snowangel

We head to the Great Minnesota Get Together tomorrow. Scroll up to post #41 to find out why I am so excited. Corn dogs beware!

Given one trustly ole Weber Kettle, Spatchcooking is not an option. But, I have two really lovely 11 lb. turkeys they are "fresh", but frozen, sitting in the fridge. From the local coop, complete with the names of the kids who grew them for an FFA or 4-H project. Fresh meaning they are not injected withwhatever Hormel or Golden Plump or Jennie-O deems necessary. I will brine them. I will smoke them. You should have seen the other shoppers watching me purchase these turkey's, complete with measurements of the trustly ole Weber Kettle on the backside of an old grocery receipt, my reading glasses, and my tape measure.

Yes, it was Star Harbour. That was it. We stayed in cabin 13, at Castle Danger. It had quite the ring to it. My BIL made the most wonderful french toast up there one morning with sourdough from ACME in Berkeley. We are thinking of different bakeries. I will need to keep my eyes peeled!

Thanks for taking me back to Russ Kendall's! Last time I was there was the Sunday after Thanksgiving on the way back from our annual Blue Fin Bay trip (four of us women who met in college). We noticed that in the bar area to the right of the counter that they were busy assembling shipping boxes; apparently they do quite a bit of mail order for the holidays. Thanks, too, for reminding me of how much things have changed up there. We have been going to Duluth for many years. We have a good friend who lives right on the lake, and my mom worked at Peace Church for a bit over a year. When we visit our friend, we always cook in, and I'll have to remember to hit the markets you've mentioned. Last time I shopped there, it was at the Cub on the hill, and I was amazed at the selection of produce -- even Thai eggplants. It wasn't that long ago that you couldn't even get cilantro north of the Twin Cities. Is that Grand Superior Lodge near Castle Danger? We stayed at some really old cabins at Castle Danger many years ago. I believe that that was one of the original resorts on Lake Superior and I recall reading that one of the cabins was dismantled and taken to the Historical Society. But, I could be wrong. Is the bakery further up the shore you are thinking of at Blue Fin Bay? We've always wanted to eat at the Angry Trout, but like many places that far up, it's only open during the spring/summer/early fall. Appreciate your showcasing one of the most beautiful areas anywhere!

Rolling eyes, wondering and falling off chair. Many, many uses for leftover smoked meat. My best trick is if the meat has a bone, make stock with that bone, freeze in ice cube trays. Reheat meat gently in a foil covered pan in over, moistened with one of those little cubes. Tacos, enchiladas, straight out of the pan, on a bun with sauce... Fifi calls this stuff pantry gold. In my house, it is as essential as olive oil and garlic. ← I'm glad it's close to dinner-time: you just made me very, very hungry. I'll smoke the bird this weekend, and then into the freezer it goes. I'm still a little confused about the stock made with smoked bones / meat though. It seems like it would make for a too aggressively flavored stock. I guess I'll just have to try it out - people certainly seem to like it around here. Ian ← I only use little bits of the stock to make sure that the meat stays nice and moist when it's in the oven. And, I find that since the bones were inside the meat, they tend not to make too smokey a stock.

Word of warning about following the Cooks Illustrated instructions for smoking meat. They want you to bring the meat to room temp before smoking and smoke at a higher heat that is usually successful. Many of us have found that really cold meat and a smoking temp of 225-250 to be optimal.

I'll second what Ronnie said, with a caveat. Check to see whether or not the pork has been injected with that solution that some pork has been subjected to. If so, don't brine, or you are for some way too salty ribs. For some great info on brining, check out Dave the Cook's ECI course on Brining. And, there are several great rubs here, on recipe Gullet. I'm mighty fond of Klink's, that sumac really adds a lot.

The day we sold our old house was the day I did the braised bacon. At the closing, the buyers admitted that the wonderful aromas did probably have an influence. This book has taken a back seat to Molly's All About Braising. Better put it on the nightstand for reading material.

Rolling eyes, wondering and falling off chair. Many, many uses for leftover smoked meat. My best trick is if the meat has a bone, make stock with that bone, freeze in ice cube trays. Reheat meat gently in a foil covered pan in over, moistened with one of those little cubes. Tacos, enchiladas, straight out of the pan, on a bun with sauce... Fifi calls this stuff pantry gold. In my house, it is as essential as olive oil and garlic.

Many comments. First and foremost. Next time Paul and I are in the car with the kids, and one of us comments to the other "I wonder what's in Makinen?" we'll know. Might be worth a detour if I'm not feeling quite the burn for the Cabin. Do you know anything about the meat market in Cloquet -- the one of the west side of 33 if you take a left as you head north, just before the bridge? (Heading north, take a left at the light that has the Frank Lloyd Wright gas station on the right side.) In the back of the photo of the bakery in Two Harbors is a sign for the Cup and Saucer. I've been. OK, not great, and rather slow. Sort of pretentious for Two Harbors, I think. The hummingbirds. They also like it if you perch an open can of Coke on a deck railing. Me, I'm still waiting for a fly-in breakfast or lunch.

I know to keep it low and slow. I know to brine (no sugar here, either, Linda). I will third the birds. Leg/thighs and breasts. I just wanted Linda to chime in and get back to the serious women's work. Smokin' somethin'.

I'm having a party on Saturday. The guest of honor has requested smoked turkey. I've done me a mess of butts, and a lot of briskets lately. Should I do whole turkeys? Just breasts? It's been a long time since I smoked a turkey. I think the last time I did one was when Diana was 1, and she's almost 15.

You can get a recipe for Peanut Butter Burgers here. Yes, we do the same thing at the cabin every year. We (meaning me) revel in getting in the water every mid-May to put the dock in in a bathing suit (my husband, the Water Wimp, gets the waders) in mid 40's (F) water. We swim in cold water, waiting for it to warm up, and it did so very well this summer. We wish for more weekends at the cabin. We delight in skinny dipping under the Milky Way, and hopefully the Northern Lights. We smoke many a piece of meat up there. We delight in meals that are prepped in the cabin, and served by lovinly servants (the kids) on the dock while we dip and lay. Mostly, it is the combo of food for the tummy and food for the soul. Same every year. Boring, perhaps to some. But not us. There is a new star to see every night, a new future meal (fish) to nip at one's ankle every time I set foot in the lake. I return a week from Tuesday with as many kids as I can stuff in my Bronco. Reminder to self for next summer. If the weather looks good, say to hell with the yard, the garden and head north. Paul can mow, he can earn, he can pay bills, and we can revel. We have not headed north nearly enough.

Smithy is probably asleep. Cisco's are a fish that are fairly small (like 10" fatter rather than wider). They favor cold fresh water; they tend to be found in deep, clear, cold lakes, and smoke rather intensely because of the fat. I love smoked ciscos. I've never had a cisco that was not smoked. Nor have I ever caught a cisco. Now, Smithy can add her comments. ← I'm not asleep yet, although I should be, and I will be soon. Thanks for answer, Susan; it was better than I could have done. I think I'll call Kendall's early next week (to keep them open) and go get a selection of smoked fish. Then I'll have a tasting...private, with photos and reports. Dogs and cats not allowed. It's been a long time since I had ciscos, but your description is spot-on. ← Good thing. Take pictures. They are laid back enough that they won't care. And, probably be flattered. If any member of my family goes anywhere near Duluth and doesn't come back with a chunk of sugar smoked salmon (for them) and a couple of ciscos (for me) is dead meat. There is also a great yarn shop on the lake side of the highway in Knife River (if you are a knitter). So, let's talk about where you get stuff in Duluth other than Farmer's Market produce and smoked meat. Do tell. Meat, spices, odd stuff.

Smithy is probably asleep. Cisco's are a fish that are fairly small (like 10" fatter rather than wider). They favor cold fresh water; they tend to be found in deep, clear, cold lakes, and smoke rather intensely because of the fat. I love smoked ciscos. I've never had a cisco that was not smoked. Nor have I ever caught a cisco. Now, Smithy can add her comments.

How does Lou's compare to Russ Kendalls? We always stop at "Smokey Kendalls" and haven't been to Lou's. Lou's seems much more commercial that RK's. RK's in face, has a sign listing their hours with the word "usually" featured prominently.

I've merged the topics so that link will take you right here!

Finally, Nancy! Do tell us a little bit more about what is ripening or not in your garden, and at the farmer's markets (surely there is at least one in Duluth?). Will we get a glimpse of a fly-in picnic? Summer is indeed slipping rapidly into fall. I espied the first of the slightly yellowing leaves on an eary ash tree today, and the days are getting noticably shorter, the sun's angle is far lower that it was even three weeks ago. I assume you are worshiping the tomato god every day, wishing those fruits to become nice and red and juicy before the night time temps continue to dip. And, no Duluth is not North Shore, nor is is Da Range.

No, no, no. See, the principle behind a raffle is people pay money with the expectation that they'll receive some wonderful prize. Now if you're thinking about paying the eG Society to help you get rid of that nasty stuff . . . . ← Don't 'dis anything until you've more than smothered it in butter and smoked pork fat.

Raffle. I'd be happy to donate lutefisk!

As a followup, I do have tomatoes on three of the four plants. One of them is starting to lose it's green color and developing a pre-red "blush." Reminder for those of us way up north that if you have tomatoes and you want them to ripen, time to trim the plans. Remove any "branches" that have only blossons. Time to trim all of those leaves that are hanging down. Get rid of as much as you can to get light to those precious fruits and reduce the amount of energy the plant is using to bloom and keep leaves green in favor of hopefully having at least a couple of ripe ones off the vine. The days have shortened dramatically, and although the days have been nice and warm, the evenings and nights have been getting much cooler.

My folks, when they visit Berkeley, buy me big tins of salt packed ones (I'd have to drive 40 miles to get them, they only have to fly half way across the country). I put them in all sorts of things (sauces, salad dressings, etc.) and my family (memebers all of whom believe that they are nasty) are none the wiser, and in fact comment that "wow, this sauce (or whatever) is really good. I rinse and bone and use as is, or give them a quick EVVO spa treatment. Peter, the 9 year-old fearless one, declared them "icky" but did taste a bit of anchovy pizza, and declared it "profound; I think I'll eat this again." He actually ate one of the anchovies draped over my last salad, and asked for more. As a side note, when I was pregnant with Heidi, I was sick for the 8 months I was pregant. Almost everything sent me to the bathroom to worship the porcelain goddess. I learned about half way through that awful experience that 1/2 an anchovy sort of settled things to the point where I could lay down and not have the spins and need a barf bag.

Make Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho. Or toss them with some olive oil, a bit of garlic and some vinegar or lemon juice and eat them the next day for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack.

Trapped a squirrel that had chewed through a screen to get to freshbaked cookies with a stock pot, weighed down with a Dutch Oven containing a few heavy cans until Paul got home. I don't know what he did; I left the house and left The Deed to him.

That second oven. Could get far more expensive than just the oven. Power, electricity and the electrician. And yes, I know, thinking about money is no fun whatsoever.