5 Things- Summer lives in Duluth!

Orange is the new "AAAACK"! 

This past week was a pretty interesting one- we survived Grandma’s marathon and then our city was visited  by a man known as Commander-in-Chief. We also managed to smoke meat and fish, dry-cure salumi and make sandwiches for the hungry masses, so we had that going for us, which is nice. I could tell you the tales of about a million things from this week, but I will just start with 5 things.

1.The President of the United States of America was in Duluth.  That’s right, the POTUS was in town to hold a rally. Someone from Rolling Stone Magazine wrote a rather infamous (at least by Duluth standards) article about the rally, which was beautifully rebutted by our Mayor Emily Larson here. 

2. All the Hoopla that you can handle. Our pals over at Hoops Brewing here in Canal Park are already celebrating their 1 year Anniversary! It’s hard to believe, but it is not hard to believe that Hoops has become a brewing institution in our fair city, because Head Brewer and proprietor Dave Hoops is truly at the top of his game. Beer fans from around the region are flocking to Hoops not only because of  the quality of their product, but also the sheer variety that they offer. Hoops has done a great job showing dedication to the classic styles that can be so tricky to nail, but also lots of fun and innovative brews that keep rabid Beerheads coming back for more. Hoop-La is the aptly named event this weekend to celebrate this momentous anniversary. Look for great food, music,  games, and also just a lot of fun to be had. Hoops has been a great partner to Northern Waters Smokehaus for even longer than Hoops Brewing has existed, and we couldn’t be happier for their success. We also really like drinking Keller Pils there after work. Get there!

3. Lake Avenue Live features tons of Smokehausers. Our neighbors across the hall here in the Dewitt Seitz building, Lake Avenue Cafe, hold a really fun event each year during Grandma’s Marathon known as Lake Avenue Live. They rent a tent, get great live music, and throw a party for those revelers that are not particularly interested in seeing Smashmouth, Sugar Ray or any of the other  improbable acts that grace the multitude of other events that happen here in Canal Park over the course of Marathon Weekend. Ned, Jeremy, Brian and Amy from the Smokehaus were all part of musical acts featured at the event. Even former Smokehaus employee from a million years ago and current ingenue Haley was in on the action with her band Gramma’s Boyfriend. It was fun as hell, and everyone enjoyed a few drinks and some great music. Hopefully this event continues on into infinity.

4. Smokehaus got Pride. June is National Pride Month, and we at the Smokehaus wanted to do something in recognition of this special yearly event. NWS has decided to launch a fundraising program starting the first week of July and continuing on until Duluth’s Pride event in August. We contacted our friends at Lutheran Social Services to help us decide where this money could be best utilized. LSS clued us in to the excellent Together for Youth program. The purpose of Together for Youth is to affirm the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, allied and intersectional youth, and to assist them in navigating their way through a world in which their lives are often negated or denigrated. This program really speaks to a growing need in our community, and we are so happy to be contributing to the solution. Our mode of fundraising for this is selling a really cool sticker (see below), designed in-house by our creative team. We love the sticker (we have plans to make a poster of it for our shop as well), and many of us here at the Smokehaus are going to buy one for not only the great cause, but just because it looks so cool. NWS has been an official partner to our local Pride event for many years, but since this year is our 20th anniversary, we thought it would be neat to throw even more support to the GLBTQAI community. We know it’s the right thing to do, and it feels really good to do it.

5. “Now I will believe that there are unicorns…” Remember how we were talking up our new hippie leanings a few weeks ago? We began smoking tempeh and tofu in earnest, changing up recipes, figuring out the best holding methods, and so on. It’s been a really important journey for us in terms of being able to serve a previously under served demographic here at the Smokehaus- Vegans. We had a few fits and starts, ended up scrapping the smoked tempeh idea, but ultimately came out with a smoked tofu product that we are excited about. And what’s more, exciting products lead us to the inspiration for exciting new sandwiches! In the spirit of that, let me introduce to you The Tempest: an absolutely delicious vegan sandwich that features our smoked tofu, house made romesco, tomato, cucumber, basil and cilantro; all housed on a stirato roll. This sandwich has a really nice cheesy texture and flavor from the tofu, and a delicious savory quality from the romesco, while the fresh herbs and veg really punch up the flavor on this instant classic of a sandwich. Vegans, vegetarians and omnivores alike are losing their fool minds about The Tempest. I personally think that it’s one of the best sandwiches we’ve invented in quite some time.

HOLD ON!!!! BONUS THING!!!!!! That’s right! This is technically a 6th Thing! Free of charge!  I would be remiss if I did not add that The Smokehaus’ Cajun Finn Scavenger Hunt is starting next week on Monday, July 2nd. Find the secret magnet location, grab the magnet, and win a sandwich! Since it’s our 20th anniversary this year, we’re giving away 20 sandwiches in 20 different locations all throughout the month of July. It will be a rollicking good time, and you might get fed FOR FREE.

Learn more about this really fun event here. 

5 Things- Summer Madness!

Summer officially begins on June 21st, but here at the Smokehaus, it effectively starts Memorial Day Weekend. As the weather warms up, tourists and locals alike naturally gravitate towards Lake Superior, Canal Park and Park Point (along with all of the other incredibly beautiful outdoor spaces in Duluth) to soak up that precious surf and sun. Memorial day weekend is usually when we start to notice that the lines extend a little further down the hallway at our lunch rush, the summertime SECONDARY lunch rush starts in earnest, and that we have a generally hard time getting in and out of our beloved workplace. Right about now you’ll start to notice that our 5 Things blogs will get away from talking about plans, product development and visioning our business, and will probably shift more towards the nuts and bolts of what we will do in earnest for the next 4 months; sling sandwiches. We have a minute, though, to talk about some other stuff. Let’s get into it!

What’s ‘On Deck’? Great question! The answer is more creature comforts. We’ve had a really nice deck right outside our door for the entire time we’ve existed here at The Dewitt Seitz building, and through the years we’ve added more tables and chairs to accommodate our growing number of patrons. Since we don’t have a ton of space in our actual deli, the deck really becomes our dining room for a lot of people. We’ve had it in our minds for a while to put a some of our personality outside of our shop, and the deck offers the perfect canvas. Our amazing team here at The Smokehaus brought the vision to life by buying umbrellas, planters, flowers and furniture, along with creating custom decals to decorate some of the furniture. Our customers have absolutely loved the small but cozy touches that we’ve added, and we’ve even heard rave reviews from our staff. Having a beautiful outdoor space that matches what we do inside the building is just another small step along the way for us in crafting a customer experience that is both memorable and comfortable.

The Smokehaus just keeps popping up! The businesses that we partner with are extremely important to us. We are so incredibly lucky to have a business partner right here in Canal Park that we not only respect as a business, but is also comprised of our good friends. Our old pal Dave Hoops has a pretty great (and important in the world of Duluth beer) brewery just about a block away from our Deli. Hoops Brewing also loves great partnerships, which is why they are allowing Northern Waters Smokehaus to curate a pop up restaurant in their taproom on the first Friday of each and every month. We love to draw inspiration for these pop ups from the incredible beers brewed at Hoops, and we’ve done everything from ribs and kimchi to Bison Buddies snack sticks to good old fashioned bratwurst and polish sausage. One thing that we haven’t done much (until the last couple Fridays) was tacos… which seems crazy, right? Our homie TK brought the prerequisite bratwursts and accoutrements to the party, along with our famous Smokehaus Carne Adovada tacos. Lo and behold, the tacos were were a huge hit and the first thing to sell out ( pairing brilliantly with Hoops’ Keller Pils ). Catch us each and every month at Hoops for more exciting snacks and, probably, tacos. Speaking of…

Taco Tuesday is maaaaaybe just a little played out. As a concept! Not as a way of life, obviously. But, we recognize that many many places do a riff on Taco Tuesday (including us) and that many of them ripped the concept off from a rather large taco corporation with an inexplicably Anglo-Saxon name purported as their leader (including us). But that doesn’t mean that Taco Tuesday can’t be special, and here at The Smokehaus we do our utmost to make it the best of the best. The aforementioned Carne Adovada tacos from the Hoops popup have always been a staple of our Tuesday special, but we’ve recently really expanded our taco horizons even further. This past Tuesday brought Gringo Tacos. More John than Juan, the Gringo Taco is just like Mom used to make: ground beef (except we grind the beef ourselves), cheddar cheese, iceburg lettuce, tomatoes and salsa (house made). We know that most people get the crispy taco shells that you toast in the oven, but we weren’t prepared to go quite that far in the name of kitsch, so we decided to offer house-made corn tortillas and soft flour tortillas. Other awesome and even fusion-like flavors of tacos we’ve slung have included Green Curry (a nod to the cuisine of Indian food guru Madhur Jaffrey) and just a plain old (not at all plain OR old) pulled pork taco with simple accompaniments of onion, cilantro and salsa. Got a hankering for a Tuesday taco flavor? Hit us up! We’re trying to change the taco game each week, and we will take any help or suggestions that you have to offer. We feel as though there is always room for collaboration. And tacos. Always tacos.

So Fresh, So Clean- In the past few years, we’ve taken a lot of care in sprucing up and ramping up the functionality of our tiny deli and storefront. Think about it; we had the television show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives show up 8 long years ago, and ever since have been reacting to the astounding amount of business that it has brought our way. Our deli was definitely going through some growing pains trying to accommodate the droves of hungry food tourists beating down our door, but we did it. And we think that we did it pretty well. With all of the big changes that have happened, you often don’t have a moment to contemplate the significance of the small changes. This week, our property manager decided that we were next on the list for a refresh of paint, so we jumped at it! It’s still a work in progress, but we feel that the color scheme that we picked really goes a long way in making the space inviting and calming for not only patrons but our staff as well. Check out the beginnings here, and come see the final result in person. We think you’ll approve!

Scavenger Hunt- 2018 is the year that we celebrate 20 years of Northern Waters Smokehaus. Knowing what a milestone this is for any business, we decided that we should take the time leading up to our actual anniversary (September) to do some fun stuff for the community that we live in, which coincidentally is the community that supports us so beautifully. Maybe it’s not such a coincidence, but one thing is for certain; we wanted to let Duluth know how much it means to us. More is in the works in the next few months (I won’t get into it here), but we figured we’d start hyping what we think will be a really fun part of our summer- A Scavenger Hunt! In the month of July, we’ll be releasing clues via our social media outlets for a giveaway of 20 (see what we did?) Cajun Finn sandwiches. We chose the Finn because it is not only our most popular sandwich, but we feel our most iconic. Check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for clues starting July 2nd and win some lunch! Why wouldn’t you?

Get here in the Summer! Also, get here in the rest of the year. Duluth is beautiful, and it makes us really happy to share it with the people who appreciate it. See you soon!

Turkey and Fennel Recipe

Ingredients:

1 whole Smoked Turkey Breast
2 Bulbs Fennel
1 Yellow Onion
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1.5 Cups Dry White Wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)

Method:

• Preheat Oven at 325°F.

• If there is skin on the turkey, peel it off. You can shred and fry this in oil and sprinkle on a salad or discard – up to you.

• Dice veggies and sauté with oil in a large coated (or not coated) cast iron Dutch oven until fragrant and translucent. Add Turkey Breast and wine, cover, and put in the oven for 60minutes.

• Check the turkey at this point – it should have an internal temperature of at least 140°F and should be tender to the touch. If so, uncover and roast at 350°F for 15 minutes.

• Remove turkey to a cutting board. Let rest for 5 minutes and then carve or chunk and place back in the Dutch oven to soak up residual sauce and veggie flavors. Serve with fresh buttered pasta, crispy potatoes, or on crusty bread with fresh butter and/or provolone.

Tubesteak Boogie

Tubesteaks are fresh and in season! Wait… what the heck are tubesteaks??? Well, it’s what my grandfather called sausages for supper to make us think we were eating steak. Though Northern Waters Smokehaus is most known for our smoked fish and meats, we are always stocked full of haus-pumped and tied fresh sausages – and in my personal opinion, our fresh sausages are some of our best products. So, pull out the grill, invite friends over, and put the beverages on ice- It’s tubesteak time. Totally tubular, brah!

Hailing from a family of Germanic and Czech heritage, holidays were a bounty of glistening sausages, savory smoked meats, and sauerkraut. Here at the Smokehaus, our fearless leader Eric Goerdt has taken his own culinary traditions and pumped them into a mouthwatering spectrum of fresh sausage flavors. Sweet maple syrup, spicy jalapeños, savory italian notes, & sweet apples are just a few of  the amazing flavors that lend to the relishing quality of our sausages. Seriously, if you haven’t tried any of our handcrafted and flavorful fresh sausages, you need to come down to our deli and pick up a pack! Or, if you live out of town, check out our website and order ‘The Fresh Pack’; we’ll send any combination of our best-selling fresh sausages right to your door! Not sure what we have to offer? School is in session! All of the delicious fresh sausages described here are available for order online in The Fresh Pack, and of course, in our Canal Park deli.

Starting with my personal favorite, our Classic German Brat is a perfect harmony of flavors – we’re talking veal, Berkshire pork, whole milk, and spices that make you long for a heaping pile of sauerkraut and mustard. This sausage is what all other German-style brats strive to be, and the attention to detail that we spend on our products really shines through in this instant classic.

So, we all know that beer and sausages are undeniably perfect together. So in the spirit of friendship, we created a beer brat, coined The Big Friendly; made with fresh ground Berkshire pork, Smokehaus bacon, our secret spices, and that classically sweet Minnesota brew, Grain Belt Premium. The Big Friendly is the perfect tubular vessel for accoutrements such as (of course) mustard, pickled relish, sautéed onions (deglazed with beer, obviously), or dare I even utter the word… ketchup. To each their own, I guess.

One of our most versatile sausages, The Italian, will make you scream “MIA MADRE QUELLA SALSICCIA!”… or you can just say “Damn! That’s good.” This sausage features Berkshire pork, salt, pepper, cayenne, crushed pepper, garlic, dried parsley, coriander, fennel seed, & bay leaves. But what makes it so versatile? Well, with this sausage you could definitely keep steady and put it on a soft white brat bun, but why stop there when it’s plump with so many flavors? Do yourself a favor and buy a pack of Italian sub rolls and top it with spicy giardiniera. YUM. Feel like eating with a fork and a knife? Rough chop and cook these sausages with your favorite red sauce to serve over a delicious plate of noodles.

One great aspect of living in the Midwest is having 4 distinct seasons. Autumn in Minnesota brings apple season, thus inspiring us to capture that tart yet sweet flavor in our outstanding Apple Brat. Made with delicious dehydrated apples, organic apple cider, freshly ground Berkshire pork, salt, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, caraway, marjoram, pepper, and cinnamon, this sausage absolutely sings when topped with delicious sauerkraut. With a perfect balance of sweet and sour flavor, we recommend enjoying this seasonal taste year-round!

Now, when the the spice gods created the jalapeño, it was written that salty pork was destined to find the jalapeño. With that understanding here at the Smokehaus, we created a monster! Smokehaus bacon, freshly ground Berkshire pork, jalapeños, and spices are forced together (through a sausage stuffer of course) to create the one and only Jalapeño Bacon Brat. This brat is the perfect balance of salt, pork, and spice. When cooking, I prefer to cook these on the grill and let them get a little crispy. The crunchy & snappy casings compliment the spicy jalapeños and succulent salty pork.

While we still have jalapeños and salty pork on our minds, we are going to venture out of hog casings and into the world of uncased sausages to talk about a spicy fresh ground sausage with inspiration derived from the amazing culinary traditions of Mexico. Let me please introduce to you our Chorizo Fresco. Made with Berkshire pork cheeks, tongues, hearts, and other organs, red wine vinegar, salt, ground Mexican chilies and jalapeños. Our ground chorizo explodes in your mouth and mind with vibrant and savory flavors. This chorizo is sold both online and in our deli in one pound packages and we guarantee that it will take your tacos and burritos to that next serious level of delicious and savory complexity.Pro tip: we also wholesale our chorizo! Find it in the Classic Provisions catalog or call us to inquire.

Let’s take a serious minute to talk about breakfast. We’ve all been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yet we often skip breakfast or eat things like a simple banana. Is this because we simply don’t take breakfast seriously or don’t have time to cook a delicious breakfast? Maybe. But if this next product passes your lips, you will never want to make excuses to skip breakfast again. Please, allow me to introduce one of my very favorite Smokehaus products, THE MAPLE BREAKFAST SAUSAGE. Allow me to state that this breakfast sausage is the best breakfast sausage you or I will ever taste again. I’m f*****g serious. Made with Berkshire pork, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, sage, marjoram, cayenne, maple syrup, and honey, these little sausages with satisfy you beyond your wildest breakfast fantasies. Cook them up in a skillet with your basic breakfast, chop them up and add a bunch to your biscuits and gravy, incorporate them into a breakfast burrito or breakfast sandwich, or be the true glutton you really are and fry up and eat the whole pack (about 8 per pack or 1 lb’s worth) by yourself. You deserve it!

So there you have it! We hope that this Smokehaus fresh-sausage primer has given you something to think about when planning your next meal (or not even planning it and deciding on the fly). We will also leave you with a friendly reminder: these tasty tubular treats can also be enjoyed on the first Friday of the every month this summer at HOOPS Brewing here in Canal Park for our Summer Pop-Up Restaurant (call or look to our social media for specific times and details). And if you’re ever having a severe case of the Mondays, stop in to our Deli and try our Smoker’s Choice Sausage Special (Served 11am until they are gone), served on a Haus-made potato rosemary bun with all the necessary accoutrements provided. We look forward to seeing you!

Prost!