Boosh Andouille

Well, yesterday I spent about 10 hours making Andouille, and today I spent about six hours smoking it on the Webber. Well, my brother helped with the smoking. We also managed to build a bike shed, but that's hardly the point. I made the recipe at http://www.nolacuisine.com/2005/11/14/andouille-sausage-recipe/ with some small changes. Namely:
My Boston Butt was about 4-4.5 pounds
I used 4 tablespoons of cayenne powder
I cut only 1/4 of the meat into chunks. The chunks clogged my Kitchenaid sausage stuffer so for the last of 3 sausages I reground it.

Finding curing salt is definitely something you should do before trying to make sausage. I figured my local butcher shop (McKinnons in Davis Square) would have it, but it did not (or they were out of it). Market Basket, which sometimes sells casing, also didn't have it. Eventually I found a small spice store (Christina's on Cambridge St) which, after asking the clerk, did in fact have curing salt. Unfortunately, the clerk did not know what ratio the salt was to the sodium nitrite. Ah well.

The sausages have now been smoking for three hours. In another half hour or so I'll take them off, then hang them on the porch for the night, and freeze two tomorrow. One I'm definitely eating tomorrow.

Relaunch of Aqua Vitae

While surfing through my old websites, I came across this remainder from college. I am now a pretty prolific brewer, and I plan to use this blog to chronicle my beer adventures, misadventures, and occasional sausage making excursions.

Anyways, I hope this interests people, because beer and food are pretty much my favorite material things.

The Glenlivet 12-year-old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

The Glenlivet is probably the most famous and most popular single malt scotch in the US, so I guess I expected a lot out of it. Unfortunately, this scotch does not have a lot of anything. It is so light in color and flavor that it almost tastes watered down. I have to admit it is easy to drink, and does have a nice mellow peatiness, but it just isn't that interesting. I suppose that it would be appropriate for those with "delicate palates" so if you don't like scotch much but want a bottle to impress the Joneses with, by all means go for it. At $40 for a 750 ml bottle, though, it's the last time I buy anything from that particular distillery.

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Weyerbacher Merry Monks' Belgian Style Golden Ale

Let me start off by saying that I have been to Belgium and tasted some mighty fine beers. I am glad to see that some American breweries are stepping up to the Belgian's plate. But I haven't ever tasted trippels from this side of the ocean that measure up. Fortunately this offering doesn't over-reach by going for the archetypal Belgian. It is a manageable ale with a beautiful honey-golden hue and a distinctly, though not overwhelmingly, sweet Belgian nose. The flavor is a somewhat toned-down version of a trippel, still full flavored and with a rich, lingering sweetness. One more thing it has in common with its Belgian mentor: nice and strong, at 9.3% abv. Pretty pricey but about par for the course with Belgians, around $2 for a single 12 oz bottle.

Balvenie Double Wood 12 year old ingle malt scotch

I first tasted this particular scotch in Scotland in the spring of 2006. I had purchased a three-nip sampler of Balvenies, and found it much more appealing than either the Founder's Reserve 10-year or the Single Barrel 15-year. The nose is predominantly sherry, with a light peaty edge to it. The peaty nose blends perfectly in to the back of the palate on tasting. The scotch warms the mouth nicely, strong enough to bite gently but pleasantly, with a deep flavor that is subtle enough not to overwhelm. I like it especially because the bourbon barrel aging lends it an uncomplicated but exceptional smoothness. A good scotch to get when you want to spend $35 (750 ml). Look around, some places will have it for $45 or more.

Rebel Yell Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

I must admit, I do have a weakness for cheap booze. Well, my wallet does anyway. But Rebel Yell is the real deal: cheap as sin ($16 for a handle (1.75 ml) in NH on sale, $20 when not on sale) and actually drinkable. It's surprisingly smooth, with a sweet flavor, and almost none of the nasty lingering bad-alcohol taste of most cheap booze. I'm not saying it's my favorite bourbon to drink neat, but it's not bad on the rocks. Certainly compared to other cheap bourbons, it sticks out head and shoulders above. There's cheaper whiskeys, but at $13 a bottle (750 ml) in Massachusetts, there's few that approach the price and none that approach the value. Great for mixing, as well.