Fall….my favourite time of year!

The Riverhouse was built to be comfortable in all seasons.  The passive solar design and dark concrete floors means that summer are cool.

The in-floor radiant heating, and the masonry fireplace means that the winters are warm.

But the colours make autumn the most spectacular time of year. Cool nights, sunny days, no bugs and a beautiful landscape come together to create a special time.

Foodies can enjoy the harvest, while cooking on the ‘Green Egg’ and baking in the wood burning oven.  Golfers can still enjoy the course while water enthusiasts continue to canoe and kayak.  The the evenings are perfect for cuddling around the fireplace.

And the rental rates are lower!  After September 6th, the rates drop by 10-20%.

Smokin’

Now that I have had my ‘Egg’ for a couple of years, I thought it was time that I overcome my apprehensions and learn a new trick.  I knew that the Egg could be used as a smoker, but I’m embarrassed to admit I had never actually smoked anything on it.  Of course, I had thrown in the special wood chips to impart some extra smokey flavour to my grilled meats and vegetables and I had certainly slow roasted my share of pork shoulders and whole lambs.  But smoking is a whole other thing.

The key to smoking is temperature.  You have to get the temperature of the egg down low enough that it doesn’t cook the food too quickly, but instead infuses it with a deep, smokey flavour.  I also knew that there was the additional step of brining or rubbing your meat or fish first.  The recipe I found called for a mixture of ginger, kosher salt, garlic, sugar and herbs.

So, armed with the required components, I embarked on my smoking journey.  I was spending the weekend at my Riverhouse, and  visited the Wakefield Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning to stock up on ingredients.  I had already procured some lake trout, but also picked up some local, organic pork chops from one of the local farmers.

I rubbed both the trout and the chops with my mixture of salt, sugar & aromatics.  As the trout was small and thin, I let them cure for a couple of hours.  The chops can cure for much longer (up to 24 hours according to the recipe).  I stoked my Egg with charcoal and ‘fired er up’.  Once the coals were burning nicely I closed down the dampers and waited for the temperature to come down to under 200 degrees.  This took quite a while as the egg is so efficient at retaining heat.

Once the temperature was achieved, I threw on my hickory chips as well as the fish.  30 minutes later and voila!  It was spectacular.  The flavour was smokey & sweet, the texture was light, not overcooked.  And the colour was spectacular.

So, armed with my newfound confidence, I was ready to tackle the chops.  The process was pretty much the same.  Because they were big, meaty chops I smoked them for a little over an hour.  Then when the chops were firm, I removed them from the Egg, and cranked up the heat so I could sear them on both sides to get some added colour and flavour.

Now, of course, I want to smoke everything!  Eggplant, duck breasts, mushrooms, shrimp, bacon, ham…..the possibilities are endless.

Weekend Cooking

You would think that when you cook for a living, you would want to take your weekends off.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I look forward to the weekends largely because it gives me an opportunity to cook in a totally different way.  At the Red Apron, we cook each day for over a hundred families.  At home, I cook for my own family and friends.  At the Red Apron we purchase from local farmers and producers who we have established relationships with.  On the weekend, I scour the Farmer’s markets looking for new producers, and unique items to experiment with.

This year my family has purchased a sheep milk share from Canreg Station farm, which we pick up every Saturday at the Main Street Farmer’s market. This week I plan to make sheep milk ricotta, if I can stop my family from drinking it all! We have also enjoyed a number of lovely dinners featuring their tender rack of lamb.

Much of my weekend cooking is done at our Riverhouse. The gourmet kitchen is much better equipped than my home kitchen.  When the Riverhouse is not rented out to fellow foodies, this is where we spend much of our spare time.  The meals we have prepared in this kitchen have been spectacular.  We have roasted a whole lamb & a suckling pig; we have hosted cocktail parties for up to 50 people; we have made cinnamon buns & homemade bread in the wood fired oven; and we have toasted our fair share of marshmallows.

In truth, most of the cooking is done on our ‘Big Green Egg’.  My good friend Mike (aka the Grateful Griller) sells these komodo style cookers.  Quite honestly, once you have tried it, it’s impossible to think of going back to the old gas BBQ.

My Big Green Egg!

The ‘Egg’ works more like an oven or smoker and the temperature is very easy to regulate.  The result is that you can slow cook at 250 degrees for hours, or you can sear a steak at 450 degrees for minutes.  The ability to use ‘flavour agents’ like hickory smoke, add to the experience.  This past weekend I was experimenting with a new batch of orange wood – fantastic!

This past weekend’s feast included a gluten free focaccia (baked on the ‘Egg’), accompanied by a medley of grilled vegetables, and a strip-loin steak, purchased from the ‘local meat’ section of the Wakefield General Store.

Who knows what treasures will be in store for next weekend!