5 Things To Do With Porketta

5 Ways to Cook Smokehaus Porketta

So, you’ve got your beautiful hand-rolled slab of heaven – now what? There are many ways to cook Porketta, including a straightforward, roast til it’s hot approach. But for the creative-hearted and culinarily curious we have assembled a short list of preparations for your dining pleasure.

1. Low and Slow: Roast Porketta at 325, covered and doused with a cup or so of liquid (white wine, lager, chicken stock or even a mild fruit juice such as apple will do). Keep it covered for the first hour and a half, then uncover and continue to roast until fall-apart tender (maybe another 45-60 minutes). When ready, take the roast out, let it sit for 5 minutes, and then shred like your life depends on it. You can use forks, tongs, or even gloved hands (but be careful – it will be hot!). Eat the whole delicious mixture over mashed potatoes, with your favorite pasta, or on a hard roll.

2. Grill it: Because the Porketta is fully cooked, you need not worry about finessing your fire too much. You can reheat the Porketta in your oven at a higher temperature (say, 375) and when it because hot to the touch, transfer to a hot grill to crisp up the exterior crust. The results will be crunchy, smoky, and oh-so-meaty.

3. Cute it Up: Cube it up? Cube your Porketta by cutting it into ½ inch chunks. Sprinkle with paprika and gently fry on a medium-heat skillet until the sides are crispy. Skewer them with other bite-sized cubed items like potatoes, cocktail onions, fennel, or sweet peppers (or our favorite – all of the above!). Serve on your holiday menu, or as an appetizer for a dinner party, or as a very high class midnight snack.

4. Take it to the Club: Make an incredibly savory club sandwich by layering thin slices of Porketta, right out of the package (it’s fully cooked, you know) with shaved fennel, sundried tomatoes, and crispy pancetta, and lemon basil mayonnaise (you can just amp up your Hellman’s with a dusting of lemon zest and handful of shredded basil or you can make your own). You can serve it on stirato or focaccia, but if you’re feeling sinister might we recommend a triple-decker with slices of your local grocery store’s most pillowy version of Italian bread, toasted.

5.  Go Full Holiday Roast: Place your Porketta on a rack in a large roasting pan, uncovered. Begin roasting the Porketta at 375 while you prepare your other ingredients. Wash fingerling potatoes or quarter them, quarter fennel, rutabaga, and or sweet potatoes. Toss all with olive oil and light salt (the Porketta is going to help flavor them all) and arrange them in the now-hot roaster when they’re ready (make sure you take the roaster out of the oven to accomplish this – safety first!). Cook all until vegetables are soft – around 45 minutes to an hour. Serve with something green, like Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, or green beans. Buon appetito!

5 Things... It starts with just 5 things.

Well, another fantastic week has passed on once again. We at NW Smokehaus and NW Restaurant have been taking in the lessened business that seems to come with November in stride. Trying to rally for the inevitable lashing that seems to come with December is old hat to some, and fresh fresh for others… But, you know, it starts with just 5 things.  It always starts with just 5 things…

#1.    PIIIIIIIGS IIIIIIIIINNNN SPAAAAAAAACE: You know, you leave something up to the creative types and sometimes they really deliver. Our friends Anne Marie and Flo came up with a cute and concise offer; for a mere $125 dollars in purchase (and for a mere  24 hours) you could receive FREE shipping… Who doesn’t love getting something for free? The answer is: not very many people; IE we had a lot of people take us up on the offer. Making space for all (even pigs) is about as inclusive as you can get, and The Smokehaus is all about inclusivity.

#2. YOU SHOULD TOTES GET ONE OF OUR TOTES: Screaming deals are the name of the game this December, and why should the deli be any different from any of our other departments? For a limited time if you stop by our deli and spend $100, you will receive one of our beautiful canvas bags for free. They don’t just hold Smokehaus food either! Oh no, they can hold a LOT of other stuff. Too much stuff to get into here, but you get the drift. Although, if you have any questions about what you can stuff into the bag, just give us a call and ask for Smokehaus General Manager Mary. She will be happy to direct you.

#3. RESTAURANT SELECTOR: Ok, so as not to be outdone by her older sister The Smokehaus, Northern Waters Restaurant is now offering a free $20 gift card when you purchase $100 in gift cards. These gift cards are good at either location, offering a much different but equally enjoyable experience at either place, AKA the best of both worlds. So, basically you get gifts for the people you love and also give a gift to yourself. Self love is an important concept, so take care of yourselves my little beauties!

#4. IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE WINTER… VILLAGE: Our presence at last year’s Winter Village on the grounds of Glensheen Mansion caused quite a stir! You really just never know where we will pop up. But, we always pop up when people really need us, and those moments shopping for holiday gifts that can seem incredibly daunting are when we shine. In the spirit of that, we will be cutening up our little cabin by the lake again at this year’s event (this Saturday and Sunday) and offering you the ease of buying gifts that you know will be a hit. And there’s no shortage of other great vendors selling, including our friends and partners at Lake Superior Bakehouse (think sweet treats for your holiday). There’s also alcohol and food being served all day long, so no excuse for losing your momentum!

#5. PHOTO REDUX MANIA!!!!!!!: As you might remember, about a month ago we tasked Smokehaus creatives Flo and Stephen (and a late-in-the-game assist by Jacob) with a complete overhaul of the photos on our website. It was a huge undertaking, but one that we knew they were up to. The results exceeded our expectations a hundred-fold, and what we are now looking at every time we open the page makes our hearts sing! We feel as though our food is elegant in it’s preparation and beauty, and we finally have images that match those qualities. We could not be happier with the end product. Check us out at nwsmokehaus.com for the long lasting food love that these pictures so effortlessly convey.

10 things - Holiday Mail Order Edition

Mail Order Season is upon us. For us that means our volume of shipments goes through the roof. A team of about 2 turns into a team of about 7. A once quiet office turns into a loud machine of box making, choice 90s tunes, taping boxes, carefully hand-packing boxes, labeling boxes, and waving at the FedEx guy as he takes all our boxes into the world. It’s a great time to remind you of some things to think about when placing your Mail Order orders with us this holiday season.

#1. Meats typically ship frozen. When ordering the larger meats, like 7 pound Hams and 4 pound Porkettas, think about the timing of your event. You may need an extra day or two for the meat to thaw before you can lovingly prepare it for your guests.

#2. We do everything we can to get your order to you as quickly as possible, but weather and FedEx operational issues are out of our control. Typically, you can receive orders from us pretty quickly. For orders placed by noon M-W, we ship your order same day (if product is in stock). For those in Minnesota, we also do this on Thursdays. Food is shipped FedEx 2-day so that it arrives cold on your doorstep. From time to time, Mother Nature gets in the way of the 2-day shipping timeline. And every so often FedEx experiences technical issues or trucks break down. It’s so unfortunate when this happens, but we’ll be in touch with you, and happily replace an order if it arrives warm, or extend some other nicety depending on your situation. We’re here to help.

#3. It’s good to know how what to do with the packaging that comes with your product. We’re in the midst of phasing out styrofoam, but we have a little more to go through. Some of you this holiday will receive our styrofoam coolers. The box and styrofoam cooler can be re-used, but if you’re not into that, please recycle the cardboard and throw away the styrofoam. Some of you will receive our new “Jean Jacket” box liners. They’re soft and squishy, and biodegradable! They can be thrown out or you can take the polyfilm off the liner and compost the blue denim fibers inside. As for the ice packs, please reuse if possible. If you need to dispose, they are 100% water soluble.

#4. Give us a call when needed. We’re not robots here. We like to think we’re pretty helpful actually. If you have a question regarding an order, just give us a ring. If you’ve got a question about where your package is, also give us ring, we can easily track your package, where as calling FedEx might not get you anywhere.

#5. Ordering online is the way to go when possible. Our website ordering process is very smooth. And we’re always looking for ways to add new things to the experience. When you order online, you’re more likely to get coupons emailed to you as well! 15% next order? Yes, please!

#6. Use and care of our products is now included in the yellow slip that comes in your box. If you haven’t noticed that bright yellow slip, check it out! Use and care for our products is as follows:

• Smoked Fish – Fully cooked and ready to eat. Enjoy or freeze within 3 weeks of date on package.

• Smoked Meats – Fully cooked and ready to eat. Enjoy or freeze within 1 week of receiving.

• Salumi – Shelf-stable. Best kept in butcher paper, in your cupboard. Discard or eat rind, slice as needed and enjoy within 1 month.

• Raw Sausages – Not cooked. Cook as desired, ensuring internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Use or freeze within 1-2 days.

#7. All of our food is hand-made. We are not a factory. We are a small shop. We hand-make all of our products in small batches. The path of the product from raw meat to fully smoked to being packaged up for nationwide shipping is quite a process. We take pride in this process, and we put love and creativity into every step of it.

#8. Many people love to send our food as gifts during the holidays, but don’t send it as surprise! Since the food must remain cold, it’s good to let the recipient know it’s coming. They’ll want to grab that box as soon as it comes and move the food to their refrigerator. It’s also good to point out here, that we don’t require a signature for delivery. It’s important that the food be dropped off and received as soon as possible after drop off. If we required signatures, it’s more likely the transit time could be extended beyond 2-days, and more likely the food would become spoiled.

#9. We vacuum seal most of our smoked fish and meats. We do this for many reason. It’s a safe way to transport food for shipping and it looks nice too! But if the seal breaks during transport, you mustn’t worry, it’s still safe to eat. Only if the food arrives warm should you throw it out, and call us right away.

#10. Check out some of the newly added items in our Mail Order department! We are now selling the Cajun Finn Sandwich Kit and Northern Bagel Sandwich Kit. Think of these as the perfect addition to a special occasion, or the creative alternative to a birthday cake! Find these in the “Collections” section of our website. Also, coming soon, you’ll also be able to purchase our beloved Crayo, Kimchi and Sauerkraut! And you be able to add Cheese & Crackers as an add-on to your order. Fun stuff, right?

Ok, that’s it for now kind customers. Place those holiday orders soon, and remember we’re always here to help.

5 things - volume 14

Sunday

#1. Smokehaus Party takes place. Smokehausers do like a party. Food and drinks are in abundance, and people laugh and sing and frolic into the wee hours. It’s good for camaraderie, it’s a good release this time of year, and the we count the clock until next time.

Monday

#2. We started to release recipe cards in our mail order boxes! These little beauties feature our products and we’ll be making more and more as the months carry on. Look for one in your next shipment from us!

Tuesday

#3. Our website gets a few tweaks. In preparation for brand new photography, we’ve altered the look of our mail order section to showcase our new photos. Release date is very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. These new shots will knock your socks off!

Wednesday

#4. We slice 59 # of Smoked Berkshire Bacon, and add it to our growing stash for the holiday season. Take a look at some fun facts compiled by Mental Floss last year.

Thursday/Friday

#5. We gear up for none-other-than, Cyber Monday! It’s our first go at the cyber-space madness online shopping day. We think we’ve got a cute little offer, and we hope our amazing customers will take advantage. Cyber space immediately equated to Pigs in Space for us. And so our cute little campaign was born.