar. Cover the entire surface of the roe. Place it on a paper towel. The next day, I replace the rub and paper towel. Continue till the towel remains dry and no more moisture is coming out. Your roe is now fully cured and good to go. Cold smoke it if you want or vac pack it and save in the fridge till needed. If you don't have a vacuum packer, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and dip in paraffin wax to seal it. The roe is curing with the 2:1 salt/sugar cure, till completely dry and below, the finished product ready to be used!
With the caviar I ended up grilling some home made sourdough bread rubbed with garlic and olive oil, topped it with a little mayonnaise, sliced smoked coho salmon and a generous pile of caviar on top. Very simple, but very satisfying.

Finshed putting up some of Grant Dowdells amazing beets. I pickled them with some fennel I got from him as well as orange zest and wild junper berries. Five liters of wild blue berry jam has also been put up. Some of the berries I picked while up in dawson for discovery days and the rest I got from the kluane region.

Ive started some, dry cured wild boar loin, fresh moose kielbasa, smoked dry cured moose kielbasa, moose pastrami, elk pastrami and fermented radish tops, turnip tops and green onions kimchi. Projects are what keeps me sane in the kitchen. Love it!

Blueberries are on there last string, low brush cranberries are out but not sweet enough yet. High brush crans look good to go. Crow berries are plump and as sweet as they will get. Raspberries and fire weed are going crazy colours. Trees are turning and loosing leaves. The nights are getting darker and mornings colder. Mushroom will be popping like crazy this week so keep you eyes peeled!

Chilling and grilling guinea fowl on my garbage dump scavaged kettle cooker!

Chocolate zucchini bread for Christa and everyone else who asked!

2010-08-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

So this recipe is dedicated to Christa my old pastry chef in Ottawa, who is getting married in the fall. Maybe she could make a batch for a late night snack or for Sunday coffee? Over the last 2 years Ive been asked for this recipe numerous times but have never actually got around to writing down what it is that I do when i make it. So low and behold.....here it is.!!!!

Chocolate zucchini bread (Fatkid style)

Ive made a home version for the blog, I scale mine in the kitchen for ease and accuracy

3 cups flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp cinnamon freshly ground
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp clove ground
2 tsp ground ancho chili (you can substitute other chili's if you like) I like to add a bit more chili than this for home!
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

Combine the above sifted into a bowl, set aside.

1.5 cups oil (you can play around here with the type)
2 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs (free range is good!)
3 oz unsweetened chocolate melted
3 zucchini (around 700g)
1 cup chocolate chips
1.5 cups chopped nuts (use whatever you want here, I like hazelnuts and pecans in mine)

Combine the sugar and oil in a bowl and whip well
Add eggs one at a time until combined
Beat in melted chocolate(I melt the chocolate in the microwave stirring every 30 secs till melted)
Beat in dry ingredients till smooth
fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts
pour into greased loaf pans and bake @ 350f for about 1hr 20 mins approx. Check with toothpick till it comes out clean. Melted chocolate does not mean its not cooked so be careful when checking.

Hints

Don't get your stuff in a knot if you don't quite have enough zucchini or if you have a bit more, just throw it in the mix( I have added as much as a kg before!) Feel free to add more nuts if you like or spice it how you want. If you like me, put a sprinkle of naga jolika powder in for a extreme slice of heaven! You can also sub squash (butternut or spaghetti) for zucchini or pumpkin. Play around with it and most of all enjoy the slice! I make several batches during zucchini season and freeze a couple whole and slice and freeze a few for a quick snack. Freeze as soon as its cool enough to handle. Wrap tight and when you pull it out, it will be as good as the day you put it in, if its used within 3 months.

The Dry ingredients awaiting there wet companions and zucchini!

The zucchini has been married with the dry ingredients and heads to the oven in the loaf pans!

Happy loafs of zucchini love, brew the coffee, I got this break covered!

Cured coho salmon roe and botargo

2010-08-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

The sockeye and coho are running in full swing now. So along with fresh salmon everyday, comes my little friend. Roe! Cured a little tonight to bring up to dawson city to share with some friends this coming weekend. I also dry cured one whole sack for slicing.

Botargo is a Italian pantry staple and is made by curing the whole roe sack with salt, turning it daily till moisture is removed, rolled up like a sausage and shaved like salumi. Cause its such a little sack of eggs that im doing, I can do the whole process in a couple days. I also like to cold smoke my botargo Once cured and dried you can use it on anything you like, pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, pastas, taramasalata- a Greek specialty, sushi, alone or in a sauce etc.. I will post pics of the process and finished product in a couple days. ish...

To cure the roe I do as follows. There is lots of different ways to do it, I like this way cause it does not take away from the flavor of the roe.

I make a strong brine.

250g of salt to 1000g of water

I remove the membrane and veins from the eggs and place in the chilled brine for 10-15 minutes or until cured. they go a little transparent as they cure, err on the side of a little less time than a little more time. The best cured roe is not salty at all so be careful.

Rinse and drain them over night.

Store in a clean glass jar till used. There good for a couple of weeks done like this. Eat as much as you can and feel proud to live in Yukon where this hidden gem is often neglected.

This mornings load into the cold smoker. Venison strip loins, apricots, maple syrup and salt

Over 1000 visits! Thx for stopping by! + Klondike Kates is "LOCAL"

2010-08-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

1000 visitors.. wow. Good times! I just want to thank everyone for stopping by and taking the time to read my ramblings and I hope you are all enjoying the blog. Its been fun for me, and its been fun to flip back through the posts. Its extremely hot up in the Yukon right now. 30c + Ive got a busy week ahead of me and am looking forward to cooking some great food!

Also a shout out to Klondike Kates Restaurant in Dawson City for participating in food day this year. http://foodday.ca/ They were the only restaurant that participated in the territory! Congrats! Kates was recommended by the owners and operators of Sooke Harbour House in B.C. to join in on the nation wide Canada food day celebration. The Yukon news covered the story. http://www.yukon-news.com/business/19052/

Suckling pig in the ugly drum

2010-07-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here's some shots of my new drum in action for the first official "cook" Suckling pig hams. Legs were brined in apple juice wine and spices/salt for 3 days. Smoked for 5 in a half hours at 230 for a final internal temp of 169f. I used three kinds of willow as well as alder for smoke. One of the best if not the best "little ham" ever!

The porchetta's were cooked sous-vide for 6 hours at 138f, then charred on the que. I would definitely do that again. The picnic was slow roasted over white beans garlic and plenty of onions and rosemary. Eventually they were married together. I made a huge panzanilla salad to go with everthing.

The head was made into coppa di testa. Marinated in garlic, smoked paprika, chipotle, fennel seeds, rosemary, parsley, salt and sugar. Cooked sous-vide at 180f for 8 hours, pulled it apart, added some fresh lemon zest, fried shallots and parsley. Trotters on steroids! So good, I had it at 8am with some fried eggs. My dishwasher was freaking out a bit! lol

Pictured above- Coppa di testa

Breaking S@#T down to molecules

2010-07-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Cbc Radio one, a suckling pig and 2 hours of the morning with a nice cool breeze coming through my window.

1 Suckling pig =

2 x cider and molasses brined cold smoked hams to be.....

2 x whole picnic shoulders for the drum smoker

2 x chili, rosemary and fennel "porchetta's" (I know your supposed to use the whole pig for the porchetta but, I feel I can better utilize all the parts to get more out of my hog)

1 x coppa di testa

1x big pot of delicious pork stock

Looking forward to some gomphus clavatus "pigs ear mushroom" to have with the next hog! Cranberry mission is set in Dawson City for September with Brice the Rappie Pie Guru! Ive promised to bring some of Grand Dowdell's amazing beets that I will pickle for the pie. There's some talk around the lodge of getting some Dall sheep this fall as well. Sounds good to me! Salmon are running in full swing now and my currents are starting to ripe 'n up. What great treasures will august have in store?

Still a mushroom marathon in the Yukon. We are still a couple weeks from the actual season!

Yukon Porcini Season!

2010-07-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Pictured above: a handsome boletus edulis! (click me!)

In the Yukon if we get funky weather like we have been getting this summer. Hot, cold, dry, wet combinations we can get a early fruiting of Boletus Edulis. Typically they start towards the end of July and fade out by the second week of august. Then re appear for 2 more weeks in September. This year looks like we get about a week and a half of extra picking! Wild strawberries are ripe, currents are still green and wild onions are as tough as wood now. Time to pick shrooms!!!!

I went out on a scouting mission today in a pretty much straight white spruce forest and out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge flag (mushroom cap). Sure it was Edulis, I tapped in on the cap.. Hard as a rock. I got butterflies. I crouched down, scanned the area and I could see little troops all around. %$#MUSH RUSH&^% Needless to say, what a start to the season. I was happy eating various species of Leccinums until I saw the king! It could be a good year.

Im heading up to Dawson City for Music festival weekend. I will be checking in on the kitchen crew at Klondike Kates restaurant to taste there latest creations. Mabe even plan a low brush cranberry picking trip in sept with my good buddy Brice. Not to forget my ole stomping ground for the Edulis. I sense a bbq, laughter and some great company in the near future!

Just emerging from the ground, a young leccinum insigne

A handsome and delicious Leccinum

I'm eating LOTS of boletus edulis tonight :p

Trophy Fish And Smoke House Fun

2010-06-25T13:45:00.002-07:00

Here's some shots of some the the Pikes and Lakers the Clients have been pulling out of the various lakes and rivers around the lodge. Top 2 picks are 100+cm pike and the bottom shot is a 97cm lake trout! Things are heating up around here!

As well as fishing we are also eating. I've been having fun with my smokehouse. It seems that anything you put in there, tastes like magic when it comes out! The alder and willow have a nice flavor that works well with fatty fish, pork and duck. Ive put together a small film (like 25sec) to show you my smoke house for yourself. Let me know what you think. The pork t-bones are brined with foraged juniper berries and and green coriander. Cold smoked for 5 hours then cooked on a wood fired grill. The duck gets a similar treatment but no brine, just a quick salting (four hours) to draw out access moisture. I like the duck cooked sous-vide to 128f, cooled then I cook it on the skin for 12-15 minutes getting it right crispy! Oh my man. I know I know!

Alder smoked duck breast @128f with very crispy skin, spinach, parnips and smoke cherries

Labrador tea roasted hutterite hens

2010-06-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

I was recently at Stacey's the local butcher shop in Whitehorse rummaging around when I spotted a chicken labeled "specialty chicken". When asked what kind of chicken it was, I was told it was a hutteritte raised free range chicken. He gave me one to try at the lodge, so I began thinking how I was going to cook it. Brine, roast the breasts on the bone, sous vide the legs and crisp them up in chicken fat is what I was thinking. Liver and giblet gravy with wild sage....Hell ya! Now to the brine.

Wild Labrador tea is up everywhere out here and is flowering this time of year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labrador_tea Seeing as I love the flavor so much, I thought I would make a Labrador tea brine for the chicken. Holy Sh#$ is all I have to say! Why didn't I think of this earlier? Anyways, here's what I ended up doing. Recipe as follows...

Labrador Tea Roasted Hutterite Hen

The brine:

4 liters water
225g kosher salt
125g sugar
3 tbsp coriander seeds
8 bay leafs
1 big hand full dried Labrador tea leave
1 garlic head cut in half

Bring all ingredients to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes to infuse, cool down completely. (can be done up to a week in advance)

When the brine is ice cold. You can put the chicken in. Use a weight to keep it submerged if necessary. The chicken will need to be in the brine for approx 12-15 hours (this was a 6 pound bird) When out of the brine pat dry all around and air dry in the fridge preferably overnight to form a pellical and insure good browning in oven. I roasted the breast on the bone in a roasting pan on a rack. Under the rack I poured in white wine and threw in another handful of Labrador leaves to get some vapour action from underneath the breast. I sous vide the legs at 160f for 10 hours then rubbed them with beer mustard, wild sage and buttery bread crumbs and crusted them up in a 400f oven for 15 minutes. Giblet and liver gravy.....Potato gratin, and chicken fried carrots.. The chicken was moist and had a real "chicken" kick to it. Hutterite chicken is definitely worth seeking out!

New Digs!

2010-05-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Ive finally arrived at Dalton Trail Lodge, 40km south of Haines Junction, Yukon. This is where I will be spending my summer cooking and foraging. The other veteran chef Mike has been showing me the ropes the over the last couple days before we get busy with the seasons full wrath. The elevation is quite a bit higher here than in Whitehorse, so you can still see tails of winter about. The smoke house needs cleaning and the bbq pit needs some work but its not by any means in bad shape... Just needs some lovin! The Dalton range is in your face and Dezadeash lake is just behind the lodge where this time of year lake trout are all about! Looks like ill have lots to explore and the terrain should prove to be a bumper spot for ceps and boletus mushrooms! More to come.
Ive suddenly become a bit of a baker since arriving!
From top to bottom, View of the lodge & Country style multi grain bread
.

Sorry Relocating And Fishing

2010-05-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

Have not had any time for blogging with moving in progress. But have had time to get some very nice lake trout! The 6 and 4 pounders were pulled out Moose lake just outside Valemount B.C. only a week after the ice has broke off the lake. Popping them on the webber tonight with some cedar planks and some birch syrup!

I sprinkle the fillets with course sea salt and leave them for 30 minutes to firm up the flesh and push out excess moisture. Rinse the salt off, pat dry, then put them on cedar planks which have been soaked overnight in water. Im using lump charcoal and paper birch for flavor. Finishing it with a glaze of black pepper, coriander and pure 100 Mile birch syrup! Sides will include webber roasted potato gratin and some steamed bok choy on the side.

I'm Yukon bound as of tomorrow! See you in Whitehorse!

Morel Chat On CBC

2010-05-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a short clip of me on CBC radio spouting off about morel mushrooms and having a good chat with Alan Neal on the All In A Day show. The show was aired on April 28th just a few days before the morels started popping in Ottawa.

Morels With Ramps, Nettles And Lemon

This is what may tastes like in the Ottawa river valley! Serves 2 as a starter

Good olive oil to coat pan (don't cheap out here!)
15 Fresh morels
5 Ramps finely sliced, tops roughly chopped
1 cup fresh nettle leaves
1 lemon/zest
fleur de sel to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
good chunk of bread (baguette, ciabatta, Belgium or crispy sourdough)

Clean your Morels!!! Morel pores are perfect homes for many interesting small critters! If morels are big slice so they are all the same size. Don't forget to inspect the insides of the mushrooms for friends as well!
Zest and juice only half the lemon. Remove any seeds from juice and add zest to juice. Set aside.
Prep your ramps. Clean them. Remove the bulbs from the leafy tops, slice the bulbs fairly thin and rough chop the tops. keep bulbs and tops separate.
Prep your nettles. Use gloves to remove the nettle leaves from plant. Select young new plants with tender leaves. Wash as you would regular lettuce and dry. Combine with ramp tops.
You should now have one bowl of cleaned morels, one bowl of cleaned nettles/ramp tops, one bowl of lemon juice/zest, one bowl of sliced ramps, fleur de sel, a pepper mill and good olive oil.
Get a large frying pan hot on stove. When hot add olive oil to coat pan. Before oil starts smoking add sliced ramps. Cook for 10 secs, to totally infuse the oil with rampy goodness. Add morels and nettle/ramp mix.
Leave on high heat so that any liquid that comes out of the mushrooms will evaporate as its being cooked. Cook until morels have shrunk by almost half and all the liquid in the pan is absorbed back into the morels about 3-4 minutes.
Add lemon and remove from heat. Season with fleur de sel and a fresh pepper. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

Note: I sometimes add fresh red chili with the ramps at the beginning for a little extra kick!

Epic Morel Memory Flashback!!!!

2010-04-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Question: What was one of the most memorable morel days of your life.....
Answer: Well now let me see.....ah yes.....and it goes a little something like this.....

One Of My Most epic morel days!

The French gulch burn site summer of 2005. Picking with a good friend chef and local restaurateur Phillip Lamarche of Klondike Kates restaurant in Dawson City Yukon where I was employed at the time. We had a little shroom rivalry going on in the kitchen at work as to who could get the most morels in the shortest amount of time on any giving day. This was the day I was going to change all that. We headed off with a few guys from the kitchen to French gulch for a regular four hour pick. After about 3 hours you can usually find a few people who more or less struck out waiting by the truck for the rest of us lucky ones to finish up picking. Not me though, I was deep in the burn and up to my neck in morels! Forget the Dawson City “Gold Rush” famous in 1898, this was the Dawson City “Mush Rush” of 05! My adrenaline is flowing, arms are flying and the weight on my back is getting heaver. I lost track of time, I lost track of reality. I felt like the guy from fear and loathing when he enters the hotel high on mescaline and everyone turns into dinosaurs! I was completely and utterly in the zone and “the spell of the Yukon” has a whole new meaning to me at this point of time. When I climbed up the 900+ foot embankment I was down I had a trapper nelson full of baskets and four 5 gallon pails full of morel glory! I was completely covered in wood ash, charcoal dust and blood head to toe. I looked as though I just escaped a war zone! When it was all said and done we brought them back to Kates for cleaning grading and scaling. The final weight was 140 pounds of fresh morels, 68 of which came from my buckets in 4 hours of picking. I have since broken that record and know of many mainstream pickers that achieve this regularly. But in that moment… on that day… in French gulch… I’ve never experienced such a out this world experience with mushrooms I have not ingested in my entire life! What a epic day for morels!!

Some of our summer of 05 bounty. Yes those are boxes and garbage bags full of morels from a epic Yukon summer!

Ottawa.....R.I.P.

2010-04-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

This party is about to hit the road! Good Bye Ottawa, Hello Yukon....Again. Can't wait to get back up to the mothership! Final prep is in place for the move with only 2 week remaining in O-town.

I will be running a fishing camp for the summer at the edge of Kluane national park on dezadeash lake. Ive contacted farmers and am currently making connections on the coast for seafood/shellfish.

Ottawa its been a slice, but its time to move on. Hoping to get my hands on a few ramps and morels before I leave and finish a few more hams and charcuterie projects I have on the go.
Some of my latest creations. From top left clockwise. Kiebasa, st.canut pork rillettes, dry cured wild boar sausage, heritage breed procuttio, tasso ham, foie gras and heritage breed pork liver terrine

They're coming!!!!!!

2010-03-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

LESS THAN A MONTH TILL THE FIRST MORELS ARE POPPING!

Some new stuff! + Habanero Harissa

2010-03-08T14:40:00.001-08:00

Got some new stuff these past couple of weeks.

Fresh meals solutions in Toronto has hooked me up with a thermal controller and a a nice cooker for sous vide applications.

Capital appliance and BBQ here in Ottawa hooked me up with a 18.5' Weber smokey mountain cooker to deal with my ongoing addiction to BBQ and outdoor cooking. More pics and recipes with both of these units to come!

Habanero Harissa!!!

I love everything chili! Ive been developing a bunch of chili condiments over the last couple years and thought I would share a few with you. Here is one of my newer ones. I find myself putting a bit of this in everything! Caramelized onions, yogurt, marinates, bbq sauces etc... its so good!

250g Red Savina habenero sub other habs if necessary (deseeded)
Salt to taste (yes you have to taste it! sucker)
1 tbsp agave nectar optional
1tbsp caraway seeds (toasted and ground)
1tbsp cumin seeds (toasted and ground)
1 tsp black cumin seeds (toasted and ground)
4 garlic cloves (small cloves)
100g roasted red pepper
1 tbsp tomato puree (I use homemade but store bought is fine)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp smoked paprika
4 tbsp olive oil
½ preserved lemon (skin only finely chopped)

Combine everything but olive oil , preserved lemon and paprika in a blender or food processor and run till smooth. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. I needed add a bit more tom puree to make a smooth sauce. When completely smooth, fold in olive oil, preserved lemons and paprika, adjust the seasoning.

THE WINTER BLUES

2010-02-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

Its February. Its winter....But not. Its a waiting period. Not enough snow to do anything. No rain, a bit windy and CBC’s radio 1 is like voice’s is in my head.

Dub step’s Vibe Squad keeps me alive and my heartbeat in check. Family meal is becoming a religious experience and the curries seem to be getting a fair bit hotter. Harrisa is on the brain, but who wants to make harissa with long red chilli’s and bell peppers? Habanera’s are your friend; as are Thai chilli’s. I find it amusing to replace ones “cup a joe” with a “cup of fish sauce”.

The Yukon quest is over, Ottawa’s winter man marathon and winterlude are over, the Olympics are half over.

“When I close my eyes I see morel mushrooms and my brain reveals all the secret locations of last springs
hunt.”

–Jeffery Mickelson

From top to bottom

Love my weber :),

love the results of my weber:),

pancettas ready to "go to there room",

dry garlic sausage prep

foie gras and heritage pork liver terrine with brandied currents

A Good Day! Heritage Breed Lonzino and St-Canut Farm Bacon

2010-02-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

HELL YA! I can go home and sleep well tonight knowing its all packed up!

St-Canut Farms bacon fresh from the smoker + cup of coffee = good times. This is really good pork for making bacon with! :)

I started this at the end of November and just cut it down today. It is a Large Black Heritage Breed Hog Loin from Barbara at http://www.uppercanadaheritagemeat.ca/index.html cured in the style of lonzino. It has a complex flavour and melt in your mouth boar characteristics of the Large Blacks. Worth the wait? Ohh ya!

These are some smoked farmers sausage still warm from the smoker. Bbq sauce/beans/slaw. All right if I have too......

Hot Knives......and scrapers in Ottawa

2010-01-28T06:33:00.000-08:00

Paging Dr. Octagon!

This time is a good time of year to maintain and repair equipment so its running efficient and optimal. Kitchen stoves/ranges must be regularly degrease or if you can afford it, pressure steamed to prevent possible fire hazards and maintain a high standard of cleanliness in the workplace. Hoods, fridges, storage areas must be completely gutting and thoroughly cleaned regularly for the same reasons. This is the time of year we reflect on how we can make the kitchen run more efficient, organized and professional. We thrive to make the upcoming year a little better than those that have past and constantly learn from our mistakes. It also involves plenty of coffee and tea.

A thing of beauty and 2 years off my life from the fumes that made for a exciting evening! lol

The Publican "Pork, Beer & Oysters"

2010-01-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

Ive been high on the hog at the Publican in Chicago this week. Working in this kitchen has been AWESOME! The Publican is located in the meat packing district of the city in a turn of the century building. Walking into the place feels like your walking into a Belgium beer hall. The list of high end products going through the doors in the time that I spent was amazing. Stacks of Jamón ibérico, Onaga snapper flown in from japan, a extensive list of oysters, heritage breed pork, fresh whole hogs and suckling pigs from various local farms, in house made charcuterie(over 20 items), winter truffles, hedgehog mushrooms and smithfield country hams to name a few. Every item on the menu is made in house with the only exception being the dry aged hams. The kitchen is fast paced, loud and tiny. Doing 300+ covers a night is normal for this living carnivore. Chef du cuisine Brian Huston along with Executive Chef Paul Kahan are doing a great job and it comes as no surprise that there is a hardcore following.

http://thepublicanrestaurant.com/

Two Weeks Cooking in Chi-Town

2010-01-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

Allison and Rob Levitt of Mado. (Photo: Rob Levitt)

The good folks at Restaurant Mado in Chicago's Buck-town area have taking me on as a stagier this week. There menu consists of soul Mediterranean food cooked in a number of different preparations. They produce alot of great charcuterie and pork dishes. Ciccioli, country pate, salumi and rolled tiesta to name a few.
Every other week chef rob gets in a couple of whole local raised organic hogs which he uses to create the different menu items. The kitchen is equipped with a wood burning grill, oven and rotisserie. Voted as one of bon appetite's top 10 new restaurants in America for 2009. There not off to a bad start.
Mado supports Midwestern farmers and strives to use responsibly raised local products. (from there website) A big shout out to Rob and Allison for letting me into there world this week! You guys are great!

Spicy pig head stew with polpetini, white beans and braised greens,
Spit roasted pork loin and belly with braised cabbage,
Rainbow trout with celery root puree and salsa verde
Smoked wild sturgeon with blood orange and olive
You get the idea, if your in Chi-Town check it out!

http://madorestaurantchicago.com/

Morel Mushroom And Roasted Califlower Bistyeeya

2009-12-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

This was a pie that I made for a vegetarian pot luck upon my arrival in Golden B.C. Very tasty. As was all the food that was there. The pie consisted of roasted cauliflower, caramelized onions, roasted almonds, turmeric, garlic, cilantro and morel mushrooms. Topped with a sprinkle of sugar, Cinnamon and more roasted almonds.

If I were to do it again I think I will try it with a layer of waxy potato's at the base for a little more savory goodness. Overall a success though.

Birch Syrup

2009-12-24T11:07:00.001-08:00

A while back a friend of mine decided that he was going to start producing birch syrup in the Klondike river valley. Im glad he did! Berwyn has been sugaring off every spring just south of Dawson city for a number of years now producing high quality birch syrup. Birch syrup is full of minerals and vitamins and packed with good flavor.

There are now many more producers of birch syrup further south. Quesnel b.c. as well as thunder bay Ontario is home to producers of quality birch syrup. Pick some up and fall in love with this earthy wild treat! Below is one the recipes I made for berwyn for his website.

Birch Pecan Pie (for one 9”pie)(from yukonbirch.ca)

2 eggs (Slightly beaten)

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp good vanilla

½ cup corn syrup

½ cup birch syrup

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 cup pecans

1 (9”pie shell)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Place pecans in your favourite pie crust. (9”)

Pour filling over pecans and bake @375 for 35-40 mins or until set and crust golden.

Pick up your birch syrup here!

Sweet Tree http://www.sweettreeventures.com/products.html

Berwyn Birch Syrup http://www.yukonbirch.ca/

Birch Place Farm http://www.birchplacefarm.com/

Boreal Birch Syrup http://www.birchsyrup.ca/Home.html

Moose Meadows Farm http://www.moosemeadowsfarm.ca/

Alaska Wild Harvest http://alaskabirchsyrup.com/

2009-12-19T17:05:00.000-08:00

Its been a good two week push in the kichen and now its time for a trip out west and its time to go to Chicago. Alberta>B.C.>Illinois>ontario.

Im looking forward to meeting some new peeps, some old peeps and seeing my fam dam ly.

Baggage includes

10lb Elk

2lb Caribou

5x Guinea fowl legs stuffed with game and wild mushrooms

4x Foie gras and prune stuffed quail

1x 15lb bone in country style Tamworth ham

4x Venison flanks (think tacos here)

Smoked Arctic Char

Candied Salmon bellys

Dry cured chorizo

Various terrines

Various condiments... Mustarda, ruhbarb ketchup, persimmon chutney etc..

Dried morel mushrooms, chilli pasillas, anchos, pequins, chipotle, naga jolokias and new mexicos.

Cheese

1x block of Le marmirolle

1x wheel triple creme brie

400g bleu Benedictin

Must be November

2009-11-30T19:31:00.000-08:00

Salmon and potato pie

Clockwise from top left

Ontario smoked trout terrine

Candied salmon belly

Pacific halibut terrine

Gravlax

Smoked mackerel mousse

Center… Smoked sprats

Clockwise from top left

Wild boar and rabbit terrine with prunes and pistachios.

Heritage breed prosciutto

Rays pork liver pate

Dried boar sausage and Mennonite summer sausage

Stone ground mustard

Foie Gras mousse with black pepper and parsley

Tasso ham with smoked cherries

And in the middle persimmon chutney

Wild boar and rabbit terrine

2009-11-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

Wild Boar And Rabbit Terrine With Prunes And Pistachios

The Meat

1lb Rabbit (deboned)

1lb 8oz Wild Boar shoulder

8oz Pork or boar liver (add the rabbit liver as well)

Seasonings

2 cloves garlic (minced)

100g sweet onion (Vidalia or Texas sweets) (finely diced)

Cook onions and garlic till soft and cool. Combine with below and add to meat ready to be ground.

30g salt

5g Tinted Curing Mix

1 tbsp mixed spice (get creative here) Or Google "pate spice"

1g white pepper
Garnish

200g prunes, sliced

250g pistachios (roasted)

Panada

120ml heavy cream

2 eggs (preferable farm eggs)

30ml brandy

70g flour

1 Grind the rabbit, livers and seasonings through the fine plate of your grinder. Switch to coarse blade and grind boar meat.

2 Place combined meats in a chilled kitchen aid mixing bowl.

3 Combine Panada in a bowl, mix well and add to your meats.( you can sub different types of booze if you want)

4 Place meat in kitchen aid and mix on low speed with a paddle for about a minute or till you feel its mixed really well. Turn to med speed till mixture gets sticky to touch, about 5-10 seconds.

5 Test seasoning by cooking a little paddy.

6 Place garnish ingredients in bowl and gently fold in.

7 Place mix into a terrine and place in a vacuum bag and seal at high pressure. Leave in fridge overnight or up to 3 days to cure.

8 Place terrine in a water bath and poach in 177F water in a 300f oven till cooked, about 2 hours. (or sous vide with thermal circulator) Meat will pull back slightly from the sides of the mold.

9 Place terrine in the fridge put a weight on it and leave for 2 days. (the hardest part of the recipe is waiting!)

10 Slice it, eat it! Enjoy!

Fresh Black Truffles And Cold Milk

2009-11-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

After preparing my truffle preserves, truffle butter and whipped pork fat with truffles I had more than my fill of "nibbles" as I was slicing them up. It was fairly early in the morning so I was having a coffee with cream when I suddenly noticed that the cream in my coffee was starting to taste like truffles! I did not want to eat anything because I wanted to preserve the flavour of truffle on my palette. I then tried a glass of milk and it also taste like truffles. This lasted about 30 minutes after a good feed of fresh truffle slices! Truly awesome!

Today was also terrine production
Wild boar and dried fruit x3
Wild boar, rabbit, prune and pistachio x1
Wild boar, tasso ham and dried cranberry x1

Photos to come!

Some New books,

The Early Canadian Gault Cookbook

Momofuku

The Fat Duck Cookbook

Some New Music

Shotgun Jimmie "still Jimmie"

Tommy Sparda "Specie Differenti"

Joel Plaskett "three"

Bassnector "cozza frenzy"

Dj Decibel "smack my glitch up"

Mmmmm Truffle goodness
Is there such thing as to many webers?

Ham I am with green eggs and ham?

2009-10-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

How do you make a great ham?

Well you will need.......

half a bone in locally farmed pork leg or shoulder (about 5-8kg)

(I prefer using rare breed or heritage breed pork such as large blacks, Berkshire, Duroc etc..)

For the cure

2kg salt
80g curing salt #1 (optional)
1 litre good apple juice or pear juice or apricot juice etc....
1 litre cider (I use a nice cider from Quebec)
6 litres water
1kg golden brown sugar
1kg dark brown sugar or molasses
20-30 juniper berries (I pick mine myself and use them fresh)
30g black peppercorns, crushed
10 bay leaves, crushed
10 cloves

To cook the ham

1 large onion, peeled and rough chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and rough chopped
2 celery sticks, rough chopped
10 black peppercorns
3-4 bay leaves
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme or you can do like me and add 10-15 sprigs of thyme!
1 small bunch parsley stalks

For the glaze

1 generous tbsp grainy mustard
250g light brown sugar
8 cloves powdered

Okay how do we do this?

Mix the cure together in a pot. Bring to the boil. Cool completely to 3-4 Celsius. Pour brine into a none metallic tube (plastic or wood). Weight your ham. Its needs to be left in the cure for 2 days/kg. So for a 5kg piece of pork leg it will be in the brine for 10 days. Place ham in brine and place a weight on top to keep it submerged at all times.(get creative with this, I will give you no hints here on how to accomplish this!)

After the time is up in the cure, it needs to be hung in a cool place 2-8 Celsius for 1-2 days to form a pellical for the smoke to stick too. If you are not smoking the ham leave it to hang for about a week then proceed to the cooking part. If your smoking your ham, you will need a gentle fire and a cold day to to maintain a constant cold smoke. Cold smoke for about 8-12 hours with your favorite hardwood (maple and apple are nice) or until nicely coloured. Leave to hang for at least a week. If you don't have a cold smoker you can use a upright water smoker or bradley smoker and smoke it over several days a couple hours a day.

To cook your ham. If you have had it in the bring for longer than expected, you may need to soak it in cold water overnight to draw out excess salt. The following day place it in a pot, cover it with water and cook for a hour at a low temperature around 180-190f. Taste the water. If its still quite salty pour it out and cover with fresh water. After a hour if the water is not overly salty add all veg and aromatics cook till tender on a low simmer about 3-5 hours. Or instant read thermometer reads 150-160f

Pull it out, mix the glaze together. Pull of skin, rub with glaze and bake for about 30 minutes in a 350-400f oven. Enjoy!!!

Served with mash spuds, creamy peppery cabbage and roasted or glazed carrots.

DONT FOR GET TO KEEP THE STOCK AND BONE FOR THE BEST SPLIT PEAS SOUP OF YOUR LIFE!!!!!

Sept is a great month!

2009-09-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

Pickles, preserves, charcuterie, ham and cabbage sandwiches, turkeys are getting near slaughter, smoke house filling up. Stocking up, freezing, drying, brewing, vac packing, planning, cleaning, granola, pot pies, matsutakes, honeys, fall tea mushrooms, hard cider, apple pie, pumpkin and bourbon, refreshing rain.........

Back to basics for fall

2009-09-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Some shots of our fall tomato and pickle day. Time to start thinking about eggnog and holiday plum pudding. Ive moved my favourite chili plant inside to hang for the winter in peace. Starting some hard cider and homemade pectin next week. Plus smoking tha country ham! Whats your favourite fall preserve?

I feel like chicken tonight!

2009-09-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

September rain brings, ............well chickens! Was on my way back from meeting a fellow shroomer to exchange some fungi news and spotted a "laetiporus Sulphureus" or in other words "chicken of the woods mushroom" These large shrooms "roost" in mature Manitoba maples, Oaks and various other hardwoods in eastern Canada. A texture very similar to chicken and a nice neutral mild flavour makes these shrooms a favourite among fungi enthusiasts.

At the shop we've been busy processing tomatoes for puree and sauce. 400lbs of tomatoes were done this fall, so were ready to hunker down into winter braising and ketchup/chutney production. 16L of naturally fermented pickles have been started (pics of tom production and pickles to come) Ive also started two prosciutto one country style ham, 2 dozen smoked goose breasts, 10kg of pastrami and some more heritage breed pancetta. Happy fall :)

Kobocha Squash Flan

Halibut wrapped with cured pork fat, ready to be sous vide.

"Laetiporus Sulphureus" Chicken of da woods!

New blog at Tulips And Maple Catering + A whole lot of hog!

2009-07-30T19:29:00.001-07:00

We have just launched a new blog, brought to you by the good people at T&M! We will update it with more details from on site events and whatever inspires us at the moment. http://www.tulipsandmaple.blogspot.com/

I just ordered a whole "Large Black" heritage hog from Barbara Schafer at Upper Canada Heritage Meats. The Large Black is recognized as a critically endangered species, not only here but worldwide. When pork production became industrialized in the 1950's, this slow-growing foraging breed was not suitable for the close confinement of factory farms. In spite of its docile temperament and exquisite taste, its numbers have dropped to about 200 registered hogs in Canada today.

Barbara has recently expanded to a new and larger farm where she has plans to do heritage beef as well as chickens! The heritage pork is out of this world in flavour and I can't wait to get some more sausage/hams/prosciutto's going in the next few days! http://www.uppercanadaheritagemeat.ca/

July Rocks!

2009-07-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

The mushroom foray held at greener green acres was well... Pretty dull for mushrooms. Good thing I came prepared with a basket of my own to share with everyone! The week after the chantys started hitting..

Lobsters, boletes and hedgehogs out our bum! I had the chance to sneak out to culinary conspiracy's mushroom dinner on sunday night. Good time, food was great. Chefs Robert Jutras and Kenny Hayden did a good job. Some cool art as well.

At the resturant we were busy doing Jason Spezza's wedding last sat. This was a Itialian wedding, so lots of great food and ya.... More food! Everything went as planned and the event was flawless!

This week is a bit slow, so ive managed to post! I figure we got two good weeks left of summer mushrooms then its all over till fall and the "hen hunt".

And Now Its July?

2009-07-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Wow what happened there, a month just like that?

I prayed for rain, I got it. Now we pray for mushrooms. On Sunday I will be out with Cheryl Wyatt of Greener Green Acres http://www.freewebs.com/ggreenacres/ to do a summer foraging tour of limrick forest. We are hoping to find porcini, chanterelles, raspberry's and maby a oyster or two! I will post pics of the hike next week.

Strawberries have been added to my "bachelors jam" as well as a good spoon of sugar and a splash of vodka. Eggnog will be started soon. June was CRAZY busy!

Good thoughts about June: Rhubarb, Oyster Mushrooms, chili plants, green house tomatoes, bass, walleye, reishi, day lily corms, beet greens, micro greens, spring onions, strawberries, asparagus, baby radish and turnip greens!

The busy time!

2009-06-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

In the next week we are so busy at the shop that I will have no time for shrooming or foraging. Cochinita Pibil, recipe to come.

Sorry been busy shrooming!!! Recipe for pickled ramps..

2009-05-24T18:51:00.001-07:00

As you can see Ive been really busy lately! Ive ran across a nice patch of ramps as well and have added recipe below for pickeled ramps!

Pickled Ramps

Ingredients
5 pounds cleaned ramps, green leaves removed

2 cups white vinegar/rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 cup water

1 cup Demarara sugar

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon whole black
2 all spice berries
One dried chipotle chili (optional)

1 sprig thyme

Salt to taste

Directions
1. Pack ramps tightly into clean sterilized jars.

2. Heat up pickle and let cool, set to infuse for 30 minutes.

3. Pour cooled pickling liquid over ramps and store in a container with a tight lid. Process in a water bath to seal(about 10 minutes)

4. Let rest for at least a month before trying.

5. For a less crispy pickle blanch the ramps in boiling water for about a minute and cool in a ice bath, proceed with recipe.

The hunt is on!!!

2009-04-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Im out on monday for a full on foray for black/yellow morels! Will post details of my results!

Bo Kho

2009-04-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

Bo kho has got to be one of the most heart warming dishes of all time. I love making it and love even more eating it!! (click the photo!!)

Bo kho the recipe.......

You need.....

1 beef blade roast (about 1.5kg) (nicely marbled) or boneless short ribs

1 beef shins with bone (beef shank)

Veal or Beef stock

Bo kho spice mix to coat beef recipe below

2tbsp Vietnamese curry powder (i use Indian brand)

2 tbsp annatto seeds

1/4 cup veg oil

3 stalks of lemon grass

I head of garlic peeled and finely diced/minced

1 small can (398ml) of aurora brand pizzettones tomato's

Green or red chili's (as many as you think you need)

5-7 lime leaves (optional)

2 Carrots

1 onion

8 fingerling potato's

Fish Sauce

Palm sugar or brown sugar

(Table Stew Garnish)

1 bunch Holy basil

1 bunch Culantro/fitweed/long coriander or what ever you want to call it

1 bunch cilantro

Mung bean sprouts (optional)

baguette

Bo Kho Spice mix

equal parts. coriander seed, cinnamon, aniseed, cumin, annatto, clove and licorice root.

Mix and grind to a fine powder in a spice mill

Method

1: First off, place oil in a sauce pan and heat up, when warm add annatto seeds and cook for one minute. Strain this oil into a clean bowl and discard seeds. Cool oil. Cube beef in 3inch by 3inch pieces, coat with bo kho spice mix (just enough to cover meat) Place in a zip-lock bag or marinating container. Add minced garlic and annatto oil. Cut lemon grass into 3 inch lengths and smash with the back of your knife(dull side), add to beef marinate. Finely dice chilli's and add if using. Leave for 3 hours.

2: Sear meat off in batches, browning all sides nicely and place in your braising vessel. Empty marinate into braising pan (garlic lemongrass chili), add tomato, lime leaves if using, curry powder and enough veal/beef stock to cover meat by 3 inches, SLOWLY bring meat up to a slight simmer and place in a oven at 250 with a tightly covered lid.

3: Braise for 1 hour without opening. Check meat It should be just fork tender. Check meat every 15mins after. When fork tender meat is achieved add potatoes, carrots and onion sliced around the same size for even cooking. Cook till veg is done, adjust seasoning with fish sauce (salt) and a bit of sugar.

4: Serve with fresh basil, culantro, cilantro, green/red chilli's fresh, green onions, bean sprouts and crispy baguette!

Enjoy the best comfort food ever!

The pre morel hunt....

2009-03-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Morel Mushrooms:

Now is the time of year when I dig up all last years photos and maps of hits and misses searching for further clues to this elusive mushroom. Ive only in the past picked "fire burn" morels. Its a natural thing that happens a year after a good hot forest fire. You return to the burn and search shady areas and drainage's and there they are by the hundreds. Its truly amazing! Now on the other hand here I am in Ottawa, rideau valley.. Last year I found three morels!!! Three! After searching for a month in a half straight! This year I plan to change those numbers by a few at least.

Ive learned a lot these last couple weeks about morels, trees, and flora that all occurs at the same time. I plan to use this knowledge this year to collect more morels. I'm not worried about the rest of the mushroom season as I did quite well last year and have many spots to go to. The morels start in the far south west, then progressively they hit the entire west coast to southern Oregon; at this time, Oklahoma gets hit and they start going north of Oregon and east of Oklahoma. The east coast gets hit then they start heading up the east and central states to Michigan, new york etc... Finally they get here in Ottawa/Quebec and the rest of Canada, ending in northern prairies, N.W.T., and the Yukon.

I WILL FIND MORE THIS YEAR!! AHHHHHH

More morel info availible here... http://thegreatmorel.com/

hangin tha meat

2009-02-27T15:50:00.001-08:00

Every time a new item is hung to dry in the curing room I get ancy. Do we really have to wait that long for it to finish? What exactly will it taste like? It is a steady rotation of different cuts and kinds of meat, some of which will have finished there time in a week, others may be "hanging" around for a year or more. This photo is a picture of my duck pancetta one of my favorites. Today I've started a celeriac and black pepper cured beef tenderloin.

Seville Oranges

2009-02-15T17:58:00.001-08:00

SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE 101

Ladies and Gentlemen, Gather your "heavy to hold" Seville Oranges and Brace yourself! For a Marmalade extravaganza! Slice them up! Ohh so nice...

Juice those bad boys!

Slice the peels and piths into desired size. I like mine quite small and thin.

Place them in a non reactive container and cover them with the orange juice and 2.5L of water. Leave for 24 hours. Place the whole works into your pot and cook till peel is soft. About 2 hours. You will have lost about a 3rd of the liquid.

Next, add the lemon juice and sugar and cook to the setting point has been reached. About 20-30 minutes. ( see notes for tips)

Prepare your jars and break out a red strip to celebrate, your almost done!

When setting point has been reached, let it sit off the heat for 15 minutes, then pour into sterilized jars and seal! Drink your beer and go to bed cause you cant wait for breakfast!

The Fine Print

Makes 5-6x 460g jars

1kg Seville Oranges (washed)

75ml lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)

2kg demarara sugar (cane) (I used red paths demarara "style" sugar for this recipe and the result was a rich caramelized molasses flavored preserve)

Notes
The setting point has been reached when your boiling liquid becomes a foamy mass and your thermo reads 220f (at sea level) You can also put a plate in the freezer and spoon a little on to check the strength of the gel. Remember, "good things come to those who wait" Meaning if its not setting, keep cooking that bugger down!

on and forward

2009-02-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

As the slow times tick along we find ourselves in other country's getting motivation to continue doing what we do. We are slaves to the stove, prisoners of the fridge, foragers of the forest. As morel season kicks off soon enough,(I know its still almost 3 months away but still!) I start to plan new stomping grounds to find my little treasures of the woods. While down in mexico, I got to sample some of my favorite cuisine. Tripas de leche, super burro's de carne, camerone al a mojo de ajo etc... Tripas de leche are marinated and pan seared bovine milk glands, which are thrown in a taco with dried beef and topped with pico de gallo (onions, cilantro, lime). mmmmmm Back to work. Valentines day coming up and some renos in the kitchen to come..

Some down time

2009-01-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

As we slow down for the beginning of 09 it gives us a chance to reflect on 08 and what we want to do this year. Were to move the precious prosciutto's? What to do with all this space to make it more efficient? Time to try the fall chutneys and summer preserves now that they have fully matured and watch people eating Bhut Jolokia chilli's on you tube!! (At like 2min 40sec he looks nuts) I cant wait to get my hands on some of these!

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-NNzI3RTZ7I&feature=related

Ive been experimenting with hot sauce combinations this week and and having alot of fun doing it. So far Ive made a date, ginger and scotch bonnet sauce and a tamarind, birds eye and cardamon sauce. Both are really good.

Zambian Meal

2008-12-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

We have a rock star dish washer straight 0ut of Zambia. Today she decided to cook us a
traditional Zambian meal for lunch. She is usually picky with the food she eats, but when she cooks she eats everything!
White Polenta cake with peanut creamed spinach, spicy chili braised beef top sirloin and a okra and green onion sauce. What a pleasant surprise!

Tiss the season to be noggy!

2008-12-19T16:13:00.001-08:00

The time for nog has arrived. I started mine a month and a half ago. As it "rests" it mellows out a bit and developes nice flavor. The recipe.....

TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 10 mins, plus 3 weeks for aging
Active: 10 mins
Makes: About 1 gallon
By Jonathan Hunt
At an expat holiday party in Shanghai in the 1920s, my grandfather tasted the finest eggnog he had ever had. It took him seven years to wheedle the recipe out of the host. Once he got it, he gave an annual party on the Sunday evening following Thanksgiving to make the nog.
Note: Unlike most eggnog recipes, this one calls for aging the eggnog for at least 3 weeks prior to consumption (or up to a year, says contributor Jonathan Hunt), which allows the flavors to meld. At Tulips and Maple, I aged the eggnog in the refrigerator in a clean 1-gallon jug, and it worked just fine.
What to buy: The eggnog makes a great gift if you decide to bottle it. You can even get some customized labels to impress your friends.
Game plan: It’s good to give the eggnog a full 3 weeks of aging, but you can drink it right away; however, the flavor will be less rounded.

INGREDIENTS
For the eggnog:
12 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 quart (4 cups) whole milk
1 liter (about 4 cups) bourbon, such as makers mark
1/2 cup Myers’s dark rum
1/2 to 1 cup good Cognac or other brandy
Pinch kosher salt
1 whole nutmeg
To serve (optional):
10 egg whites
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
INSTRUCTIONS
For the eggnog:
Separate egg yolks and whites. Combine yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk until well blended and creamy.
Add cream, milk, bourbon, rum, Cognac (use the good stuff), and salt, then stir.
Bottle it right away and refrigerate it until it’s ready. (An old liquor bottle works great, as do 22-ounce bail-top bottles, available in brewing supply stores. My grandfather keeps the eggnog in the garage for 3 weeks, stirring occasionally, then bottles it—but aging in the garage is not recommended because the temperature can fluctuate.)
It’s traditional to wrap the bottle in aluminum foil, shiny side out, together with a fresh nut of nutmeg tucked into the foil for grating later. Keep refrigerated for at least 3 weeks, or up to a year if you can.
To serve (optional):
I serve aged eggnog on the rocks with some freshly grated nutmeg on top. If you want to serve the eggnog in the traditional way, pour it into a punch bowl. In separate bowls, whip 10 egg whites and 1 1/2 cups heavy cream to soft peaks and fold them into the eggnog. Serve in punch cups, garnished with freshly grated nutmeg.

(Recipe from chow.com)

A little bit of Jicama

2008-12-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Its nice sometimes to take a break from the winters coming weather and reflect on summers flavors. Latin American harmonized with north American products. MMM

Smoked Ontario trout on jicama key lime slaw with turtle beans, Bruce avocados, coriander and taro root.

Goose Confit

2008-09-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, lets start this blog off with a nice ole classic mouth watering leg of goose.

To start with source out your free range goose and get them home to your fridge! You will also need a good pail of duck or goose fat rendered.(ask your butcher or farmer) Clean any feather remains etc.. Next you need to cure your goose. You have quite a bit of flexibility here. The only thing you really need is

SALT. I like to add ground juniper berries, nutmeg and fresh thyme. Cover the legs with the cure and let sit over night. The next day, rinse the cure off and pat dry with a clean towel. Gently warm you fat in a nice Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot. Add your goose legs and slowly heat up the fat till the occasional bubble comes up here and there. No lid is needed. Maintain this temp (around 170-190f) till fully cooked. Around 6-8 hours. Using clean tongs or slotted spoon, remove your goose to a clean glass bowl. Let fat sit for 10 minutes and then start removing the fat with a clean ladle and pour over the legs till covered. Be careful not to remove the jelly at the bottom of the pot. Separate the remaining fat and jelly. Save the jelly for a sauce, and reserve fat for next batch. Place you legs in the fridge. When the fat cools and congeals completely (2-3 hours) Wrap tightly and use when ever you want. I like mine after it sits for about 2 weeks. To remove your legs, microwave or bain marie the bowl till fat renders and take your leg, leave the remaining for another time and cool again. Make sure to use clean utensils every time you dig into the confit. Fire it in a hot oven to get the skin crispy and eat!!! Reduce jelly in pan, when its almost completly reduced add a big knob of butter and a pinch of black pepper.