Tag: fall

October 16, 2024 – Taking Care of Business

October 16, 2024 /

This is a takeoff from yesterday. If you didn’t listen to the podcast, then you will miss a little bit. Back when we would have those successful fishing trips, after eating a dinner or two, the rest was up to my dad. Smoked fish is one of those things that he has always had a passion for and still guards to this day.

I have heard it said that fish is best eaten fresh. To that end, I have even heard that they continue to degrade in the freezer. That is bad news because I have a salmon in the freezer that is dated 2019 that came from my in-laws freezer. The point being is that even the fish eaten two days after catch seemed to be developing some ammonia flavor, so unless we were going to eat them for four days straight, I needed to get on to some preservation mechanism. I chose smoking.

I can get the smoking down, what was scaring me was the fillet process. I know that I can learn that too, but I also know that I need practice. Unfortunately, seven fish is not enough. But, once I got over the hump of I have to do it now or it will be too late, I hacked away. I am not proud of the results, but I think I made some technique observations that will be helpful for next time.

The carcasses went into the stock pot. I have always wanted to make some fish broth. If it is anything like other stocks, this is a key component to moving dishes from OK to great. I will be working with that some other time, it was still time as the key component to what I was doing now.

I chose a dry brine. That is covering the flesh with a sugar/salt and other spices for a period of time (like overnight). That covering is to be rinsed off before smoking. I chose that because that is what my dad has always done. I also preferred the dry brine to a liquid, it seems more right to me for smoking.

The flesh was almost goopy while I was filleting. After the brining, things firmed up quite a bit. This re-enforced my decision on the technique. I made another questionable decision when the smoking was happening. The only charcoal I had was mesquite. I added some cherry for smoke, but I think a better choice would be apple or alder with plain charcoal. These heavier woods are better for almost all meats besides fish.

The smoking process took about three hours. I know that my dad uses a dedicated smoker and those fish get a lot more time under controlled conditions. But, as you can see from the picture that the fish look like leather at this point. Any more time would serve no purpose, probably they were over cooked.

The taste… I will temper this a bit by saying that I have only tried one piece to date. It was salty and dirty. Clearly, I did not rinse the brine off well enough. Dirty, I don’t know if it was my charcoal or my fish handling or the fish itself. I didn’t taste dirty when I ate the fish plain, so I have to believe that it is something that I did. Don’t worry, I am going to eat it all no matter how bad it tastes. But there is clearly room for improvement.

End Your Programming Routine: It was probably the last glorious day of the season. There is nothing better than sitting next to the smoker, in the sunshine, scrolling through the football scores. I was just pleasant and seemed like the perfect cap of a great couple of days off. Regardless of the outcome, I am looking forward to the next fishing trip and trying this all over again.

August 23, 2023 – It Is That Time of Year Again

August 23, 2023 /

So much for summer. We are a little over a week from school starting again. My younger son is off to Taiwan in a couple days and my older son will be home the day after that. We just registered my older son yesterday for school and the end of summer is eminent.

We drew tags to a new deer unit this year. I have been over there twice doing some preliminary scouting this summer. In fact last weekend, we spent a day driving around trying to get the lay of the land. We need to figure out where to camp, how to hunt and how to access the area.

I have always heard that serious hunters spend time with maps and photos before putting boots on the ground. I remember reading an article one time in American Hunter but it has been long lost. So, I have been perusing the internet on how to scout with maps. Maybe this is something that could help my usually poor outcomes?

I found this one that is a little dry, but I thought it contained good fundamentals. The presenters shows features on the map and talks about definitions of words in relation to the map. This is a good start for people that have no basis in maps and the vocabulary.

As a former Boy Scout, at least I understand the vocabulary, maps and compasses. But what nobody really tells you is the application of such. How do you read a map and find a deer?

I guess that there is no substitute for just trying. Now that we kind of know where we are going, I can look at maps to see what might be around and and look at some spots where I might want to look for deer or setup and observe. Maybe I will do a video on what and why I chose what I did and what I learned (don’t count on it).

Currently, with my new job and all of that, I am thinking that I will probably at best get a long weekend to hunt. So, I really don’t want to waste it on tripping all over myself trying to get oriented with the territory. If things go as I expect, then I will also have to consider what the rest of the party has already done before I get there. But, maybe if I do some advanced work, I can influence what they will do with or without me by providing strategies based on my map work. At least this is what I am thinking.

Lest we forget that there are some easier things to do to get ready besides like physical fitness. Truth be told, this probably should have started months ago, but maybe if you are young enough there is still time. And, just because you are not fit enough doesn’t mean that a little bit doesn’t help. I doubt that I will be fit enough as I should be. But, this is a reminder

End Your Programming Routine: I am excited that hunting season is coming around. That being said, this is also approaching harvest season. It is a crazy, manic and wonderful time of year. I think that it just might be my favorite time of year. The hope of a new school year, the gentle warmth of the last of summer, the bounty of the harvest and all of those things that need to get done. I just hope to take some time to enjoy it as well as participate.

October 4, 2022 – Here Comes the Rain Again

October 4, 2022 /

It seems like I have settled into a bit of a format. That makes Tuesday and Wednesday kind of grab bags. It wasn’t that long ago that when someone said the phrase ‘Here Comes the Rain Again’ that people would think of this song. I knew that it was from the 1980’s but I guess I didn’t realize that it was from 1984. Wow, that seems like a long time ago now.

But, of course I don’t mean a now obscure 1980s reference. I am talking about the change of seasons. A couple of days ago we had several successive days of rainfall for the first time in months. I cant help that I enjoy it because I am a native Oregonian.

Before we lived in a home with a heat pump (aka Air Conditioning), the change of seasons meant a break from sweating for months. I know it is kind of weird, but I like the dusty smell when the furnace comes on for the first time in months. It brings back memories of time to nest up, heartier meals, etc.

There are so many reasons to appreciate rain. The first is hunting season has begun. Without some decent rainfall, timber companies keep their gates locked. I have never seen deer moving in nice weather either. Campfires have been banned all over the west for months. I am looking forward to some fall campfires in our back yard. The sprinkler can be turned off of the year.

With the positives, there are also some negatives. Rain signals the end of harvest. We are only about three weeks away from our annual first frost date. The blitz is on to get grapes, tomatoes, peppers and whatever is left off the vine. Many of these things can stand a little rain, but freezing is the end as well as fruit damage.

I took a picture of my paltry garden. I got a handful of tomatoes and a few cayenne peppers. It looks like there is a salad or two’s worth of tomatoes, three serranoes and a couple more cayennes. My primary interest is the tomato plant in the front that has three green tomatoes on it. This was my one surviving seed start that I wanted to harvest the seeds.

Let me remind you that out of a whole tray of plants, this was the one that survived. My hypothesis is that there is some hearty genetics here that I was going to see if I could propagate. I have no idea but I want to try.

The question of our long term prognosis in this house leads me to really question how much effort I want to put into really producing a proper garden. I have mentioned that we are within three years of an empty nest and this house is way too large for the two of us. I still am not really in favor of downsizing considering we have our office spaces, shop and guest house, but there are some things that I would be interesting in changing too. So, stay tuned.

End Your Programming Routine: Never stop learning and dreaming. While I have hinted at the disappointment of my yield, I can say that this year was better than last year. The fact that stuff survived and even produced at all points a lot of the fingers at me. I had hoped that watering when I watered the grass plus mulch would have been enough but I suspect my neglect was a large part of the spindliness.