Smoking!

My wife bought me a new smoker Saturday to replace the old worn out one I bought used about 14 years ago. We had nasty weather till Tuesday so I was finally able to put it together.

Of course the first thing to do after putting a smoker together is to season it. This is done by rubbing the entire inside of the smoker with vegetable oil, then building a fire in the firebox (offset on the left on this model) and letting it burn for a few hours.





After seasoning it, of course I had to initiate the smoker, right? There's a rack of spare ribs and a pork butt (shoulder). I used a dry rub before smoking them, and basted them liberally with apple juice while smoking.












I couldn't leave an empty space in the smoker the first time I used it so I put a roll of Indiana Pork Sausage (see previous blog entry) in a foil pie plate and placed it on the rack. These were not done when I took this picture. They had only been smoking for a couple hours at this point.










There's nothing like some good smoked meat with your eggs for breakfast.














Add some grits and a cup of coffee for a delicious breakfast.










I was busy baking this afternoon. Between these homemade buns and the crescent rolls below, the house was smelling very good. I love baking yeast breads. Nothing makes the house smell better.







These are layered before rolling up, and a cold butter in between each layer.










I mixed some of the pulled pork from the shoulder with barbecue sauce for sandwiches using the homemade buns.













Time to dig in! And yes it was messy. All good barbecue is.

Breakfast sausage

I love sausage. Not just breakfast sausage, but most kinds of sausage. Here is the recipe I've been using the past couple years for breakfast sausage. It calls for pork, but it should be good with other meats too. If I'm able to connect this fall I'll try it with venison. Unlike nearly all commercial sausages, this does NOT contain any corn syrup or sugar. It doesn't need it. I usually make this for 7 or 8 pounds at a time, depending on the size of pork shoulder I'm using, and single grind it myself.

Indiana Farm Sausage

2 Lbs lean ground pork (I use pork shoulder, usually called pork butt or Boston butt.)
1/3 C finely chopped onion
2 TBsp rubbed dried sage leaves
1 TBsp finely chopped fresh parsley (Dried parsley flakes will do.)
1 tsp crumbled dried thyme
1 tsp crumbled dried basil
1 tsp ground marjoram
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried sweet pepper flakes (you can substitute paprika, but you won't have the flecks of sweet pepper in your finished sausage)
Pinch ground cayenne (up to 1 tsp if you like it hot)
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

I like to put everything except the pork into a food processor so that it is mixed well.

In a deep bowl, combine all ingredients and knead vigorously with both hands, then beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Divide the mixture into 1 pound portions and, on wax paper or plastic wrap, shape into cylinders about 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap sausages refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until firm to the touch.

This makes a great breakfast sausage. Cook as you normally would.

Seafood cocktail sauce

Have you ever wanted shrimp cocktail but didn't have any cocktail sauce on hand? Just mix some horseradish and a little lemon juice with ketchup and you've got better cocktail sauce than most of the manufactured brands. Adjust the amount of horseradish and ketchup to your own liking.

Daeji Bulgogi (Korean pork BBQ)

Before you start preparing the meat you need to cook your rice. I prefer a medium grain rice. Jasmine rice is also good for this. Rinse the rice a couple times till the water runs clear, then add water till it is almost twice as far up as the rice. We added some dried grains and beans to the rice before cooking this time. If you do, be sure to let them soak for a while before cooking. If you use a rice cooker it will take care of all your timing for you. If you cook it on the stove, bring the rice and water to a boil, cover and turn the heat down, and let cook for 30 minutes. Once the rice is done, turn the heat off and fluff with a rice spatula or large spoon.

I used a commercially prepared marinade because it tastes as good as you can make at home and is a lot easier than mixing it from scratch. It is available in oriental stores and in the oriental section of your local megamart. Be sure the marinade you buy has Korean pear and apple.

1 pork tenderloin or boneless center cut pork loin

Minced ginger and garlic (We put fresh garlic and ginger together in a food processor, then keep it in a jar in the refrigerator.)

Green onions cut into 1" lengths and split lenthwise

1 medium onion sliced lengthwise into strips

1 jar pork and chicken bulgogi marinade

Cut pork into thin slices across the grain. Your butcher may do this for you.

Add minced ginger and garlic.

Add green onions.

Cut onion lengthwise, then separate pieces.

Add onion to meat.

Shake jar of marinade to mix, then add to meat. And no, they're not kidding on the label when they say it's hot and spicy. After pouring marinade into the bowl with the meat, run a little water into the jar and cover tightly, then sha

ke jar and pour into the bowl with the meat. You don't want to waste any of this delicious liquid.

This is what it looks like before mixing.

There is no better way to mix this than to just get in there with your hand, breaking the onion ribs apart and making sure the marinade gets well mixed with the meat.

If you're going to take this with you camping, at this point put it into a freezer bag and freeze it. Then you can thaw it out at the campsi

te when you're ready to cook your pork bulgogi.

If you cook this on the stove, use a well seasoned cast iron skillet or griddle. Heat on high. You can also cook this on a grill, covering the grill with foil to keep it from falling through and to keep from losing the juices. In this case, I cooked it on the stove in a cast iron skillet.

Cook in batches so your skillet stays hot. Use one set of tongs to handle the raw meat and another set for turning the meat while cooking. Cook till pork is well done.

This is how it looks when it's done. The top bowl has the rice with grains and beans.

This is a serving suggestion. The yellow circles are tamogi, also called daikon. You can also add kimchi or any other side dishes you want.

My wife says I passed the test. She's a good teacher, and it has to be good to pass her test.

Artisan pizza

I love baking pizza. My wife doesn't like to eat pizza that often, but she does like it when I bake pizza. Yesterday I baked a couple pizzas for during the Superbowl.

Toppings on these pizzas included a light layer of sauce, Italian sausage, pepperoni, a mix of chanterelle and hen of the woods (maitake) mushrooms chopped, bell peppers, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheeses. The chanterelles added a very unique flavor.

Kaya Korean & Japanese Restaurant, Carbondale, IL

Yesterday we tried Kaya, a Korean/Japanese restaurant in Carbondale. Most of the Japanese food they have is sushi and sashimi. While we love them, it was a cool evening and we wanted some good hot soup. We went there at 8:30, an hour before closing. That's usually a bad time to go to a restaurant because they're usually trying to wind things down so they don't have to work too late. That didn't seem to be a problem at Kaya though.

I ordered their yuke jang (yoo' kay jang) which is a spicy beef soup. Un Hui ordered their cham pong, a seafood noodle dish. Our waiter asked if I like they yuke jang spicy, and I assured him I did. They didn't disappoint. I've had yuke jang in some restaurants where they only put a little beef in, but at Kaya they put in an ample amount of sliced beef brisket. The taste was excellent, and serving was huge. Un Hui's cham pong was chock full of assorted seafood: squid, mussels, shrimp, etc. A little exotic for some people, but for those who like this type of seafood it's great.

A word of caution: if you go there be sure to bring your appetite. My soup came in a very large bowl. Un Hui's seafood soup came in the size of bowl I use to serve mashed potatoes to the whole family at Thanksgiving. In other words, huge! We brought leftovers home for another meal.

For those less adventuresome they do offer foods that are not so spicy or exotic. Parking is behind the restaurant. The restaurant us just south of the Y where 51 splits on the south side of Carbondale on the east side of the street.

Kaya Korean & Japanese Restaurant
817 S Illinois Ave
Carbondale, IL 62901
(618) 457-0968

Jim on Food

This blog is to give my opinions on restaurants I eat at. I have an affinity for Asian cuisine, and sometimes go for the exotic, though I am conscious of price. You won't see reviews here of the ultra-expensive restaurants.

Occasionally I will talk about foods in general or discuss dining in general. Anything about food. I truly believe that food is a gift God has given us to not just nourish our bodies, but also to bring us happiness. In every culture, gatherings are celebrated with food, and food is shared with those we love and cherish.

I heard a story once of a man who died and was given the option to see both hell and heaven. In hell everyone had all the food they could ever want, the most scrumptious of delicacies, and everyone had a spoon with a long handle affixed to their hands. They all went hungry, though there was plenty, because they could not bring the spoons to their mouths. The man was then brought to heaven. The setting was identical with all the delicious foods, and as before, everyone had a long handled spoon affixed to their hands. Instead of suffering from hunger though, in heaven they used the long handled spoons to feed each other so everyone had plenty and there was much happiness.

May your life be such that you always have plenty and you are always happy to pull up another chair around the table.

We live in southwest Illinois so most restaurants we eat at are in the St. Louis metro area and southern Illinois. Bon apetit.