MAKIN BACON I

I got some false information about our International Market being closed. A reliable source informed me that it was in the process of being torn down. I immediately became depressed. This is my connection for fresh Sea Food and Pork. I had to find out for myself. I jumped in my Hooptie and cruised to the market. The market was in shambles. The parking lot was fenced off. Construction workers were everywhere. In the chaos there was a large sign that read: "Open During Construction". I started to cry in relief. I was so happy that I ran in and bought 8 pounds of Pork Belly. This pork will be magically turned into a cured and smokey product lovingly called Bacon.

Bacon is not a difficult item to make. The secret is balance. You need to find the right combination of Salt, Sugar, and Smoke. I have attempted to make bacon several times. I have progressively improved with every batch. I have had success with a curing salt called Morton's Sugar Cure. It can be purchased directly from Mortons or from a Sausage supply company. Brown sugar will be added to the salt and rubbed all over the bellies. It then is put in a Zip lock bags and put in the refrigerator. It needs about 7-10 days to cure.

The first step is to remove the Rind. I am not going to entertain the controversy about leaving the Rind on. Just let it be known that leaving the Rind on is just plain wrong!. Take a very, very sharp fillet knife and a towel to remove the beast. Place the belly rind down on a cutting board. With the towel grab the rind. With the other hand, take the knife and run it as close to the rind as possible. Be careful, because this is the most difficult step of bacon creation.

Ingredients

1. 8 pounds of Pork Belly
2. 2 cups of Morton's Sugar Cure
3. 1 cup of Brown Sugar

Mix the salt and sugar together. Rub this mixture all over the bellies. Coat every inch of belly surface. Place in Plastic Zip lock bags. Put in refrigerator for at least 7 days. After several days turn bag over. You will see liquid in bag. This is normal. It just means the process is working.

You have just started to make bacon. The next step is to smoke the bacon. I will see you in a week and we will fire up the smoker.

THE FRENCH CHEF

My favorite show used to be Captain Kangaroo. He was always being fooled by Mr. Moose with his knock, knock jokes. He would then receive a shower of ping pong balls. When the Captain was not on we were exposed to the original Celebrity Chefs. There was no food network. Emeril was probably a line cook. I do remember Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet. His show would come on in the morning. He would always tell a joke to start the show. He was very entertaining. He caught the attention of my young impressionable mind. He made calf brains look appetizing. I even lobbied my Mother to buy some. That did not go over to well. We would also watch 'The Grande Dame' of PBS Julia Child. What a show this was! She was over the top. With her sing song voice and large presence, a fun cooking environment, was created. This was the beginning of cooking on TV as entertainment. Martin Yan and Jeff Smith followed in the PBS lineup. I was hooked on cooking shows at an early age. I now have a DVD of Julia to remember how entertaining she really was.

"The French Chef is a three DVD set. It can be purchased from all the usual suspects. What a treat this is. It is a compilation of her PBS shows. The three discs are separated by categories. Disc 1, is about Starters and Side Dishes. One of the episodes on this disc is Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise. She hacks up this monster fish with a Huge cleaver. It is pretty impressive seeing her hack up this whale. Disc 2, is about Main Courses. Tripes a la Mode is entertaining because she brings out the whole stomach. She has to wrestle it to the counter. Disc 3, is about baking and desserts. Julia makes a Queen of Sheba Cake in an episode. The shows span from the early black and white episodes in the 60's to the later color episodes. It was a kick to watch Julia drop something on the counter and just swipe it to the floor.

I have had a great time watching these show. It really makes you appreciate what a great teacher and entertainer Julia was. It also makes you realize how lame a lot of the new cooking show have become. This DVD will bring a smile to your face.

Bon Appetit!

WORM TEA

Doesn't that sound refreshing. It actually is if you are a plant in the garden. Worm tea will be used as a fertilizer in the Chilebrown garden. Red Worms given the right environment will digest and turn your vegetable peelings and scraps into tea and compost. They only need a place to live. I have a worm bin that I got from our local county at a discount. It is more than simple to care for these wigglers. A little food now and then and they go to town. They are also very forgiving if you forget about them. They are the perfect pet!!. I am just kidding Mojo & Oscar.

Red Worms like to live in a moist environment. They like damp shredded newspaper. I take vegetable scraps and bury them under the newspaper. The worms will double in 6 weeks if they have enough food. When I feed them, I pour water over the top of the shredded newspaper and it trickles through the worm field. It collects in the bottom of the bin creating a Tea. There is a spigot on the bottom to drain the tea. The tea is then diluted with water and fed to the garden plants.

I have been watering my tomatoes, peppers, roses and everything planted with a diluted worm tea once a week. The plants have been responding by flourishing. I should have a bumper crop of vegetation this summer.

This tea has become so valuable that I have had to post a Guard Dog at the Tea filling station.

BOWL OF RED

A true Bowl of Red does not have beans or tomatoes. I am starting off with two strikes against me. The finished product makes up for these transgressions. Today's chili is using Elk meat and chipotle en adobo. The beans are canario. There is no special reason for these beans except I had them on hand and they are tasty. The Elk meat is from my "Burrito Bitch" Randall.(Long Story). He is the 'Great White Hunter'. He is probably stalking some wild animal as we speak. Elk meat is a great protein. It is very lean. It is so lean that I have to add bacon fat. At least that is my excuse, like I need an excuse. Some tomatoe puree from last summers garden will be added. I also am using some of my favorite chile powder from Gunpowder Foods.

Ingredients

1. 1 pound dried canario beans
2. 16 ounces tomatoe puree
3. 2 pounds ground Elk
4. 2 strips bacon
5. 1 tablespoon cumin
6. 1 tablespoon oregano
7. 1/2 cup chile powder
8. 1/2 cup chipotle en adobo puree
9. 1 onion chopped
10. salt & pepper
11. 1 tablespoon honey or sugar

Start the beans by simmering them in a pot covered by water.Let them simmer for at least a half hour.Then in a separate pan fry the bacon to render love. When bacon is crisp, eat. Brown the Elk and add to pot of simmering beans. In the same pan the elk cooked in,simmer onion for a couple of minutes. Add the onions to bean mixture. Add the chili's and spices except the salt. You might have to add some water to cover. Hold the salt until the beans are tender. This mixture should simmer for at least an hour or until the beans are tender.

The trick is to put the chili away and eat it the next day. Yeah right like that would ever happen. I like to serve it with cornbread. A good dollop of sour cream in the middle of the bowl will make a perfect Bowl of Red.

The Great White Hunter

STUFFED JALEPENOS

Simple, but extraordinary are stuffed jalapenos. Cream Cheese, bacon, green onion, and salt & pepper is all it is. What an explosion of flavor. Of course there is a Chilebrown twist. These will be cooked in the Beehive Oven. I bought this fancy Jalapeno rack a long time ago. It has been more of a kitchen decoration then a cooking utensil. It was time to break it out. Later this summer the jalapenos will be home grown, but for now they were purchased at the local store. The bacon is from Eden Farms. It is a very, very good bacon. It is also special because it was a gift from my Good Friend and Best Man Larry.

The tricky part of this dish is coring the jalapeno. I used a sharp knife and the back of a spoon. There is some fancy device for coring peppers, but I have not tried one yet. Cook your bacon until crisp. Chop it up and mix with cream cheese, chopped green onion, and salt & pepper. Stuff those baby's tight. Bake at 350 degrees for aprox. 15 minutes. Oh Yeah!

CHIPOTLES EN ADOBO

Chipotles en Adobo is an all purpose chile sauce that I cannot live without. I keep a jar in my refrigerator at all times. I can take a little dab and add it to an ordinary dish and it will magically transform into a spectacular dish. Chipotles are ripe jalapenos that has been smoked to a dry stage. The smoking of the pepper preserves and dehydrates. It changes the flavor profile of the jalapeno. It raises the heat level of the pepper from tame to wild. The process of smoking brings out the fruit flavor of the pepper. It can have nuances of chocolate, caramel and even berry's. Chipotles en Adobo is a sauce of reconstituted chipotles and a cornucopia of spices and ingredients. Once it is cooked I blend it all together in a food processor and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for months.
The first step is to find some chipotles. Every other year I take a couple of days off and smoke my own. I buy 30 to 40 pounds of red (ripe) jalapenos. I preserve them over a very smokey low fire for 24-48 hours. I try to use apple or some other mellow smoking wood. After 48 hours I take them out of the smoker and finish drying them in a dehydrator. I picked up a dehydrator at a garage sale for 5 dollars. Out of 40 pounds of ripe jalapenos you will be left with 4 pounds of chipotle. They will keep for several months stored in your cupboard. I seal some in plastic and freeze them. They will stay great for a couple of years in the freezer.
If you do not have the time or inclination to smoke your own, Tierra Vegetables is a good source to buy chipotle. Of course your local Latin market will carry them. They will even have chipotles en adobo already canned. The canned version is great, but it is not as complex as homemade.

Ingredients

1. 1/4 pound chipotles
2. 4 ancho chiles
3. 2 tomatoes
4. 8 cloves garlic peeled
5. 2 bay leaves
6. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
7. 1 teaspoon oregano
8. 2 sticks cinnamon
9. 3 cloves, crushed
10. 2 cups waster
11. 1 sprig thyme
12. 2 tablespoons olive oil
13. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
14. 2 teaspoons salt
15. 1/4 cup cider vinegar

Boil a pot of water.Take pot off of stove and place chilies in boiling hot water and let them rehydrate for 20 minutes. Drain and remove all stems. Reserve 1/2 cup of soaking liquid. Place rehydrate chilies in a large heavy pot and add all ingredients including 1/2 cup of soaking liquid. Simmer for 45 minutes. Take off heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves and cinnamon. Place mixture in food processor and pulse. Store in refrigerator.



There are so many uses for this chipotle puree. Try adding a dollop to your mayonnaise. Mashed potatoes are a good candidate. Use some sauce in marinating your meats. Add some vinegar and honey and use as a barbeque sauce. Baked beans will never be the same. Kick up your homemade bread with a tablespoon or two. I could go on and on, but I am hungry!

CZECHOSLOVAKIAN BLACK

Czechoslvakian Photo By Biggles

BACON REVUE (BACON JAM II)

Jeeze Louise, I may have been a little harsh on the score of Bacon Jam. I originally gave it a 2.5 stars out of 5. I think it should not be called a Jam. When you see the label of a jam you have expectations of something sweet. This product has some savory sweetness. It does not deliver in the category of something to put on your toast. It does have qualities to deliver to Meat. That is why I am giving this a second review. Today, I am trying this product with a Buffalo Hamburger. I am going to put it on a homemade English Muffin and top it off with a slice of cheese.

The grill has been fired with Mesquite charcoal. The muffin is in the toaster oven. The burger will be cooked medium. The burger will be flipped after 5 minutes or so and the cheese will be added. Here is the test. I am going to spread Bacon Jam on both halves of the English Muffin while it is still warm. The burger will add some heat to melt the Bacon Jam. There will be a hunk of lettuce added during serving. I am hoping for the best.

The burger is off the grill, the cheese is melted, and the Bacon Jam is melting over the English Muffin. I take a bite. I take another bite. I can taste the Bacon Jam. It is a accompaniment that is welcome. It is a little sweet like a relish should be. It has the bacon flavor that we all Love. It is not overpowering. I think it is a hit. The rating will be raised to 3.5 stars out of 5. I think the original score was low because of the wrong labeling of Bacon Jam.