Pork belly is a bit of a trade secret. It’s rich, delicious, and if you can get your hands on it, fairly cheap. It’s like shallots and Maldon salt, these little touches that turn a home-cooked meal into something that rivals a commercial kitchen. Pork belly is a favorite among chefs, and it’s easy to see why.
This gorgeous, fatty, melt-in-your-mouth cut of the pig is actually bacon, before it’s baconed. It’s hard to come by, but not impossible. Don’t plan to just pick this up at Safeway, you’ll have to call around to local butcher shops.
The great news is, once you find it, it’ll probably be less than $4 a pound. One thing to keep in mind is how differently the meat and the fat need to be cooked. The meat itself needs the slow and low treatment or it’ll dry out, a good brine will help with this as well.
The fat, on the other hand, needs an intensely high heat. Finishing these little bites of meat candy on a hot grill is also a great idea. Adding some sugar to the skin will help with a beautifully caramelized crackle.
It’s also perfect with beer. Fancy, slow-cooked bacon was just made for a beautiful, balanced IPA, one with extra hops but a strong malt backbone. Beer and pig, it’s hard to go wrong.
In a large bowl or baking dish stir together the hot water, salt and sugar until the salt and sugar has dissolved.
Add the cloves, allspice and peppercorns. Stir in the beer, test to make sure the brine is cold (if not, chill until cooled).
Add the pork belly, cover and chill for 12 to 24 hours.
Remove from the brine (reserve brine), rinse the pork belly well.
Place a wire rack over a baking sheet (alternately, a baking pan will work), pour about 1 cup of the brine in the baking sheet making sure the wire rack is not submerged.
Place the pork belly on the rack, bake at 275 until pork is fork tender, about 4 hours.
Remove the pork from the oven, raise the oven temperature to 500.
Stir together the brown sugar, vinegar, chili flakes, and chili sauce.
Brush the pork belly with the sugar mixture.
Roast for ten minutes, re-brush with sugar mixture, roast again until pork is golden brown and the top is crispy.
You and I need to talk about Barleywine for a second. First, it’s not wine, It’s very much a beer, one that happens to be perfect this time of year. It’s a strong beer, with an ABV (alcohol by volume) that’s usually north of 10%.
Generally sold in the larger 22-ounce bottles that promote beer sharing, and the flavors are beautiful with the foods we serve during winter gatherings. Barleywine is usually amber or dark brown, gorgeous fruit, spice and vanilla flavors.
It’s not hoppy like those bold summer beers, it’s deep, malty and often slightly sweet. It’s a bold beer, but one with a character and depth that will surprise your "I don’t like beer" friends. Want to turn a bourbon drinker into a craft beer fan?
This is a great start. I used Odell Woodcut 8. A beautiful, rich, dark fruit, vanilla, and oak flavored gorgeous beverage that’s perfect to bring in lieu of wine to that holiday gathering.
Barleywine’s are not only perfect to serve with a huge spread of roasted meat, pumpkin pies, and candied yams, it’s also perfect for cooking with. The flavors are huge, making a little go a long way. Which will incidentally leave you with even more for that snifter glass you should probably be serving this out of.
Preheat oven to 200°F at least 30 minutes prior to baking. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the egg whites and salt to a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and frothy, about 1 minute. While the mixer is running, gradually add the granulated sugar about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating for 2 minutes between each addition. Beat until firm peaks form, about 2 additional minutes.
Add powdered sugar and beer, beat until peaks return.
Spoon meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch tip. Pipe 1-inch rounds onto prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
Bake meringues until dry, about 2 hours. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
I’ll cook anywhere if you ask me to. A dorm kitchen, a camp stove, a closet with a griddle. Just make sure that I have a few things on hand. One of the items that I’ll always request, if you ask me to cook outside my comfort zone, is an enamel cast iron pot. These things are beast. If you treat them right, they’ll do the same right back. You’ll have this beautiful shiny pot for so long, your grandkids will fight over it once you’re gone. When I wrote my first cookbook, The Craft Beer Cookbook. I wrote it with recipes that I want you make for the rest of your life, because these are recipes that I want to make for the rest of my life. I used a cast iron pan, a Dutch (or French) oven, lots of beer (clearly) and ingredients that I love.
It’s the end of a long and difficult year for me, and as a way to celebrate the year, as well as my birthday, I’m giving you a gift. I’m giving you THREE of my favorite things. First, my book, The Craft Beer Cookbook. One of my proudest accomplishements. I’ll be shipping it to you myself and I’ll scribble whatever you want in it. You want me to profess my undying love for you? I’ll do it. Of course, because you’re the best.
Second, the amazing people at Le Creuset have agreed to send you one of my favorite cooking implements ever: the 5 1/2 qt French Oven. In red, which is my personal favorite color. This is a staple in my kitchen, a must for anyone who loves to cook.
Third, beer. Of your choice. BevMo is giving you a $50 gift card to grab the beer of your choice for general drinking purposes or perhaps to try your hand at cooking with beer. Or possibly both. If you’d like some recommendations for which beers to spend this windfall on, I’d be happy to provide those to you as an addendum to the prize. But really, there is no way to lose when you have yourself some money to spend at BevMo.
To enter, use the Raffle copter fields below (it may take a second to load), Like us all on Facebook, follow us on twitter, tell your friends about this and let me know what you make in your new pot, with your new beer and your scribbled on cookbook. And feel free to invite me over, even if you’re just cooking on a camp stove. I’m down for that.
1large jalapenostem and seeds removed, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
2cupspurple cabbagethinly sliced
2cupsgreen cabbagethinly sliced
¼cupcilantrochopped
½cupsour cream
½cupIPA
1tbslemon juice
1tbssugar
¼tspchili powder
¼tspsalt
Instructions
Preheat oven 300.
Using a paring knife, create 6, 2-inch deep holes fairly evenly spaced through the meat. Push a peeled clove of garlic into each hole until no longer visible.
Sprinkle the pork evenly with salt.
In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and onion powder. Rub the spiced all over the surface of the pork.
In a large oven safe pot or Dutch oven (with an oven safe lid) heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Sear the meat on all sides, about 3 minutes per side.
Add the beer and broth, bring to a simmer.
Cover and place in the oven. Turn the meat over every 30-45 minutes. If the pot begins to dry out, add extra broth or hot water. Allow to cook until meat is falling apart, about 3 to 4 hours.
Remove from oven, shred using two forks while still in the pot. Allow to sit in the pan juices for ten minutes while you prepare the jalapeno slaw. Remove meat from pan juices, draining off most of the liquid prior to serving.
To make the slaw, combine all the jalapeno slaw ingredients in a bowl, toss to coat. Fill each sandwich bun with pork topped with slaw.
No Bake Cream Cheese Caramel Pumpkin Ale Pie. Free up that oven space with the easy, delicious make-ahead pie!
The end of the year is a bit like dessert. The holidays are our reward for what we’ve endured, both the exceptional and the atrocious. Even the weather has turned it’s back on us, forcing us to dress in layers and scrape ice off our windshields. This year has been a beast to me so far, but I have hope for these last few months.
The fall in Seattle was gorgeous, much more beautiful and etherial than I’d expected. A charming backdrop to an otherwise difficult season in my life. The dessert is coming, the year isn’t over yet. We have Thanksgiving to look forward to, with the celebration of gluttony that it brings.
The December holidays, whichever you happen to celebrate. Gifts to buy, wrap and tear open. New Year’s Eve is still waiting for us at the finish line. Champagne, barrel-aged beers, whiskey cocktails, sparkly sweaters, twinkly lights, and pies. Lots and lots of pies.
Here’s one that won’t take up oven space, it’s boozed up with beer, and it’s topped with caramel sauce. No matter what the year has dealt you, you always have pie and beer to look forward too. Pie and beer fix most things.
1 ½cupsgraham crackerabout 9 whole graham crackers
3tbsbrown sugar
7tbsmelted butter
Filling:
16wt ounces cream cheesesoftened
2/3cupbrown sugar
½cupwhite sugar
½tspcinnamon
¼tspnutmeg
¼tspsalt
½tspvanilla extract
¼cupbrown ale beerbarleywine will also be great
15wt oz pumpkin puree
2/3cupcaramel sauce
½cupcandied pecans
Instructions
Add the graham crackers, brown sugar and melted butter to a food processor, process until well combined.
Starting with the sides press well into the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan. Press well using the bottom of a heavy glass or measuring cup. (You can bake at 350 for 12 minutes to make the crust more solid, but it isn’t absolutely necessary).
Add the cream cheese, brown sugar and white sugar to a stand mixer. Beat on high until well combined, light and fluffy. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla extract, beer, and pumpkin puree. Building up speed, beat until well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure the mixture is well combined.
Spoon into the crust. Top with caramel sauce and candied pecans. Chill until set, at least one hour and up to overnight.
Stout Bacon Jam Jalapeno Poppers. Because the only thing that can make Jalapeno Poppers better is bacon. And beer.
I was on a reality TV show once.
By the time January rolled around and filming started, in a cold warehouse in Van Nuys, California, the idea I had been pitched by the team of producers had morphed into something that hardly resembled the original premise. I’d been sold on the idea that the team was to document the process of assisting me in developing a line of beer-infused food for grocery stores. I ended up walking into a cooking competition.
When I arrived at a hotel near the filming location I was asked to hand over my phone, my computer and all access to the outside world. The phone in the room was even disabled. I asked why, what if I need something? "You won’t" was as much of an answer as I could get.
A beat-up Dodge Caravan pulled up at 5 am the following morning as I stood shivering outside the hotel lobby. A few other TV show participates filed into the seats behind me. "Hi, I’m Jackie," I said to the girl who sat down next to me.
"No talking!" A 23-year-old from Kentucky snapped at me from the driver’s seat.
"Wait…what?" I was confused and dangerously under-caffeinated.
"You can’t talk to anyone except the producers unless we say you can."
I didn’t push back, I just gave a look of shock to the other 5 passengers that was mirrored by their own reactions to this news.
After arriving on set, and a brief orientation to the show premise, which wasn’t even a distant cousin to the show vibe I was sold a few months prior, I was hustled to a makeshift "room" which was no more than a large plywood box constructed on one end of the warehouse. Each contestant was put in a separate box, with nothing more than a folding chair. I sat there for three hours, re-reading the copy of Blood, Bones & Butter I luckily had in my bag. When it was my turn for shooting I was handed a plate of the bacon jam that I’d made for the shoot and given a few directions. "Walk to that podium, set down the plate, smile at the chefs." "Now do it slower" "Now do it faster" "Introduce yourself" "Do it again." After a few scripted back and forth segments, I went back into the box. Starving, unsure of the time, bored to tears, to wait another three hours.
Late in the day, well past dark, it was time to shoot a mock cooking battle. The count down clock was faked. As soon as each participant was finished with the dish, the producers came over to shoot the "five…four…three…two…one…hands up, time is over" segment. We each did this three or four times, well after each of us had finished our dishes.
Close to midnight, exhausted, hungry, a bit jittery, the battle was over. I had made it to the top two. I wanted sleep, I didn’t care that I hadn’t been cut, I just wanted to sleep. Before I could go, I was taken to a dark room, sat in a chair, a bright light in my face obscuring the camera filming my responses to a young producer’s questions. It quickly became clear what she wanted. She wanted me to trash talk the other girls. I refused. Two hours later, the interrogation continued. "Aren’t you annoyed at how bubbly she is? Isn’t she ugly? Doesn’t it seem like she’s faking it all for attention?"
I thought of the people who admit to murders they don’t commit just to be left alone, just for sleep and food. "Listen," I finally said, "I won’t do it. I’m not going to shit talk girls I genuinely like and hardly know just for some sound bites. You have to take a different direction."
"Can you act scared of them?"
"Fine, they scare me."
I was finally able to sleep. At least until 6 am when I had to do it all again. Another day of shooting, another day of the box. Another day of getting scolded for talking to people. We faked conversations about things that hadn’t happened for the sake of the camera. We filmed the "if you win" scene and the "if you lose" scene. They missed the genuine moments, the good stuff went on off-camera.
After the final round, close to 3 am, the last remaining contestant and I presented our dishes to the judges and a grocery store buyer. We had already filmed the "post judges, waiting for the results" banter, which we had to fake given that it took place 3 hours before the judges even showed up. She started to cry, no cameras around, no one but her and me.
"My whole life is in this product. I mortgaged our house, I depleted our savings. What if I fail? I think they like you more. I think they’ll pick you." She sobbed.
For me, it was a whim. It was something fun. It was her life. I was rooting for her, she was the one who should win.
My pitch had gone well, really well. They pressed, I had answers. "Bacon jam? Isn’t jam supposed to be sweet?" I explained that plenty of jam was savory, onion, tomato, even garlic jam. With plenty of applications. Bacon jam could be both. It can go on brownies or vanilla ice cream, or it can be spread inside a pork loin roulade or on biscuits. When the show finally aired, however, my monologue was cut in favor of a shot of me staring blankly into space. As if I had no idea what the question meant.
Hers hadn’t gone well. She had been rude, combative, hostile. Mostly because she was exhausted, emotional, and desperate to win.
At 3 am we were back, both of us rooting for her, both of us desperate to sleep. And then the answer came:
"And the contestant who is cut tonight is….Jackie"
I smiled. I was happy. We had to reshoot and I had to fake a sad face. But I was thrilled. The right person won.
Ten minutes later I was back in the interrogation room and I knew what the producers wanted. They wanted tears, they wanted me to be upset. I was just glad it was over. "Do you think the wrong person won? Did they make a mistake?"
"Nope. She should’ve won. She deserved it."
"Isn’t she rude? Mean? How can you want a mean person to win?"
"Look, I know it would make great TV if the blonde white girl shit talks the 60-year-old Jamaican woman, but that’s not going to happen. Maybe she’s a bit rough, but I like her. She’s tough, she has a great product, she put her entire life on the line for this. She deserves it. They picked the right person."
She didn’t like that. But it was 3 am and she finally just let me go back to the hotel.
By the time the show aired, it was full of petty, forced, artificial drama that had never really occur. You missed the heart and soul of good people, you had no one to root for. And even my competition, the woman whom even I wanted to win, came off as someone you wanted to root against. I looked sad, stupid, and vacant. You wanted to throw Prozac at the screen every time I was on. Needless to say, the show did not return for a second season. People want someone to root for. They want to see the heart and soul more than the drama and the tears. Especially when it comes to food, give us a hero, someone to root for.
Stout Bacon Jam Jalapeno Poppers
These peppers are best made in stages. They are time consuming and tend to be too much work for the day of an event. It’s best to prep the peppers, make the jam and the cream cheese ahead of time, storing in the fridge until ready. Just fill, coat and fry when it's time to serve. (they can also be filled and stored in the fridge for 24 hours, just make sure to coat right before frying)
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon, working in batches if necessary. Remove the bacon from the pan and allow to cool and then roughly chop.
Drain off the bacon grease from the pot, leaving only about 1 tbs bacon drippings in the bottom of the pot.
Return the pot to heat and cook the onions until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup beer and both vinegars, scraping to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
Add the brown sugar and the bacon, reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Place the lid on the pot at an angle, allowing to vent the steam.
Cook until reduced to a thick and syrupy consistency, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a food processor along with remaining 1/4 cup beer and pulse until most of the large pieces have been chopped. Bacon jam can be made up to a week ahead of time.
In a food processor add the cream cheese, mozzarella, and 3 tbs IPA beer, pulse until well combined.
Cut the top off the jalapenos, use a paring knife to scoop out the seeds and membrane inside the peppers.
Pipe the cream cheese mixture and the bacon jam into the pepper in equal portions. I used a dual piping bag for this. You can also slice the pepper ¾ the way down one side, spreading the jam on one side and the cream cheese on the other.
Sprinkle the peppers on all side with flour.
Add the eggs to a small bowl, beat until well combined.
Add the bread crumbs to another bowl.
One at a time dip the peppers in the egg mixture, allowing the excess to slide off before rolling in the bread crumbs. Place back in the egg mixture and then back in the bread crumbs. Set the pepper on a wire rack for about ten minutes to allow the coating to set.
Add 3 to 4 inches of oil to a pot over medium high heat, bring to 325 degrees using a deep-fry thermometer. Adjust heat to maintain this temperature. It’s important that the oil stays close to this temperature. If the oil is too cold the pepper will take on too much oil, if it’s too hot the breading will cook and the pepper will still be cold and vegetal. Cook the peppers for 5 to 6 minutes in the hot oil, return to a wire rack to cool. Serve immediately.
I used this multi-color piping bag set for the filling. It also works great if you make cupcakes for football games, you can pipe two colors on at once. (affiliate link)
Lemon Pepper Crusted Beer Steamed Sea Bass Cheeks, just 20 minutes to a delicious and perfect dinner.
I’m always drawn to things I know nothing about, comfort zones make me a bit restless. While this can get me into a bit of trouble in my personal life, it has substantial benefits in my saucepans. Take me to a market in an unfamiliar city and I’ll immediately search for an ingredient I’ve never worked with. It was tea mixtures in Morocco, and spices in Costa Rica, and apparently in Seattle, it’s fish cheeks.
The texture is firm, a bit more like scallops than a regular fillet, the flavor a bit sweeter. It’s a cut of fish for people who don’t much care for fish. The crust is simple and the entire dish comes together in about 20 minutes. It’s Sunday Supper good on a weeknight time schedule.
In an skillet over medium high heat melt the butter. Add the garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add the beer and lemon juice, remove from heat. Add the fish, sprinkle with salt.
Add the pan to the oven (make sure the pan is oven safe and the handle is not plastic or rubber), bake for 12 minutes.
While the fish is baking make the crust.
Add the bread crumbs, lemon zest, pepper and melted butter to a small dish, stir until well combined.
Remove the fish from the oven, turn the broiled on.
Pack the bread crumb mixture onto each of the fish until well crusted.
Place under the broiler until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
Plate the fish, spooning the pan sauce onto the plate around the fish.
Trashed Up Beer Cheese Tater Tot Pizza. Worth every. single. calorie. SO good.
A great blog sucks you in.
Not just the food, or the photos, but the person behind it. A person you become a least mildly obsessed with. A real-life human who writes in a way that you makes you want more of them. When I first started blogging, Jess from How Sweet It Is was that girl. After I found her blog I binge read her past posts for at least two hours, and then proceeded to creepily google stalk her.
The most shocking thing about this endeavor was that she was on the other side of the computer, stalking me right back. When I finally met her in real life she gave me the biggest, most genuine hug I’ve ever been on the receiving end of and said, "I love your blog! I even google stalked you!" I was too shocked and flattered to tell her that I’d done the exact same thing to her, so I tried my best to play it cool.
Of all the people I’ve been fortunate enough to meet in this crazy world of blogging, there isn’t anyone more genuinely nice than Jessica. She’s even more of what you want her to be, sincerely gracious, food obsessed, blogging groupie, people fan, she’s the real deal and absolutely worthy of your google stalking hours.
She not only makes incredible food, she’s also making a human. In her guts. In honor of this incredible feat, a bunch of bloggers, all of whom have done our share of Jessica How Sweet Google Stalking decided to show her some love. We trashed up some food in her honor.
And I can’t wait to see the human she makes. Someone as nice, talented and genuine as Jess, I think she should make all the babies from now on.
2cupstater totscooked according to package directions
Olive oil for crustabout 2 tbs
2tbsButtermelted
2tbsFlour
1tbsCornstarch
½cupbeerwheat beer, blonde ale, pale ale, pilsner
1cupshredded Cheddardo not use pre shredded
½cupwhole milk
salt and pepper
¼cupcilantrochopped
4strips baconcooked and chopped
¼cuppickled jalapenosnacho jalapenos
Instructions
Place 10-inch cast iron skillet in the lower third of the oven. Heat to 425 degrees with pan in the oven. Heat for at least half hour prior to baking.
Stretch the pizza dough into a 10-inch circle, avoid a rolling pin as this will remove the air bubbles that give great texture. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, gently placing the crust in the pan.
Spread with sauce, top with mozzarella cheese and then cooked tater tots. Brush exposed crust with olive oil.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted the edges are golden brown.
While the pizza is baking make the sauce.
Add the melted butter, flour, cornstarch, beer, cheddar cheese and milk to a blender. Blend on high until well combined. Add to a pot over medium high heat until thick and bubbly. Salt and pepper to taste. (If you encounter any issues with the texture, just re-blend until smooth).
Once the pizza is cooked, remove from oven, top with beer cheese sauce, sprinkle with cilantro, chopped bacon and pickled jalapenos.
The great news is, once you find it, it’ll probably be less than $4 a pound. One thing to keep in mind is how differently the meat and the fat need to be cooked. The meat itself needs the slow and low treatment or it’ll dry out, a good brine will help with this as well.
for the filling. It also works great if you make cupcakes for football games, you can pipe two colors on at once. (affiliate link)
