Cooking up the beaut of a Porketta

Porketta [por'ketta]: A roasted MN Berkshire collar-butt is adorned with plenty of garlic, parsley, fennel and red pepper flakes to engulf your home with aromatics and water your mouth. Some people, like those from the great country of Italy (where the recipe originates) spell it porchetta.

We are still quite astonished with the amount of orders and new customers we have received since our appearance on the Holiday Bon Appétit issue and online "6 Stunning Mail Order Food Gifts That Won't Reveal You Can't Cook".  We are still blushing and beaming in glee. 

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 beauty up?

Here are two ways in which you can achieve a soft roast or a crispy crust.

Crispy Crust

Heat Porketta in a 425F degree oven in a an uncovered baking dish, on a rack, until internal temperature reads 150F degrees. Let rest for approximately 10 mins before slicing

Softer Roast

Heat Porketta in a 350F degree oven in a covered baking dish with 3/4 cup liquid, such as beer, stock, or water for 60-90 mins. Uncover and continue to roast until it reaches an internal temp of 165F degrees- approximately 15 min. 

Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing, or chop the Porketta into the liquid and serve accordingly.  

Phones Have Gremlins

What a day! Our phones are down, but delivery is up, up, up! You can place your order online via email: catering@ nwsmokehausdotcom! Just leave your phone number and we will call you back on one of our faithful cell phones.

Thanks for bearing with us, and enjoy the snowy day.

Décor at Northern Waters - Glørud Design

Décor at Northern Waters

Josh Rude / Glørud Design

Josh Rude’s Paddles are a recent addition to our collection of artisan work on the walls of Northern Waters Restaurant. We love showcasing the work of the insanely talented people that live here. Josh’s paddles hit all the marks. Line, color, form, shape, harmony,  presentation–these paddles are a true work of art.

We reached out to Josh to learn a bit more about the history of his work & why he chose to be a maker.

Company Name: Glørud is our Norwegian family name.  When my family moved to the US in the late 1800’s, the name was changed to Rude. Obviously the name ‘Rude Designs’ did not have the best ring to it, so I chose my Norwegian family name.

The Story: I have only been making paddles for 1-2 years, but the motivation started growing at least 10 years ago.  My wife and I met as canoe guides in the Boundary Waters off the Gunflint Trail 17 years ago. I wanted to give her a canoe paddle of her choice as an engagement gift. We shopped, and shopped but we did not find a size, shape, or design she was drawn to.  A week turned into a month and a month turned into 8 years (oops!).

We spent many years traveling, but eventually moved back to our original home of Minnesota. We wanted to get back the BWCA, but I still hadn’t given my wife a paddle. Along this journey we also had 3 kids making our finances a bit slimmer.

I decided I would build a paddle for her. It was nice try, but no engagement gift. I made another, and it was a bit better and I started to understand the process more. I made another and someone offered to buy it! I sold that paddle even though I had not given one to my wife.  Eventually I came out with a few designs which included the paddle for my wife. The Innsjø double-bent is a paddle designed specifically for her. Innsjø is the Norwegian word for ‘lake’.  We have fond memories of Long Island Lake in the BWCA while working up there.  This paddle was named for her.

The Road Ahead: The reason I continue making a paddle after I finished my wife’s is two fold.  First, I have enjoyed it.  My time in the shop is therapeutic. The simple task of working with my hands has been a good change of pace. Second, I love contributing to the community of paddlers and people that enjoy spending their time outdoors.

Take a trip up to our restaurant to view Josh’s paddles in the flesh, enjoy Haus made food, or have a drink!

More information about Glørud Design can be found at www.gloruddesign.com

Attention Friends - Change is Happening!

Not all experiments work the first time — just ask Edison with his 1,000 attempts at inventing the light bulb. So while we’re grateful to our core of loyal customers who loved & supported our No Tipping policy as well as our employees who have embraced this model, it has become clear that many diners are not comfortable with it.  Out of the gate it’s also proven challenging to incorporate all of these personnel costs into the business model.

As a culture, we’ve been reading menus one way all our lives. When we rolled in the tip & tax into our competitive prices, it was easy to perceive that number as high.  So, as of January 12, 2017 Northern Waters will take on a typical tipping model.

What will change: You’ll see some lower priced items on the menu as well as the addition of some of our favorite sandwiches from our Smokehaus and Deli in Canal Park– like the Cajun Finn, Pastrami Mommy, Cold Turkey & Northern Bagel. We’re also going to make sure that our great daily specials and happy hour are out there on social media. Please tune in!

What WILL NOT change: We’re proud to continue with our paid sick and vacation time for employees — a rarity in our industry. And we assure you that will still have the same high quality, haus-made food you know and love. We’ll continue to use age-old methods to cure and smoke our own meats, support other local businesses by sourcing our ingredients, supporting our employees’ commitment to equity and create a beautiful dining environment.

Lastly, thanks for coming in to Northern Waters. We love making you some of the best food anywhere.

Best,

Eric, Lynn and our entire Northern Waters family