I've got legs.....

Frog legs... and perch filets too! :)


These are some of the perch filets that smoking friend Boatnut in Ohio sent to me last month. He also sent a recipe to try called Perch Rollups.

I traded some venison for these... :)




I marinaded the perch filets in roasted garlic teriyaki sauce for about 4 hours...

gave the legs a quick squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of lemon pepper.

Rolled and wrapped the perch in bacon, secured with a pic then onto the smoker at 325F with a mild applewood.

I basted the legs with a lemon, garlic, butter mix..

Total cook time was 30 minutes.

The perch rollups and frog legs drizzled with a lemon, butter, sherry, garlic sauce.





These were soooo tender and tasty.....




The perch rollups were great! I think the recipe would be nice with any fish filets.









I should have made more, they went fast. :)

Terrorizing the Neighborhood :)

He gave me the look.........acted like this was the first time he had ever had a woman whistle at him from her pickup window. lol

Stuffed Anaheims and Spanish Rice

These were almost hard for me to make... I love rellenos and wanted to dunk these babies in batter and fry em, but I resisted.

For the filling I minced some green onion, grated a bit of asadero cheese and shredded a little smoked chuck.



I blistered, peeled and seeded the anaheims, then stuffed and wrapped them in bacon...



onto the smoker...




while the peppers smoked I cooked minced onion, garlic and bell pepper in oil...




added rice...




used azafran mainly for color...




added chicken stock, paprika, cayenne, tomatoes...then checked for salt and pepper. I let this simmer until the rice absorbed the broth and spices.







.










These were sooooo good! Some of the peppers were kinda spicy but I loved them.



Best thing......... I made so many of them, they lasted all weekend. :)

To Craig in Manchester UK

I'm not able to get a reply sent to you via e-mail Craig. Not sure why it's not working.

The shrimp I raise are Macrobrachium rosenbergii.... they will not survive in water temperatures under 65 degrees F.. Not sure if that would work out for your MIL's pond, she would have such a short growing season.
Also I'm not sure what species are in her pond right now or if they would grow any larger. One option might be to find another market for them other than for human consumption.

You might want to check out the Mississippi State site MSUcares see if they will be of any help to you.

Sorry I can't be of more help Craig. I hope she finds a suitable alternative to her current venture.

Keep me posted on what you find out. :)

Thanks...

Meyer Metal Works

I wanted to give a heads-up about Meyer Metal Works in Minneapolis Kansas!
Talented fabricator, Matt, builds some awesome looking smokers and grills.
I like the looks of the Midnight Smoker . (I know what you're thinking...the last thing I need is another smoker lol) But they are sooooo nice!

Also, if you have a custom build in mind contact Matt. He'll be happy to help you out. :)


Honestly, I'm a bit jealous of his fabricating skills. I've had my little wire welder for awhile now and I am STILL trying to make a straight bead with it. :)

The Maine Outdoorsman.....and spring fever

Very talented writer, outdoorsman and blogging friend Rabid at
The Maine Outdoorsman posed a question the other day challenging readers to name people who were instrumental in kickstarting their interest in hunting and fishing... Or naming one or two people who made a difference in their sporting life.

Hmmm... I thought about this throughout the day.
My dad was the first one I thought of. The many trips we took as a family, complete with tents, campfires and fishing. Whether we were in Colorado searching for trout or at some small lake pulling catfish, bass and crappie out of the water... Dad spent all of his spare time teaching us to love the outdoors.

My big bros taught me the art of shooting. First by blasting tin cans off the top of the clothes line pole with a BB gun. Then working my way up to the .22s and a plethora of pistols and rifles that would blow yard ornaments into oblivion in a matter of seconds. (I recommend asking for permission first when it comes to yard ornaments. lol)
I was taught to respect wildlife at an early age..... if you shoot it or catch it....you clean it and eat it. That made me VERY cautious in choosing my targets.

Thank you Rabid Outdoorsman for bringing back so many great memories! :)

Now comes the spring fever part.....

Darn you Rabid Outdoorsman for bringing back so many great memories! (just kidding) Thinking of my old hunting, fishing and camping trips has me yearning for warmer weather... I have full blown spring fever!

I'm ready to sit by the campfire in my favorite little rocker...

listen to some tunes....

kick back and wet a line......

revel over my amazing achievements....











wonder if this is what a perch feels like staring at a bobber on the surface of a lake....

Sit in my fishin' chair under the "bobber" tree....






Good thing I go with friends who pay attention to their fishing........
Thanks to them, I never go hungry. :)

Unlike me, The Rabid Oudoorsman takes full advantage of the outdoors year round. If you get the time, check out his site.. The Maine Outdoorsman.

Lots of great articles, pictures and tips on hunting.... and the outdoors in general.

Spending time there reading has somewhat eased my distressed state. lol

Thanks for your posts RO!

Holy Smokin & Cinnamon Chipotle Dove Breasts and Venison Kabobs

Whew...what a long title! :p



I received two packs of dry rub to try out last month and have finally had the chance to taste them!
One package of Cinnamon Chipotle BBQ Rub from good friend Bill Mothershead at Black Eyed Pigz , and a package of Ross's Holy Smokin' Chipotle from one of my favorite people in the whole world, Ross at Grilling Smoking and Baking.

I decided to try both rubs at the same time on some venison and dove.

I cubed up a bit of venison meat...

If you cut the venison hunks almost twice the thickness of the dove breasts, the meat will come out great. The dove will be cooked and the venison will be pink in the middle. (not overcooked)



These are dove from the fall hunting season .




I like to filet the meat from the breast for kabobs.

I divided the venison and dove then coated them with the two dry rubs...



I put extra onions on Ross' Holy Smokin' Chipotle kabob so I could keep track of which was which.

yeah... leave it to me to mix the two up, even though one contains cinnamon. lol I don't trust myself. :)

Time for the taste test.





The Cinnamon Chipotle dove and venison....



Ross' Holy Smokin Chipotle dove and venison...




Both rubs were different and both were SOOOO good! :)





I definately didn't have a favorite between the two... Bill's Cinnamon Chipotle rub and a nice cinnamon flavor but still packed a chipotle kick. You can use more or less of the rub to make it mild or hotter. I'm not a huge fan of really hot stuff (I like to still be able to taste the meat).
It was perfect in my opinion.

Ross' Holy Smokin' Chipotle rub was killer too. You can see the color of the spices in the bottom photo. I have no idea if Ross' rub is for sale yet but will find out soon.
I'd love to try it on some beef, maybe a skirt steak or brisket...

Both rubs would be great on chicken too!

I know that Bill's Cinnamon Chipotle Rub is for sale on his site..
Black Eyed Pigz .

Thank you Ross and Bill, I really enjoyed both dry rubs, they were wonderful!

Panfried Perch, Hushpuppies n Slaw

One of my talented smoking friends who goes by the name of Boatnut.. happens to be an excellent angler too. He so kindly sent an ice chest of perch filets that he had caught in the cold waters of his home state of Ohio.




The perch filets were really nice sized! Nothing like the little perch I catch here in Oklahoma.




I scored the skin to keep the filets from curling while cooking...




made a light coating of flour, cornmeal, salt, cayenne pepper and lemon pepper. Then fried until golden and crisp.





Made my hushpuppy batter and added minced onions, jalapenos and some whole kernals of corn. (I do the same with my cornbread batter for some reason, guess I like the added flavor :))



fried spoonfulls of hushpuppy batter until golden...














The panfried perch, hushpuppies and slaw....



















These were soooooo tasty!
I let out one of those little whimpers (reserved for things like smoked bacon wrapped bacon) as I enjoyed the first bite..



Between Boatnut's perch and the walleye that smoking friend Phesant sent from Wisconsin last month, I'm tempted to move north. lol
Okay.... maybe I'll wait til winter is over and make a fishin' trip up that way during warmer weather. :)

If you see this... Thanks again Boatnut. The perch were excellent!