So Fougoo has her monthly girls cooking nights known on this blog, but every year, I have an annual Boys Weekend in Wisconsin where we share food, drink and good times.This year's trip was the most "foodie" we've ever had. This year, our host Thayer has been really taking Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie book as inspiration to, first off, making homemade Italian and Hungarian sausages. They were incredible, fresh, and juicy. There is nothing like the snap of natural casings.
He also cured his own Lox, using a nice amount of star anise that was just delicious.
My fried Karl, brought an incredible sausage from Zingerman's of Ann Arbor that was infused with black truffles. Before you cut into it, it had that stinky amazing smell of a good cheese.
Certainly, no weekend is complete without some delicious alcoholic beverages. After our experience with the Caldera canned beers in previous trips, we had several other canned craft beers. I liked the Modus Hoperandi from Ska Brewing in Colorado. The can was all decked out in the Two Tone style and it said "Lip up Fatty" on the bsck.For a lighter flavor, the Mama's Little Yella Pils from Oskar Blues was really nice.
We tried some Tito's Handmade Vodka from Austin, TX that was more like a whiskey in it's bite and more character than more widely available vodka.Stay tuned for part 2.
That sausage was the best I've made by far. Glad you liked the lox too!
ReplyDeletePart 2...let me guess...Union Star and blackened hog?
WE had the brats goin down here in Texas for the Cowboy & Giants game. People down here don't know what lox are. I worked in a restuarant in Miami, Fla. and sold alot of Lox & Bagels.
ReplyDeleteUnion Star is coming - probably next week.
ReplyDeleteAll the Italians I've eaten since the weekend pale in comparison to yours, Thayer.