MAPLE BACON HOT CHOCOLATE

It is a cold rainy Saturday morning. What better way to warm up but a cup of hot chocolate with the added promise of maple bacon flavor too ? This is a product of Gourmet Village which I believe is from Canada. Luckily the ingredient list is in French so we will be spared today. Mix package with 6 ounces of piping hot water (or milk) and we are ready to go. It is rich and chocolaty like it should be. I do detect a wonderful maple nuance. The only hint of bacon is the suggestion on the label. It still tastes good and is warming my soul. 

BACON BITS MILK CHOCOLATE

I love bacon and I love chocolate. Combine the two for a tasty treat that cannot me beat; maybe. Today we are peeling back the wrapper and indulging in a chocolate bar with bacon bits. So much for New Year's resolutions. This particular chocolate bar is made by World Market. It promises on the label; "A tempting blend of smooth, milk chocolate with smokey, hickory bacon notes.". Against my better judgement I went straight to the ingredients list. Bacon bits, the treat that I used to love as a teenager found at most salad bars was on the list. Bacon bits are made of textured soy flour and hydrogenated soybean oil. In the name of Mad Meat Genius research we shall dig in.

The actual chocolate is sweet and smooth with wonderful milk chocolate. This is a texture and flavor that we love. There is a crunch factor to this bar. It is from the familiar crunch of bacon bits. It has a rice crispy type of crunch that is kind of nice. This crunch also has a salty and smoky element that makes this bar pretty darn decent. I am a little perplexed if I should love this bar. I definitely like it. I have to admit I liked bacon bits as a child. Maybe I still am a child. I just have to get past the fact I am eating Fake Bacon. I need to stop reading ingredient lists.

HONEY BACON BBQ by MEAT CHURCH BBQ

Our bbq friend and leader of the championship competitive bbq team ‘Son of Smoke’, Derrick, gifted me a bbq rub Honey Bacon BBQ by Meat Church BBQ. I had expressed interest in this rub because, you may have guessed already, I am a dupe for all things bacon. Meat Church bbq has a line-up of different seasoning rubs for the bbq enthusiast. They also are a sponsor for Derrick’s bbq team. This is going to be good. Grab a chair and let’s cook some bbq.

I glanced at the ingredient list to find a specific addition that caught my fancy right away; honey powder. I have had this ingredient before and it works wonders by several different properties. It adds a sweetness that helps in the overall balance. It can also help in the browning of the meat by helping with caramelization process. I did not see any bacon in this ingredient list but I did see natural flavoring. We have our fingers crossed.

Our first application was on a pork shoulder roast. They were on sale at Wally World and who does not love pulled pork. We applied the rub overnight before cooking in our smoker. Nine hours later we had the yummiest looking roast. It smelled fantastic. The bark (outer layer of roast that has caramelized) was just like meat candy. It was not overly sweet but had a toothsome quality that was addicting. We took several tastes before we pulled the pork. This rub did the job to create a very sweet savory combination. Did I taste bacon? Maybe if you consider a smoky component that mimics bacon. To be fair this had been in our smoker and I am not sure if it was from the rub or not. It was very flavorful and we were happy.

We tried this rub on some chicken wings. They were good. They were not great. They had a sweetness that was welcoming you to have another bite. This may be a personal preference but we like a little heat to add some pzazz to our wings. We could have easily added some other spices. Did this taste like bacon? Not really.

Overall Honey Bacon BBQ by Meat Church is a great rub for pulled pork. It added a sweetness that created the most wonderful meat crust (bark). This rub used in a combination with some other spices has the potential for being a fantastic rub for chicken too. Did it taste like bacon? When I close my eyes and wish real hard I can always taste bacon.

TERRAPIN RIDGE FARMS HOT PEPPER BACON JAM

My sister, 'The President of Cookies" gifted me so many fun products this Christmas. She gave me a huge stocking full of food products full of bacon, chile peppers and spices. She knows what I like. Today we will try a hot pepper bacon jam made by Terrapin Ridge Farms. I am usually disappointed in so called bacon products and a quick litmus test is to read the ingredient list. I want to love this jam so against my better judgement lets read the list.
    Ingredients:  sugar, roasted red bell pepper puree, jalapeno peppers, vinegar, salt, bacon, honey, dehydrated pork broth, smoke flavoring, pectin, lemon juice, natural flavorings and several preserving chemicals. Just a quick note on this list. I condensed the list and lumped the chemicals all together and nothing seemed out the ordinary. What my personnel red flag was the smoke flavoring. I am not a fan of liquid smoke. Period.

The lid is unscrewed to release a campfire of smoke aroma. This product has a chimney full of liquid smoke. We tasted this on a buttered homemade English muffin. I will cut to the chase and say I really like it. There are real bits of bacon in this thick sweet spicy jam. The red pepper puree is special with its sweetness and pepper flavor. The jalapenos give the jam a gentle heat that whisper a warmness to your palate. The real bacon pieces are a texture and pleasant bite of saltiness that is a vital component in this mix.  I was concerned about the liquid smoke. It is a little heavy but adds even another level to this flavorful jam. The sugar and honey is the binder to combine all these separate ingredients to form a harmonious symphony of flavors. BRAVO. This jam would be perfect with cream cheese and crackers or in a cheese tortilla roll up. We have a winner today. 

UPDATE

What a wonderful Christmas. Prime rib, Christmas cookies and a long stay on the couch was the extent of my day. My sister, "The President of Cookies" gifted me an updated Mad Meat Genius insignia. I present you with the new and improved Mad Meat Genius badge of courage.

TWAS THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Twas the week before Christmas minus a couple of days that we picked up the all mighty aged USDA Prime rib roast. It has become a Chilebrown Christmas tradition to order a prime rib roast from Willowside Meats in Santa Rosa. We ordered this roast months ago in anticipation of this special Christmas day meal. This roast is hung and dry aged for almost three weeks to create the most beefy luscious meat we have ever had. Oh my!.

Inside Willowside was a beehive of activity. We were not the only ones picking up a roast. I gave them my name and sure enough a 'cut & tied' meat present was delivered to us. After paying the tab of course. While we were there we also picked up some other meaty treats such as pork chops and ground beef. One does not live by prime rib alone.

We are home now and I am counting the days and hours until the house smells of cooking prime rib roast. As a child, I could not sleep in anticipation of Santa. Now days I sleep well dreaming of aged USDA prime rib roast. Merry Christmas.

HOUSEWARMING

We are going to a housewarming party thrown by two of our barbeque friends who happen to compete on "Team Bacon". Rob & Sherri are our hosts and barbeque competitors. When you go to any party that is thrown by  members of the barbeque community you should expect fantastic barbeque meats. We were not disappointed and would like to share a couple of tasty images with you.

It was a brisk winter day for an indoor/outdoor gathering but Rob & Sherri had a very nice patio with a gas flamed fire pit. You could also stand next to their new barbeque unit to stay warm and feast your eyes on some mammoth cheese stuffed potatoes. They had to be cut into smaller proportions because there was so much fantastic food available today.

These were some tasty jalapeno poppers stuffed with cheddar cheese and sausage. They had just enough heat to say HELLO !. The four meats; chicken, ribs, pork shoulder and brisket were served today. Of course Rob & Sherri had to represent with their finest meat cooks because that is what competitors do. I especially liked the brisket today. 

Competitive teams will not always reveal their cooking secrets but Sherri did demonstrate one of her seasoning techniques. I call this the 'Kissing Crane' seasoning method. I hung out in the kitchen trying to absorb any pointers or secrets. I was joined by this little furry character that knew plenty of wayward trimmings would come his way.

Chicken and ribs made this a complete day. What a great housewarming party. This Mad Meat Genius definitely had to loosen his belt after an afternoon of eating championship bbq. It was a great day to hang out with friend and welcome Rob & Sherri to their new home.

P.S. Bonus points for such a great team name; Team Bacon