cooking thread...

[akaShag]

2 hours ago, CrowMan said:

I'm shocked on two accounts..

1. Someone "gave away" the backstraps

2. They sat in a freezer for almost a year without being consumed

Your buddy must have an overabundance of good eats in the deep freeze...LOL

AND he gave me a package of moose tenderloin!!!!!  Plus a couple packages of ground moose.  Apparently his wife does not care for wild game and he doesn't cook it for himself.  This package of backstrap (loin!) had indeed been in his freezer almost a year, but had been wrapped in saran wrap and then butcher paper.  There was no freezer burn, thankfully - but the saran wrap saved it of course.

[CrowMan]

35 minutes ago, akaShag said:

AND he gave me a package of moose tenderloin!!!!!  Plus a couple packages of ground moose.  Apparently his wife does not care for wild game and he doesn't cook it for himself.  This package of backstrap (loin!) had indeed been in his freezer almost a year, but had been wrapped in saran wrap and then butcher paper.  There was no freezer burn, thankfully - but the saran wrap saved it of course.

Now, that's a good friend. Don't expect the same from me...in my house, the loin and tenderloin wouldn't even make it as far as the freezer...LOL 

[akaShag]

3 hours ago, CrowMan said:

Now, that's a good friend. Don't expect the same from me...in my house, the loin and tenderloin wouldn't even make it as far as the freezer...LOL 

Yep, tenderloins never leave the hunt camp.  😉

[manitoubazz]

17 hours ago, akaShag said:

Yep, tenderloins never leave the hunt camp.  😉

Yep! We call them coins

[manitoubazz]

Simple and comfortable 

[Spiel]

Well I never did make it back into the shop today to continue working on my latest piece.
I spent 6 plus hours in the kitchen, cooking of course. I had my weekend meals planned out which would have included wild Turkey breast tomorrow but when your friend drops by with a couple of fresh G'Bay Steelies, you reschedule some meal plans. However when you have meat and produce that needs to be dealt with, immediately, you deal with it.

So my old school Tuna Casserole was made for future meals this coming week, a small Pork Loin was cooked and stored for future use and one Trout will be tonight's Fajita dinner, with home made slaw and the last of my my big ass Heirloom Beefsteak tomato salsa. The other Trout was filleted (custom fillet knife made by Aplumma ), boned, skinned and vacuum sealed for my daughter.

The wild Turkey breast will have to wait. 

Happy Thanksgiving Folks. 

 

[akaShag]

1 hour ago, Spiel said:

The wild Turkey breast will have to wait.

Just a suggestion...........slice it into about 1/4 inch pieces with the grain, so you have long strips.  Marinade them in a teriyaki marinade for overnight in the fridge, and BBQ them on high for about 2 minutes per side.  My favourite way to eat wild turkey breasts....

Doug

[Spiel]

13 hours ago, akaShag said:

Just a suggestion...........slice it into about 1/4 inch pieces with the grain, so you have long strips.  Marinade them in a teriyaki marinade for overnight in the fridge, and BBQ them on high for about 2 minutes per side.  My favourite way to eat wild turkey breasts....

Doug

Sounds delish Doug, thank you.

[Spiel]

Last night's Trout Fajitas. Home made vinaigrette slaw, sauteed onion and bell pepper and a slice of my home made dill pickles. 

 

[akaShag]

Yesterday was wild game day in the kitchen, doing some cooking before rifle season for deer........

First up was a big pot of rabbit noodle soup, using a couple cottontails.

Next was squirrel pot pie with a couple tree rats. 😉 see pic

I also had a couple more cottontails in the pot with the squirrels.  They will become rabbit pot pie and rabbit stew.

In the meantime, I had a deer neck from last November simmering away all day in the slow cooker.  I deboned the meat last night, and this with the stock will become a big pot of hearty venison barley soup.

And for supper, I had moose tenderloin with fresh free-range eggs, yum yum!!!

Life is good.

Doug

[akaShag]

I shot a ruffed grouse on Saturday at my hunt camp.  And since my wife is away, I got to eat the whole thing myself for supper last night.  The tastiest part was actually the breast bone piece.

After I got home Saturday evening, I had three mallards, one teal, 2 black squirrels and a grouse to clean.  Some good eats there!

Doug

[smitty55]

It's that time again to give my Big Chief smoker a good work out. A couple of weeks back both Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead trout were on sale at half price for $10/lb and it's been a too long time since I did fish so I couldn't resist, best birthday gift I could give myself. Around 7-8 lbs. Put them in the freezer as frozen fish smokes better and took them out a couple days back. Made a gallon of brine yesterday and they spent the night in the spare fridge in two pots. Took them out at noon, patted them dry and the 29 pieces completely filled the five racks. After running a fan on them for an hour they developed a nice shiny, sticky pellicle and then it's that time to go outside for a 6 hour smoke I figure, maybe a bit less for the thinner pieces. Wood chips of choice is Cherry. This is where the fixed 160 degree temp comes in perfect for smoking fish at low temps over a longer period. The last couple of hours I will be brushing them with maple syrup for an extra sweet treat. This is going to be oh so good.

EDIT: I was way off on my time guess. Between a windy cool day and water in my drip tray which I don't normally do at six hours the fish was still mushy so I did the syrup brush, removed the drip tray and it took eleven hours total before the fish was nice and firm but still plenty moist. It was worth the wait, I had family over the next day and a everyone was raving about how good it was. Now the hardest part is having enough control to not pig out on it too much and freeze some for later. Cheers

[akaShag]

I tell people that smoked steelhead can last for months in the freezer, weeks in the fridge, and minutes on the plate.  Looks delicious!

Doug

[CrowMan]

2 hours ago, smitty55 said:

It's that time again to give my Big Chief smoker a good work out. A couple of weeks back both Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead trout were on sale at half price for $10/lb and it's been a too long time since I did fish so I couldn't resist, best birthday gift I could give myself. Around 7-8 lbs. Put them in the freezer as frozen fish smokes better and took them out a couple days back. Made a gallon of brine yesterday and they spent the night in the spare fridge in two pots. Took them out at noon, patted them dry and the 29 pieces completely filled the five racks. After running a fan on them for an hour they developed a nice shiny, sticky pellicle and then it's that time to go outside for a 6 hour smoke I figure, maybe a bit less for the thinner pieces. Wood chips of choice is Cherry. This is where the fixed 160 degree temp comes in perfect for smoking fish at low temps over a longer period. The last couple of hours I will be brushing them with maple syrup for an extra sweet treat. This is going to be oh so good.

EDIT: I was way off on my time guess. Between a windy cool day and water in my drip tray which I don't normally do at six hours the fish was still mushy so I did the syrup brush, removed the drip tray and it took eleven hours total before the fish was nice and firm but still plenty moist. It was worth the wait, I had family over the next day and a everyone was raving about how good it was. Now the hardest part is having enough control to not pig out on it too much and freeze some for later. Cheers

Look awesome !

Just a heads up... Wild Fork sells frozen wild Pacific Sockeye fillets for $13.98 a pound.  A little more money (sometimes cheaper) than the farmed Atlantic Salmon and "Steelhead Trout" that you usually see in the supermarket, but a huge difference in taste. I personally find the farmed stuff flabby in texture, and not as rich in those delicious natural oils, compared to wild Salmon...especially Sockeye.

The nearest Wild Fork retail store to you would be Whitby (if you're ever down that way), also stores in Oakville and Ancaster, but with a minimum $35 order they will ship free to your door.

[akaShag]

3 minutes ago, CrowMan said:

Look awesome !

Just a heads up... Wild Fork sells frozen wild Pacific Sockeye fillets for $13.98 a pound.  A little more money (sometimes cheaper) than the farmed Atlantic Salmon and "Steelhead Trout" that you usually see in the supermarket, but a huge difference in taste. I personally find the farmed stuff flabby in texture, and not as rich in those delicious natural oils, compared to wild Salmon...especially Sockeye.

The nearest Wild Fork retail store to you would be Whitby (if you're ever down that way), also stores in Oakville and Ancaster, but with a minimum $35 order they will ship free to your door.

That's awesome!  Going to order some, since all of my BC salmon is long gone......

Doug

[CrowMan]

1 minute ago, akaShag said:

That's awesome!  Going to order some, since all of my BC salmon is long gone......

Doug

Hopefully, we'll be restocking in June !

[akaShag]

Just tried to order some of their sockeye...........

SORRY, WE DON’T DELIVER TO K7K XXX

We are currently only delivering to select areas in the GTA, but we are working hard to expand our coverage soon.

😢

Doug

[akaShag]

10 minutes ago, CrowMan said:

Hopefully, we'll be restocking in June !

But there won't be any sockeye..........

[smitty55]

5 hours ago, CrowMan said:

Look awesome !

Just a heads up... Wild Fork sells frozen wild Pacific Sockeye fillets for $13.98 a pound.  A little more money (sometimes cheaper) than the farmed Atlantic Salmon and "Steelhead Trout" that you usually see in the supermarket, but a huge difference in taste. I personally find the farmed stuff flabby in texture, and not as rich in those delicious natural oils, compared to wild Salmon...especially Sockeye.

The nearest Wild Fork retail store to you would be Whitby (if you're ever down that way), also stores in Oakville and Ancaster, but with a minimum $35 order they will ship free to your door.

I used to do a lot more trout fishing and back in the day you used to be able to buy frozen whole Lake Trout, Pink Salmon and Whitefish in any grocery store so I used to do a lot of smoking fish. The best of the bunch though was the 13 years I worked at First Air where I could get fresh caught and frozen Char shipped for free from up north for crazy good prices, at the beginning I think it was like $3lb. In the winter they still had the guts in them as they froze so fast out on the ice after being caught or netted. Best smoked fish I've ever had by far. I would also cut nice thick steaks off the frozen fish and put them on the grill, they were so good. That Sockeye would be real good too if it was available, otherwise I did find some in BC but with shipping it was quite pricey. In the meantime I still really liked what I did up last week, no complaints at all even though it was farmed.

[akaShag]

11 hours ago, smitty55 said:

Best smoked fish I've ever had by far.

I would call it a toss-up between char and the splake we used to catch in Owen Sound, Wiarton, Meaford, etc.  Lots of them were 8 to 10 pounds, and delicious!!!  Even if Darryl Choronzey used to rail against the "finned mule"!  😄  They were awesome smoked, and smoked and canned!

Doug

[smitty55]

3 hours ago, akaShag said:

I would call it a toss-up between char and the splake we used to catch in Owen Sound, Wiarton, Meaford, etc.  Lots of them were 8 to 10 pounds, and delicious!!!  Even if Darryl Choronzey used to rail against the "finned mule"!  😄  They were awesome smoked, and smoked and canned!

Doug

Hmmm, I never considered canning smoked fish, it's pretty well cooked when it comes out of the smoker and pressure canning would cook them even more. I guess it would have to spend less time in the smoker. I do have a pressure canner but I think I'll stick to freezing and vacuum sealing my excess for now.

[akaShag]

2 hours ago, smitty55 said:

Hmmm, I never considered canning smoked fish, it's pretty well cooked when it comes out of the smoker and pressure canning would cook them even more. I guess it would have to spend less time in the smoker. I do have a pressure canner but I think I'll stick to freezing and vacuum sealing my excess for now.

I also use a Luhr Jensen Big Chief.  For canned smoked fish, I brine the fish, lay them out for the pellicle to form, then put them into the smoker for two (sometimes three, for thicker fillets) pans of smoke.  They come out of the smoker about half cooked and mushy.  Then I put the chunks into 250 ml jars with a quarter teaspoon of Hy's Seasoning salt without MSG, wipe off the rims, put on the (HOT) lids and rings, and process for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.  Smoked canned salmon keeps for at least three years, and the canning drives the smoke flavour through every molecule of the fish.  I mostly serve it, entire jar contents including liquid, mixed with a couple tablespoons of mayo and/or cream cheese, mixed well, and served on crackers like Triscuits.

Many folks have said to me that it is the best smoked salmon they ever ate.  (and it works well for farmed steelhead, char, whitefish, pike, etc)

Doug

[CrowMan]

40 minutes ago, akaShag said:

I also use a Luhr Jensen Big Chief.  For canned smoked fish, I brine the fish, lay them out for the pellicle to form, then put them into the smoker for two (sometimes three, for thicker fillets) pans of smoke.  They come out of the smoker about half cooked and mushy.  Then I put the chunks into 250 ml jars with a quarter teaspoon of Hy's Seasoning salt without MSG, wipe off the rims, put on the (HOT) lids and rings, and process for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.  Smoked canned salmon keeps for at least three years, and the canning drives the smoke flavour through every molecule of the fish.  I mostly serve it, entire jar contents including liquid, mixed with a couple tablespoons of mayo and/or cream cheese, mixed well, and served on crackers like Triscuits.

Many folks have said to me that it is the best smoked salmon they ever ate.  (and it works well for farmed steelhead, char, whitefish, pike, etc)

Doug

I can personally attest to Doug's canned Salmon. His Pacific Chinook was absolutely delicious !! 

I have to say Pacific Chinook is my favourite fish to smoke...there's more than one reason it's called "King Salmon".

My son regularly goes up to Iqualuit on business (he's a mining engineer) and brings back Arctic Char. It's awesome smoked or on the grill, but I still have to put Pacific Chinook at the top of my list. Has to be wild Pacific though...the Chinook from the Great Lakes is like a completely different species when it comes taste and texture.

Edited November 5 by CrowMan

[smitty55]

7 hours ago, akaShag said:

I also use a Luhr Jensen Big Chief.  For canned smoked fish, I brine the fish, lay them out for the pellicle to form, then put them into the smoker for two (sometimes three, for thicker fillets) pans of smoke.  They come out of the smoker about half cooked and mushy.  Then I put the chunks into 250 ml jars with a quarter teaspoon of Hy's Seasoning salt without MSG, wipe off the rims, put on the (HOT) lids and rings, and process for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.  Smoked canned salmon keeps for at least three years, and the canning drives the smoke flavour through every molecule of the fish.  I mostly serve it, entire jar contents including liquid, mixed with a couple tablespoons of mayo and/or cream cheese, mixed well, and served on crackers like Triscuits.

Many folks have said to me that it is the best smoked salmon they ever ate.  (and it works well for farmed steelhead, char, whitefish, pike, etc)

Doug

That does sound good Dougie. Unfortunately I had a brain cramp and forgot that I sold my pressure canner 6 or 7 years back as I was never using it. I do have a pressure cooker that I do use but it only has a weight and I don't know for sure what pressure it functions at, I assume it's at 10psi but without knowing for sure it's hard to know what cooking time I should use. Besides it's not very big and doesn't have anything I could rest jars on at the right height. Oh well.

[Spiel]

On 11/5/2024 at 8:29 AM, akaShag said:

I would call it a toss-up between char and the splake we used to catch in Owen Sound, Wiarton, Meaford, etc.  Lots of them were 8 to 10 pounds, and delicious!!!  Even if Darryl Choronzey used to rail against the "finned mule"!  😄  They were awesome smoked, and smoked and canned!

Doug

Oh man I miss those days of Owen Sound Splake, "finned mule" or not, mega fun from the boat or on the ice and so good on the plate, smoked, pan fried ...... yum!