Hot Honey

Today's post comes from Brian, a long time Smokehaus employee of nearly seven years. Head down to the prep room and you'll find Brian expertly preparing haus-made ingredients for our sandwiches with his eyes practically closed, he knows it so well. An inquisitive character, come at Brian with any number of of topics and leave the prep room with your brain hurting because of the knowledge dropped. Outside of the Smokehaus, you can find Brian dabbling in sound design, reading voraciously, hanging with his kids, and of course, fermenting things.

Here at the Smokehaus, we are constantly looking for ways to improve the techniques and processes to bring the best product to our community and customers around the country. We also like to experiment at home. I love to make homemade hot sauces.

One of the key components of hot sauce is how to extract the heat from the peppers and control how hot a sauce is going to be. I had struggled to have a consistent outcome until my co-worker Brandt (our lead Smoker) suggested I learn the process of making hot honey. Experimenting with hot honey has taught me how much heat to expect at the end of this process as I experiment with different peppers. This will help me create better hot sauces. I now use hot honey instead of brown sugar for my sweetener while cooking. So without further ado, here is a simple breakdown of how to make hot honey:

Step One: Take a large pot and fill it a little over halfway with water. Bring to a rolling boil. 

Another one of Brian's talents? Illustration!

Step Two: Place a metal bowl containing the desired amount of honey over the boiling water.

Step Three: Drop in a few sliced peppers of your choosing into the honey. Taste as it releases its capsaicin until you reach your desired heat level. Then pull the pepper out and let the honey cool. Now you have hot honey and can add it to your cooking!

Try it on variety of foods. It’s a great addition to any dish that you want a hit of sweet heat! Here are a few suggestions:

• Cheese boards

• Curries

• BBQ Sauces

• Chicken wings

• Homemade vinaigrette dressing

• Marinades

Corned Bison with Roasted Beet Salad

Reheat Smokehaus corned bison:

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.

In deep roasting pan, place corned bison

Fill with water until the corned beef is submerged.

Cover and place the pan in the oven.

Check every 45 minutes to see if liquid needs replenishing and use a thermometer to temp the corned bison. 

Continue this process until internal temp reaches 165.

After the appropriate amount of time has passed, pull pan out and allow to cool for 20 minutes.

After cooling time has passed, pull corned beef out of pan to carve. Remember to always carve against the grain. Cut into 1/8th – 1/4 inch slices.

Roasting the beets:

4 beets (either red or golden)

4 Tablespoons of olive oil 

Salt and black pepper

Heavy duty tinfoil.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub beets under water and trim off any tops.

In a large bowl, toss all four beets with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Individually wrap seasoned beet in tinfoil. 

Place all four wrapped beets directly on the oven rack.

Roast for 60 minutes. 

Unwrap beets and poke with a knife to check tenderness. If the knife does not cut with ease, place the beets back in the oven for another 10 minutes. 

Once knife tender, unwrap all four beets and let cool for 20-30 minutes. Next use a paper town to scrub off the skins of the beets.

Cut beets into wedges and set aside.

Salad

4 oz container of arugula

4 oz container of spinach.

2 T maple syrup (we prefer Simple Gifts maple syrup, harvested in Duluth by Dave Rogotzke.)

2 ounces of aged sheep’s milk cheese, shaved thin. We prefer Friesago from Shepherd’s Way Farm (sold in shop)

In a large bowl, combine arugula, spinach, roasted beets, and cheese. Toss and drizzle with maple syrup. 

How to Score Salmon

So, you've got yourself a beautiful fillet of smoked salmon, and your guests are scheduled to arrive soon. What next? Time to score that salmon! Here's a simple way to get the perfect bite-sized portions.

With a serrated knife, cut horizontally along the side of the salmon fillet.

With a serrated knife, cut vertically from top to bottom of the fillet.

Garnish salmon fillet with herb, citrus, & crackers.

Smoked Maple-Sage Turkey Breast Heating Instructions

So it’s still a little frozen (or a lot frozen)?

You can defrost your roast in your fridge with a sheet pan underneath it. This will take less than 48 hours so plan accordingly.

So you want to cook this Smoked Turkey Breast up?

Heat Turkey at 375 degree oven in an uncovered baking dish, on a rack, until internal temperature reads 140 degrees.
Let it rest for approximately 10 minutes before slicing.

The lower the temperature and longer you roast, the more tender.

Want a fennel kick? Follow this link for our fennel braise recipe.