I made a single perfect cheeseburger

This project took several days overall but it was worth it. I started with a batch of ghost chili cheddar beer cheese sauce a couple days ago. Last night I made a small rib roast that had been taking up too much freezer space for way too long and started on a bread project. This morning I got to work on some footlong hoagie rolls, picked some bell peppers from my folks garden and grabbed some local onions from the store. I spent the afternoon shaping, resting and baking the bread. After all was said and done I spent about 2 minutes inhaling one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. Philly has nothing on me.

I opted out of the traditional holiday meal/family gathering and mail ordered some Reuben fixings from Katz’s Delicatessen in NY. I paired the sandwich with a large selection of fine bourbon and a Deschutes Brewery Jubelale. Best Thanksgiving ever? Probably.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Or maybe it is? It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to post much let alone have time for many cooking projects at home. Covid had an unexpected affect on business that we didn’t see coming. Demand has increased many times over and a day off is few and far between.

Last week I had a chance actually cook a meal at home and since fresh local produce is in large abundance I decided to go with stuffed bell peppers. I had made a ‘street corn’ sausage at the shop that week and I immediately knew that would be the base of the stuffing. The sausage had grilled corn, green onions, cilantro, cotija cheese and seasonings. I mixed that with a wild rice blend topped with tomato sauce and cheese. As soon as I had my first bite I was inspired…I need to make a stuffed bell pepper sausage!

Despite a long list of ingredients each component played perfectly together. All of the flavors I was going for shined through. I wanted a third of the farce to be fresh veggies, cheese, spices, etc… The ratio was perfect! The green peppers, onion and corn were all sauteed or grilled prior combining.

STUFFED BELL PEPPER SAUSAGE:

26 lbs. ground pork
236 grams plain or Kosher Salt.
650 ml Ice Water
1200 g. Green Bell Pepper
900 g. Walla Walla Sweet Rose’ Onions
1350 g. Sweet Corn
100 g. minced fresh Garlic
130 g. Green Onion
140 g. Cilantro
280 g. Tomato Paste
1100 g. cooked Basmati Rice
520 g. High Temp Swiss
520 g. High Temp Cheddar
20 g. Chili Powder
20 g. Cumin
20 g. Red Chili Flake
20 g. Smoked Paprika
20 g. Achiote Seasoning (Spiceology)
20 g. coarse ground Black Pepper

I ran the pork once through the grinder using the 7mm plate and on the second pass I added all of the fresh ingredients and rice. The ice water, spices, salt and tomato paste were mixed together and then added along with the cheese to the farce. I mixed until I just started to see signs of protein extraction or binding then stuffed into natural casings. The crew were all blown away by these brats and exclaimed they were the best sausage we’ve ever offered. I’m inclined to agree.

Grilled cheese on homemade Shokupan bread with scratch made roasted tomato and pepper soup seasoned with harissa. See you next year Summer!

Tex_77 I made all of the things!

Some of you have seen my ‘diet’ references around here. I have been on a low carb diet plan, along with exercise for the past 2 years…last weekend was the anniversary. It hasn’t been an easy journey but nothing worthwhile should come easy.

I’ve always been fat and I was always bullied about it. When I was about 8 years old I put an end to all photography as I couldn’t stand looking at myself. Every year my parents would get a call when it came time for school pictures. Often times this included the use of middle finger. As the years passed the only photos that I ‘allowed’ was for the purpose of an identification card.

2 years ago my parents rented a beach house in Oceanside, OR… Before and during the trip it was discussed that we all need to make a positive change in regards to our health. In particular our weight.

Knowing that it would be my last weekend of eating ‘real food’, I indulged. My plan was to eat as much seafood as I could that weekend being on the coast and all. When it came time to eating out I kept going back to my favorites…burgers, pizza, beer and Reuben sandwiches.

Upon returning from the trip I cleaned out the cupboards and fridge of ‘off-limit’ items. No more rice, beans, bread, sugar, corn, potatoes…beer (insert sad face and whimpers.) It was nothing but fresh meat and green veggies from now on.
When I make up my mind to do something I am more determined than most people and this was a ‘do or die’ decision. Failure means a premature death. Failure is not an option.

During the first few weeks of the diet I observed immediate results. I also came across Walton’s Inc. and Meatgistics at about the same time. I noticed that many of the sausage seasonings were mimicking the very things I was now trying to avoid on the diet. Most notably Pizza and Reuben sandwiches. I could now enjoy my favorite meals with a product that is easy to portion and has virtually no carbs.

I was determined to lose 100 lbs. by my 1 year diet anniversary. I lost a steady 10 lbs. per month for the first 6 months but was frustrated that I didn’t lose any ‘girth’. I was still huge and the lack of physical results was frustrating…but I kept going.

I was having a discussion about this with my dad and his friend which gave me a pat on the back and put things into perspective. It was also at this time that my dad divulged that he had taken a picture of me while were on our trip without my ‘permission’. Had I known at the time I would have likely demanded that he erase the image immediately. Had he not taken that photo I may have lost my way. When I saw my before image I was more determined than ever…this shit is real. I am really losing weight!

By August of 2018 I was down 90 lbs. and finally to a size that I could start exercising without wanting to die. I didn’t want to wait until October to hit my 100 lb. goal. I wanted to get there by my birthday in early September…so I did!

It was at this point that my clothing really started ‘hang’. Pre-diet I was wearing a 4X shirt and had a 66" waist. One year later I dropped one shirt size. By Thanksgiving I was a 2X. When Christmas came I was into my first 1X shirt since 2003…most notably my Audioslave and Lollapalooza concert shirts that I had saved. Luckily and ex-girlfriend had saved all of my prior clothing. There is no way I would have been able to afford clothes had she not done that for me.

When I first started the diet I was using an app on my phone that wanted me to enter my ‘goal weight’ so I threw 200 out there thinking I would never get close to that in a million years. When I hit 225 lbs. I knew that the goal was well within my grasp. I got this.

Over the next few months my weight loss slowed and my size remained steady but I was still at a decent pace. I had been working out an hour per day 6 days a week on an elliptical/recumbent hybrid since August. On April 6, 2019 I hit my ‘unreachable’ goal of 200. Whoa!

I could have easily stopped there. Nope. I need to push goal posts to better myself. I only needed to lose 15 more lbs. to be half the man I used to be…so I did! At this point I was wearing a large shirt and had a 32" waist. These are numbers I hadn’t seen since I was 12!

I promised myself that when I hit 185 that I would reward myself with a burger. By June 1st I hit my next goal and was ready for my reward. My son who lives a few hours away wanted to be there for the occasion but I knew it would be a while before we could get together…so I moved the goal posts yet again.

It was too hot for working out at my place so I decided my reward for now would be less exercise unless it had a negative impact. It slowed progress but I still managed to drop weight. That’s a reward I can live with!

Lots of people lose 100 lbs. and that is certainly something to brag about. Many people lose 150 or more. Few people can brag that they weigh half as much as they used to. Far fewer can say they lost over 200, so why not try?

In mid August a new butcher shop opened up in my area called ‘Butcher Butcher Walla Walla’ On my first visit the owner mentioned they might be looking for a sausage maker. Over the next few days I visited his shop and made purchases daily. Each time I would ask questions about the shop, their process, equipment, etc… It has been a while since I’ve looked for work so I was cautious. Rather than filling out a resume I delivered 14 different kinds of sausage and threw some jerky in for good measure. I was hired!

By August 20, 2019 I weighed in at 170 lbs… Boom! It’s burger time! One problem…my son wasn’t here. We had been planning on visiting the same beach house to take a before and after photo of my weight loss. I figured this would be a good time for a burger with the kid. This would also give me a little more time to go beyond the 200 lb. barrier…so I did!

I left for my trip last Friday morning weighing in at 164 lbs with a 31" waist and totaling a massive 206 lbs weight loss. I drove 4 hours to Vancouver, WA. to a Killer Burger location and had my first burger in 2 years accompanied by my son and parents. I can’t imagine a better group to celebrate with!

I’m not the only success story here though. As I mentioned in the beginning, this was a group effort. My father lost over 60 lbs and my mother lost over 40! As a family we have lost well over 300!

Walton’s Inc and the Meatgistics community were a huge part of my success. I really could not have done it without all of you. Food related hobbies gave me the drive and focus to stay on task and the camaraderie here is an inspiration. Thank you for making this, my 1000th post, possible!

-Joel (aka Joe Hell)

I made a Beef Bulgogi bHoagie with Beef From Butcher Butcher

It’s been discussed here on occasion the desire for a patty maker for breakfast sausage. The Weston patty maker is great but the patties are substantial. I had some 100 mm casings that I had no immediate plans for so I figured that I’d stuff it with a breakfast mix, freeze and portion out on the slicer. It worked great!

This method is an inexpensive method for the home guy. I’ll be purchasing the large rolls of poly tubing for the shop soon. This is really going to speed things up!

I made ‘potsticker’ brats this morning…all the goods you might find in a potsticker stuffed into a casing.

I used pork, cabbage, green onion, red onion, carrots, ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper, sesame sees, mushroom soy sauce and Chinese five spice.

I ran the pork through the grinder once before adding all of the produce and dry ingredients and running a second time followed by an addition of water and soy.

The mix works well as stand alone brat or removed from the casing and used as a pot sticker filling.

As promised, I had our Ninja butcher Dave extract a brisket from a hog today. The cut is from the same area you would find on a cow. You can find it just above the top of the belly within the first 5 ribs from the front of the hog.

House made bacon onion garlic burger patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles on a brioche bun. Take that Big Mac

Mild, Medium or Hot?

In Walla Walla, WA., we have what seems like endless choices when it comes to Mexican food. I’m not taking about your average Mexican restaurants. I’m taking about truly outstanding Mexican food. There are numerous brick and mortar establishments and countless Taco Trucks dotting the valley. Fresh, local tortillas and chips are available at every grocery store. I don’t have a bad thing to say about any one of them…except Taco Bell, but that really isn’t Mexican food anyway.
My favorite places tend to be the Taco Trucks, and a big reason is the variety of salsa or a fresh Pico de Gallo. When asked if I would prefer the ‘mild, medium or hot’ I enthusiastically say “One of each!”. There is generally a mild Tomato salsa, a tangy Tomatillo, a Salsa Picante with a bit more heat or a creamy Jalapeno that can range from hot to fiery. All of them are delicious. All of them are unique. I will often throw back ‘shots’ of salsa if there are leftovers. I just can’t get enough.
…Because one salsa is never enough I wanted to experiment with several. After all…variety is the spice of life! I decided to use the Excalibur ‘Salsa Brat’ seasoning based on the many positive reviews and suggestions by Walton’s staff. This will be my base for all of the following pairing suggestions.
I don’t have exact recipes for any of these (yet). Cooking, IMO is all about improvisation and personal taste. Throw some stuff together, take notes and adjust if need be. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Come on in, the water is fine!

1. Excalibur Salsa Bratwurst Seasoning: This is a great place to start. The seasoning when used at recommended amounts adds a mild salsa flavor with hints of tomato, onion and pepper but doesn’t have much heat to speak of. This blend is going to please the masses and is unlikely to draw complaints from even the pickiest eater. It’s simply good. The addition of high temp cheese would be a welcome adjunct.

2. Salsa Brat + Fresh Pico de Gallo: Wow! Talk about a punch of flavor! Subtle flavors are out the window on this one. The addition of fresh Roma Tomatoes, Onion, Cilantro, Jalapeno and a squeeze of Lime highlight Excalibur seasonings quite well. The lime juice adds a clean and bright flavor to each of the ingredients and lets each one shine through…especially the cilantro.

3. Salsa Brat + Hatch Chile Salsa: Hatch Chiles are from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico and they are amazing. My Hatch Chile salsa consists of Chiles, Walla Walla Sweet Onions, Garlic, Cumin, Cilantro, fresh Lime juice with salt & pepper to taste. (If memory serves me right)
I took the base Salsa Brat mix and added a generous amount of salsa. Once again the lime really lets the flavors shine. The brats are tangy with quite a noticeable bump in heat . These are quite tasty! You are immediately met with an earthy and vegetive, green pepper flavor which leaves enough room for the garlic and onion finishing with a hint of cumin and cilantro. If I wasn’t running low on my salsa stash I would be making these again at my next opportunity. I have about 7-8 months before the peppers are in season again so I’ll just have to be patient…something I’m not known for.

4. Salsa Brat + Salsa Macha: These turned out to be my favorite of all. I am new to Salsa Macha and I would assume that goes for many people. I stumbled upon this variety of salsa after an accidental encounter with the TV Show ‘Pati’s Mexican Table’. My best description of this salsa is that it is a deep fried Chile, Peanut and Sesame blend…yes, peanuts! I’ve never heard of such a thing but the ingredients were intriguing and made sense so I gave it a go.

You will want a quality dried chipotle for this salsa. Look for a product that maintains good color, a leathery texture and a ripened raisin like aroma that is good and smoky.
Salsas tend to be regional and vary by available product and personal taste. My version of Pati’s recipe has a bit more vinegar, salt and brown sugar than was called for as well as the addition of Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and a double portion of garlic. I also substituted grape seed oil for the olive oil because it has a milder flavor and a higher smoking point. It is important to note that the peanuts, pepitas and sesame seeds be raw and unroasted as they would burn in the oil. Use Google to find a recipe…it might just change the way you think about salsa.

The Salsa Macha brats were noticeably darker than all of the others. The salsa itself has an almost inky deep reddish brown hue with orange highlights from the oil. It’s like a beautiful sunburst Fender Telecaster in liquid form. Guitar geeks may get the reference…for those that don’t, just imagine a totally rad sunset in the peak of Autumn color.

These brats have plenty heat but it’s not overpowering. The chipotles add an intense earthiness with a hint of raisin and deep Chile flavor. I think I could detect more of the peanut flavor of these in the brats vs. the salsa on its own. Acid brightens any dish and the distilled vinegar does the job in this one. The brown sugar doesn’t add much sweetness but it rounds everything out and creates balance. I’ve used this on chicken thighs, breasts, taco meat and as a topping…it’s simply outstanding in so many ways.

I would love nothing more than to destroy a bag of fresh corn chips and a copious amount of Pico de Gallo but as I walk the tightrope of diet and indulgence I will settle on a few of my favorite ‘salsa’ bratwursts.

Here is my contribution to a meaty Sunday evening…

We get some pretty random requests for sausage at the shop and the boss just can’t say no…I think he does it just to mess with me sometimes. lol. Oddly this one was requested twice in the last week.

The latest request was for a Swedish Christmas Sausage called Potatis Korv, or simply ‘Korv’. Apparently the boss wasn’t aware that this is a holiday thing! I browsed several recipes online and all of them seemed pretty similar. Equal Parts Pork, Beef to Potato/Onion with Allspice and Black Pepper.

5.5 lbs. Pork trim
5.5 lbs. Beef trim

I did not get an exact measurement on the potatoes and onion but it was 7 good sized Yukon Gold Potatoes (raw) and two medium Sweet Onions (raw) equaling a total of 5.5 lbs. for a combined total of 16.5 lbs. ingredients. Feel free to play with ratios.

150 grams Kosher Salt
4 t. Black Pepper
4 t. ground Allspice

I ran all of the meat and veggies through the #32 grinder using the coarse plate and laid out on a sheet pan evenly. I sprinkled about half of the salt and spice mixture over the top, tossed lightly then sprinkled the remaining spices. I then set the pan and grinder head in the freezer to chill for about 30 minutes.

Next step was a final grind through the coarse plate, a quick hand mix to ensure uniformity before covering and resting overnight in the fridge. I made a test patty for the crew and it turned out great. Cooking over low heat produced a great crust from the potatoes. I’d describe this as a breakfast in a sausage. The potatoes and onion reminded me hash browns and gave a soft yet defined texture. The Allspice and Pepper gave it a mild and savory finish. I’me sure I’ll be making this one again!

We use the Tubed 35-38mm casings at the shop for everything which makes for a nice, plump sausage. Many recipes called for links at about 4" in length so that’s what I went with. These eat like a meal so the smaller size seems to work well. If you try these for yourself let me know how it goes and post pics!

Philly cheesesteaks and mimosas for breakfast. Happy New Year!

I experimented with a smoked honey mustard recipe recently that you guys might like. While the smoke character didn’t come through as I would have hoped I think with some added time in the smoker it might just work. It’s a solid recipe either way.

For the smoked preparation you will need a something to smoke your seed in or on. I used brewing bags that would normally be used in beer brewing and doubled them up as to lose as few of the mustard seed as possible. You might also be able to use a sheet pan. I smoked the bags of seed for approx. 3 hours on Hickory but I’d suggest possibly doubling that amount of time.

I figured while I was doing this I would also add some smoke to salt, crushed red pepper and dried pinto beans. The smoke character came through nicely in all three with the beans and chili becoming the most fragrant. I feel the salt could have used some more time too but overall it was ok.

For the recipe you will need the following ingredients:

3/4 C. Smoked Yellow Mustard Seed
3/4 C. Smoked Brown Mustard Seed
1 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 C. White Vinegar
1/2 C. Honey
2-3 oz of your favorite Whiskey (in my case Weller)
1 t. fine sea salt
1 t. Tumeric
A pinch or two of Allspice (optional)

Combine Vinegar and Honey in saucepan and heat just until the honey dissolves and allow to cool to room temp. Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive container such as Tupperware, cover and let rest at room temp overnight. Take a shot or two of Whiskey. The following day you may notice that the seeds have soaked up all of the liquid. If so, add a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar and/or whiskey and stir. If there is excess liquid add a bit more seed. Take another shot or two of Whiskey. At this point you will want to refrigerate the mustard for the next six days. Be sure to finish the remaining whiskey during this time…most important.

At this point the mustard is ready to be enjoyed as a whole grain version or you can use a processor to make it a bit creamy. While I haven’t tried it yet I’d bet that a big dollop of Horseradish would kick this one up a notch. Enjoy!

For any of the Walton’s suggested recipes I’d say that a digital scale is a wise investment. They can be purchased for around $10. I just convert the package content weight to grams and divide by 25 to get my per pound measurement. When it comes to baking bread or other items I don’t use anything but grams. It’s critical. Weight measurements are simply more accurate than cups or spoons.

I went off the diet today…hard. I made Flank Steak Torta Milanesa with fermented chili crema!

Chef These turned out great. I didn’t follow the ratios exactly as a “cup” of fresh ingredients are subjective. I seasoned the meat and veggies and ran them through the 7mm plate twice. When cooked they were a bit crumbly for I’m glad I reduced the veggies. These have good heat from the amount of pepper and raw garlic. These are my approximate measurements: