Shrimp Fried Rice

Fridays in Trout Lake. Not traditionally a big cooking night for us. After a week in the trenches, we usually try to keep it simple - Last Friday was no exception, however we did try something new - Fried rice on the Weber. Alice and Arch hooked us up with the Weber wok  last year for Christmas. We've been using it rather frequently, but we hadn't tried it for fried rice, That is, up until last week.....

It went down something like this: (Remember, you can always click on the pictures to get a larger version)

When I was young man moving from Chicago to Seattle in the early 80's my very first job was at a Japanese restaurant. I can tell you that they didn't hire me for expertise in Asian cooking - More for my ability to wash dishes and bus tables. Quickly I took an interest in the food preparation side of things, and before you know it, I had bought my very first vegetable knife and was doing most of of the prep - I think the owners  were intrigued by this young white guy that wanted to learn how to use a knife and prepare sushi - Anyway, it was during that time that I developed a taste for good Asian food and a fondess of its preparation - That has stuck with me over the years, which leads us to Friday nights dinner.

 After lighting the fire and heating the wok, we start with the egg- It's basically a mixture of egg, green onion, salt and black pepper.  Next, the shrimpys go in. These guys were marinated for about an hour  in olive oil, garlic, thyme, marjoram, oregano, onion, new mexico chile power, chipolti powder, black pepper, and salt.

After the shrimp have cooked, its time to add the rice - The key to good fried rice is to make sure the rice is cold. It should be made the day before or at least spend several hours in the fridge prior to cooking it. I cooked the rice while I was making my coffee in the morning.

It's beginning to look good - the rice is holding up well and not get mushy. Once it gets hot, add a few chopped up scallions for a little soft crunch.

And ready to go - A very simple meal prepared in less than an hour. Perfect for a Friday night in Trout Lake or wherever you may be.

Chicken Sausages

Could there be a more satisfying experience than creating a sausage from scratch? Perhaps, but for now we'll focus on the splendor of sausage construction, and the wondrous joy it brings to all those who participate in a journey who's humble origins begin with the simple chicken thigh. Or more precisely somewhere around 17 pounds of chicken thighs. Remember, you can click on the photos to super-size them.

We start the day by washing and slicing the chicken into strips. We use thigh, as it naturally has more fat. If we've come to learn anything over the years - fat is flavor. After the chicken is prepped, into the chipper shredder it goes. The grinder makes short work of the meat. After its ground, backs it goes into the fridge as we prepare the the remaining ingredients. Probably the biggest challenge in sausage making, especially in the summer, is keeping everything chilled. We don't want our fat to begin to render.

We are attempting to make a South Western style sausage. We started out by roasting 8 large Anaheim peppers on the bbq, Then  deleafed  and chopped 4 bunches of cilantro. That was a serious chore. The stems may go in next time....Several heads of garlic, a couple of jalapenos, some cumin, Mexi beer and  some tequila.

 
Next, everything gets put in the mixer and goes for a quick spin-a-roo. The mixer does a great job of evenly distributing the ingredients. It also keeps your warm hands off the meat. This helps in keeping the meat cooler.

Stuff is happening now. The meat is mixed, and we empty the hopper, promptly returning the mixture to the fridge as we prep for the stuff phase of the operation.

Well, maybe not so promptly - time for one quick shot. We were very pleased with the color, and mix of the sausage. I don't know, but I got a feeling these may be pretty good. Good thing, because we have about 6 months worth....

The stuffing phase indicates the beginning of the end of our journey. We chose to use real hog casings. Real hog casings are packed in salt, and need to be not only rinsed, but also rinsed out. This is a quite a labor intensive task. However the sausage maker knows no time, and takes no short cuts in the process.

We had a batch of Italians as well - so we stuffed those, and stuffed more chicken ones.

Did them up along with some corn and home made onion rigs. I'm beginning to think this operation is getting to point where we can finally kick back and enjoy our labors!

vola!