The Outdoor Chronicles

Ingredients
4 – pork blade chops, 6-7oz each
to taste – sea salt and cracked black pepper

for the soy-balsamic marinade:
1/2 C – extra virgin olive oil
2 – shallots, peeled, small dice
2 – garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 T – whole black peppercorns
2 – fresh thyme sprigs
1 – bay leaf
3 T – soy sauce
1/2 C – balsamic vinegar

Method
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Sweat the shallots and garlic with the peppercorns just until they begin to wilt. Add the thyme and bay leaf, and heat for about 1 minute. Pour in the vinegar, increase the heat and when liquid comes to a simmer remove from the heat. When the marinade is cool whisk in the remaining olive oil. Place the pork blade chops in a shallow glass casserole and pour the marinade over them, turn so the meat is completely coated. Refrigerate for 1 hour turning the chops halfway through.

Remove the chops from the marinade, wiping off excess oil with a paper towel. Season the chops with salt and cracked black pepper. Preheat grill. Grill marinated Pork Blade Chops for approximately 10-12 minutes or until cooked to desired temperature. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Pork Shoulder Blade Chop is cut from pork the shoulder blade Boston roast. It contains blade bone and several muscles and is usually prepared by grilling, pan broiling, or pan frying.

Tip
Don’t add salt to your marinade. The salt will draw out the moisture, leaving whatever you are marinating tough. Salt just before you cook.

I put on a sausage making demonstation at my annual Big Smoke breakfast in Las Vegas. You can see the video here and get the recipe below. Enjoy!

Ingredients
3 1/2 LB pork shoulder (80%/20% fat)
1 1/2 LB pork belly (50%/50% fat)
5 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons  pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoons  marjoram, ground
1 teaspoons  paparika, ground
2 dozen natural hog casings, rinse 3 times
 

Method
Grind pork shoulder (if your wife already has a KitchenAid stand mixer, you can buy the grinder attachment here) using a 3/8″ plate and pork belly twice using a 1/8″ plate (keep the meat very cold at all times). Mix the ground pork belly with cold water and/or ice to approximately 50 % of weight of the belly meat.

Add to the ground shoulder meat and mix in the ground spices. Meat should become sticky.

Using a sausage stuffer, (if your wife already has a KitchenAid stand mixer, you can buy the sauasage stuffer attachment here) stuff meat mixture into casings. If air bubbles form, use a needle if necessary.

Hang stuffed casings for 1-2 hours max at 600F

Note if Smoking: It is important to dry sausages prior to smoking. If smoking sausage you must add cure to meat mixture to avoid botulism.

Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite meats. Its mild flavor calls out for marinades, sauces, and rubs. It is tender and easy to prepare, and it can be enjoyed hot or cold. Asian flavors go well with pork; they accent the meat’s mildness and add a hint of sweetness for contrast. The pungent rosemary adds an internse note to the Asian marinade. I use black sesame seeds for their color, and nutiness, but white sesame seeds can be substituted.

Ingredients
3 (3/4 to 1 pound) pork tenderloins
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 cup black sesame seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

Directions
Trim the tenderloins of all fat and silverskin. Place them in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold them without crowding.

Combine the soy sauce, sherry, honey, vinegar, oil, and orange juice in a medium bowl, whisking until well blended. Stir in the sesame seeds, rosemary, shallots, and ginger. Pour the mixture over the tenderloins. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.

Preheat an outdoor grill

Remove the pork from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Place the tenderloins on the grill and cook, turning frequently, for about 18 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 155 degrees F. Transfer to a platter and allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan over medium heat on the grill and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Slice the pork into 1/4 inch-thick slices, spoon the hot marinade over the pork. Serve with a tossed salad.

Whenever the Palmer family gathers in the summertime, my mom’s barbecued chicken will be on the menu. Everyone asked for her secret recipe, which was actually developed at Cornell University in the 1950′s. I call this fireman style chicken, since most fire departments in upstate New York put on chicken barbeques as fund raisers during the summer months using this recipe (or a close variation). They often barbeque 1,000 to 1,500 half chickens. Palmer cookouts have been know to grill 25 half chickens using a homemade pit like in the picture.

Ingredients

2 – 31/2 pound chickens, cut into pieces or halves, rinsed, patted dry
2 – large eggs
1 – cup cooking oil
2 – tablespoon coarse salt
1 – tablespoon Bell’s poultry seasoning
1 – teaspoon ground black pepper
2 – cups cider vinegar

Method

Place chicken in a shallow glass baking dish. Combine eggs with the oil in a medium bowl, whisking until very well blended. Whisk in the salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper, then whisk in the vinegar. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours but no more than 24 hours, turning the chicken from time to time to ensure that each piece is well marinated.

When ready to cook, preheat the grill, I prefer charcoal. You will want very low heat.

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Grill, turning frequently and brushing with the marinade, for about 40-45 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with the tip of a small sharp knife.

As the weather begins to cool (on the east coast at least) I find it helpful  to deal with the transition by incorporating warm breakfasts back into my routine. Here are two ways to get your day started in the great outdoors. Some of the same ingredients are used in each dish, which makes stocking up a bit easier. But there’s still enough of a difference to make each breakfast stand-alone.

Migas - Serves 4

Migas—translated as “crumbs”—is a scrambled egg dish traditionally made with left over corn tortillas. In this case, corn tortilla chips make for extra crunch. You can also turn this into lunch or even dinner simply by adding some chorizo.

Ingredients
12                    Eggs
2 c                   Roasted poblano pico de gallo
1 T                  unsalted butter
2 handfuls     Corn tortilla chips
1 c                  Grated pepper jack cheese
4                     Flour tortillas
                       Avacado
                       Sour Cream
For the Roasted Poblano Pico de Gallo
1 c                   Red onions, chopped
1                      Jalapeno, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
2                      Tomatillo, chopped
2                      Red ripe tomatoes, chopped
2                      Poblano chiles, roasted and chopped (2 cups)
2                      Cloves of garlic, minced
1 T                   Fresh limejuice
¼  c                 Chopped cilantro
2 t                    Coarse salt
½ t                  Coarse ground black pepper
2 T                   Olive oil

Method

For the Roasted Poblano Pico de Gallo
Combine all ingredients and let it stand at room temperature before serving, giving it a mix now and then. This can be made in the cabin for cooking on the trail.

For the Migas
Beat 12 eggs together in a large bowl and mix in the roasted poblano pico de gallo.

Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet set over a medium high heat on an open flame or the stove. Add the eggs and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they have nearly set.

Crush 2 handfuls of corn tortilla chips into the eggs and stir in the cheese.

Serve with warm flour tortillas, avocado, and sour cream.

Breakfast Skillet - Serves 2

Ingredients
1 c                   Mushrooms, sliced
1                      Clove of garlic, minced
½ c                 Green pepper strips
¼ c                 Scallion, sliced (whites only)
2 T                  Olive oil
14 oz   can     Chopped tomatoes
4                     Eggs
1 c                   Shredded cheddar or monetary jack cheese
                        Salt
                        Dried oregano
                        Black pepper
                        Chile powder
                        Avocado
                        Hot sauce
                        Cilantro
                        Tortilla chips
                        Flour tortillas

Method

Sweat the sliced mushrooms, minced garlic, green pepper strips, and sliced scallion in the olive oil with a good pinch of salt. When the ingredients are tender, add the can of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of dried oregano and heat through. This mixture is a little soupy but that’s good. Once you add the eggs, you can no longer stir the ingredients so the extra moisture creates steam that cooks the eggs and yet prevents the vegetables from crusting on the bottom layer.

Gently press the ingredients into a single even layer and crack 4 eggs over the top.  Season with a pinch of salt, black pepper, and Chile powder. Reduce temperature to low and cover (you can use another skillet or baking sheet as make shift lid if necessary). Gently cook until the whites are almost set, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and scatter the shredded cheese and scallions over the eggs.  Return the cover and continue to cook to desired doneness (approximately 6 more minutes for medium soft).

Lay slices of avocado over the eggs, dot with hot sauce and fresh cilantro leaves and serve with tortilla chips or warm tortillas.

In central New York State, where I grew up, summertime is spiedie-time. Spiedies are beef or chicken kabobs marinated in a locally produced spiedie sauce. Nobody makes their own; everybody buys it by the case to make it through the summer’s grilling. Now that I live on the west coast, I’ve had to devise my own spiedie sauce (really nothing more than a quite acidic vinaigrette).

In the truest sense; spiedies are meat only, I like the veggies added as well.

Thanks to online stores you can purchase spiedie sauce over the web, visit either www.spiedies.com or www.spiedie.com

Serves 6

1 1/2-2 LB  boneless beef, chicken, lamb or pork, cut into 2 inch cubes
24 cherry tomatoes (optional)
24 small button mushrooms (optional)
24 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares (optional)
12 pita breads, toasted (optional)
12 wooden skewers
——
for the sauce (if making your own)
2 C dry white wine
1/4 C sherry wine vinegar
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 C minced shallots
1 T minced garlic
1 T minced fresh flat leaf parsley
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t dried oregano
coarse salt and ground white pepper

Combine the wine, vinegar, and oil in a medium bowl or other nonreactive container. Stir in the shallots, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, salt and white pepper to taste. Cover and allow the flavors to blend for at least 1 hour before using. (The marinade can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week).

If you are using wooden skewers, place them in cold water to cover for at least 1 hour. Remove the skewers from the water just before you are ready to use them.

One to two hours before you are ready to grill, place the poultry or meat in a shallow nonreactive container. Pour the spiedie sauce over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 hours, turning occasionally. If using the vegetables, add them to the marinade with the meat about 15 minutes before you are ready to grill.

Preheat the grill. Oil the grill rack.

Thread the poultry or meat cubes (and vegetables, if using) onto skewers, (alternating poultry or meat with vegetables, if using, and beginning and ending with poultry or meat). If using wooden skewers, you might want to wrap the tips in aluminum foil to keep from burning. Place the kabobs on the grill and grill, turning frequently, for about 8 minutes, or until the meat is cooked to the desired degree of doneness (and the vegetables are crisp-tender).

Serve hot off the grill, in toasted pita bread, if desired.

By Executive Chef Dustin Valette; Dry Creek Kitchen

Whenever I think of summer I immediately think of grilled steaks, warm salads and tomatoes.  This recipe includes one of my all time favorite steak rubs, coffee & spice!  The pairing of coffee might seem unusual, though once you taste the sweet flavor of the caramelized brown sugar contrasted by the spice of the chili powder you’ll understand my choice.  With the addition of the ground espresso you will have a familiar, yet impossible to pick out flavor that you will fall in love with. You’ll surprise your friends with the addition of your favorite morning time brew incorporated with your backyard grilling.

Enjoy the recipe below anytime of the year; although summer is when these ingredients will be at their peak.  Some of the ingredients might not be available in your market. If that is the case just substitute with the best produce you can find.  The rib-eye can be substituted with a different cut of meat if so desired.

Coffee and Spice Crusted Grilled Prime Rib Eye
Yields 4-6 portions

4-6                  Thick cut Prime Rib Eye 
                         Steaks, around 8 oz
                         each. (You want to have
                         a very well marbled
                         steak, its well worth it!)
¾ loaf             Fresh Sourdough bread,
                         cut into ½” cubes, crust
                         removed
1                       English cucumber,
                         peeled, seeded and cut
                         into small triangles.
1 ½ pints        Padrone Peppers cut in half
                         and the top of the stem removed
2 pints             Assorted Local Cherry Tomatoes
4 qt                  Wild Baby Arugula
5 oz                  Extra Virgin Olive Oil (dry creek has some of the best)
1 oz                  Dijon Mustard
                         Kosher Salt
                         Fresh Black Pepper
                         Hawaiian Sea Salt

Spice & Coffee Rub

1 T                   Toasted Dark Chili
½  T                Piment d’Espelette (chili Powder from France)
3 T                   Dark Brown Sugar
1 t                    Cumin Seeds, toasted and chopped up
1 t                    Dried Garlic powder
1 t                    Dried Thyme Leaves
1 T                   Fine Ground Espresso Beans

Pickled Red Onion
1                      Red Onion, peeled and sliced thin
2 oz                 Red Wine Vinegar 

Method
For the Spice and Coffee Steak Rub
Trim the Rib Eye steak to remove any large pieces of fat. A little is ok, just not too much.  Combine all the above spices and sprinkle on the steak; season with salt and pepper and reserve for later cooking. 

For the Pickled Red Onions
Begin by adding the Red Wine Vinegar and sugar to a small sauce pot.  Bring to a boil and add the sliced red onions.  Cook for 10 seconds then place the onions submerged in the liquid in the refrigerator and allow too cool.

For the Toasted Bread Croutons
Dice the bread into large ½” cubes and toast in a hot pan using 1 ounce of olive oil, once golden brown season and reserve.

For the Cherry Tomatoes
In the hot sauté pan add the cherry tomatoes and a ½ oz of the olive oil, season and cook for about 1 minute, or until the skin starts to pull away from the tomatoes and place on a plate.

For the Padrone Peppers
In a hot sauté pan quickly cook the Padrone Peppers in a little olive oil.  Season with the sea salt and pepper, careful, these are addictive!  Set aside for later use.

For the Red Wine Vinaigrette
In a small bowl, drain off the pickling liquid from the red wine onions.  Combine the liquid, Dijon mustard and start whisking in olive oil slowly.  You will need about 3 oz of the olive oil, though taste as you go and adjust accordingly.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

For Grilling the Steak
Over a hot grill start cooking your rib eye steaks.  Be careful not to burn the steak since there is a little sugar in the spice rub.  Once the steak is done allow the rib eye to rest for a minimum of 10 minutes before slicing.

For Plating
In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients from above. Add the red wine vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.  Slice the rib eye and place on top of the salad and sprinkle a little sea salt on the steak.  Drizzle a small amount of the red wine vinaigrette around the salad and on the steak.

Local Lamb Rack
Saffron Potatoes, Roasted Pepper Piperade, Olive Relish

Chef Dustin Valette’s tasting notes
When tasting the Ridge 2009 East Bench Zinfandel I felt the bold flavor of the wine stand out.  It expresses the true essence of a Sonoma County Zinfandel, though in the same breath you can feel the restraint of the winemaker.  It was this balance – the oak noticeable, though not overwhelming.  The fruit gives ample room on the palate without being a ‘fruit bomb’ allowing the terroir to show through, which was the inspiration for this dish.  

The char that comes from the lamb will work beautifully with the smoky qualities of the wine; while the piperade will match the traditional spicy notes of a Sonoma County Zinfandel.  The key is the balance that the olives, tomatoes and acid bring to the lamb.  This will allow the harmony of flavors to flow seamlessly between the lamb and the Zinfandel.

Ingredients
2 ea                Local Lamb Rack, bones
                       frenched, fat cap removed.
1/2 bunch     Thyme, removed from stem 
                       and chopped
1/2 bunch     Rosemary, removed from stem
                       and chopped
3 ea                Garlic Cloves, Chopped Fine
1 ea                Red Bell Pepper
1 ea                Yellow Bell Pepper
1 ea                Red Onion, peeled and 
                       julienned
5 ea                Garlic Cloves, shucked, julienned
3 ea                Oven Roasted Tomatoes, julienned (can
                       be purchased or made by
                       slowly roasting in an oven for 45 minutes
                       at 250º, then removing the skin)
1 lb                 Fingerling Potatoes, cut into 1/4” rounds
                       and held in water
1 c                  Local Olives, mixed color, seeds removed,
                       chopped fine
2 c                  Wild Arugula
1 oz                Butter
4 oz                Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 oz                Sherry Vinegar
2 ea                Boquerone Fillets, sliced fine (white cured 
                       anchovies)
2 oz                Ridge 2009 East Bench Zinfandel (Make 
                       sure to enjoy the rest of
                       the bottle with the finished product)
                       Saffron (amount based off preference, two
                       pinches recommended)
                       Espellette Pepper, ground (only need a 
                       small amount)
                       Kosher Salt
                       Fresh Black Pepper

 Method
For Marinating the Lamb
Start by making sure the lamb is fresh and all the sinue and large pieces of fat are removed.  Place the lamb in a bowl and mix in the garlic, rosemary, thyme, fresh pepper and 1 oz of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Make sure all the lamb is covered with the herbs and spices.  Set aside.

For the Saffron Potatoes
Place the fingerling potatoes in medium sized pot with enough water to just cover the potatoes.  Add 1 pinch of saffron and season with salt.  Simmer the potatoes until tender then cool out of the water.  Set aside warm.

For Making the Piperade
Toss the peppers in a little oil, salt and pepper.  Grill the pepper over an open flame or grill until charred; place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Once cooled peel the peppers, remove the seeds and julienne.

In a medium pot add 2 oz of Extra Virgin Olive Oil; slowly cook the garlic, onions and a pinch of saffron.  Once translucent add the roasted sliced peppers and tomatoes.  Deglaze with 2 oz of wine and simmer for another 5 minutes, then add 1 oz of butter.  Season the piperade with salt, pepper and a little of the espellette pepper.  Set aside

For the Olive Relish
Place the pitted and diced olives in a bowl; add the boquerone anchovies and season with salt, pepper and vinegar.  Set aside.

For Cooking and Assembling
Now that all the prep is done, pull out the lamb racks and grill on an open flame (wood is always best).  Finish cooking the lamb to medium and allow to rest 10 minutes.  As the lamb is resting you can start assembling the plates.  

In the center of a large plate place the piperade, then add a small mount of the arugula tossed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the center.  Cut the lamb racks into 4 even pieces per rack and place two on the piperade using the arugula as a ‘bed’.  Spoon the olive relish around and on the lamb and finish with an artistic flair with the espellette pepper.

Whether it comes from a filling station, truck stop or smokehouse market—whatever its style or regional identity—jerky is America’s real road food, a portable source of concentrated protein that makes power bars taste like nothing but candy.

Although drying as a means of preserving food has been around since the Pharaohs, jerky (from the Spanish charqui meaning “dried meat”) is a Native American invention of necessity. Slaughtering game in anticipation of winter, Indians used a combination of sun and wind to dehydrate their bounty. There were no geographical limitations to jerked meat: it had excellent keeping qualities, was light enough to carry on the trail, and, best of all, could be eaten without tell-tale signs of a campfire, vital when traveling through dangerous territory. As the frontier colonized, settlers gave more flavor to jerky by incorporating spice rubs that reflected their individual ethnic culinary traditions, creating an infinite variety of homespun jerky recipes.

While American foods enjoy a long culinary heritage, they are usually available in the present day on two levels: mass-produced (with broad-spectrum appeal), and smaller, custom production (resulting in more particularized styles). This is especially true for jerky. The biggest factories turn out a chopped and formed version that produces a leathery bark-like jerky, while custom production is done mostly with full-muscle meat (from whole cuts), creating a tender, more fully flavored jerky.

If you have never had premium jerky, you cannot fully understand its appeal: the complex claret color (like a bruise) and redolent smokiness; the tenderness of the meat, so supple you can practically tie a strip into a knot. There is also a hypnotic quality to eating good jerky; the longer you chew, the more buttery it becomes, while you grow mesmerized by the repetitive rhythm of chewing and chewing and chewing (like with good tobacco) until eventually your jaw is on automatic and your brain is set free to wander. But the oddest thing is how easily you can be haunted by a good piece of jerky (especially when the source is miles behind you in the dust). So do what I have learned to do on route: keep a jerky journal by saving a tiny piece of every variety I encounter in a separate airtight sandwich bag (labeled with the telephone number of the market source). Now I have a record of my road trip, complete with scratch and sniff.

Black Powder Jerky

3          flank steaks, approximately 2lbs. each

Marinade:
1 c        Sorghum
1 ½ c   Soy sauce
1 T       Liquid smoke
¼ C     Worcestershire
2 T       Fine ground black pepper
1 T       Garlic powder
1 T       Onion powder

Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade making sure the sorghum is fully dissolved and doesn’t just sit at the bottom of the bowl. Set aside.

Slice the flank steaks ¼ inch thick widthwise, holding the blade at a 45-degree angle and slicing diagonally to make a “tranche” cut (as you would slice a side of smoked salmon, but at a much less exaggerated angle).

Whisk the marinade ingredients until well combined and pour about a quarter of it into a square sided container (like a Pyrex casserole). Layer the slices of meat in evenly, pouring more marinade over as needed to coat all pieces equally.

Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

To remove excess marinade, layer the slices of meat between paper towels.

Turn oven to lowest setting.

Lay the meat out onto lightly oiled baking racks, leaving a little space in between each piece without overlapping so the jerky dries evenly.

Place the baking racks directly on the oven racks, with no cookie sheet or anything to block the air and heat from circulating around the oven. Before doing so you will want to place a few sheets of aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven to protect against any drips.

Leave the oven door cracked open throughout the drying process, which will take around 8 hours. Half way through, check the progress, flipping the slices of meat and rotating the racks.

Let the jerky rest at room temperature for an hour or so after it comes out of the oven to let the moisture left inside the meat equalize with the drier outside surface. Transfer to airtight container and store.