Rich G
TVWBB Honor Circle
It's not every weekend that I can be as productive as Cliff......
This weekend just seemed to work out that I had some time on my hands, which was odd since my wife was out of town, so I had all the kid duties (but, perhaps a less watchful eye on the “honey-do” list!) When I have time to burn, I typically do it cooking something. So, I whipped up my current weekly sourdough recipe to start things off. I always make two loaves, and give one away to neighbors or friends. Like BBQ, there are infinite techniques to employ making sourdough, so it’s always a fun process to try new techniques, even with the same formulation. Turned out pretty nicely, and tasty, too!
When I dropped loaf #2 off with a good friend, we got to chatting about his latest batch of beer he had made, and, after a 2-year hiatus, the brewing bug bit me. So, off to the brewing supply store I went, and was shortly back home with all the ingredients I needed for my house IPA. Again, brewing is another opportunity to research and apply different methods while in search of the best process for my brewery, and this brew was no different. Tried out Brew-in-a-Bag, which is a technique that allows mashing the grains, then boiling the wort with hops just using one vessel…..which greatly simplifies my brew process on my traditional 3-tier rig. I had a good brew day, and after about 5.5 hrs, I had my batch in the fermenter and everything cleaned up. In about 3 weeks or so, we’ll find out if it’s any good!!
So, then it was Sunday, and I STILL somehow had time on my hands. So, when my brother texted me a picture of his first batch of sausage after receiving some really nice Cabela’s grinding/stuffing gear for Christmas, I knew that I would spend the afternoon making sausage. I dropped by the local butcher shop (I love that I can say that…..yay Gambrel’s in Redwood City!!!) to see if Ben had some casings I could buy off him. When I walked in, he was in the midst of making sausage himself, so he happily grabbed me some hog casings, and I also picked up 24oz of the prettiest looking Berkshire back fat. When I got home, I trimmed some pork butts, ran that and the fat through the large plate on my grinder, and then mixed up 5lbs with bratwurst seasoning, and the remaining 2.25lbs with andouille seasoning (thanks for the inspiration, Cliff!) Got everything nice and cold again, then ran the two batches through the grinder a second time through the small plate, then thoroughly mixed each to distribute the seasonings and develop the myosin (makes the sausage sticky and bound together.) Each batch was then stuffed into the aforementioned hog casings, rested a bit, then into the smoker
WSM22 Setup: 2+1 snake, apple/cherry/peach, 160 for 3 hours, 180 for 1.5 hours. Removed at 155 internal, and cooled in an ice bath. Good stuff!!
All in all, a pretty great weekend, but I think I better get started on my housework before my wife gets home on Wednesday!
Q on!
R
This weekend just seemed to work out that I had some time on my hands, which was odd since my wife was out of town, so I had all the kid duties (but, perhaps a less watchful eye on the “honey-do” list!) When I have time to burn, I typically do it cooking something. So, I whipped up my current weekly sourdough recipe to start things off. I always make two loaves, and give one away to neighbors or friends. Like BBQ, there are infinite techniques to employ making sourdough, so it’s always a fun process to try new techniques, even with the same formulation. Turned out pretty nicely, and tasty, too!
When I dropped loaf #2 off with a good friend, we got to chatting about his latest batch of beer he had made, and, after a 2-year hiatus, the brewing bug bit me. So, off to the brewing supply store I went, and was shortly back home with all the ingredients I needed for my house IPA. Again, brewing is another opportunity to research and apply different methods while in search of the best process for my brewery, and this brew was no different. Tried out Brew-in-a-Bag, which is a technique that allows mashing the grains, then boiling the wort with hops just using one vessel…..which greatly simplifies my brew process on my traditional 3-tier rig. I had a good brew day, and after about 5.5 hrs, I had my batch in the fermenter and everything cleaned up. In about 3 weeks or so, we’ll find out if it’s any good!!
So, then it was Sunday, and I STILL somehow had time on my hands. So, when my brother texted me a picture of his first batch of sausage after receiving some really nice Cabela’s grinding/stuffing gear for Christmas, I knew that I would spend the afternoon making sausage. I dropped by the local butcher shop (I love that I can say that…..yay Gambrel’s in Redwood City!!!) to see if Ben had some casings I could buy off him. When I walked in, he was in the midst of making sausage himself, so he happily grabbed me some hog casings, and I also picked up 24oz of the prettiest looking Berkshire back fat. When I got home, I trimmed some pork butts, ran that and the fat through the large plate on my grinder, and then mixed up 5lbs with bratwurst seasoning, and the remaining 2.25lbs with andouille seasoning (thanks for the inspiration, Cliff!) Got everything nice and cold again, then ran the two batches through the grinder a second time through the small plate, then thoroughly mixed each to distribute the seasonings and develop the myosin (makes the sausage sticky and bound together.) Each batch was then stuffed into the aforementioned hog casings, rested a bit, then into the smoker
WSM22 Setup: 2+1 snake, apple/cherry/peach, 160 for 3 hours, 180 for 1.5 hours. Removed at 155 internal, and cooled in an ice bath. Good stuff!!
All in all, a pretty great weekend, but I think I better get started on my housework before my wife gets home on Wednesday!
Q on!
R
