Sweet on Local Honey

Here at the Outdoor Gourmet, we are sweet on local honey; so much so that I am writing tasting notes for our pals at Sweet Bee Honey Co. in the classic wine tasting method. Check 'em out!

Welcome to your weekend. -KB

Honey is nature’s own sweetener, packed with healthy enzymes, vitamins, and antioxidants and comes in many different varieties, ranging in color, flavor and body, depending on the floral source and time of year. And crystallization is natural! Raw honey, when unaltered with extra water or additives, forms sugar crystals. Just warm it up to transform it to its original liquid form.

High Summer Knapweed Honey

Found abundantly in the northwest, Russian or Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea Maculosa) blooms purple during the height of summer. Our colonies grow vibrant while working this plentiful plant, which produces dark gold honey.

The aromas of Knapweed Honey can be likened to a wheat field on a hot day- sweet and grassy. Followed by soft caramel notes, this medium-bodied honey is easily paired with just about anything.

Buckwheat Honey Reserve

Clusters of white flowers frost the Buckwheat (F. esculentum Moench) fields of Washington in Spring. This crop is grown almost solely for the production of Japanese Soba Noodles and produces a beautiful, dark auburn honey.

Earthy aromas, dark and rich, make Buckwheat the fullest bodied and most complex honey we produce. Molasses, tobacco, and cinnamon notes warm the pallet and make for a robust, smoky finish.

Limited Early-Harvest Blackberry Blossom Honey

Blackberry blossom honey is the purest and most rare honey produced in the great Northwest. Nectar collected from the thorny brambles of the Himalayan Blackberry (rubus armeniacus) creates this monofloral honey that drips from the comb translucent and nearly colorless. Once it’s packed, a faintly opaque and blonde hue makes it obvious why this is our reserve label product.

Clean, crisp lemongrass aroma, followed by soft floral and melon notes is what sets this honey apart as one of our most premium products. A hint of sumac adds a rich, full flavor on the finish, giving depth to this light-bodied honey.

Late-Harvest Star Thistle Honey

Harvested from scrubby, sun-colored flower of the prickly yellow star thistle (centaurea solstitialis), this is our lightest-bodied honey. With a tropical fruit and fresh-pressed comb aroma, this is a highly sought-after flavor by avid honey connoisseurs.

Northwest Alfalfa Honey

Rolling hills of bluish-purple alfalfa bloom cover the landscape of Eastern Oregon in early summer. The nectar from Alfalfa (medicago sativa) creates this rich, monofloral honey, clear and golden.

Warm, earthy aromas of cloves and spiced peaches fetch imagery of the staple crop from which it’s harvested. Smooth on the pallet, this medium-bodied honey is abounding with summertime flavors.

To find this high-quality, local product, check out the Walla Walla Farmers Market or visit www.sweetbeehoneyco.com.

Bristol Bay, Alaska

This week, I have a guest blogger! My friend Dave was good enough to give a bit of insider info on the commercial fishing industry in Bristol Bay, AK.

Thanks Dave!

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Winter has finally given way to a beautiful spring here in the Northwest. This spring, before we know it, will become summer, where the Alaskan fishing industry will quietly swing into full gear.

When we bring salmon home from the store to enjoy a wonderful meal, we might not consider exactly how this particular salmon got to our dinner plate. Like all our foodstuffs, the salmon was once a living “breathing” organism. In the next few months we will track some of the various life-cycles of herring and salmon while also providing an insight into the fishing industry. The fishing industry most familiar to this author is commercial fishing district of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Bristol Bay is located roughly 300 miles west of Anchorage. Bristol Bay is home to five river districts that provide some of the largest and richest runs of sockeye salmon (also known as red salmon) in the world.

In order for this fishery to remain a viable and natural resource the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) controls these rivers to ensure that escapement numbers are reached. What are escapement numbers? Escapement numbers are the fish allowed to return to the spawning grounds to reproduce. For instance, in 2009, according to the ADF&G, the total salmon returning to Bristol Bay was 40.43 million fish, of which 9.53 million sockeye were allowed to escape. The ADF&G predicts a slightly smaller run this year of 39.77 million fish, where 8.01 million fish are allotted for escapement and 31.76 million fish are allotted for processing. These numbers, for this area of Alaska, are fairly typical over the recent years. Why are escapement numbers important? These fish that escape and reproduce provide this renewable and precious resource that allows us to enjoy a delicious source of protein while maintaining the delicate balance of the Alaskan eco-system.

At an average selling price of $0.70 per pound in 2009 (for sockeye), fishermen make some or all of their living in this relatively short six week season. Fishermen generally have a contract to fish for a certain processing company which buys their entire catch. From the moment of catch, to the processing facility, and beyond to your local seafood department, quality control remains paramount. Processors are charged with the responsibility of preparing the salmon safely for the specific market buying them. For instance, some processors focus on specialty markets such as smokehouses while others fill industrial sized orders. In later entries we shall discuss the specific processes that go into preparing an average salmon for the market.

Fishing in the Naknek River

Although the average salmon season lasts only six short weeks in Bristol Bay, there is no lack of preparation that goes into a typical salmon season. No matter whether one works on the fishing boats or on land in a processing facility the fishing industry is grueling work. While sockeye salmon may reign king in Bristol Bay during the months of June and July, Pink and Coho Salmon have later or more abundant runs in August and September in other parts of Alaska. Salmon is not the only marine fishing in Alaska. From Crab to Pollock Alaska provides an extraordinary amount of marine produce for the world to enjoy.

As Discovery’s Deadliest Catch has illustrated, fishing remains a dangerous job. However tough and dangerous work there is to be done, the American spirit remains well and alive to accomplish the task. If one is well motivated and resilient one can typically find decent employment in this industry.

On the other hand, sport fishing is also abundant and should be taken advantage of given the opportunity. The natural wonders of Alaska are awe inspiring with thousands of acres of national parks. Given the opportunity, Katmai National Park should not be overlooked. For as little as $200 (accessible by plane from King Salmon, AK) visitors can walk amongst the bears and visit Brooks Falls.

Bears dueling for Salmon – Katmai Nat. Park (Brooks Falls)

For further information:

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Commercial Fisheries

Sport Fishing

Employment

Processing

Major League Grilling

So this year, I would like to hit up one of the many barbecue competitions, grill festivals, or/and celebrations of outdoor cooking methods in general. I did a little research and these sorts of events are multitudinous! Some are huge national events and some are after-party events to small town county fairs.

Here is a little overview of the most tempting of the cookout competitions…

International Bar-B-Q Festival (May)
Owensboro, Kentucky

www.bbqfest.com

American Royal BBQ Contest (October)
Kansas City, Missouri

www.americanroyal.com

Best of the West Nugget Rib Cook-off (September)

Sparks, Nevada

www.nuggetribcookoff.com

Barbecue Festival (October)
Lexington, North Carolina

www.barbecuefestival.com

Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue (October)
Lynchburg, Tennessee

www.jackdaniels.com

National Capital Barbecue Battle (June)
Washington, DC

www.barbecuebattle.com

Texas Steak Cookoff (May)

Hico, Texas

www.texassteakcookoff.com

These are major league competitions, so to get our feet wet in the world of competitive grilling, I will be taking part in Smokin’ the Coeur d’Alenes Inland NW BBQ Competition, which will be held at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Father’s Day weekend.

www.smokinidaho.info

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Easter Grilling

So, it's Easter Sunday and I woke up to a dusting of that white stuff on the newly-green lawn, but such is life in the Northwest. The sun has managed to come out and melt away the snow to provide optimal grilling weather, but the weather wouldn't have deterred me anyway. Like the Postal Service, neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night prevents the OG from doing what the OG does. Unlike the Postal Service, we get our grill on seven days a week.

As is the case with any holiday, I take the opportunity to make it all about food. And this Easter the menu is…

Crimini Mushroom Soup

Spring Spinach Salad with Strawberries

Alder Planked Prime Rib with Lemon Zest Asparagus

Lemon Tart with Meringue

( Lemon Tart compliments of my pastrily-endowed sister Amy)

First things first: With these large cuts of meat, the golden rule is LOW and SLOW, so I needed my plank to absorb as much moisture as possible for this extended grilling time. I soaked a couple 1 inch thick Outdoor Gourmet Alder Grilling plank for about six hours to insure they were good and saturated.

My cut of beef had a lovely layer of fat running over the top of the ribs and some good marbling throughout, so I sliced right along the fat to create a cavity for the fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic cloves. I used a whole bulb of garlic and liberal amounts of herbs, then rubbed the roast with coarse kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

I preheated my grill to medium heat (350-400º) and stuck my plank on the grill for 5 minutes to heat it thoroughly before the beef makes it to the plank. Once I had the prime rib on the plank, I cranked the grill up to high heat (500º-ish) and let it go for 20 minutes. I did this for two reasons: to get a nice char on the bottom of the plank (char equals smoke, which equals alder flavor) and to allow the meat to form a crust that holds in moisture.

Ok, twenty minutes is up and I just headed out to the deck take the heat back down to 350º and try out a new gadget: an Oregon Scientific Wireless Meat Thermometer. I placed the thermometer needle in my prime rib and closed the grill lid and wandered back to my computer to continue blogging. The cool thing is I have a remote that I program to my specific needs. I programmed in: Beef, Medium Rare (or 145º) and it monitors the internal temperature of my entrée.

This is so rad because I don’t have to open the lid of my grill each time I want to check on my food, therefore releasing all that good heat and smoke. You gotta get one of these.

So, here I sit, with my Oregon Scientific remote that tells me I have 8 degrees to go until Medium Rare perfection, so I have just enough time to slice some strawberries for the salad before I grab my prime rib off the grill, cover with foil, and allow it to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Letting beef rest allows the meat to cook for another couple moments while locking in the moisture.

Below is a link about the Oregon Pacific Wireless Meat Thermometer! Check it out.

http://www.oregonscientificstore.com/oregon_scientific/product.asp?itmky=70477&model=AW131&cat=5&subcat=&sortby=&filtermfg=&page=

Happy Easter! -KB