Lopez Island

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A pig roast, the Lopez Island way

Scenes from the annual “Big Fat Pig Roast” on Lopez Island, Washington. (Photos ©Bryan Gooding) It is a week and a half into September and the rains we usually see later in the month are here. It is 60 degrees and it feels like fall. In a week we are having a fundraiser for the Lopez Island (Washington) Grange because it is an old building with a history that sorely needs a paint job. The event is called the “Big Fat Pig Roast” and will be a covered dish dinner for 150 locals where the main course will be a two-and-a-half…

Cooking - 10/23/2018

Smoked ham from heritage piglets

Heritage hams with rub applied, ready to become smoked ham. (Photo ©Bryan Gooding) Every spring there’s a new crop of weaners on Lopez Island. Robin and David Gibson of Two Shed Farm raise heritage pigs down the hill and ended up with 17 piglets from their two sows. Time for some smoked ham. We were lucky enough to have two six-pound hams for a holiday dinner. A six-pounder easily fed eight people with leftovers to take home for each couple. Reports have come back of smoked ham and egg breakfasts and ham omelets deluxe the following morning. Robin and David…

Cooking - 12/29/2017

Recipe: A Texas-style test of ribs, and rib rub on Lopez Island

A plate of finished baby backs, "spares" from Midnight's Farm and chicken. (Photo ©Bryan Gooding) Creative embers aglow, Martha Gooding walked to her spice cabinet. "We've got to find some magic ingredient for our rib rub." she said. "And what I was thinking was garam marsala." It was the last Sunday of Sherry Jacobson's and my visit to Martha and Bryan Gooding's home on Lopez Island. Our mission was to test a punchy Texas style rub on two kinds of pork ribs: a meaty, fatty grocery store-bought rack of baby backs and a much smaller, leaner rack from pigs raised at…

Cooking - 10/10/2017

Recipe: Lightly smoked, grilled salmon on a Weber -- Let the fish speak for itself

Lightly smoked, grilled salmon served with grilled fresh vegetables. (Photo ©Bryan Gooding) When you live on an island where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a salmon you have to cook fish. The touch of smoke you get with this approach to lightly smoked, grilled salmon really kicks up the umami flavor profile giving it a heartier taste. The added benefit of this recipe is a fast cook on a regular Weber. The dish looks and tastes great. Ingredients: 2 – 2 lb. Coho salmon fillets kosher salt lemon pepper olive oil fresh or dry dill lemon Martha's…

Cooking - 09/13/2017

Recipe: This ain’t your Mama’s smoked bacon

Whole pork belly from Midnight's Farm on Lopez Island, before trimming. (Photo ©Bryan Gooding) There are only a few dishes in barbecue where a pit master can take it to the edge and really personalize the food. Sausage is one. Smoked bacon another. Former ferry Captain Kenny Burtness dropped by one day and left us a one pound slab of his homemade smoked bacon. This was not by any stretch of the imagination normal looking bacon. Irregular in shape with wide swings in fattiness and leanness, Kenny had used an unusual blend of spices and maple syrup for his personal…

Cooking - 08/29/2017

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