Grub Hacker

Build: Sausage Fermentation Box

We had a big dilemma while making salami over the weekend.  How to keep the sausages at both 85 degrees Fahrenheit and high humidity?  Seeing as my basement is always at 55 degrees and my upstairs never gets above 65 I realized we needed to get a bit creative.

Digital temperature controller from my Sous Vide machine, old heat lamp from when I had my ducks and an old wood box in my basement and we had a nicely controlled sausage fermentation chamber.

 
Sausage Fermentation Box

Large Box
Ranco or similar digital temperature controller
Cheap Clamp on Light
Heat Lamp
String

You could make this in any type of large box that can safely hold water pans, lights and sausages.  I happened to have a pretty big old wood box that worked perfectly for this purpose.

Sausage box setup with Salamis, running at 85 degrees Fahrenheit

 

 Close up of probe and Sausage-  Sausages are wrapped in paper towels and sprayed down with distilled water twice a day to maintain high humidity levels.

   

Weekend Charcuterie Part 1

We kind of went crazy with all things cured this past weekend.  Some things I have pictures of, some things I don't... :/  I do not want to violate any copyright laws so I am limited with the recipes that I can post.  I will post the recipes that I have created or modified far enough from their original state.

Things that were made:

Sauerkraut
Duck Prosciutto
Fennel and Coriander Cured Copper River Salmon
Gravlax Cured Wild Salmon
Vanilla Maple Cured Bacon
Guanciale
Saucisson of Pork Tenderloin
Saucisson Sec Dry Cured Sausage
Tuscan Salami

Review: Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

I have recently had the pleasure of trying a sauce that I had not previously heard about, Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce.  Since I was going to a super bowl party I figured there would be no better judge of a sauce then a house full of hungry people. 

The best way I can describe Country Bob's is a cross between a steak sauce and a BBQ sauce.  Many people that do not normally like steak sauce such as A1 with its high worcestershire sauce and vinegar contents, will like this sauce for its smooth, slightly sweet finish with tamer flavors.  Although this sauce is not extremely complex, it strikes a good balance and is sure to please a wide range of tastes.  This sauce was tried on many things including fries, jalapeno poppers and even venison tenderloin and I heard rave reviews from all on the flavor of the sauce.

Country Bob's Sauces

Seth

Bacon Wrapped Loin

I saw my buddy wrap a deer loin this way over the weekend and I really thought it was a very clean,  effective way to wrap a loin/tenderloin in bacon.   This method can be used with any loin such as pork, beef or deer.  I do not normally season the loin much before wrapping as the bacon provides a good amount salt.  The loin can be rubbed with BBQ rub if you like but with this deer loin we did not want to muddle with the pure deer flavors.

Bacon Wrapped Deer Loin

1 Deer loin/tenderloin
Package of favorite bacon
BBQ Rub (Optional)

Wrap Deer with bacon as shown below
Cook at 275-300 on the smoker until internal temprature reaches 128.
Pull and rest for 10-12 mintues, temprature will continue to rise to 132-136

FIrst lay out bacon with a slight overlap as shown in picture

Then wrap and toothpick as shown

Seth

Cuttings of Marquette's from the Vineyard

We worked in the vineyard the other day taking cuttings of the new grape varietal, Marquette.  This grape holds some of the greatest promise for cold weather vineyards and I have VERY high hopes for the wine that this grape will produce.  We started with about 20 vines of this varietal and getting more from any source has been next to impossible so we have been taking cuttings in order to propagate our own.

Info on Marquette

Marquette Grapes

Here is a shot of the vineyard in winter.  Trellises go up in srping!

Seth

40 Hour Pork Belly

I really wanted to try a pork belly cooked Sous-Vide.  I put the belly in at 142 and let it cook in the marinade for 40 hours. I had bigger plans to finish it on the grill and mop it with the rendered juices and marinade from the bag.  I was lazy tonight and hungry when I got home so I decided to fry them up quick in the deep fryer and drizzle with honey, sriracha and lime juice.

  

  

   

      

 

Asian inspired Pork Belly

1.5-2 lb pork belly
1/4 cup of soy sauce
TBS Honey
1 TBS Mirin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sriracha
1/2 TBS chives, minced
Pinch of Salt
pinch of pepper

Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on pork belly.
Mix remaining ingredients in bowl
Put pork belly in vacuum bag and pour marinade over pork
vacuum seal

Cook at 142 for 40 hours.
 Finish in a hot pan, grill or deep fryer
Drizzle with a bit more honey, sriracha and and squeeze some lime on top.

Seth

New york strip + Sous-Vide + Blowtorch = Killer Steak?

So enough with all the cooking of innards that I have recently been preparing Sous-Vide.  I wanted to show you what could be accomplished with just a vacuum sealer, water bath and blowtorch. 

Simply seasoned New york Strip with sea salt, pepper and light dusting of garlic powder and vacuum seal.

Cook at 130 in Sous-Vide for 1.5-2 Hours

Take out of bag and blowtorch steak.  I chose the blowtorch over the grill for no other reason then that I use a grill so much that I wanted to play around with something new. (You could also put on a raging hot grill at this time to sear outside)

Sous-Vide Wild Duck Confit

So we had duck leg quarters left over from the five ducks we trimmed up this weekend and we figured no better use than Duck Confit.

Wild Duck Sous Vide Confit

Legs quarters of 5 wild ducks
Small Tub Duck Fat
4 Bay Leaves
5 Sprigs of Thyme
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt
Pepper

Sprinkle leg quarters on both sides with Salt, pepper and garlic powder
Put leg quarters in bag and evenly disperse Bay leaves and Thyme over quarters
Evenly disperse duck fat in bag

Cook Sous-Vide 170 for 8-12 Hours
If using Farm Raised Ducks cook for 8-12 Hours at 180

Teachworth, gluttony and a general gastro belch...

Today was a good day..... A gastro day!

What was made and drank today....

First the wine....

Teachworth

So my gastro buddy and I have been collecting wine since about the time we started the vineyard and have built up a nice collection of high altitude, small lot Napa Cabernet.  He decided to splurge today and crack a few bottles to celebrate the creation of the duck pot pies... that we never ended up making.  Ohh well, the wine is the occasion as this is truly some epic stuff and the the fact that he wanted to pop it today made it the star of the evening

With a wonderful high altitude napa Cabernet flavor, this really was a wonderful wine that drank great but still could of used another 10-15 years in the cellar.  This wine spends 24 months in oak which is a very long time for normal Cabernet's.  This wine was powerful and would seem that it could hold up for MANY years to come.  With great fruit and wonderful mentality and cocoa, leather and tobacco flavors this wine drank like a dream after being decanted for about 4 hours.

Teachworth Cabernet

Popped the 2001 Teachworth, Rattlesnake Ridge and Manzanita Hill, both very small production measuring 1 acre per vineyard location.  Also pictured in some good mild french goat cheese.

The best animal in existence? Ship it, in any form, into my mouth....

I will say no more....