BACON REVUE (GARTNER'S BEEF BACON)

Let the show begin, in the Bacon Theater. Beef Bacon from Gartners is on stage today. Gartners is located in Portland Oregon. It is full service Meat Market. The market is huge. There is a whole drove of people working the counter. They have some sort of meat product for everyone. They even have bones for your dog. That is if your dog is part Wooly Mammoth. This hunk of cured beef is some of the last, of my stash from the Meat Haul. The Meat Haul from the “Ultimate Meat Adventure” held last summer. It is almost time to start planning a new Meat Adventure to replenish the Chilebrown Ice Cave.

I am going to start out with the texture. I have cooked it to several different degrees of doneness. Every way I cook it, it turns out tough and chewy. I think Jerky should be tough and chewy. The salt level is present, but not overpowering. The meat to fat ratio is good. I taste or smell no smoke. There is a pronounced beef flavor. This may be the problem. I think bacon should have a pork flavor. I am going to have to give this bacon an overall score of 2 stars out of 5. This has been the lowest score in the ‘Revue’ so far. It is not a great representation of the Gartners Meats. Next up,will be Gartners Sugar Bacon.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Cost: 4.98/pound

Where: Gartners Meats 7450 N.E. Killingsworth Portland, Or. 97218

503 252-7801

Wooly Mamoth Dog Bones

LOCAL PRODUCE (Ron Green)

Ron Green grows Cauliflower. It is beautiful. He lives right in town on the upper crust of the Bay Area. He is an Urban Local Farmer that grows lots of vegetables for people that might not recieve fresh produce. In the summer he has tomatoes, cucumbers and the killer squash. Most of his vegetables, all of his vegegatbles are given away. He is a hero!!

I am steaming a head of his Cauliflower, with Asparagus and Red Potatoes. It will be accompanied by MEAT of course. (Stuffed Corned Beef)

Thanks Ron Green!!!!!!!!!!!

STUFFED CORNED BEEF

Are you wearin the Green? I have a we bit of Irish in my background. I always claim a little more around this time of year. I no longer drink Green Beer, but, I do have to have my Corned Beef. This year I am going to prepare the brisket with a little twist. I have received my inspiration from Larry Gaian. This Corned Beef will be ground, stuffed, tied and smoked.
The Corned Beef I am using is called the Point Cut (also know as the Deckel). It has more fat and is usually less expensive than the Flat Cut. I am going to trim away as much fat as possible and replace it with Bacon. This will be ground to a coarse mixture The stuffing will be a Mushroom, Shallots, Garlic and Cheddar Cheese mixture. The meat and filling will be shaped into a log and wrapped with Caul Fat. What is Caul Fat? It is a lacy fatty membrane that encases the internal organs of an animal. It is not as gross as it sounds. It will hold everything together. By the time everything is cooked the Caul Fat will have melted away.

INGREDIENTS
5 pounds of Corned Beef (Point Cut)
¾ pounds of Bacon
¾ pounds of Cheddar Cheese (grated)
1 clove garlic (diced)
2 medium Shallots (diced)
1 pound Caul Fat
salt and pepper
¾ pound mushrooms (sliced)

Make sure your Corned Beef is chilled. Trim away as much fat as you can. Slice into strips so it will fit into your Meat Grinder. I am using a Kitchen Aide Mixer with a meat grinder attachment. Use the coarse grind die and grind the beef and the bacon together. Mix together and chill.

Take some oil and heat in a skillet pan. When the oil is hot add the garlic and shallots. Cook for several minutes and add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have given off their liquid. Chill this mixture.
Now that the mushrooms are nice and cold, mix with cheese. Use a large piece of parchment paper and spread your meat mixture into a rectangular shape. Lay cheese right down the center. Lift the edge of the parchment paper and roll mixture into a log shape. Seal all the edges by patting meat together. You do not want any cheese to escape.

Lay your Caul fat on a cutting board. Place meat log in center. Wrap the Caul Fat around the mixture. You then need to secure it with some string. It is a good thing that I was a Boy Scout a long, long time ago. Put Meat Log back into refrigerator.
I will be smoking the Log with Applewood in the Rocky Mountain Smoker. The ideal cooking temperature will be 225-250 degrees. It will take aprox 3 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat is 165. When you are measuring the temperature make sure the probe is in the meat and not the cheese center. I cannot stress the importance of this next step. When you have removed your meat from the smoker let it rest. Let it rest for at least 40 minutes. If you do not let it rest, the cheese mixture will just ooze all over your cutting board. Just like I did. It was delicous!

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ASPARAGUS

It is that time of year that Asparagus is hitting the stores and farmers markets. The Chilebrown household will probably have some sort of Asparagus dish on the weekend for the next two months. It will be made into Soup, Chow Mein, deep fried, baked, boiled, steamed, barbequed, quiche and my favorite bacon wrapped. The flavor of these Green Spears of Spring will be at their best for the next few months. After the season is over, I will have to go cold turkey, like an addict. Yes, My name is Chilebrown, and I am an Asparagus Freak. I just wanted to warn you of the Asparagus fun to come.

Speaking of Asparagus fun, the Asparagus Festival is right around the corner. It is to be held in Downtown Stockton, Ca. April 25-27. This is an event not to be missed. Martin Yan will be giving a cooking demonstration. He is always entertaining and usually gives a 'R' rated version of his act. There will be an Asparagus eating contest. Joey Chestnut a World Class Trencherman will be competing. Greg Kihn, Joan Jett and 'War' will be performing. The most important part of the festival will be the food. The Deep Fried Asparagus is something not to be missed. They even will have Asparagus Ice Cream and Asparagus Margaritas. Hope to see you there!!

ASPARA-GUS after to many Asparagus Margaritas

JALAPENO, CAULIFLOWER AND CHEESE SOUP

Jalapeno, Cauliflower, Cheddar soup how can you go wrong. This used to be a signature dish at Buffalo Bills in the 80”s. It is now a signature dish at the Chilebrown house. I am going to add a ingredient that you might not like. It is Velveeta Cheese. I know that a lot of you will turn away, Velveeta cheese actually melts and tastes okay, I have used good Cheddar and it will separate. Am I wrong for using Velveeta? I do not think so.

1 quart of stock
1/3 block of Velveeta
1 onion chopped
2 strips of bacon diced
salt and pepper
4 jalapenos sliced
1 head of cauliflower (cut in to bite size pieces

Fry the bacon till it cry’s that it wants’s the onions. Add everything else except the cheese.. Simmer for 15minutes. Add Cheese and turn down the heat.

Jalapeno, Cheese Bread was served with the soup. We are having a Jalapeno Cheese kind of day. It also helps when you make a stock with leftover Smoked Turkey Bones .

SMOKED TURKEY

Why do you have to eat Turkey only on Thanksgiving? Isn’t Turkey a big ole chicken? People eat chicken everyday. Why not Turkeys? It is supposedly good for you. It is low in fat. Depending on what side dishes you accompany it with, it could be considered health food. In the Chilebrown kitchen, it is the Smoke Bomb. I am firing up the smoker and smoking a Turkey with Apple wood. I have brined the bird for 12 hours in a salt and sugar solution. I will be smoking the gobbler for less than 4 hours. Let’s start with the brine.

You need a food grade plastic bucket to brine your turkey in. You can go to a Restaurant Supply Store to buy one. We just walked behind our local Supermarket and recycled a bucket that originally had Cake Frosting in it. I let Mojo and Oscar have there way with it. Just Kidding! I did wash it out with soap, water and a little bleach. The Brine solution will then need to be made

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BRINE
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 cups Salt
2 gallons water
I am cooking a 12 pound Turkey. This recipe just covers the top of the bird. You can adjust the recipe as needed. Let brine for aprox 8 hours. Overnight is the perfect time. The next step is to set up the smoker.
I am using the Weber Rocky Mountain Cooker. The bird will be cooking at a high heat.(350-400). It is not cooking at a low heat (225-250) because there is really no benefit to the lower temperature when cooking a bird. The Turkey will have a crisp crust . It will be smoky and be tender.
COOKING TIME
This is a crucial subject. You want your turkey to be moist and juicy You need to get over 165 degrees according to the USDA. I use the Old Fashion Method and wiggle the legs. You can tell if is done if the leg easily separates from the body. The bird needs to rest for at least 20 minutes after it is taken of the fire.(important)

CHARLE

Where is Charle? I know where Larry is. He is Bacon Kool . This picture was taken close to twenty years ago. Larry is my one of my best friends.(on right) Larry you ROCK