Comal Cookin' (Beef Cheek Tacos)

This was a cook from the 4th of July weekend. I've had the comal pan since last October and haven't taken the time to use it. I was hoping to use it with a new cooker/burner that I'm putting together.
The project is on hold for now so I decided to give the pan a try on the Browning burner set up.

added a bit of oil...

Started with onions and peppers... The comal is hotter in the center, over the burner so I cook everything in the middle and scootch it to the sides to keep warm.

I precooked the beef cheeks and had them bagged and ready to go.  Also seasoned the some shrimp so they would be a quick cook.

For variety I added chicken and some venison...

Just heated everything in the center and moved them to the side. It went fairly quick.

When the meats were cooked, I heated corn tortillas...

Set it up "self serve" style..

Didn't get a pic of the trimmin's... had the usual pico, limes, salsas, hot sauce, lettuce, cheese...

I went with one beef cheek and one venison taco....

I like this kind of meal, you can eat as little or as much as you like. Kind of graze all night. :)

Beef cheeks are one of my favorites. I like to prepare them in advance, bag and freeze the meat for quick taco meals.

The comal pan worked fine. I need to get back to the comal burner project. It's taking up too much room in the shop, I want to get it finished and put it to use soon.

Hope you all are keeping safe and cool this summer. Thanks for stopping by!

Shrimp Stuffed Poblanos with Spicy Conecuh and Creamy, Cheesy Sauce

I wanted to make some shrimp stuffed peppers but didn't really have a recipe to follow, so I played it by ear.
Had some nice gulf shrimp I brought back from a trip to Texas. Marinated them for about 30 minutes in Mojo Criollo...

blistered, steamed and peeled some poblano peppers...

gave the shrimp a quick cook .... 

sliced and browned off some spicy conecuh sausage... ( they have different flavors, I went with the spicy one. It's not too hot)

Started my sauce.

Sauteed garlic and scallions in butter....

made a basic white sauce with flour and milk...

added salt and cilantro...

then gave it a good dash of Pookie G's Dayum spice to liven it up a bit...

I added the conecuh...along with pan drippings. Then folded in the shrimp and added cheese...

I just went by taste on the salt and seasoning. 

Time to build the peppers.

layered some of the sauce in the pan before adding the peppers..

seeded the peppers and stuffed with the shrimp, sausage and creamy cheese sauce...

Into the drum to smoke with a bit of hickory...

I let them go til they were hot and bubbly...

I really liked these. The sauce was creamy, cheesy and the whole thing took on the smoke well. Not too smokey,  just a hint.

Not sure if I can make them again but I'm going to try. 

The garden is doing great! I still have zucchini and squash running outta my ears but I'm not complaining. Just trying to figure out what to do with all of them.

Hope everyone is keeping cool and having a great week. Thanks for stopping by! 

Bacon, Garlic, Scallion, Pepper Jack Cheese, Hickory Smoked Pull Bread

Took longer to type the title of this post than it did to put the bread together. :D

Pull bread ingredients are so versatile, you can stuff the bread with any of your favorite things. Some of mine are bacon, bacon drippings, butter, onion and garlic. The spicy cheese is a nice addition and I like good ole mozzarella for the gooey factor.


I brown some bacon, add butter to the drippings and sautee minced garlic and scallions til tender...

I used a store bought loaf of bread. Home made is way better but I didn't have time.

Scored the bread and stuffed the slits with pepper jack, mozzarella and provolone cheeses..

Spooned the tender garlic, scallions into the slits...along with the bacon drippings and butter..

Into the drum with a bit of hickory.  I foiled the bread for the first 15 minutes, then removed the foil to crisp up the bread a bit.. about 15 more minutes or until hot.

Topped with the crisp bacon and a few more scallions..

The hot bread smells SO good!!!

I tear off a piece while it's hot and gooey..

A few slices of hot bread with a glass of wine, makes a full meal for me. :)


The pepper jack adds a nice bite to the bread and I like the way the bacon drippings and butter soak into the loaf. It's hard to go wrong with bacon and cheese.

Hope everyone had a nice week. I went to Bass Pro and Academy in Ok City yesterday. Really had a nice couple of days away from home. Hit Joe's Crab Shack. That's the only place I'll eat crab legs away from home. I just haven't found other places that cook it well.. but there are probably some awesome seafood places out there. I need to explore more options.

Summer is definitely here. Hope everyone is keeping cool and safe.
Thanks for stopping by!