Latergrams - Week 49

Mixing it up a bit here, tying a freshwater shrimp on a heavy curved scud hook, inverted. Should help with the hook ups on carps feeding at the all you can eat shrimp buffet. #carpfood #flytying #flyfarming #carponthefly #carppro #artisanflies #coyote

A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:32pm PST

My mysid (opossum) shrimp pattern tied traditional style on a scud hook. While the profile may appear to be more realistic, I have doubts as to the effectiveness of the hook-up when fishing this pattern on the carp flats, compared to it tied hook side up. #carpfood #flytying #flyfarming #carponthefly #carppro #artisanflies #coyote #cocktailsauce

A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on Nov 11, 2014 at 11:13am PST

The turkey is done dude #thanksgiving #roundtwo #friedturkey #goodeats

A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:04pm PST

Sausage Haus

So the roughfisher has been slacking a bit in both the fishing and blogging department. I apologize folks. But I have been busy in the background grinding up some fresh meats in the seedy underground laboratory at the Roughfisher Command Post. In addition to making some 8 quarts of napa cabbage, daikon radish, and cucumber kimchis, I've managed to stuff about forty-five pounds of beef, pork and venison, transforming plain old protein into the delectable charcuterie known as sausage.



I ended up with six varieties of sausage, a Wisconsin-style bratwurst, Italian sausage, a smoked Italian, smoked jalapeño cheddar, smoked bulgogi inspired snack sticks, and a fresh salsa verde pork sausage.




There was lots of fun behind the grill. My favorite experiment was the chile verde pork sausage. Crafted on a whim, I ground pork shoulder, onion, garlic, jalapeños, cilantro, and tomatillos, stuffed it into a hog casing, and cooked it on the grill. I served it on a brat-style hard roll and garnished it with fresh onion, cilantro and salsa verde. Most definitely a winner!


Thankfully I saved a few sausages for the freezer to nourish me through the winter...

Independence Log

Two can play at this game....


One pound of bacon.


Two pounds of beef.


A half pound of cheese.


Cooked over low heat until an internal temp of 165°F is reached.


Enjoy.

Thanks for the inspiration goes out to my Fat Guy brethren. Thanks Brothers! It may not have been as pretty as your "bacon stripe" but it was just as delicious!

Carnitas Michoacan

Pork tenderloin tips and Mojo marinade, slow cooked for four hours. Fried finish, traditional garnish of onion, cilantro, radish, and lime. Served on corn tortillas with guac and fire roasted salsa verde.

¡Estos pinche tacos estan lo más chingón! ¡Estan divina del coño! Cause that's how we roll...

I need a napkin

Barbecue is ready. Ready to be served with homemade beans, coleslaw, fresh sweet corn, and a Shiner Bock.



Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Meat in my tooth

I love long weekends. They give me enough time to do things that I love like fishing, spending time with my family, or charcuterie. I'm making up a batch of roughfisher's pulled pork for the family this Memorial Day weekend; Fifteen pounds worth. That should be enough to satisfy the family's meat tooth. The rub recipe is a secret so don't even bother asking for it.



Waiting is the hardest part.

PSA #3: Stuffed Meats

In a move to collect more capital, I went into hardcore sausage production here at the Roughfisher Command Post. Singlebarbed's offer of a one foot square of Polar Bear and a Jungle Cock cape are great and all, but I want something worthy of a brownliner. Give me a pound of glimmer flash chenille in cinnamon, or 2K 5/32" tungsten beads. Throw in a thousand Knapek scud hooks, size 10; hell, I'll even settle for Skalka's. Throw in everything you've got, 'cause these goods aren't going to go cheap.



A batch of pepperoni, currywurst, and Hawaiian-style portuguese sausage, aka linguiça. Can't go wrong smoking up a pork loin either, canadian bacon style.



Now that I've got you drooling, open up your wallets. The bidding war has begun.

Charcuterie

I love eating sausage. Who doesn't? One of man's finest creations, a sausage is a pocket of meat goodness without need for a wrapper. I had been putting off the dastardly duty of making a batch for better than a month and finally just had to suck it up. Playing with your meat can be fun, don't get me wrong, but it can often be a laborious and tantric task. Luckily, there's always a happy ending. I set to making some spicy snack sticks and a batch of bratwurst, Wisconsin style of course. It was time to get my sausage on.









Best to divvy those sticks up and pack 'em away in the freezer for later. Lest the roughfisher and his little helper down them all in one sitting.





Those brats have the right to be served with brown mustard, onions, pickles, and kraut, with a tall mug of ale to wash it all down. Anybody caught drowning their weenie in ketchup will be shot on the spot. No exceptions.

food of the Gods

One of the best things to come out of Quebec besides Guy LaFleur and the Montreal Canadiens, poutine is the food of Gods. This Québécois staple is a comfort food well received across the great white north and points south of the border, better known as french fries and gravy stateside.

Poutine is an easy DIY meal that can cure that case of cabin fever or that lingering cold. Perfect for making yourself a bowl and settling in to catch the evening's hockey match up. Start with 6-8 medium sized russets and scrub thoroughly. Slice into 1/4" to 3/8" strips depending on your preferred thickness. Immediately rinse and soak the cut fries in an ice bath, to prevent sugar conversion and darkening of the fries. Many of us up north are fortunate enough to be able to run our tap water on cold at around 39°F year round. Let the fries soak for at least an hour occasionally changing the water. This is a good time to heat the fryer to 325°F with any preferred oil. This is also a good time to get started on the gravy. Any type of gravy will do, that is the beauty of this dish there are so many possibilities. Many folks prefer chicken gravy but I prefer a darker gravy, a brown gravy often beef, veal preferred. I'm a gravy whore so I typically make about a quart and simmer it in on the stove while I'm cooking up the fries. Adding savory items like shallots to the gravy can help with the blossom of flavor.






The secret to crispy fries is double frying them. Fry the first round for 5-6 minutes and let dry on a cooling rack. Bump up the heat to 375°F and cook the second round another 5-6 minutes or until browned. Fries will float to the top of the oil when done. Drain fries and add to a bowl. Top with cheese curds and copious amounts of gravy. Cheddar curds are tasty, but hook yo'self up with some jalapeño or pepperjack cheese and you're tastebuds will thank you. Garnish with some fresh parsley, dry will work in a pinch. Bacon if you dare. Serves two.


Nom, nom!