Open Faced Meatloaf Sandwich

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf - Texas Toast - Cajun Slaw - Homemade BBQ Sauce


Here we have 3 lbs. of Ground Sirloin and 1 lb. of Ground Pork mixed with chopped Onion, Pepper and Garlic, Stuffed with Cheddar/Jack Cheese, rolled, and wrapped in a 2 lb. bacon basket-weave. Before Rolling, the meat was rubbed with some BBQ Spices, smeared with BBQ Sauce, and stuffed with the cheese.



This is about half-way through the Smoking. As you can see, the Meatloaf was basted with a coat of BBQ Sauce before going into the smoker. 275 degrees for about 4hrs 30m is just about right!
















Glorious!!!





















Here's the finished dish. A generous slice of Meatloaf atop Garlic Toasts, topped with Cajun Slaw, finished with the signature, Damn Good BBQ Sauce. Amazing!!!



Here's what's left.

Pork Shoulder

Braised Coffee Rubbed Pork Shoulder over Collard Greens finished with a Bacon Mango Salad

This Hog Shoulder was cut into 4, 14oz steaks and rubbed with a coffee and BBQ spice mixture. They were let to sit for about 1 hour to come to room temperature. After being seared to a golden brown on all sides in peanut oil and set aside, carrot, onion, garlic and 2 chili peppers were finely chopped and added to the pan. The veggies were sauteed for about 1 minute then cider vinegar was added to deglaze the pan and the pork was re-added along with beef stock and salt and pepper. The pork was braised over low heat, covered, for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The fork tender pork was removed from the pan and plated atop the Collard Greens. The braising liquid was strained and spooned over the shoulder and around the greens. A spoon or two of Mango Salad balanced the dish nicely!

The Collard Greens were started by rendering some bacon of its fat about half way. Onions were added to the bacon and sauteed until golden. The collards were added along with some beef stock, white wine, salt and pepper and let simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes to let the liquid reduce. The bacon was removed at the end and crisped fully in a pan to be used in the mango salad.

A simple mango salad was made with fresh Mango, Lime Juice, Cilantro stems and bacon. The bacon was added just before serving after the Mango Salad marinated in the fridge for a few hours. Delicious!

The Best Bacon I've Ever Had

My obsession with bacon began when I was just a toddler. My father would leave pork cracklins on the tray of my baby walker.

This piece of bacon weighed in at 6 ounces before it was cooked at 225° for 3 hours.

The outside of the cooked bacon was glazed with its natural sugars leaving the outside crispy while the inside remained tender enough to melt in your mouth.

Pork Belly-The Beginning

Here I have the beginnings of what I hope to be the Best Pork Belly Ever! It is enjoying itself in a lovely bath of green tea, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, green curry paste, cinnamon, salt & pepper.

The brine is very tasty with a bit of heat from the green curry paste.

Not sure where I'm going with this, but I'll keep you posted. I'm either going to make some bacon on the smoker or braise it some cider or something. I'm still in deep thought.
I'll let you know.