Smoked Salmon Filet

Ingredients
1  1 1/2 pounds salmon filet
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup alder wood
1 cup water

Step One:
Soak the wood chips in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes. While the wood chips soak bring the smoker to no more than 180 degrees F. Drain the wood chips and add the wood chips to the smoker. Wait ten minutes for the smoker to produce aromatic smoke.






Step Two:
Rinse and paper towel the filet of salmon dry. Notice the grain of the flesh and the whitish line that runs down the middle of the filet. Run your fingers against the grain (narrow side to wide side) along each side of the fillet. You may notice a bone or two. This is called a pin-bone, you can use a spoon or a pair of pliers to remove the pin-bones. The pin-bones must be removed.

Step Three:
Turn the salmon filet over look for any remaining skin, if you asked for the skin to be removed, remove any remaining skin. If you've  purchased a salmon filet with the skin on, that's okay.  The skin adds wonderful flavor complexities. To some, however, it is a fatty thing to toss away. In this preparation the fishmonger was asked to remove the skin, but it's not necessary.

Step Four:
Season both sides of the salmon filet with salt and pepper. At this point any additional ingredients can be added. This preparation doesn't add additional aromatics such as dill because the aim is to maximize the smoke flavor.

Step Five:
Smoke the Salmon for 20-25 minutes until it is medium.

 Step Six:
Place the salmon on a rack and reserve for 10 minutes.  Slice and enjoy.

Beef Stew

Beef Stew


1 1/2 pounds chuck pot roast
1 cup water
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can beef broth, divided
1 cup sliced (coined) carrots
2 medium  Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & 1/4” diced
1 stalk celery,  sliced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Bay leaf
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon tomato paste  or 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup



Step One:

Trim the fat from the chuck pot roast as best as possible. There will likely be an elastic silver colored skin on the parts of the meat. This is commonly called silver skin, it is part of the fascia of the muscle. Remove the silver skin with a sharp knife.  Once the roast is fully trimmed cut the roast into 1/2 cubes and reserve. After trimming the cubes will weight around 1 pound




Step Two:

Place the beef cubes in a slow cooker along with 1 cup of water and 1/2 can of beef broth on low for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile add the onion, carrots, potatoes, and celery to a sauce pan along with 1 cup of water and the remaining beef broth. Bring the vegetables to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 -20 minutes with the lid ajar. The purpose of this step is to prevent vegetables that are not fully cooked, breaking down the structures in the vegetables requires higher temperatures, however those temperatures would result in tough beef, therefore this preparation blast heats the vegetables so that they are not fully cooked but will be tender. Add the vegetables to the slow cooker and stir in remaining ingredients. Cook on Low for 7 hours.

Grilled Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus (approximately, 1 pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper


Asparagus, now available year round, is one of the best vegetables to eat during grilling season.  It is a cool weather plant that can take 2-3 years to get to the point that it can be harvested, so when you see that bunch at the vegetable stand or grocery store you should honor all the effort and prepare it to maximize the flavor. One of the worst ways to cook asparagus is to boil all the vitality and asparagusness out of it. If soft mushy asparagus is your goal, then canned asparagus may be right up your alley. This preparation employs the grill, but asparagus (in particular thin asparagus) is perfect sautéed, or even flash fried such as in tempera.


Step 1:

Wash and dry the asparagus.  Pour the olive oil into a large bowl.  Add the asparagus to the bowl and toss gently. Add the salt and pepper, and toss gently again and reserve.






Step 2:

Place the asparagus on the grates of a hot grill or grill pan.  It takes only a few moments to cook, therefore it must be monitored. A simple rule of thumb is to cook it for a minute and flip it/or roll it, for another minute and then retrieve. The finished product should have some char, but be tender, crisp, with some residual crunch. 

Fresh Chicken Burgers

2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breasts

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup onions, diced

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons bread crumbs.

Cooking spray

Step 1:

 Cut the chicken into 2-inch chunks. Following you grinder’s directions, grind the chicken coarsely into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2:

Mix the remaining ingredients into the ground chicken, save for the cooking spray.  Form 4 equal sized patties for ½ pound burgers, 8 equal sized patties for ¼ pound burgers. It isn’t suggested to go below ¼ pounds.

Step 3: 

Spray the skillet with the cooking spray, and heat to medium high heat. Cook the burgers until their internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F, turning them over once halfway through.  The onions will help the burgers to remain moist.  As an alternative after cooking the burgers for 5-10 minutes per side lower the temperature and lid the burgers. This will allow them to cook slower and more evenly reach 180 degrees F.   Remove the burgers and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.