Weekend wrap-up and homemade pastrami....YUM!!!

This past weekend we decided to head down to camp.  “Camp” is the little red cabin on a hill on property that my husband’s family owns in the Southern Tier of New York.  

 

Camp - picture NOT taken this past weekend

If we want electricity, we need to fire up a generator, and if you want running water…well, go for a hike and try to find a waterfall.  

Please don't drink unfiltered/untreated stream water!

But it has beds, a gas stove (and one of the burners works reliably), heat, a giant fire pit, a his and a hers outhouse, and acres upon acres of land on which to Ranger ride.  And for a few reasons, this was really our last weekend to go riding until late December. 

Luckily I had this past Friday off and could spend the morning babysitting our smoker to finish off the pastrami I'd started a few days earlier.  It had spent some time in the fridge curing with a dry brine, and then was rinsed and placed back in the fridge to dry, then removed again, dipped in spices, and placed in the smoker.  The recipe I follow can be found here and since I haven’t changed a thing, I’m not going to rehash the details but in a few pictures...

Canada goose breasts ready to brine in the fridge for a few days.

Hanging out in the smoker for about 5 hours @ 180F

Finished product!  Looks just like the picture in the recipe.

Only problem was...I was busy checking the smoker when I should have been grocery shopping and packing for the weekend.   Oops.  I hurriedly packed up some stuff when Matt got home from work and we hit the road.  Kind of.  We were on our way to town when I realized I'd forgotten the charger for my work phone and we had to go back.  We then went to the Tops in town and after we loaded up the groceries and started out of the parking lot I realized I forgot my precision cooker (more on that in a later blog but let's just say it was integral to Saturday's meal) and we had to go back a second time!  It was not my shiniest moment.

We finally got to camp in time to start a fire and get dinner ready.  Friday night was low key with a few visitors up at our camp.  Saturday we woke up to rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  We had a slow leisurely breakfast of pastrami hash and eggs.  It's a lot like corned beef hash, but with...pastrami.  Cooking down at camp is interesting unless you bring a lot of seasonings with you.  That is why I relied on a really flavorful meat to carry the dish.  Dice up your pastrami and fry a little while your potatoes par-cook in a saucepan.  Add onions to the pastrami and soften.  Remove from pan, add some oil or butter and fry up your par-cooked potatoes.  Add the pastrami and onions back to the pan, throw in a glob of your favorite mustard and then crack your eggs on top.  Cover and cook.  

Diced pastrami and onions

Breakfast!

Matt was a little skeptical when I told him I was going to use pastrami since I usually do this with bacon.  But in the end, he said it was DELICIOUS.  Skillet breakfasts are my favorite thing to make down at camp and I foresee this pastrami version being revisited often. 

We had a nice break in the rain when we finished eating and decided to head down to our friends' camp.  From there we hopped in our Rangers, met up with a few others and went for a ride.  I'd say we put on at least 30 miles and were gone for about 6 hours.  It was some of the best riding yet, made some new friends and discovered new trails.  Some of the views were absolutely beautiful!  

Enjoying the view at the top of an old ski hill.

Lexa LOVES Ranger riding.

On our way back to camp it started to rain.  Again.  We had to dry out a bit when we got back but thanks to our friends whose cabin does have electricity, our dinner was ready.  After eating all three of us were pooped and hit the hay.  

Pita pockets for dinner and a sleepy dog!

We didn't do too much riding on Sunday.  Mostly we hung out with Steve and Lynn down the road at their camp, ate some super yummy snacks that Lynn made (her Stromboli is to die for!), some bacon wrapped venison that we brought, and watched some of the Bills game.  Steve and Matt even went out and got more supplies for yard critters.  

Marinated in Catalina dressing, wrapped in bacon and then grilled.
This is my go-to "dish to pass" from now on.

Hemlock logs.

Yard critter.

It was an awesome weekend.  I'm sad to say it's probably the last one for the year unless we find time to sneak down before Christmas.  But that doesn't seem likely.  The next two months are so busy already and really, we try not to go riding down there during hunting season for safety reasons and to avoid upsetting local landowners.  

Goodbye camp!

I am looking forward to sharing with you about next weekend.  I'll be heading to Saratoga Springs, NY to run  Ragnar Relay Adirondacks.  There will be some familiar faces on my team and some new ones as well.  I'm always happy to make new running friends.  Fingers crossed...the weather looks like it should be perfect and if my legs aren't too drained, I'll be joining some of our group to hike one of New York's high peaks.  Should be an awesome time.

Hope you enjoyed your last weekend of summer as much as we did.  Looking forward to all the fun fall activities ahead of me.  Did you do anything fun this last weekend of summer?