Smokin’

Now that I have had my ‘Egg’ for a couple of years, I thought it was time that I overcome my apprehensions and learn a new trick.  I knew that the Egg could be used as a smoker, but I’m embarrassed to admit I had never actually smoked anything on it.  Of course, I had thrown in the special wood chips to impart some extra smokey flavour to my grilled meats and vegetables and I had certainly slow roasted my share of pork shoulders and whole lambs.  But smoking is a whole other thing.

The key to smoking is temperature.  You have to get the temperature of the egg down low enough that it doesn’t cook the food too quickly, but instead infuses it with a deep, smokey flavour.  I also knew that there was the additional step of brining or rubbing your meat or fish first.  The recipe I found called for a mixture of ginger, kosher salt, garlic, sugar and herbs.

So, armed with the required components, I embarked on my smoking journey.  I was spending the weekend at my Riverhouse, and  visited the Wakefield Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning to stock up on ingredients.  I had already procured some lake trout, but also picked up some local, organic pork chops from one of the local farmers.

I rubbed both the trout and the chops with my mixture of salt, sugar & aromatics.  As the trout was small and thin, I let them cure for a couple of hours.  The chops can cure for much longer (up to 24 hours according to the recipe).  I stoked my Egg with charcoal and ‘fired er up’.  Once the coals were burning nicely I closed down the dampers and waited for the temperature to come down to under 200 degrees.  This took quite a while as the egg is so efficient at retaining heat.

Once the temperature was achieved, I threw on my hickory chips as well as the fish.  30 minutes later and voila!  It was spectacular.  The flavour was smokey & sweet, the texture was light, not overcooked.  And the colour was spectacular.

So, armed with my newfound confidence, I was ready to tackle the chops.  The process was pretty much the same.  Because they were big, meaty chops I smoked them for a little over an hour.  Then when the chops were firm, I removed them from the Egg, and cranked up the heat so I could sear them on both sides to get some added colour and flavour.

Now, of course, I want to smoke everything!  Eggplant, duck breasts, mushrooms, shrimp, bacon, ham…..the possibilities are endless.

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Spotted

One of the joys of the area we are in (Gladstone, between Bank & Bronson) is our neighbours.  Yael & Patrick at the bakery next door are the best neighbours.  They supply us with fresh bread for our weekly menu, and in the afternoons, after they close at 1pm, we carry their bread in our shop.

Around the corner (on Kent & Arlington) we have the Whalesbone warehouse, where on Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, you can grab a great fish sandwich, or stock up for some weekend entertaining.  And of course, down the street at Bank & Gladstone, there is the Whalesbone Oysterhouse, where you can get one of the best meals in town, prepared by one of Ottawa’s most talented young chefs.

We often see their chef, Charlotte, biking down Gladstone on her way to or from work, looking very Parisian, with her beret askew, and her large basket on the front of her bike.  Last week she stopped by ‘True Loaf’ to pick up the bread for their evening service and we just had to snap a photo.

Ain’t she sweet!

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We knew it – now they know it too!

Last Sunday, July 11, Washington Post writer Michael Kaminer produced a detailed, and rather flattering article about Ottawa, calling our home town Canada’s Cool Capital.  Those of us who have grown up in Ottawa suffer from a cultural inferiority complex.  I remember when I was barely ten my more cosmopolitan Toronto cousin told me that yoghurt had more culture than Ottawa.  At that age, I didn’t really understand what she meant, but after years of having to listen to fellow Canadians describe Ottawa as a boring government town, I started to believe it was true.

Certainly the city has changed over the years, as do all cities.  However, as I got older and started to travel to some of these far off and reportedly more cultured locales, I started making my own comparisons.  A trip to New Orleans for the Food and Music Festival was hampered by horrible weather, terrible service, and a long bus ride to an open field to fight huge crowds to see some fine musicians.  The trip was expensive and they city did not impress me as much as I hoped.  Upon my return to Ottawa I saw some of the same musicians for free in Major’s Hill park, without having to suffer the nightly murders, the exhausting heat, and the obvious racial tensions.

After many wonderful trips to New York City, I had to reluctantly conclude that although there were a few memorable meals, generally the quality of food in Ottawa’s finer restaurants rivaled that of New York, at a fraction of the price.

Was it possible that I had been sold a bill of goods by my own countrymen?  Could it be that Ottawa was not as dull and drab as I had come to believe?

Finally, a recent trip to the West Coast, a hotbed of locovore activity, revealed to me that Ottawans are every bit as committed to supporting local, seasonal and organic agriculture as our West Coast brothers and sisters.  Although interesting things are happening in the west, where they enjoy a much longer growing season, equally interesting things are going on right here in our own backyard.

Now, the Washington Post confirms it.  Ottawa is cool!

Thanks to Janteen & Savour Ottawa for getting the word out.

Read the entire article

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