I like to use the boston butt end of the pork shoulder without adding additional fat. I buy a bone-in shoulder because I worry about the butchers trimming fat off of the boneless model. The bone weighs about 1/2 lb, so purchase a 6 1/2 lb shoulder to come up with 6 lbs of meat.
Ingredients:
6 lbs pork shoulder (boston butt)
1 cup chili powder
1 cup smoked paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons salt
1 cup pinot noir wine
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Method:
Carve the meat off the bone, getting as much as you can without cutting into the bone. Cut it into strips and feed it through your meat grinder.
Add everything else and mix it up well with your hands. Cover it and let it sit in the refrigerator for 25 hours.
That’s it. You’re done. Unless you want it in casings, which is a different story. I cook it into crumbles, so I don’t bother with the casing process.
I usually break it up into 1 lb portions, run it through the FoodSaver and freeze it. It tastes fantastic in a breakfast burrito.
In another fun twist on the Southwest Heart Attack, I filled this bacon roll with pre-cooked hot Italian sausage balls, pizza sauce, parmesan cheese, and colby-jack cheese.
Instead of shrimp, green chilies and garlic, line the inside of your bacon weave with thin-sliced pastrami, then spread a little mustard on it before flooding it with colby-jack cheese. Delicious!
1 lb bacon
12 medium-sized shrimp
2 medium-to-large white mushrooms
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons roasted/diced green chilies
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 lb shredded colby-jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Weave the bacon into a bacon quilt. Place the bacon quilt on a cooling rack, and place the cooling rack on a cookie sheet.
Bake the bacon until it’s just about done, but not crisp.
If your chilie isn’t already prepped, now would be the time to do that. Roast them over an open flame (I use an element on my gas stove). Once they’re blackened everywhere, place them under a bowl for about 10 minutes to sweat. Then rinse under running water while wiping the skin away. Pat dry and dice.
While the bacon is in the oven, sauté the mushrooms in the butter and kosher salt. When they’re almost done, Add the shrimp and the garlic. Continue cooking until the shrimp is done.
When your bacon is almost done, spread the sautéed mixture over it. Dump the cheese on, roll it up, then bake for an additional 7-10 minutes. Just long enough to melt the cheese.
When done, let it cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve.
Read the recipe or, better yet, watch the video. This is episode 1 of The Heavy Doody Show!
Ingredients:
Boston butt, bone-in
Your favorite BBQ rub (recipe for Boogie rub)
Yellow mustard
Cheap white bread
BBQ sauce (optional)
Method:
I use an electric Cookshack smoker for all my barbecuing, but use whatever you have available to you.
Apply a thin coating of mustard to one side of your butt. Get it on all 4 sides as well. Cover the mustard area with as much rub as you can pack on. Flip, and repeat the process on the other side of the meat.
Wrap the pork up in plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Unwrap, and place in the smoker, along with 5 oz of wood (I like to combine hickory and pecan). Insert your probe thermometer, close the door, and set the smoker to 225°. I set the probe thermometer temperature to 199°, but you might like it less or more done. It’s all a matter of personal taste.
Once your meat comes to temperature, remove from the smoker and double-wrap in foil immediately. If you’re going to be eating in an hour or so, you’re done. Let it sit for an hour. If you’re not eating for a while longer than that, wrap the foil-wrapped butt in a beach towel and toss it in a cooler.
Pull your pork.
Serve on cheap white bread. I like to offer a wide variety of BBQ sauces for people to choose from, as well as extra rub for people to use.
Baked bacon? You’re kidding, right? No, I’m not kidding. This is a great way to prepare bacon. Especially in semi-large quantities. The primary benefits are that stays flat, the grease drips off, and it all gets done at the same time.
Oddly enough, the directions for doing this appear on the packages of several brands of bacon. Most of us just never read the package to find this out. This is a very simple process.
Start with a cookie sheet:
To make clean up a little easier, add some foil:
Toss a cooling rack on top of that:
Throw your bacon on, and bake away! I cook it at 400.
30 minutes in the oven and I have perfectly crispy bacon:
Check it frequently while baking. Cooking times will vary depending on your oven, the thickness of the bacon, and how well-done you like it.
