Serious Rhubarb Jam

              Serious Rhubarb Jam Rhubarb was a plant my grandmother tended with gusto. She would cover the early spring plants with a wooden ash bushel basket.                By doing this the leaves would be smaller and the energy and sugars would collect in the stalks. I found that the stalks are more reddish and do taste better. She made this no nonsense rhubarb jam that she used for pancakes, squares, chutney and crumbles. She used it for a marinade and for braising a shoulder pork roast.  She also insisted that it was used as a...

Rubs and Marinades

My first attempt to use rubs on meats and seafood back in the sixties came from eating some filets of rock cod that were seasoned and blackened in a hot cast iron skillet. The filets were flash fried and had a real hit of flavors. I found the origins of this eastern Spicy Rub had a great Canadian History brought there by the Acadians from Nova Scotia. Because of the early arrivals of the Spanish, Portuguese followed by the British, different ethnic cultures that remained as east coast residents began the use and trading of herbs and spices that were both native and...

Waterloo County Mennonite Summer Sausage...

Waterloo County Mennonite Summer Sausage. One of my main objectives was to get a good sampling of some Waterloo County Mennonite summer sausage directly from the source. I have tried several of the farmers market varieties like; original Recipe Schneider’s Summer Sausage in a cloth sock is still produced in small batches, Original recipe KW Fiedlermeat. Noah Martins, Kitchen Kutting’s, Heidelberg Foods, Stemmler’s and many more across the Canadian prairies still using original ingredients and seasoned smokers with …old age. Some of the sausage meisters use the...

Simple BBQ Steaks

BBQ Prime Beef T-Bone or Strip Loin. I like to shop at several different locations to get some full dry aged range fed beef. A good 1 inch thick cut Strip Loin or T-Bone with lot’s of marble and a quarter inch fat cap. I like to put a simple non sodium dry rub on the steaks. Dry mustard, fennel, smoked paprika onion, garlic fresh ground pepper and let rest while the BBQ heats up. Simple is good when in a pinch for time. When the grill has been heated to optimum I use a olive oil soaked towel to season the grill bars. Now is the time to use some kosher salt...

Have a Back Yard BBQ.

Having a Back Yard BBQ. Start low and slow with cherry and apple wood. Pick your cut of pork or beef with some fat marbling First I seasoned and brined the pork loin and beef brisket center cut portions with apple cider vinegar maple syrup kosher salt. Brine and seasonings should be done at least 24/36 hours before to get the optimum flavours and tenderness. I then soaked the wood chip shavings in a cherry whiskey water and adding a small amount at a time. I find that by adding in intervals gets tastier results and a nice wood flavoured bark crust. Now when the base heat...