Even the name is a mouthful! The Jalapeno Popper stuffed Bacon Cheeseburger Fatty!

In our quest to try every fatty combination on the planet, we recently came up with another winner. The Jalapeno Popper Bacon Cheeseburger Fatty!

This idea was actually suggested by a friend through one of those mesmerizing food videos that flood social media. A lot of our cooks come that way, through videos that look challenging or fun to try.

One of our favorite snacks has become smoked jalapeno poppers. I've been making a batch almost every weekend for months it seems! This fatty idea takes the popper to  a whole new level.

We started out with a couple of finely diced jalapenos (seeds & veins removed) and a small onion also finely diced. We sauteed them until the onions were translucent and the peppers slightly tender. After a quick chill in the freezer we added the diced onions and peppers to the softened cream cheese and a big handful of shredded cheese (we used Jack cheese, but whatever you like is fine).  

After a good mix of the veggies & cheeses we dumped it out on a piece of plastic wrap and formed it into a cheese log. We wrapped it up tight and tossed it in the freezer to firm up- about an hour.

Once the cheese log firmed up we rolled out a layer of hot italian sausage, about a ¼ inch thick and a rectangle maybe 4 inches by 8 inches - enough that we could completely wrap the cheese log. Be sure to pinch the seams together so there are no escape routes for the cheese to find when it melts -cheese blowouts are not pretty. Once the log was wrapped we tossed it back in the freezer to firm up again.

While the sausage/cheese log was chilling, we rolled out another sheet of hamburger. We left the burger plain, but you could certainly add your favorite seasonings if you want. The burger was rolled out to a aprox ½ inch thick rectangle about 5-6 inches by 9-10 inches- again, big enough to completely wrap the sausage/cheese log.

Once the burger was rolled out we added a layer of BBQ sauce followed by 9 slices of cheese (we used provalone. next time American). We then laid the sausage/cheese on the burger and wrapped it all up into a big log of love!

The final step, before smoking - the piece de resistance- is the bacon weave. It's like a snuggly bacon blanket that wraps the whole fatty up into a beautiful package. It took the wife a couple of practice runs, but she's become a bacon weave pro!

We fired up the UDS with some charcoal briquettes and hickory chunks. I smoked this fatty at about 230-250 F for about 3 hours, flipping it over about ½ way through.  I would suggest a higher temp though. Next time we’ll run in the 275 -300F range. The meat cooks pretty quickly; it's the bacon that takes time to brown, but you need to cook it fairly slowly or it will burn and curl. higher and not so slow next time.

This fatty was pretty easy to make, although it did take some time preparing. Definitely one we`ll do again soon!

Back in the saddle!!

After a winter of recovering from back surgery, I’m so happy to finally be able to get back to BBQ! I decided to jump right back in this weekend, so I called my sister and invited her and my niece down for a Red Sox game on the tube and some  lip smackin’ BBQ!

In northern New Hampshire, Mother Nature has little interest in cooperating with our outdoor plans and Saturday was no exception. I looked at the weather forecast Friday night, hoping to find some good news, but no. Cold and snowy was the forecast du jour.

We woke up to find another Winter Wonderland! An inch of snow had fallen overnight and it was still snowing and blowing. I was a little discouraged, but I’ve been inside for far too long! So, I kissed my bride goodbye and sent her off to work and moved the Ugly Drum Smoker out to the driveway and lit up a chimney of charcoal.

Normally, I will moan and groan through winter BBQing and smoking - I HATE IT! - but I love to cook so I suffer through. This time however was different. I have been out of the game so long, I was chomping at the bit to get outside and fire up the smoker!  

The menu for dinner was pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, baked beans and cornbread. I know, that's way too much starch. carbs, whatever...but so what? I`m not trying to make diet BBQ here!

Friday night we trimmed up a nice 8-9 lb boneless Boston Butt and injected some extra flavor. Here’s my “go-to” liquid recipe for pork butt:

3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons Worcestershire

Basic and mild, but I think it adds a hint of flavor and extra moisture for the long cook.

Normally, I will rub the meat the night before and refrigerate, but i was tired so I waited until Saturday AM. I got the butt on a little later than I had hoped, but by 10AM, the smoke was rolling and the butt was cooking. Here’s a basic pork butt rub I make that can be easily customized to your tastes:

Big Ricky’s Butt Rub

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Paprika
1/8 cup Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1-2 tablespoons Garlic Powder
1-2 tablespoons Onion Powder
1 tablespoon or more Cayenne Pepper
1/4 cup Coarse Salt
1/4 cup Brown or White Sugar (I use Turbinado sugar)

We smoked the butt for 8 hours, until it hit 205F. I maintain temps between 220F and 240F in the UDS and, this time, I used Hickory for my smoke (Kingsford briquettes for my heat). I still haven’t gotten my time management down to where I can let the butt rest for any length  of time. As it was, we didn’t eat until 8PM! I guess I need to get going even earlier next time.

One of my favorite things is seeing a well cooked pork butt. If it’s done right, it will  like  jello. We pulled the butt and watched it jiggle and dance all the way into the kitchen.

While the pork butt rested, me and Les put together the cornbread. A big kudos to Demetra Overton for this recipe! it is FANTASTIC! Click on the link  to check out the recipe and her other great looking dishes (her Vidalia onion cornbread is going to be made soon too!!)

Bacon Upside Down Jalapeno Corn Bread

Here’s our results. It was a huge hit!!

I'm super happy to be walking upright and BBqing again! It looks like winter is on the run and warmer weather is here. I`ve knocked off the rust and am ready to dive back into the pit! Stay tuned, lots more to come!