Mesquite Roasted Pork on Indian Fry Bread

I wanted to cook a hunk of pork the other day but didn't want to spend several hours waiting on it to smoke. This was about an 8lb pork shoulder with the bone in.
I removed the bone and butterflied the meat to lay flat...



Scored the pork in several places with a sharp knife then drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with cracked black pepper, kosher salt and minced garlic.



Layed the seasoned pork on the Hasty Bake with the hot coal rack lowered to the "smoke" level.



I let the pork slow roast over the hot coals with a few mesquite chips..and basted with a mixture of cider vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper, onions, water and jalapenos...



Then made a batch of fry bread while the pork roasted on the grill...
I combined
2 cups of flour
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp salt
Then worked in 1 TBS of lard
When the lard was worked in well I added 1/2 cup of warm water.
Kneaded well and covered for 30 minutes



I rolled the dough into large rounds, keeping the edges a bit thicker than the center..



Then fried til golden.....



I flipped the roasting pork over about 4 times during the cook...



It was ready to eat in 1 1/2 hrs....



I topped the fry bread with some of the roasted cubed pork...



Then added asadero cheese, lettuce and fresh pico...



It was sooooo tasty! The pork was tender and juicy and had a mild smoke flavor from the mesquite.



I was happy with it. Now I know that when I'm short on time I can just roast a large pork shoulder over hot coals instead of slow smoking it all day. :)

I think I have found my favorite chile rellenos combo...

I've made many a chile relleno using smoked chicken, pulled pork, regular ole beef and cheese...but I think these are my favorite. :)

I came across some nice Hatch chilies...



blistered and steamed them for easy peeling...



made the filling using prepared beef cheek meat, minced onions, minced peppers and crumbled asadero cheese...



peeled and removed the seeds from the chilies, stuffed with the beef cheek filling...



dusted lightly with flour...



I prepared my batter. This time I whipped 8 egg whites, folded in the hand-beaten yolks and 8 TBS of flour..





Instead of dipping the whole thing in the batter, it is easier for me to dip the bottom of the stuffed chile, place it in the hot oil, then spoon batter on the top while they are frying..





The beef cheek asadero chile rellenos with sauce....



The hot asadero cheese and beef cheek filling oooozed out when I cut the chile open...



One of those little whimpers (usually heard while tasting bacon wrapped bacon) escaped from my lips as I took the first bite and for the first time ever, my eyes rolled into the back of my head. lol

I'm not sure if it was due to being hungry or the combo in the filling, but I loved these! I'll make them again for sure. :)

More Beef Cheek Tacos with Sriracha Sauce on my Fancy Cooker

Kind friend Tristan gave me the heads up about a hot sauce that I had not tried... Sriracha Hot Sauce. (Thanks again Tristan!:))
I was able to find the sauce this weekend and gave it a taste test on some beef cheek tacos.

How I cook the beef cheeks .

I used the fancy cooker ( a section of pipe with rebar legs, expanded metal top and the burner from an old hot water heater).



Heated a few onions and peppers in the pan...





When the veggies were ready I added the beef cheek meat....





Then warmed the tortillas on the side.

This was self serve style, grabbed a paper towel, tortilla, meat and headed for the hot sauce...



I wasn't sure if the Sriracha would be too hot for me. I'm not a hot hot sauce person.... but it was great! Had some heat to it but also had a nice "chili" flavor that I liked.



I tried a second one with Cholula Chili Garlic and Hula Girl Jalapeno....they were not as hot as the Sriracha but were tasty too.



Thanks again Tristan, the Sriracha was great....I owe ya!

Dove hunting and my favorite shotgun...

Dove season marks the beginning of hunting season for me. I like to go out in the evening when the air is cool. The little windmill pond is the perfect location.
I'll admit, I spend most of my time admiring the moon or just enjoying the sound of coyotes yipping in the distance. :)





Sometimes I start out slow..... taking 2 shots (or more) to get one bird.



but usually get my limit or close to it by the end of the evening..



My favorite shotgun.... an old 20 gauge. It's the gun I use for bird hunting and the first thing I grab when investigating strange noises outside after dark. :)



Dove season has been pretty good this year and I've managed to put a few in the freezer. It's a good feeling to know there will be food on the table this winter. :)

Quick Cured Porkchops with Jalapeno Cornbread Stuffing on the Grill

Not long ago I was invited to join the Char-Broil Live site as one of their guest posters.
This was my second contribution to their site...quick cured pork chops stuffed with jalapeno cornbread.
The post..Char-Broil Live

I added minced jalapenos, whole kernals of corn and minced scallions to batch of cornbread...



Quick cured some thick chops with tenderquick, then stuffed and grilled...





They were sooooo tasty. One of my favorite ways to make chops.



I know that there are a lot of great chefs and cooks on the Char-Broil Live site that put out some amazing food! Sometimes I feel a bit like I'm dog paddling in the middle of the pool while the big dogs race past me.... but it's been fun. lol ...and the Char-Broil folks are so nice!
If you get the time, please take a peek at my post .
Thanks! :)



I'm adding this cornbread recipe to the post..
My favorite cornbread recipe is the one on the Quaker Corn Meal box
I just modify it a little to suit my tastebuds.

1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg (beaten)
you can add sugar.. up to 3/4 cup.
1/4 cup veggie oil
1/4 cup minced onions
1 cup whole kernals of corn (grilled corn is great too)
minced jalapenos (as many as you like)

I warm the oil in a 10" cast iron skillet, mix the dry ingredients first then the wet...adding the corn, onions and jalapenos last. Pour the warmed oil into the batter and mix well.
Then pour all back into the skillet, bake at 400 degrees F for about 25 minutes.

I have been baking my cornbread on the Memphis Pro.. I love the added touch of smoke.

Just some lake pics...

From my last camp out.



I found a nice little beach at the lake. Actually the water was so low, there were several beaches in the area. I walked to the opening in the trees by the water, climbed down a few rocks and took a right.







As I walked down the beach I noticed animal tracks that stretched from the water to the trees..... or from the trees to the water.



There were several of these trails along the beach. I couldn't decide if they were made by turtles, muskrats...beaver or little alligators. :)



I made breakfast on the tractor rim of bacon...



french toast....



and fried eggs...



It was pretty tasty. :)





I returned to the little beach at night to see if I could spot the animals that were making the tracks...



I found large dog tracks and some large human foot prints....



I was too chicken to follow the trails into the trees...



Actually it was scary out there so I went back to camp. Yeah, I'm afraid of the dark. lol