Anchorage

Walk in smoke house project

July 13, 2013 by robertforto 5 Comments

After about a month of evenings and weekends working in the bright daylight in the land of the midnight sun, our walk in smoke house is finished at the Fort.

We had planned on building our smokehouse for over a year since seeing our friend, Marvin “PeeWee” Rankin’s. I knew right from the start that he and I and my son Tyler, could build one similar to his.

We decided on making it six feet by six feet. Much bigger than that any we could have problems with the smoking effect.

Our first step was to lay the foundation. We used the same design as our greenhouse by using railroad ties cut to fit, sunk into the ground and squared.

The walls and the room went up next. We built it in a typical construction fashion using studs on two foot centers. We laid 3/4 in plywood for the floor and skinned the inside walls with plywood as well.

Here are a few photos of the foundation and the shell of the smoke house.

[Read… Smoking Alaskan Salmon]

Siding

Our initial plan was to side the walls with rough cut pine from a local saw mill but after several unreturned calls we decided on using 5/8″ thick by 5 1/2″ wide cedar slats, similar to what you may use for fencing. We picked them up at Home Depot for about $2.70 a piece and used about a 120 of them. Since cedar will shrink we used the siding boards ripped in half over each seam to give it a much tighter fit and a very good looking exterior.

Roof

Our initial plan was to lay down red roofing that matched the barn and the trim on the house but found out that it would take almost 5 weeks to order and was very expensive. We thought about shingles and decided against and eventually went with steel (non-colored) panels.

With the outside complete it was now time to work on the guts of the smoke house. We knew the interior of the structure would be not only the most expensive part of the project but one that would take the most careful planning.

[Read… Smoking Alaskan Salmon]

Racks

Early in the project my wife, Michele, called the local metal company to order stainless steel expanded metal that was to be cut to fit for a quoted price of about $250.00 for 16 racks. When it came time to order they said it would be three weeks and over $500.00!

We called every metal company in Alaska and no one carried stainless. We found a company in North Carolina but it would cost over three hundred dollars in shipping.

You never want to use galvanized metal in cooking, nor can you use racks from an old refrigerator. They contain metals that are toxic.

I drove down to Anchorage on a quest to find racks and I did. I found 12 grill racks at Fred Meyers that were buy one get one half off, and 16 jerky rack trays and four pretty good sized aluminum racks at Sportsman’s Warehouse.

We spent the evening carefully installing the racks for maximum use of space and smoking ability.

Heat

We decided to use the same system that our friend used to fuel the smoker. We found a heavy duty propane cooker, similar to a turkey fryer but one without a timer. We plumbed in the cooker to a tank outside and fired it up.

[Read… Smoking Alaskan Salmon]

Fuel

In our smoke house we are using pellets in different wood varieties that each have its own flavor: hickory, apple, mesquite. A couple handfuls on a low flame inside a steel pot will last an hour and a half or so and produce the desired smoke at the right temperature.

Seasoning

We seasoned the smoke house by running it through a couple cycles of pellets three or four times. This will allow the smoke to work its way into the wood and season the racks that we spray with Pam cooking spray.

Cooking time!

We had a goal to finish the smoke house before the annual dip net fishing season here in Alaska. Up here each family can take a number of salmon for personal use during dip net season. The head of household is allowed 25 fish and each family member is allowed 10. In our case 55 fish. We are heading to Kasilof next weekend to try and get our limit.

When we return we will prepare and smoke the fish in our new smoke house!

Smoke house uses

The smoke house has the ability to both cold smoke and hot smoke a variety of meats. Everything from moose, beef, pork, chickens and turkeys, fish, cheese, eggs and more. Each type of meat will require a different length of time in the smoker at different temperatures and different pellets. A smoke house is not designed to be used like your grill or even the small commercial smokers found in many stores. For example a turkey may take 20 hours or more.

It will be fun to try different things and techniques in our new smoke house. I’ll be sure to share them here with you.

A huge thanks has to go to Marvin for his help and expertise in the design and the hours that he put in with us to make this project a reality. A big thank you to Tyler as well.

Do you have any questions on the design? Or do you have ideas to share? We would love to hear them.

UPDATE October 2017. There have been a lot of questions about our walk-in smokehouse since it was posted on another site on the web. I will do my best to answer them here in this update.

Question: After smoke curing of my meats, how long can I keep it, or do I need to consume it right away?

Forto: You can leave the finished products in the refrigerator for about two weeks. For a longer period you will want to freeze it.

Question: Do you have plans for the smokehouse that you can share?

Forto: No. This is by far the most asked question about our smokehouse. Our good friend, Marvin “PeeWee” Rankin and my son and I built it from scratch over a couple weekends based similarly on what he had build for his own smokehouse. It is a pretty simple design. It is about six feet square with an 8 foot peak roof. The foundation is railroad ties and the framing is simple 2/4 framing 16 inches on center. It is sheeted with plywood on the inside and cedar outside using fence pickets that you find at Home Depot or Lowe’s. The roof rafters are left open and we use dowels to hang hams from the ceiling. The smokehouse is not vented intentionally by smoke does escape from the roof as intended.

We used plywood on the floor over 2×6 floorboards and 2x2s to build the rack system. The racks are rectangular in shape and were special order from a supply company back east. We also have a rack system that is used in smaller metal-type smokers that we use for jerky and white fish.

Our friend, PeeWee passed away a couple years after we build our smokehouse and we have honored him with a small plaque above the door. Now each time we use our smokehouse we pay a bit of gratitude to our dear friend.

Question: What do you use the smokehouse for primarily?

Forto: We use the smokehouse mainly for fish that we catch dip netting every July here in Alaska. Almost always it is Sockeye (Red) Salmon from the Kasilof River. Each resident in Alaska is allowed to use a dip net and catch 25 fish for head of household and 10 for each additional family member.

Over the last few years we have smoked briskets, chicken wings, turkeys, chickens, ribs, other fish like halibut and rock fish, and even a 1/4 pig.

Question: Can you share your recipe for your smoked salmon?

Forto: Sure! Here it is: Smoking Alaskan Salmon

Question: Can you share a recipe for smoked chicken?

Forto: Here is one: Chicken in the Smokehouse

More to come…

Psycho Circus Alaska Airlines Style

September 19, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Well, here we are again on the psycho circus, otherwise known as the cattle train to the great white north. This time it is a rare treat. I’m on one of the few combi planes in the Alaska Airlines fleet. It is unique in that it the front of the plane is loaded with cargo–most likely people’s impulse purchaes from Amazon and Ikea heading to Alaska. The paying folk sit in the back of the plane and have to walk outside and up a flight of stairs just like our Commander in Chief, P-BO, himself.

I am surrounded by guys in fake fedoras, girls with badly painted toenails and business men traveling in three piece suits. How in the world could anyone be comfortable in a clip on tie and an ill-fitting, way-to-tight vest? Why are they wearing a suit anyway? It’s a evening flight to Anchorage that arrives sometime around 2:30 in the morning. Who are they trying to impress? The tourist with the camera around his neck and a “made in China” Alaska t-shirt with a cute and cuddly moose and bear cheerily holding hands.

I have taken this trip many times over the past couple years. Each time the cargo hold of the aircraft is a little heavier with my four or five bags stuffed full of things we left behind on our move up. You know, important stuff like X-boxes, wooden bowls and coffee that’s been stashed away in the freezer at the in-laws.

In one of the bags is roughly 200 music cd’s. I have a pretty good re-sell business on Amazon.

In another is two bottles of the finest handmade Colorado whiskey that money can buy. It’s from a small distillery in Denver. This isn’t your grandpa’s sippin’ whiskey, folks. This is 94 proof, put hair on your chest liquid amber!

I had to follow a couple of regulations according to the Alaska State Troopers. THOSE guys. They have their own “reality” show on Nat-Geo. It’s funny you notice the little things when you live in Alaska and you watch that show. Things like they say they are in Palmer and in reality (oops, there’s that word again) they are busting a drugged out junkie in Shanty Town some 35 miles away up the Parks Highway.

But getting back to the whiskey. If you watch Alaska State Troopers you know that a good portion of the Greatland is “dry”. That means no alcohol allowed! The regulations if you bring distilled spirits, or anything drink of pleasure for that matter, you have to follow the rules.

They are:

*Clearly marked in no less than 2 inch letters in contrasting colors the words: Alcoholic Beverage

*A receipt taped to the box outlining the contents, quantity and price of the items there in

*and..telling the airlines,or worse the cute flight attendant in the too-tight skirt, is not an excuse if you don’t follow above.

If you don’t follow the rules there is a good chance they will confiscate your booze and you will go to jail and pay a hefty fine. Heck you might even make it on the Troopers show.

But back to the Stranahans…the name of the whiskey I’m transporting. We bring up a bottle or two for gifts. This stuff is for things that we celebrate in Alaska; hunting season, fishing season, break up, freeze up, PFD check day, or just your regular old Saturday night.

We don’t waste the good stuff on bar mitzvahs, birthday parties or Monday Night Football. That’s what Alaskan Amber (beer brewed in Juneau) is for.

Well I better end this rant here. The guy beside me is getting restless and might have to go to the bathroom. God, it must suck to pay good money for a middle seat. Buddy, did you book this trip last night?! If you have a bit of planning you can get an aisle seat.

Until next time…

Lucky Wishbone, Kissing Irishmen and Sled Dogs

April 3, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Michele and I headed out early for Anchorage to pick up Hugh Neff’s Iditarod team at the airport. He finished 17th this year and we are proud of him and his dogs for running a great race. But that is a story for another day….

On our way down to the city we talked about stopping for breakfast. Denny’s was our first choice. I know, blah!

Then Michele said, “we should stop there. They are always busy!”

It is the Lucky Wishbone. The little place has been serving up some of the best fried chicken in Alaska since 1955.

The restaurant is on the right as soon as you hit Anchorage on 5th and Karluk St. Its decor is plain and simple and looks like it should be profiled on The Food Network shows called Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Even after half a century George and Peg do things the same way–using chicken that is flown in from the Lower 48 and never frozen.

The chicken is to die for! It is made to order and pan fried style. As Michele said, “it’s just like grammy’s!”

Served simple in a basket with fries, a corn muffin and honey–in three sizes:

Pop–5 pieces

Mom–3 pieces

Junior–2 pieces

You can even order gizzards, livers and giblets if that’s your thing.

On a side note, it just so happened to be St. Patrick’s Day and the place was decked out in green and an old guy kept getting kissed. I guess it was his lucky day!

If you are visiting Alaska or just a local that’s wants to get away from the chain fast-food joints, you have to check out the Lucky Wishbone.

You’ll be glad you did!

Iditarod 40: How to they keep track of 1000 dogs?

March 8, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

In this year’s Iditarod sled dog race there are 66 mushers and over one thousand dogs that will spread across 975 miles of trail in some of the most remote conditions in North America.

One question that I am always asked is:

How to they keep track of all these dogs?

Starting as soon as the weather cools and the days get shorter an Iditarod musher is paying close attention to the future stars for the Iditarod team. Over the next few months, hundreds of training miles and countless hours will be spent with the dog teams trying to pick the ones that have the best chance of making it to Nome in early March.

Many Iditarod mushers train all year for one race, the Iditarod, and possibly a mid-distance tune-up race to pick their best pool of dogs

Mandatory Vet Checks

During the week before the Iditarod start, which takes place the first Saturday in March in Anchorage, the mushers bring their dogs to mandatory veterinarian checks. Most mushers will bring up to 20 dogs to this check-up, as even less than five days before the race starts the final team is not yet in place.

At the vet check, as it is called, the dogs are put through a series of test including blood work, EKG’s, and a full exam. Special attention is paid to white blood cell counts and heart rates.

If you think about it, your pet dog probably hasn’t been through an exhaustive exam such as this one. This is just one testament to the extraordinary care given to these sled dogs.

Scanning of Chips

Each Iditarod sled dog is required to have a microchip. These are the same chips that your pet dog may have. These chips are used a primary tracking mechanism for the sled dogs on the trail.

On Saturday and/or Sunday before the ceremonial start in Anchorage and the re-start in Willow, an Iditarod official will come around to each dog truck, scan and verify against a list of dogs submitted by each musher. The number on the form must match the number of the chip.

Up to 12 dogs can be ran in the 11-mile ceremonial start and up to 16 (no less than 12) can be used in the race itself.

Hours before the race starts on Sunday, the musher must chose the final 16 dogs that will take him to Nome.

Urine Samples

Typically before the ceremonial start or the official start in Willow on the first Sunday in March, an Iditarod official will randomly chose up to eight dogs to provide a urine sample. The sample is checked for illegal drugs and supplements such as steroids in the dog’s urine. Random sampling can be conducted anywhere along the race as well.

It is a sight to watch the Iditarod officials, mushers and their handlers trying to obtain the urine samples. For the male dogs, a zip-lock style bag is attached with an elastic band around the dog’s mid-section and covers the dog’s private parts. With fingers crossed a sample is provided when the male lifts his leg to do his business.

For female dogs, the Iditarod official can be seen following the dog around, cup in hand, hoping to catch a sample when she takes a “break”.

After collection, the samples are secured in a way very similar to the way a human U/A test is conducted and it is tracked by the dog’s microchip number and tag.

The Tags

Each Iditarod musher is given a set of tags—as seen in the picture above. These tags list the race year (this year it is ‘XL’ which is 40), the musher’s bib number and a corresponding letter for the dog. As shown in the picture–27P for Hugh Neff’s dog.

These tags are placed on the dog’s collar and it will be used throughout the race as a way of identifying and tracking the dogs at checkpoints and if the dog is dropped in the race.

Dropped Dogs

A musher can drop a dog at any point in the race at any checkpoint. This is done for a variety of reasons. It could be an injury or illness or the dog just is not performing “right”. Some dogs are picked for the team for various reasons, one may be to be a part of the team over the tough first third of of the race and then they are dropped at the next checkpoint.

While the dogs are in the checkpoints they are taken care of by a team of volunteers that care for them 24 hours a day. The dogs wait in the checkpoint until the Iditarod Air Force arrives to take them back to Anchorage.

The Iditarod Air Force is an army of volunteer pilots that fly to and fro along the Iditarod trail during the race that ferry supplies, people and dropped dogs from place to place.

Once a dog is on the plane he is heading to Anchorage. These dogs can arrive at all hours of the night and they are picked up by the handlers and taken to dog yards throughout the area or home if the musher lives close by.

Puppies in Prison

Those dropped dogs that are not picked up, usually for lack of sufficient support staff (or handlers) for the musher, they are taken to the women’s prison in Eagle River. The minimum custody facility’s dog yard, about 20 miles north of Anchorage, is staffed by offenders and correctional officers. The offenders take care of the dropped dogs until the musher returns after the race to pick them up.

In Nome

When a musher and his dog team cross the finish line under the burled arch in Nome the dogs are loaded up in crates and taken to Anchorage by airplane. These dogs are once again tracked by their tag and microchip.

The crates are a relatively new addition to the Iditarod. In years past all of the dogs would be loaded up in large wooded boxes, similar to what you might see on a dog truck and flown the 1,000 mile trip south.

The Handler Army

As I mentioned, none of this would be possible without the handler army. These guys and gals who work for, married to, indebted to, or volunteered for, are some of the hardest working members of an Iditarod musher’s kennel.

Many of the handlers are young college-aged “kids” that come to Alaska in search of adventure and spent the winters working in an Iditarod kennel. Most work for just room and board and the chance of running a dog team. Their duties include feeding the dogs, running the ‘B’ team, errands, etc. They are an integral part of the musher’s team.

In regards to the dropped dogs–the handlers are responsible for picking them up when they arrive back in Anchorage. They are often taken back to the musher’s kennel or a host family during the race.

This year I am Hugh Neff’s dropped dog person and all of his dogs will be staying at my place until he arrives after the race to pick them up.

Reunion

After the race is over a musher can’t wait to get back to his dogs. This reunion is one of the greatest things about dog sled racing. The dogs are so happy to see their “guy or gal” and the same for the musher to the dogs.

Iditarod 40: Famous Names (robertforto.com)
Iditarod 40: A race of checkpoints (robertforto.com)

Y (not Why), Alaska

January 21, 2012 by robertforto 1 Comment

I have said a few times in my blog, that they do things different in Alaska. Not only is just about everything bigger (and better) up here in the Great White North but there are also some things that are quite peculiar too.

Take the town, village, hamlet or what ever you want to call it, named Y, Alaska. That’s right “Y”. No other letters in this little town’s name. Just the 25th letter of the alphabet.

Y, Alaska is a just a short drive, 4.3 miles to be exact from Willow, the town which I live and the (arguably) mushing capital of the world. The Iditarod starts here for goodness sake.

Located in between Willow and the eclectic little town of Talkeetna is Y. If you are heading to Denali National Park–Yes, that park with that mountain–you will pass right by Y if you blink or are swatting mosquitos from your brow in the summer.

Who could not like a town with the name of Y? Well, at least a 1000 people do. With a median income of about 38 grand you probably won’t get rich if you move here and I think most of the gold mines are already claimed, but you will be in good company. Just about everybody has a job (8.3% unemployment) and over half are married with the median age of just over 40. And it’s ranked eighth on the list of top 101 cities as the snowiest.

I guess that rules out a lot of opportunities for all you Generation Y’ers or whatever you are calling yourself these days. If you move here you will have to hang out with all of us ‘old fogies’ but there is a pretty good chance your iPhone will work in Y. Mine does. So as you are passing through make sure you check in on foursquare!

If you are looking for a social scene Talkeetna has a few good bars and some of the best pizza I have every had at Mountain High Pizza Pie. In Willow you will find the Willow Trading Post and occasionally a live show from Alaska legend Hobo Jim. He rocked the house last March the night before the Iditarod re-start. What a great guy!

Sure, Anchorage–about two hours away–has all the shopping, shows, restaurants and nightlife. They even have the opera and the symphony if you are so inclined. But if you want the real deal in terms of rubbing elbows with the rich and famous the closest city (Los Angeles) with a million people or more is just a mere 2375 miles away.

I know, I know, you probably won’t be renting a U-haul to move to Y, in the near future but I bet if your are on one of those packed tour buses heading to the park this summer to catch a glimpse of a few sheep you will sitting elbow to elbow next to a guy that bought his whole wardrobe at Cabela’s. You should have rented a car at the airport. At least then you could stop in Y. Why not?

Anchorage

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