The SLT (Steelhead, Lettuce, and Tomato)

Over the holidays this past year, I was a bacon making machine.  I was curing and smoking.  Hope was slicing and packaging.  In the middle of that pork belly mayhem, I was looking at a steelhead fillet in the freezer and wondered to myself if I could turn a steelhead fillet into a slab of bacon like goodness.  If they can turn turkey or tofu into "bacon", I can try it with a nice meaty fish.  Right?  A plan was coming together.  Cure, smoke, hot pan sear, fresh bread, tomato, lettuce, and mayo.  The SLT was in my future.

Later that week, I drove to my local pond (Costco) to go fishing for a nice steelhead.  I approached the end case and started trolling for the perfect fish.  It was tough battle, back and forth as these battles can be from time to time.  But, after dodging a cart full of screaming kids and negotiating the 20 deep line for a free sample of Prepacked Demo Product Reheated in a Electric Skillet, I had my prize.  Genuine hand caught, farm raised steelhead fillet.

After getting home, I froze one of the fillets for later use and started preparations for my steelhead "bacon" (I hope).  

First, I whipped up a batch of our apple cider bacon cure:

2 oz Cure Salt (Prague Powder #1)

10 oz Kosher Salt

4 oz. Sugar

1/2 Gallon Apple Cider

1/2 Gallon Water

For our sugar source, we used turbinado sugar, otherwise known as Sugar in the Raw at your grocery store. 

I chilled the brine down, then released the steelhead into the brine for one final two day swim.  After two days in the brine, I removed the steelhead fillet and soaked in cold water for about 30 minutes to remove the excess salt.  Then I cut my fillet in half for some experimentation.  

The larger piece was smoked as is.  No rub, no flavoring.  This would be my "bacon".  The smaller piece was rubbed with Oakridge BBQ Game Bird and Chicken rub, one of my favorite non-competition rubs.  

Upon closer inspection of the larger piece, I noticed that the fat on the belly part of the fillet had taken on that waxy look that pork belly fat has before smoking.  Was I on to something?  To be determined.

I brought my smoker up to 165 F and added one piece of hickory into the ash pan.  I didn't want to over smoke this fillet.  I just wanted the light hickory flavor that is reminiscent of bacon.  I smoked the fillet until the fish was starting to flake and the fat was starting to render from the meat, about two hours.

When finished, I brought the fillet inside and placed in a plastic bag to age for two days.  Aging the fish in the refrigerator mellows the smoke flavor, allowing the flavors to mingle.

After the two day wait, I prepared for part two of this experiment.  I had some sliced tomato, lettuce, and crusty French bread at the ready.  I also prepared some sriracha mayo to top my sandwich.  Then, I removed a portion of the unrubbed fillet and prepared to sear.

For searing, I added a touch of olive oil to a sauté pan and turned my burner to medium heat.  Once the oil was hot, I slightly seared the meaty side, then flipped the fillet over and seared until the skin was nice and crispy.

Next it was time to assemble the sandwich.

I am happy to report that this sandwich was pretty good.  Light hickory flavor and a hint of apple from the brine.  Crispy skin, crusty bread, and a bit of kick from the sriracha mayo.  Was it like bacon?  I am sorry to say no.  This was a great piece of smoked fish, but bacon is better left for pork.  I will make this sandwich again.  But I will not be expecting bacon at all.  As for the portion of the fish rubbed with the Oakridge game bird rub, the flavor was outstanding.  The Oakridge Game Bird and Chicken rub never lets me down, no matter what dish I prepare using this product.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Your Goose is Cooked, Part Two: Brined and Roasted Two Ways

Back when The Oldest brought over his goose jerky to be smoked, he also dropped off the rest of his jerky trimmings for me to play with in the kitchen.  I decided that I would try and make them edible in a form as close as possible to the real meat without curing or turning into jerky.  To do that, I needed a way to get over the shoe leather qualities of the meat when cooked traditionally.  The solution to that was a brine.

One of the problems The Oldest was having with cooking his goose breast was the blood that the meat was retaining.  For example, after soaking the breasts in water overnight, we observed a lot of blood in the water the next morning.  There was even blood on the paper towels used to dry the breasts.  So, as an experiment, we placed the breasts back in the water and after about 30 minutes of soaking, blood could be observed diffusion into the water.  This is where the brining helps. Brining does two things to poultry.  One, it adds flavor to the meat.  Two, it removes any blood or funky fluids that you do not want in your meat.  Basically this is being done by diffusion.  The brine has a high salt concentration as well as a higher concentration of flavorings.   The salt and other flavorings migrate into the meat until an equilibrium is formed.  At the same time the brine removes the blood and other unwanted juices from the meat retaining the water, keeping your meat moist and flavorful during the cooking process.  Here is a picture of the goose trimmings after four hours in a brine, rinsed with clean water to remove the excess salt, then being dried on paper towel.  Notice the absence of blood.

For our brine, I used Oakridge Game Changer brine.  Instead of all water, I substituted half of the water for apple juice to add flavor.  The recommended brining time for poultry parts is two to four hours, so I opted for four hours of brining time knowing this would be one tough bird.  Once brined, rinsed and dried, I wrapped half of the goose tenders in bacon and left the other half unwrapped.  Next I applied rub.  Half of each type were rubbed with Oakridge Game Bird and Chicken rub, the other half were seasoned with Oakridge Habanero Death Dust.  I allowed the goose tenders to rest on the counter at room temperature while I brought my smoker to a temperature of 350 F.  When the smoker was ready, I added pecan to the ash pan for smoke flavor, then placed my racks of goose on the top rack of the smoker.

I was shooting for a temperature of 145 F.  So, due to the thin cut on these tenders, I started checking for temperature after 20 minutes.  The unwrapped tenders were done at exactly 20 minutes.  The bacon wrapped tenders were done after about 45 minutes as they were the thicker tenders and were wrapped with an outer layer of bacon.  Here is the final product.

No shoe leather here.  The tenders were tender and juicy.  No knife needed here.  The game bird rub from Oakridge is one my favorite non competition rubs and did not disappoint.  It was a nice balance of flavor with the richness of the goose.  The Habanero Death Dust was a pleasant surprise, a nice balance of flavors and sweet with heat at the end of your bite.  I will have to start using this rub more in my cooking.  Very good.

So, there you have it, a way to cook your goose with out eating shoe leather as your final product.  I can't wait for the oldest to bring more goose over for experimentation.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Grilled BBQ Steelhead

We love salmon around here.  Especially steelhead salmon.  There is an added flavor to steelhead that you just don't have with salmon.  Perhaps it is because it is milder and a bit fattier in my opinion.  Lucky for us we can buy it at Costco for $5.99 a pound when on sale and it is reasonably priced when not on sale.

We try and eat steelhead about once a week.  But, as I am sure most of you have experienced, you get bored with the same foods prepared the same way, week after week.  So, this past week, I decided to experiment with our steelhead.  Off to the R&D labs.

After thawing our steelhead, I rinsed well and patted dry.

Then, I put a thin coating of Oakridge BBQ Game Bird and Chicken rub on my fillet and let sit on the counter top for the rub to form a liquid crust.  Don't get heavy handed with your rub application.  you do not want to over power the flavor of the fish.  You just want to compliment the flavors.

Then, I fired up the charcoal grill.  When ready, I placed the fillets on direct heat.

When the fat starts to come out of the meat, that is the first indication you are almost done.

I applied a very thin coating of Blues Hog Tennessee Red BBQ sauce to my fillet.  Any BBQ sauce will work.  I would suggest one with a higher vinegar content such as the Tennessee Red.  The acidity cuts through the fattiness of the steelhead.  I brushed the sauce on the fish, closed the lid, and came back five minutes later.  Done!

I served with fresh corn on the cob and collard greens.  More on the greens later.  Ours are just about ready to pick in our garden.

BBQ pairs well with steelhead.  The flavors of the rub and sauce go well with this meaty fish.  If you are bored with the same old fish, give this a try.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill