Adventures in Preserving 2 and 3: Raspberry and Blueberry Jam and Red Currant Shrub.

After my preserving course, I'm now trying my hand at jam and other preserve making. Here are the first two experiments of the last couple months:

After the failed marmalade attempt, I thought I need to try jam. I had some raspberries and blueberries available, so I thought I'd just try to put them together. I didn't have a recipe for that mix - so I just winged it.

I forgot to take a picture of the process, but here's the end result:


And here it is, in action:


It ended up being a bit too strong. I'm not sure what I did wrong - not enough sugar, or not the right flavors together, but it just wasn't all that great. I'm glad I only ended up with two jars of it! I guess I'm not quite experienced enough to go off recipe. But the consistency was really good, at least, so I got something right.

One thing that they let us taste, but didn't demonstrate, on the preserving course, was an old-fashioned drink called "Currant Shrub." It's like Sloe Gin or any other fruit flavored alcoholic drink. In this case, it's red currants and brandy. I liked the taste of it on the day, though I don't go in for those kinds of drinks normally. It tasted just like Christmas, and the longer it sits the better it is, so I thought I'd make some for this holiday season.

You start by getting the juice from the red currants:



Then you need to strain the juice out. I don't have a jelly bag stand, so I rigged one up using two potato mashers, and some other kitchen objects, including a jam jar filled with water, acting as a weight to press the red currant juice out:


Then you mix the juice with the alcohol, plus some lemon juice and nutmeg and let it sit.

Like this:


After a week or two (or three - as I accidentally did the second time I made it), you add sugar and raise its temperature to around 60 degrees Celsius. Then you strain it through a jelly bag and bottle it up. Then you let it sit for a few months. Hopefully it will be just about right by the time Christmas rolls around.

BBQ Adventures 3: Pork ribs.

Last weekend I tried making pork ribs. This time I used the Memphis Ribs recipe from Steve Raichlen. It uses a rub and then a vinegar-mustard mop.

Again, I had to go with what was in the store, and they only had individual ribs, not a rib rack, but all that seemed to mean is that they probably cooked a bit faster than if they had been all joined up.

I used mesquite wood this time, so the smoke flavor was definitely stronger.

I forgot to take a picture of the set up, so all the pictures we have are of the finished article.



(By the way, those tomatoes are ones that came off of our own tomato plants. That was pretty exciting.)



I think they turned out pretty well. So far I think the ribs have been my favorite (though I tend to like ribs best, anyway). They weren't completely fall of the bone tender, but I do like to have a little bit of "chew" to them.

The potato salad was a bit too salty.

This was the first time I tried sugarsnap peas on the grill (I put them all together on a skewer) - they were really good. I would definitely do that again. I also tried putting all like vegetables on the same skewer together, rather than intermingling different vegetables. I think it did work better, because then you could control how they cooked more easily. It doesn't look as nice, and rather than just handing a skewer to a person, you have to divvy up each of the vegetables, but it's worth it to avoid overcooking some and undercooking others.

So far Mark liked the pulled pork best, then the ribs, then the brisket. I think I liked the ribs, then it's kind of a tie between the pulled pork and brisket.

Not sure what I'm going to try next. I really want to eat sausage, like at Spring Creek or Dickey's (by the way, just discovered that there's a Dickey's in Taylors, on the other side of Greenville, SC), but the problem there, of course, is sourcing the sausage. I don't know if I can get my hands on the kind of sausage that they use. I might try brisket again, or try something completely new out of the cookbook. Or maybe ham. At some point I'll try a whole turkey - but I think I need to get a stand first. Unless I try beer can chicken, which seems to have achieved cult status. I'll see where our appetites take us next.