cooking thread...

[CrowMan]

I was rummaging around in the depths of the freezer yesterday, looking for something to use for tonight's meal. I found a chunk of Bison rump that I had from last winter...it was the last piece of a care package of Bison meat that I got from a buddy in the restaurant supply business.

Scrounged around the fridge, freezer and pantry, and came up with..

..leeks, celery and parsley in the crisper drawer leftover from a previous meal

..last of the carrots from the garden

..some wild Bolete (Porcini) mushrooms that I had foraged and dried earlier in the autumn 

..frozen peas and green beans from this summer's garden 

..a half bag of pearl barley

..beef stock, olive oil and red wine

Chop, saute, braise and simmer the above and came up with Bison, Mushroom, Vegetable and Barley soup (actually more like a stew). Definitely a free form recipe...but it turned out darn delicious !

[Spiel]

6 hours ago, CrowMan said:

 

Definitely a free form recipe...but it turned out darn delicious !

 

Undoubtedly delicious, "free form recipes" often are.   

[Spiel]

This bird gobbles no more. I had planned to do this meal on Christmas day but just ran out of steam and ambition so I had it yesterday.
The wild Turkey breast got an extra 24 hours in the OJ, Teryaki and Garlic marinade before I floured, egg washed and bread crumb coated it for the air fryer.
The picture is of only one breast that I had to cut in half for ease of handling (friggin thing was huge, completely filled the air fryer!). I barely ate a quaarter of the one half, but it was delish, nice and moist and full of flavour.  

I will be eating up this Turkey breast for a few days I'm sure. 

 

[akaShag]

17 minutes ago, Spiel said:

This bird gobbles no more. I had planned to do this meal on Christmas day but just ran out of steam and ambition so I had it yesterday.
The wild Turkey breast got an extra 24 hours in the OJ, Teryaki and Garlic marinade before I floured, egg washed and bread crumb coated it for the air fryer.
The picture is of only one breast that I had to cut in half for ease of handling (friggin thing was huge, completely filled the air fryer!). I barely ate a quaarter of the one half, but it was delish, nice and moist and full of flavour.  

I will be eating up this Turkey breast for a few days I'm sure. 

 

Thanks for sharing!  I have been thinking of doing something similar with the one wild turkey breast I still have left from the spring hunt.  I do not have an air fryer, so that route is out.  I am thinking of either doing it as strips, or possibly as a thin fillet like a schnitzel patty, then panko crumbs and pan-fry.  My usual is to cut it into strips, marinade it in teriyaki marinade, and BBQ it for maybe two minutes a side.  The result is delicious, but sometimes a person has to try something different!

Doug

 

[Spiel]

7 hours ago, akaShag said:

Thanks for sharing!  I have been thinking of doing something similar with the one wild turkey breast I still have left from the spring hunt.  I do not have an air fryer, so that route is out.  I am thinking of either doing it as strips, or possibly as a thin fillet like a schnitzel patty, then panko crumbs and pan-fry.  My usual is to cut it into strips, marinade it in teriyaki marinade, and BBQ it for maybe two minutes a side.  The result is delicious, but sometimes a person has to try something different!

Doug

 

My pleasure Doug. Funny you should mention cutting into strips because afterwards I thought to myself that's exactly what I should of done.
The upside is I still have three more breasts in the freezer so next time that will be the plan. 

[akaShag]

1 hour ago, Spiel said:

My pleasure Doug. Funny you should mention cutting into strips because afterwards I thought to myself that's exactly what I should of done.
The upside is I still have three more breasts in the freezer so next time that will be the plan. 

You probably know this already, but just in case...........with wild turkey, goose and duck breasts you cut them WITH the grain (ie the long way), not against the grain.  If you have three turkey breasts left, I suggest you slice one up and do it as teriyaki on the BBQ.  This is always a hunt camp/fishing camp crowd pleaser.  Strips about 1/8 inch thick, marinade for at least 12 hours, and BBQ no more than 2 minutes per side.

Doug

[Fisherman]

Well I can say that smoking the fish for about 1-2 hours depending on outside temps before canning is awesome.  Salt brine only, no 20 different spices and flavours needed.

[akaShag]

1 hour ago, Fisherman said:

Well I can say that smoking the fish for about 1-2 hours depending on outside temps before canning is awesome.  Salt brine only, no 20 different spices and flavours needed.

I do add sugar to the brine for this as well.

Doug

[Spiel]

2 hours ago, akaShag said:

I do add sugar to the brine for this as well.

Doug

Me too, but only brown sugar (dark or light), equal to the amount of salt in the brine. 

In my opinion it's all a brine really needs and for what it's worth I never use chlorinated water in my brine.  

[CrowMan]

1 hour ago, Spiel said:

Me too, but only brown sugar (dark or light), equal to the amount of salt in the brine. 

In my opinion it's all a brine really needs and for what it's worth I never use chlorinated water in my brine.  

You definitely want to add some kind of sugar to the brine...it helps form the "pellicle" when drying before the smoke, and caramelization (browning) during the smoke.

Depending on what you're brining, maple or birch syrup or molasses can be nice additions too. One of my favourite ways to do salmon or trout is with maple syrup and rye whiskey in the brine, and then glazed with a half/half mixture of both while smoking..."Indian Candy"...which is probably not a politically correct term  these days.

I got a bottle of it "pre-blended" in my Christmas stocking...Maple syrup aged in whiskey casks. Looking forward to trying it out on my next batch...

Edited December 28, 2024 by CrowMan

[Spiel]

I'm thinking I need to try a version of this on the BBQ with the smoke box going....Hell Ya!

 

 

[akaShag]

40 minutes ago, Spiel said:

I'm thinking I need to try a version of this on the BBQ with the smoke box going....Hell Ya!

 

 

I'll bring the vino.....

[CrowMan]

2 hours ago, Spiel said:

I'm thinking I need to try a version of this on the BBQ with the smoke box going....Hell Ya!

 

 

Cant go wrong with combining pizza and wood smoke.

We have a wood burning pizza oven at the cottage. The major benefit is that I can get the temperature up to 900 F +, that combined with the smoke from the wood... kicks out pizzas like you were in Naples. One of our favourite get togethers is a "make your own personal pizza party".

I'll even do roast chicken and prime rib in that oven...the smoke makes all the difference. Between the oven and my Traeger smoker it's probably 75% of my meal preparation all summer long (and winter too !). Most of the time my BBQ gathers dust..

Edited December 31, 2024 by CrowMan

[akaShag]

1 hour ago, CrowMan said:

Cant go wrong with combining pizza and wood smoke.

We have a wood burning pizza oven at the cottage. The major benefit is that I can get the temperature up to 900 F +, that combined with the smoke from the wood... kicks out pizzas like you were in Naples. One of our favourite get togethers is a "make your own personal pizza party".

I'll even do roast chicken and prime rib in that oven...the smoke makes all the difference. Between the oven and my Traeger smoker it's probably 75% of my meal preparation all summer long (and winter too !). Most of the time my BBQ gathers dust..

I will bring vino!  And you are closer!!!

Sounds like a great idea for an after-ice-fishing-for-crappies meal.  I clean the crappies while you cook pizza, what's not to like!!!

Doug

[CrowMan]

6 minutes ago, akaShag said:

I will bring vino!  And you are closer!!!

Sounds like a great idea for an after-ice-fishing-for-crappies meal.  I clean the crappies while you cook pizza, what's not to like!!!

Doug

Sounds like a plan...now if only the weather Gods would  cooperate and make some ice...

[akaShag]

So the wild caught sockeye that CrowMan introduced on this forum a while back found its way here in the form of half a dozen fillets by special courier.  (THANKS CrowMan!)  I pan-fried one, but let it rest in the pan after it was cooked.  I KNOW better, but that fillet turned out pretty dry.  😢

So I took the rest of them, brined them and smoked them, then pressure canned them.  The product is delicious!  So if you can't catch your own sockeye, I surely recommend Wild Fork's offering.

Doug

(and I have no idea why that picture is upside down...)

[akaShag]

On 11/4/2024 at 3:46 PM, 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.

This is the stuff.  It is of excellent quality.

Doug

[CrowMan]

57 minutes ago, akaShag said:

So the wild caught sockeye that CrowMan introduced on this forum a while back found its way here in the form of half a dozen fillets by special courier.  (THANKS CrowMan!)  I pan-fried one, but let it rest in the pan after it was cooked.  I KNOW better, but that fillet turned out pretty dry.  😢

So I took the rest of them, brined them and smoked them, then pressure canned them.  The product is delicious!  So if you can't catch your own sockeye, I surely recommend Wild Fork's offering.

Doug

(and I have no idea why that picture is upside down...)

Glad to be of service...