Loading The Bullet

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

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. 

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one hell of a slab o bacon! :)

So Busy!

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!

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!!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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Spicy Salami And The Dog

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

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

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!

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!!

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

1. Preheat oven to 350f. Have all ingredients ready to go. Chop nuts and dates. Peel and shred apples
2. Cream together butter and sugar till light and fluffy
3. Add the beaten egg and blend till smooth
4. Add the apples, nuts and dates
5. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk/yogurt a little of each at a time
6. Place into a parchment or wax paper lined loaf pan of your choice
7. Let stand for 10 minutes
8. Bake until done and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. About a hour
9. 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!!!

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

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.