Loco Moco

Food recipe today! Loco Moco is a breakfast comfort dish that originated in Hawaii. It's surprisingly easy to make, filling but not nearly as heavy as I was expecting, and it's super tasty. 

Makes four servings. 

Start by cooking 2 cups of white rice

Gravy

2T Butter

1 Medium yellow onion, sliced

8oz Mushrooms, sliced

2 Garlic cloves, minced

2T All purpose flour

2C Beef stock

1T Worcestershire sauce

1t Soy sauce

1/2t Black pepper 

1. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook to deep brown (about 10-12 minutes).
2. Add garlic and cook for one minute.  
3. Sprinkle flour in and stir constantly for one minute. 
4. Gradually add beef stock, Worcestershire, and soy sauce. Combine well then simmer for about 10 minutes.  

Burger Patties

1# Ground beef 

1t Kosher salt

1/2t Ground black pepper

1t Garlic powder

1t Onion powder

1. Mix ingredients well and form into four 4 ounce patties.
2. Cook over medium heat, 4 minutes per side. 

Eggs

1. Fry four eggs until whites are set but yolks are still runny. 
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Assembly

1. Spoon rice into a bowl.
2. Add burger patty.
3. Cover patty in a generous amount of gravy.
4. Finish with a fried egg on top and serve.

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Rib Rub #1

Today’s recipe is for a meat rub that’s intended to clone one we discovered years ago at Sam’s Club. It’s kind of funny, I enjoy Indian food every time we have it, but I never crave it. I love ramen, but my wife never craves it. She likes BBQ more than ramen, but she still doesn’t crave it, mostly because BBQ can be pretty filling and a bit fatty. But the first time we tried the rub from Sam’s, both of us agreed it was one of the better rubs we’d tried and we both really liked it. The rub was Durkee brand Chicken and Rib Rub. Fast forward a couple years and unfortunately Sam’s stopped carrying our favorite rub and then Durkee stopped making it. Fortunately, Weber started selling as Weber Chicken 'N Rib Seasoning. I’ve tried the Weber version and I think it’s the same or very close to the Durkee one, but my primary complaint with it is I can’t find it locally and the packaging is so small that I have to order it every few cooks. 

Long story short, with the help of ChatGPT I decided to try cloning the blend so I wasn’t having to order it from Amazon all the time. I’m not confident the first attempt will be a perfect clone, so my plan is to try it then tweak it until I get close to replicating the Durkee version or discover a recipe I like as well or better. 

I mixed a batch up this afternoon and rubbed it on some pork spare ribs that I plan on smoking tomorrow. It definitely smells very close to both the Weber and Durkee versions, but the color is definitely a little darker and more reddish compared to the more orange-ish commercial versions. I tasted the rub and I think does taste pretty close but I think I can get closer. Anyway, here’s the first attempt:

Batch size 100 grams, probably enough for at least three racks.

18g Maltodextrin - I used LD Carlson from my local homebrew shop. The maltodextrine will help prevent clumping and adds a light sweetness.

22g Light brown sugar, dried in the oven @175F for about 90 min. 

18g Sweet Paprika

6g Smoked Hot Paprika

12g Kosher salt

8g Garlic powder

7g Onion powder

4g Chili powder (mild, American style)

2g Mustard powder

2g Celery salt

1.5g Black pepper, finely ground

0.5g Cayenne pepper

Use a spoon or fork to blend until well mixed. Apply liberally and evenly to ribs, chicken, pork shoulder, etc. and rub in well. For pork, I like to apply it the night before I plan to smoke, then apply another light coat right before putting the meat in the smoker.

Update 2/3/2026

I wasn't able to provide an update before I had to head out of town for work. I used this on some pork spare ribs and they turned out well, but definitely not a cloned rub. I felt like it needed more salt, and likely more garlic. The paprika ratio also isn't right as this rub went on more reddish while the Weber version is more orange/salmon color. Regardless, I think it was a good starting point and I'll continue to play around with it.

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Carbonnade Flamande

I had a recipe for Carbonnade Flamande pop up in my social media feeds about a month or so back. It looked pretty awesome so I figured I'd bookmark it for a future weekend dinner. This is one of those recipes that isn't hard to make, but it takes time so you need to plan ahead. 

I've never had Carbonnade Flamande before, but having made it today I can tell you I'm going to make it again. Carbonnade Flamande is also known as Flemish Stew and my understanding is it's a traditional comfort food in the Flemish-speaking areas of Belgium. I could see this being served on a cold winter night in a Belgian monastery.  Also, giving credit where it's due, here's the source for the recipe I used. Also, I didn't have fresh thyme, so I used dried. Here's the recipe as I made it today.  

2-3# Chuck roast, cubed
12g Kosher Salt
6g Black pepper

All-purpose flour
3 Yellow onions, thinly sliced 
2 Slices bacon, minced
1T Butter
3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 Bay leaves
1T Fresh thyme (or 1t dried thyme)
400ml Belgian ale - I used Westmalle Dubbel + a tiny bit of my Irish Extra Stout
400-800ml beef broth - I used ~450ml
1T Apple cider vinegar
1T Dark brown sugar

Instructions

1. Prepare all ingredients (cube beef, slice onions, mince bacon, etc.).
2. Season beef roast cubes with salt and pepper and mix well to coat. 
3. Lightly dust beef with flour, again mixing well so that so sides are coated with salt, pepper, and a small amount of flour. I used about 1.5T of flour.
4. Hear oven-safe braising pot/Dutch oven over medium high heat on your stove. Add enough canola oil to form a thin layer.
5. Sear the beef in batches, being sure to brown all sides. Don't worry too much about the brown bits sticking to the bottom, you'll deglaze the pot later on. 
6. Transfer browned beef to a plate.
7. Add butter, bacon, onions, and garlic to pot and sweat over medium heat. Stir frequently, scraping the bottom of the pot. The liquid from the onions will deglaze the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
8. Continue caramelizing the onions, stirring regularly to avoid burning the mixture. This should take a minimum of 45 minutes. Add a splash of water as needed to deglaze the pot when needed and to avoid burning. 
9. After 45 minutes, add beer to pot, stirring well. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. 
10. Return beef to pot.
11. Add bay leaves, brown sugar, vinegar, and thyme. Gently stir to mix all ingredients. 
12. Top off with enough beef broth to mostly cover beef, but don't worry if it isn't fully submerged.
13. Partially cover the pot and put it in the oven at 300F for 4-6 hours. I did about 5 hours with the pot lid cracked open about 3/16". Most of the liquid had evaporated leaving a thick sauce/broth behind.
14. Taste before serving and add additional salt, vinegar, and/or sugar to taste. In my case, I thought it was pretty much perfect and didn't add any additional. 

Allow it to cool a little bit before serving. It's often served with French fries (frites), but pretty much any potato or starchy side will likely go well with it. I served mine with Potato Pavé, but you don't have to get too fancy here. 

Update: This dish was great, super flavorful, a little sweetness from the caramelized onions, nice tangy acidity from the vinegar. It’s a great comfort food for sure and I’ll definitely be making it again. This is one of those dishes that’s even better the next day.

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Cajun Jambalaya

Food recipe today. I made up a boxed jambalaya a couple weeks ago and figured I'd try making one from scratch to see how it compared. I love jambalaya and it's kind of like stews/soups in that it's better the day after you make it. This recipe is Cajun rather than Creole; based on some quick Googling, the primary difference between the two is Cajun style uses broth only. whereas Creole style usually includes tomato sauce and/or crushed tomatoes. 

I really enjoyed this recipe but I think I might try a minor tweak next time. I wouldn't say this dish was too salty, but it was definitely salty. Next time I think I'll dial the Cajun seasoning back to 3 teaspoons total and see how that turns out. The heat level on this dish was great; noticeable spice, but not punishing. Here's the recipe as I made it today:

1# Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2t Baking soda
4t Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning with salt, divided (consider reducing to 3 teaspoons)

2t Canola oil
13oz Johnsonville andouille smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1c Yellow onion, diced 
1c Green bell pepper, diced 
1/2c Celery, diced 
4 Large garlic cloves, minced

2c Long-grain white rice, rinsed
2t Worcestershire sauce
2 Bay leaves
1t Dried thyme
1/2t Ground black pepper
3c Low-sodium chicken broth
4 Scallions/green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Prep all ingredients.  
2. Combine chicken with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 2t Creole seasoning in a bowl. Mix well and allow to "marinate" for at least 15 minutes. The baking soda will help keep the chicken tender.
3. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  
4. Add chicken to Dutch oven and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes. 
5. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate. There should be some nice flavorful brown bits stuck in the pot. Don't worry about them for now, they'll be deglazed later.  
6. Add the sausage to the pot and continue to cook over medium-high heat until browned and some of the fat has been rendered (about 5 mins), then transfer the sausage to the plate with the chicken. 
7. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pot. Sautee until tender and translucent (about 5 minutes). The moisture from the vegetables will deglaze the pot, so stir periodically.
8. Return the chicken and sausage to the pot. 
9. Add garlic, broth, Worcestershire sauce, rice, bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, and remaining 2t Creole seasoning (or optionally 1 teaspoon for less saltiness).
10. Mix well, then turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. 
11. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. 
12. Fluff with a fork and serve with sliced scallions/green onions and Tabasco sauce to taste.  

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Potato Pavé

New food recipe. I'd seen some IG Reels where someone said Potato Pavé was one of their family's favorite comfort foods. It sounded and looked pretty amazing...I mean, who doesn't love potatoes? 

Most recipes call for using heavy cream but I didn't have any and didn't feel like running to the grocery store, so I used half and half. Some recipes also incorporated in buttermilk in place of some of the cream, so there's room to experiment. Some recipes called for different herbs, but I have a pot of rosemary in the back yard, so that's why I went with it.

A couple other notes, a lot of the recipes also tell you to trim your potatoes into rectangular shapes. This helps ensure your slices are more uniform which makes things easier when you get to the layering step. I trimmed my first few but towards the end I was mostly just peeling them. It actually worked out well as I needed some different widths and lengths to fill in my loaf pan.  

One last note, this recipe isn't hard but it takes some time to make. Plan ahead, or like in my case, make it day 1 and serve it day 2.

Here's the recipe as I made it today.

Ingredients

1.25 to 1.5c Half and half, or heavy cream, or a blend of the two. Optionality, substitute some buttermilk for part of the cream. 

2T Fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2t Garlic, minced

1t Kosher salt, heaping 

3-4 lbs Russet potatoes (preferably large with similar size and shape)

1/4c Butter, melted

Black pepper

Olive oil

Directions

1. Combine cream, rosemary, garlic, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Prepare potatoes by washing, peeling, and trimming to uniform lengths. 
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Using a mandolin slicer, slice over the bowl containing the cream mixture. Remember to occasionally stir them to make sure each side is coated with the cream mixture.
5. Once all potatoes are sliced, line a loaf pan with parchment paper and begin layering the thin potato slices. Do your best to keep the layers as uniform as possible.
6. Every 3-4 layers, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the layer, then add a pinch of salt and black pepper. 
7. Repeat step 6 until you've used all potatoes.
8. Fold parchment paper to cover the last layer, or trim it to be level with the top of the loaf pan. 
9. Cover the loaf pan tightly with aluminum foil, then bake at 350F for 1 hour and 20 minutes. 
10. After 1:20, remove from oven and use a skewer, fork, or knife to check to make sure the potatoes are fully cooked in the middle of the pan. If they're not, put them back in the oven for 10 minutes then check again. 
11. Once fully cooked, you're going to press the loaf and allow it to cool to room temp. The easiest way is to use a second loaf pan filled with weights (e.g. cans of vegetable) to gradually press down on the layers as it cools.  Remember to place a later of parchment between the potatoes and the second loaf pan. I also lined the second loaf pan with a kitchen towel to insulate the canned vegetables from the potatoes. Allow it to cool to room temp (a small fan blowing on the pan will help).
12. Transfer the whole setup (second loaf pan plus weights) to the fridge and chill for several hours or overnight. 
13. After chilled, remove the potato loaf from the pan using a spatula to loosen it along the edges.  
14. Discard the parchment and slice the loaf into 1" thick slices.  You can also slice these in half for smaller serving sizes. This will yield blocks about 1" wide x 1.5" long x 2" deep (or however deep you layered them).
15. Heat a pan over medium-high heat with a thin layer of olive oil. 
16. Place the potato blocks in pan (it should immediately sizzle) and cook bottoms until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. 
17. Carefully turn and cook all sides until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side.
18. Serve and enjoy.

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Another Shrimp Ceviche Recipe

It’s no secret I love Mexican food. I posted a ceviche recipe recently thatI’ve made a few times now and it turns out great. My only complaint with that one is it’s a little light on juice/liquid in the finished ceviche. My wife also loves avocados and asked me to find one that includes avocado. So I stumbled across this recipe that had great reviews and seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. I love cilantro and a whole bunch may seem like a lot, but it works. The peppers will give it a nice medium spice level. 

Pro tip, I use this style vegetable chopper gadget that my wife got off Amazon. It’s awesome for quickly preparing things like salsa, pico, ceviche, etc. 

Here’s the recipe as I made it. 

1# Gulf shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed 

Juice of one whole lemon plus enough lime juice (~9) to measure a total of one cup combined juice

1 Bunch cilantro 

4 Serrano peppers

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 Medium-large Red onion, diced

1 Jalapeño pepper, diced

1 Medium cucumber, peeled and diced

1 Avocado, diced

1T Clamato

Salt and black pepper to taste

Sugar to taste

Marinade

1. Juice lemon and limes so that you have 1 cup of combined juice.
2. Roughly chop cilantro and transfer to blender.
3. Add a pinch or two of salt to blender.
4. Remove stems from Serrano peppers, roughly chop, and add to blender. 
5. Add enough juice to the blender to allow you to blend the cilantro, Serrano peppers, and salt (I used about 5oz). Pulse the blender a few times, but you don’t want to make a purée; you still want good sized pieces of cilantro leaves.
6. Cut the shrimp into small pieces (I usually cut them into thirds) and transfer to a glass bowl.
7. Pour the blended juice, Serrano, and cilantro over the shrimp along with the rest of the juice, and stir with a spoon until well mixed.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to “cook” for 20 minutes.

Prepare Remaining Ingredients 

1. Finely chop the following ingredients: tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and cucumber.  Combine in a large bowl.
2. Add Clamato.
3. Check the shrimp to see if the cooking process is complete; they should be opaque. If they’re not done yet, give them a stir and put them back in the fridge for another 10 minutes.
4. Once the shrimp are fully cured, transfer the shrimp and all liquid/marinade to the bowl with the remaining ingredients.
5. Add black pepper and salt to taste. Optionally, you can also add sugar to tame the acidity, but I didn’t add any.
6. Stir to mix well. It’s pretty much ready to serve at this point, but I usually give it another 15-20 minutes for the flavors to meld. 
7. Dice the avocado and add it right before serving.
8. Serve with tostada shells or your favorite corn chips.

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Shrimp Ceviche

Another food recipe today. Pretty much anytime we see ceviche on the menu at a restaurant, we’ll order it. There was an awesome food truck and restaurant back in Utah called La Cevicheria that made some incredible ceviche. Carvor's Fish House/Jensen Brothers, one of our favorite local seafood places in Dunedin, FL makes ceviche every Sunday and it’s been a staple for us on Sunday pool days. I figured I’d try making my own and it turns out it’s really easy and a lot cheaper to make it yourself.

A couple notes, the first time I made this I used Roma tomatoes and I felt like there wasn’t enough liquid. The second time I made it I used “Flavor Bomb” cherry tomatoes and it was much better. So I’d recommend using something other than Roma, or perhaps one Roma along with another variety with more juice. This recipe uses lime juice to cook/cure the shrimp. If you’re not comfortable with that, you can blanch the shrimp in boiling water for 2 minutes, then put them in an ice bath. If you go this route, blanch them then cut up the shrimp, then marinate in lime juice. Lastly, use tostadas or a thickish tortilla chip. A thin tortilla chip is probably going to be too delicate to scoop up the ceviche.

Ingredients 

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (~10 limes)

1# shrimp (frozen or fresh), peeled, deveined, and tails removed 

3/4 to 1 cup tomatoes, diced (~2 smallish medium sized tomatoes)

1/4 to 1/3 cup cucumber, peeled and diced

1 jalapeño, diced

1/2 medium onion, diced 

1/4 to 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped 

Salt and pepper to taste

Process 

1. Wash the shrimp under cool running water and allow to drain. 
2. Cut shrimp into bite size pieces (I usually do thirds).
3. Juice limes.
4. In a glass bowl, combine shrimp and lime juice, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Make sure the shrimp are fully submerged in the juice; I like to give it a stir halfway through.
5. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, jalapeño, onion, and cilantro in a bowl.
6. Drain the shrimp, reserving 3-4 tablespoons of the lime juice.
7. Add shrimp and reserved lime juice to vegetables and combine well.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Serve and enjoy.

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Smoked Candied Salmon

This is a great recipe I stumbled across years ago. I haven’t been able to find it again, so I’m not sure who to give credit to. This became a favorite of most of my kids, which says quite a bit for a fish recipe. Usually you’ll want to use a mild smoking wood like alder or a fruit wood. That said, I’ve even used hickory and really liked the results. Here it is as I make it:

You’ll need one 2.5 to 3# salmon filet

Marinade 
1c Brown sugar, packed
1c Water
3/4c Soy sauce
2 Garlic cloves — minced or finely chopped 
1t Ginger — fresh, chopped

Process 

1. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a non-reactive pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Cut the fillet into half pound sized pieces. Put the salmon in a non-reactive container (plastic, glass, zip-lock bag) and add the cooled marinade. Let the salmon marinate for 48 hours in the fridge.
3. When you are ready to cook, bring your smoker up to temp…if your smoker can do it, shoot for 180F, otherwise go with 220-230F.
4. Add a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper to the salmon.
5. Place the salmon – skin down – on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil in your smoker.
6. Cook until the salmon reaches 125F degrees in its thickest spot or until the edges are brown and the inside is opaque. I actually cook mine a little longer and render out more oil/fat. I basically cook it until the whole filet flakes easily with a fork … which I’m sure would really upset some true salmon connoisseurs, but that’s the way I like it. If your smoker can do 180F, feel free to increase the temps up to 220-230F after a bit.

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Best BBQ Beans

I started writing this post ages ago and just realized I’d never published it. It looks like the Purple Smoke site isn’t up any longer, but this is still a great BBQ bean recipe.

I've been making these beans for years and they're pretty tasty. My wife proudly declares that she hated BBQ beans until she tried mine. That said, I can't take credit for this recipe because it's based on the World's Best BBQ Beans recipe from the Purple Smoke competition BBQ team. I stumbled across Purple Smoke's website years ago and saved their recipe for BBQ beans and their World's Best BBQ Sauce.  I've made a few changes to the BBQ beans recipe over the years, so it's deviated a bit from the original.  The last time I tried to find the Purple Smoke website, it appeared they let their domain registration expire, so it may be difficult to find the original and it's also the reason I figured I should document my version here. 

One note, with all the bacon fat, this probably isn't the healthiest dish around, so I wouldn't recommend eating it on a daily basis but it's good for special occasions. Here's the recipe as I've been making it:

2 - 16oz cans Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 - 16oz cans Butter Beans, drained
2 - 16oz cans Pork 'n' Beans, do not drain
1# Bacon cut crosswise into 1/4" strips
2 - Large Yellow Onions, diced
2 - Jalapeños, seeds and stems removed, diced
1c Ketchup
1c Your favorite BBQ Sauce
3oz Apple cider vinegar

2t Kosher salt 

3/4c Dark brown sugar, packed

4t Dry mustard 

Optional - If you have any leftover smoked meat, chop it and add up to a pound.

Process

Use a cast iron Dutch Oven or similar pot and cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy and the fat has been rendered.
Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel reserving the drippings. 

Add chopped onion to the pot with the drippings and cook until translucent, about 5 mins.
Reduce heat to low and add chopped jalapeño.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Bake at 300F in your oven, grill, smoker, it crock pot until it bubbles, about 1 hour.

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Biscuits and Gravy

Updated: Biscuit recipe added below:

I love some biscuits and gravy for breakfast. It’s so flavorful and filling and I’ll often skip lunch whenever we make it. So far I’ve usually just used canned biscuits, but I think I may start exploring biscuits from scratch. For the gravy, I’ve made a few different recipes that I’ve found on the internet, but the one I made today has been my fav so far.  Here’s the recipe as I made it:

1lbs Hot breakfast sausage (I used Tennessee Pride)

1.5t Rosemary, fresh 

1.5t Thyme, fresh 

1/2t Kosher salt (plus a bit more)

1.25t Ground black pepper

3T butter

1T Worcestershire sauce

1/2c All-purpose flour

2.5c Milk

2.5c Heavy whipping cream 

Notes: You can substitute 5c milk if you don’t have heavy whipping cream. 

Gravy Instructions 

1. Brown the sausage over medium heat.
2. Add Rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper and mix well and cook for 2 minutes..
3. Add butter and Worcestershire.
4. Once butter melts, add flour and stir well.  Continue cooking for about 3 minutes, stirring so that the flour doesn’t burn.
5. Add milk/cream and mix well.  Stir occasionally so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. 
6. Once thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and cover.
7. Bake your biscuits and once they’re ready, give the gravy a good stir.  
8. Serve over hot biscuits.

Biscuits!

Here’s a really good biscuit recipe I found that goes great with the above gravy recipe. This is purportedly the biscuit recipe from Ruth’s Diner in Utah. If you’ve never been, their biscuits are ginormous and delicious. This recipe doesn’t get quite as high as the ones from Ruth’s, but I think that may have more to do with the shape of the pan used.  Here’s the recipe as I made it:

2.75c all purpose flour

1.5t kosher salt

1T sugar

1t baking powder

1t baking soda

6T butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

3/4c buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

1/4c water

Biscuit Instructions 

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
2. Combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda in a large bowl. Mix well
3. Add chilled butter and use a pastry cutter and mix until crumbly.
4. Add the buttermilk, beaten egg and water.
5. Using a large utensil (I like to use a large wooden Spurtle) mix well using a folding motion.  Mix just long enough until wet and dry ingredients are blended.
6. Transfer from bowl to lightly floured counter or cutting board and do a little more folding. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour, about one tablespoon at a time.
7. Gently flatten out the dough to about 3/4” thick and cut out nine equal portions. I like to use a biscuit cutter to ensure uniform size.
8. Bake in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan for about 17-18 minutes until lightly golden on top.

Split biscuits in half and top with sausage gravy and serve!

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Smoked Meatloaf and General Update

I haven’t posted in a while. We moved from Utah to Florida and I had to dismantle my brew system and only take the essentials.  Some things like my brew stand didn’t make the cut, so I’m in the process of redesigning and rebuilding. 

In the meantime, here’s a smoked meatloaf recipe I made a couple days ago. It was awesome, and even my wife and son who don’t love meatloaf thought it was great. In hindsight, I wish I’d made two loaves so that we would have had enough for leftover meatloaf sandwiches. 

For this recipe I used the meatball/meatloaf blend that I picked up from Wild Fork. It’s a 1/3 each blend of beef, pork, and veal. I then supplemented it with 8oz of grass fed ground beef. For the BBQ sauce I used Kinder Hot BBQ sauce. Sadly I no longer have my Kamado smoker, but I picked up a Weber Searwood pellet smoker once we got settled in Florida. Here’s the recipe as I made it and credit to https://bakeitwithlove.com for the original recipe.

Ingredients

1.5 lbs Wild Fork Meatloaf Blend + 8oz Ground Beef

1/2c yellow onion (finely minced) 

2 large eggs

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3c Kinder Hot BBQ mixed into the loaf

1/3c Kinder Hot for the glaze

½c Panko breadcrumbs

1t cayenne pepper

1t chili powder

1t salt

1t pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat your smoker to 275°F using your favorite hardwood. I went with Bear Mountain Gourmet BBQ Blend.
2. Combine all ingredients but the 1/3c sauce for the glaze; this will be added with one hour left in the cook. Mix just long enough that all ingredients are well combined.
3. Form your loaf then place it onto a wire rack. I used a shallow aluminum pan underneath the wire rack to catch any drippings.
4. Place the loaf in the smoker and cook at 275F for two hours. 
5. At the two hour mark, brush the meatloaf with the 1/3c of BBQ sauce.  
6. Continue in the smoker for another hour until the internal temp reaches 160F.  In my case, I ended up bumping the temp up to 300F for the last 15 minutes. 
7. Pull it off the smoker and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing. 

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Fake/Faux 'Nduja

Another food recipe! Shout out to Beltex Meats who introduced us to 'Nduja a few years ago. While they do carry a different supplier's 'Nduja year 'round, my favorite is the one they make in house a couple of times per year. I remember they posted it on their IG account and I thought it sounded amazing. By the time we got there they only had a fist-sized piece left and we bought all of it. 

For the uninitiated, 'Nduja is a spicy, spreadable pork sausage from the region of Calabria in southern Italy. To me it's like a spreadable cross between salami and pepperoni. I was looking into making my own when I stumbled across this recipe for "fake" 'Nduja that sounded like it was super close to the real thing. We like to spread it on a slice of baguette, often with a slice of cheese. Add some of this to your next charcuterie board and you won't be disappointed.

The key ingredient for both real thing and this faux recipe is Calabrian hot red peppers. Those and the Fresno pepper may be the hardest things to find, but fortunately Calabrian hot red peppers can be found in specialty grocery stores and on Amazon. I had to substitute a red jalapeno for the Fresno pepper. 

Here's the recipe as I made it:

Yields about 1 1/2 cups 

Ingredients 

200g (7 oz) Boars Head Genoa salami, cut into cubes 

110g (4 oz) Volpi chopped uncured pancetta 

48g Bob's Red Mill Sweet Cream Buttermilk Powder 

28g Paprika 

1 medium Fresno pepper (sub red jalapeno if you can't find Fresno peppers), stemmed, seeded, and chopped

2 to 4 Calabrian hot red peppers in oil - drained, stemmed, chopped (start with 2, add more for more heat)

6g Kosher salt

1 -2T Olive oil (start with 1 and add another if needed)

Directions

1. Add everything in a bowl and stir to roughly combine. You can also do this in your food processor, but I had a hard time getting the buttermilk powder mixed in uniformly. 
2. Process in a food processor with a metal blade for about 30-40 seconds. If it seems too dry and crumbly, add a tablespoon of olive oil. It should resemble a coarse paste. You do not want it as smooth as a typical pate.
3. Taste it and if you want more heat, add another Calabrian hot red pepper and process again to mix.
4. Transfer to a small container and refrigerate to firm up.

Serve it with bread, crackers, and cheese. I've heard it's also great added to spaghetti sauce, but haven't tried that yet. 

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Canadian Bacon 2023

I haven't posted much lately because I haven't brewed much lately. Long story short, too many things going on and I just haven't had the time to brew. That said, I have a few things planned so I should have a brewing post in the not too distant future. 

For today, I have a food-related post. I bought a pork loin and I'm going to be trying three variations on Canadian Bacon.  The first two are based on the recipe from Amazing Ribs and are essentially the same recipe, but one is Canadian style and one is Irish style with the Irish style being roasted in the oven rather than smoked. The last one is one I found online that sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a try. I plan to use these in one of our favorite dishes, Eggs Benedict but will use them in other things like breakfast sandwiches, pizzas, etc.  

Canadian Bacon based on Amazing Ribs recipe

3.0# Pork Loin, about 3.5" thick

9.6 Cups RO water

8.74g Prague powder #1

90.0g Sugar

104g Kosher salt

5.83g Garlic powder

1. Mix all ingredients and stir until salts and sugar are dissolved.
2. Chill brine.
3. Add loin to chilled brine and brine for 6.5 days in the fridge.
4. Rinse the loin.
5. Optional: truss your pork loin so that it ends up more round than oblong.  
6. Smoke at 325F until the internal temp in the middle of the loin reaches 145F. I used apple wood and smoked it on my kamado smoker with acacia wood charcoal.

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Homemade Refried Beans

One more food-related post today. This one is for Homemade Refried Beans. This dish is super easy to make, it just takes a little bit of prep time, and while I don't think there's anything wrong with a can of Rosarita Refried Beans, these are definitely better.

These are great as a side dish (we had them with lobster tacos). They're also really good paired with a can of Stokes Ranchero Sauce for a semi-homemade take on huevos rancheros.

1# Dried pinto beans (or black beans)

2 T Vegetable or olive oil

1 Large sweet onion

6 Garlic cloves, minced

1/3 c Cilantro, chopped

1.5 t Chili powder (e.g. McCormick chili powder)

1.5 t Cumin

0.5 t Cayenne pepper

3 Cubes pork bouillon (substitute chicken or vegetable if you can't find pork)

2 T Lime juice

0,5 t Salt

Pepper

Water

Directions

1. The day before, place dried beans in bowl and cover with 1" or so of water.  Allow to soak overnight.
2. The next day, drain off any excess water.
3. Using a large saucepot, heat oil over medium-low heat then add onion, garlic, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. 
4. Sauté for about 15mins, remembering to stir frequently to avoid burning.
5. Add beans to pot along with bouillon, 8 cups of water, and salt.
6. Cover and simmer for 1.5 to 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally to avoid burning the beans on the bottom of the pot.
7. Remove the lid and continue to simmer at least 15 minutes or the desired amount of liquid remains.
8. Use a potato masher or hand blender to mash the beans to the desired consistency. 
9. Stir in lime juice and add additional salt and pepper to taste before serving.

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Mexican Style Rice

Here's a Mexican-style Rice recipe I stumbled across recently when I decided to make lobster tacos for my wife's birthday dinner. I really liked how this turned out, so as usual, I'm posting the recipe here so that I don't run the risk of losing it. 

One thing I particularly like about this recipe, even though it incorporates tomato sauce, the finished product isn't saucy. Super saucy Mexican rice kind of grosses me out; if you feel the same way, give this one a try. One note, the first time I made it I didn't use low-sodium broth and I felt like it was too salty right after it came out of the pan. It seemed better the next day, like it had mellowed a bit. Either use low-sodium broth or skip the Kosher salt until you've had a chance to taste it.

2 c Long grain white rice

1/8 c Vegetable oil

8 oz Tomato sauce

6 Cilantro stems, chopped

1 t Kosher salt

1 t Minced garlic

4 c Low-sodium chicken broth

1/8 t Cumin

1/8 t Garlic pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in large pan over medium heat.
2. Add rice and cook until golden brown
3. Add remaining ingredients to pan, and mix well.
4. Bring to a simmer then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed.
5. Fluff with a fork before serving.

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Chinese Take-out Fried Rice

Here's a really good Chinese Take-out Fried Rice recipe that I originally saw on a sub-Reddit a little while back. I've made it once so far and it's really good. It may look complicated, but it's actually a fairly simple dish to make. 

Credit to Jason Farmer for doing a bunch of research into the recipe and for documenting it very well on his YouTube channel. Here's the link and I recommend watching it all the way through before attempting the recipe. The key to this recipe is preparation. Things move quickly as you start cooking, so have everything ready to go before you start.

 

Ingredients - Here's everything you'll need. You'll only need small amounts of the soy sauces, so I'd recommend getting small-ish bottles rather than Costco-sized ones. Also, as noted in the video, you want Chinese style soy sauce, not Japanese style.

• 2 parts standard long grain white rice
• 1 part Jasmine rice
• Lee Kum Kee or Pearl River Bridge light soy sauce
• Lee Kum Kee or Pearl River Bridge dark soy sauce
• Shaoxing Cooking Wine
• Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 - Chicken breast
• Baking Soda
• Sugar
• Corn Starch
• Kosher Salt
• MSG
• Vegetable oil
• Sugar
• White pepper
• 2 - Eggs, beaten
• 1 - medium onion, diced
• Diced carrot
• Frozen peas
• Bean sprouts 

Prepare Rice - The recipe calls for 2 cups of cooked rice. Since 1 cup raw rice is ~3 cups cooked rice, we need about 2/3 cup uncooked rice. That means 4/9 cup long grain white rice and 2/9 cup Jasmine rice. Since I've never seen measuring cups in the ninths, I just convert it to metric volumes. In this case it's 105ml of long grain white, and 52.5ml of Jasmine. Update: To be more precise, I converted volume to weight; use 47.3g Jasmine and 94.6g long grain white rice.

• Wash rice under water until it runs clear.
• Cook rice 1:1 with water (142ml)
• Cool to room temp then chill overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare Chicken

• Slice chicken into small pieces.
• Wash chicken under cold water and squeeze out excess water.
• Add 1/2 t baking soda to chicken and mix in.
• Add 1/2 t light soy sauce to chicken
• Add 1/2 t sugar to chicken.
• Add 1/2 t corn starch to chicken.
• Add 1/4 t Kosher salt to chicken.
• Add 1/8 t MSG to chicken
• Add 1 t vegetable oil
• Mix well and marinate from 15 mins to overnight.

Prepare Sauce Mixture

• Combine the following ingredients in a small bowl:
• 1/2 t sugar
• 2 t light soy sauce
• 1/2 t dark soy sauce. 
• Stir until sugar is dissolved and set aside.

Prepare Dry Spice Mixture

• Combine the following ingredients in a small bowl:
• 1 t Kosher salt
• 2 pinches of white pepper
• 1/2 t MSG
• Set aside

Prepare other ingredients

• To 2 beaten eggs, add a pinch of kosher salt and a pinch of MSG.
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 T diced carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 T frozen peas
• Handful of bean sprouts
• 2 T Shaoxing wine
• 2 T sliced green onion
• 1 T toasted sesame oil

Bring It All Together

1. Heat wok, pan, or griddle over medium-high heat.
2. Add 1 T vegetable oil to pan
3. Turn heat down to medium and add eggs.
4. Cook eggs for about 15-20 second then carefully move them around to start scrambling. 
5. Cook eggs to slightly undercooked then transfer to a bowl.
6. Add 1 T oil to pan
7. Cook chicken to slightly undercooked then transfer to bowl with eggs.
8. Add 1 T oil to pan
9. Toss in diced onion and diced carrots.
10. Cook for a minute or two until onion is beginning to look translucent, then add garlic and saute for an additional 30 seconds.
11. Add 2 cups of the rice and stir constantly for about 2 minutes.
12. Add chicken and eggs to mixture and incorporate well.
13. Add sauce to mixture and incorporate well.
14. Add dry spice mixture and incorporate well.
15. Add frozen peas and bean sprouts, and gently mix them in.
16. Deglaze with Shaoxing wine and immediately stir into rice. 
17. Cook off the alcohol for about 20-30 seconds then turn off the heat.
18. Add green onion and toasted sesame oil and mix in.
19. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

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Spaghetti Pomodoro from The Bear

This recipe is based on the red sauce as featured in the family dinners in the FX television series The Bear. Granted, I haven't made a whole lot of marinara recipes from scratch, but I really liked this sauce and it's way better than bottled sauces. This recipe is based on this YouTube video where real-life chef Matty Matheson and Courtney Storer from the show walk you through the process. I'd definitely advise checking out the video but if you're used to the typical step by step recipe instructions that you usually find on the Internet, it'll be a different experience. So, this is my attempt to translate the recipe into the more traditional format.

Ingredients

2 - 28oz cans Centro crushed tomatoes

6 tablespoons butter

1 yellow onion, halved

1 - 6oz can of Cento tomato paste

8-10 cloves garlic, chopped/minced/sliced 

Olive oil

Crushed red pepper

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Fresh basil

1 box spaghetti (I actually like angel hair pasta more)

Instructions

1. Halve your onion and peel it. It's ok to trim a little off the top and bottom, but leave enough of the core on the bottom so that it holds together. You’re going to be removing the onion later, so this is why you want to keep it intact.
2. To a medium/large pot, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium high heat.
3. Add 6T butter to pot.
4. Once the butter has started melting, add onion halves (flat side down).
5. Add garlic and adjust heat as necessary so as not to burn the garlic.
6. Add one or two "chef pinches" of kosher salt. (It's probably at least a teaspoon)
7. Reduce heat to medium low.
8. Add a pinch or more of crushed red pepper (more of you like some heat in your red sauce)
9. Add anywhere from 3-6oz of tomato paste to the pot and cook it off for a few  minutes. This will help avoid the metallic character often associated with tomato paste.
10. Tear a few basil leaves and add them to the pot. If you decide you want more basil, you can also add it later. 
11. Add crushed tomatoes to pot. 
12. Add about half a can (14oz) of water to the pot.
13. Add a couple more chef pinches of kosher salt.
14. Add black pepper to taste. I probably start at about 1 teaspoon worth, and go from there.  
15. Stir to mix and taste.  If it's too acidic, add more salt (a little at a time).
16. Continue to cook over low medium heat until the onions are fully cooked through and translucent.  I've let it go over an hour without any issues. Just remember to stir occasionally and make sure the heat is low enough that it doesn't burn/scorch the sauce.
17. When the onion is cooked all the way through, remove the onions and discard. Taste the sauce again and add salt, pepper, and more fresh basil to taste. 
18. Prepare your pasta per the package directions.
19. In the video they combine the pasta and sauce then serve. I love a ton of sauce on my spaghetti but my wife likes less sauce on hers, so we add the sauce at serving time. 

Options

I love meatballs and this sauce goes well with them for spaghetti and meatballs or for a meatball sandwich. One time I added some crumbled spicy Italian sausage and it also was really good.

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Easy Chicken and Waffles

I’m a breakfast guy, and I’ve been known to be a little grumpy in the morning if I don’t get something in my belly before starting my day. Sometimes it’s something as simple as a bowl of cereal or buttered toast with McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning (trust me, I discovered this when I was a kid). On weekends I like to step it up a little and make a hot breakfast. 

Here’s an easy chicken and waffle recipe that I made over Thanksgiving weekend that turned out really well. This is more of a semi-homemade dish because for the chicken I’m using Just Bare Chicken Breast from Costco. These chicken patties and their chicken nuggets are a favorite around our house because they’re lightly breaded and seem much more like homemade chicken than most store-bought breaded chicken. 

Waffles

2 ¼ c All-purpose flour
1 T Baking powder
¼ c Sugar
½ t Kosher salt
1 t Cinnamon
2 eggs, separated
½ c Vegetable oil
2 c Milk
2 t Vanilla extract

1. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well.
2. Beat the egg whites with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, coming egg yolks, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well blended.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until most of the lumps have disappeared.  Gently fold in the egg whites with a spatula.
5. Cook the waffles in your waffle maker to desired doneness.  On mine, a setting of 3.5 on the dial that goes from 1-5 results in a golden brown crust.

Spicy Syrup 

1/2 c Honey or maple syrup
1 t Chile powder
1 t Kosher salt
1 Stick of butter

1. Combine all ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. 
2. Stir until butter is melted and all ingredients are well incorporated. 
3. Reduce to low heat to keep warm until ready to serve.

Chicken

For the chicken, just prepare per package directions. I usually heat it in our air fryer.

To serve, slice chicken breast and arrange it on top of the waffle. Drizzle the chicken and waffle with the syrup and enjoy.

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Kalua-Style Pork

Here's a recipe I did about a month ago and it turned out really well. Our son-in-law Tyrone recently suffered from a stroke and I'm making this dish especially for him as a welcome home treat. It was a scary situation but his rehab is going amazing and he's about to be discharged from the hospital, so I'm hoping this will taste better than the hospital food he's been eating.

This recipe is based on one posted on the Green Egg Blog. Don't skip the banana leaves; they add complexity.

Ingredients

• 1 Pork Butt - 10-12 pounds with the bone in, or smaller if you can only find boneless
• 2-4T Alaea Sea Salt (aka Hawaiian Red Sea Salt) - This is critical as a lot of the flavor is derived from the salt
• 1T Liquid Smoke
• Banana leaves
• Butcher's Twine

Instructions

1. Use a sharp knife to score the pork in a criss-cross pattern, cutting about 3/4" into the pork shoulder.
2. Coat with liquid smoke*, then coat with Alaea sea salt. Don't be afraid to use more than 2T of salt.
3. Wrap in banana leaves and secure with butcher’s twine. Note: To prepare the banana leaves, you'll want to remove the central stem/vein, then pass the leaves over a burner until they've become shiny and pliable.
4. Smoke over charcoal and mesquite at 250F. After 2 hours, wrap tightly in foil then return to the smoker for the duration of the cook.
5. Plan on a minimum of 1 hour per pound cooking time, then check temp and continue at 250F until you reach an internal temp of 190-200F.
6. Pull the meat off the smoker and allow it to rest in the foil for at least an hour, but you can also wrap it in a towel and put it in a cooler for several hours.
7. Pull pork for serving and reserve the juices…you’ll want to pour the juices back over your pulled pork.

*Normally I’d say it’s sacrilege to use liquid smoke on true BBQ. This is one case where I'd say it's ok. Basically it's just adding a little complexity, plus the banana leaves will reduce the smoke character.

The first time we made this, we served it as sliders on Hawaiian rolls, but it's also great over rice.

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The Tramp About Burger

Burgers...they pair well with beer, they're a great summertime grilling option, and because everyone in my family likes them, we tend make them fairly often. A while back, New Belgium's blog had a burger recipe courtesy of one of their favorite food trucks, The  Tramp About. I made this recipe a while back and everyone loved it. The only thing I ended up changing a bit was I reduced the size of the patties because 7oz was a little too big for most of our kids. I have some nice big heirloom tomatoes ripening on the vine, so I figure it's a good time to make this recipe again. In my opinion, the tomato bacon jam and jalapeno aioli are what make this burger so great. A nice homegrown heirloom tomato doesn't hurt.

THE TRAMP ABOUT’S BACON JAM BURGER

Jalapeño Aioli
4 cloves garlic
2T cilantro
2 jalapeños, deseeded
1T honey
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 egg yolks
2C canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to food processor except for egg yolks, oil, salt and pepper. Process for 30-ish seconds. Add eggs and continue to process while slowly adding oil. Process until fully emulsified, then gently stir in salt and pepper.

Tomato Bacon Jam
0.5# bacon, preferably apple-smoked
2.0# canned diced tomato
1 yellow onion, diced
1C sugar
1C apple cider vinegar
1T salt
1T pepper

Cut bacon into 1/4" strips and cook on medium heat in a medium saucepan until fat is rendered. Add diced onion and cook until translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Assemble Burger

It's not rocket science here...patty + aioli + Romaine lettuce + slice of tomato + jam. The aioli and jam are kind off like crack...prepare to be addicted.

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