Perfect BBQ and other manly cooking adventures

Re-upload:   Sorry, we just discovered the the original audio file was corrupted.

This week we interview someone from our distant past, the creative genius behind the Jawbone Radio podcast. Jawbone was one of the seminal podcasts and Len & Nora as hosts were two of the best.

It was with great surprise several months ago I noticed a post on Facebook where Len had caught the BBQ bug and contacted him to see if he would be interested in being our guest.

We talk about podcasting for a while and then get into his first foray into Barbecue. As it turns out he had done his research, was already versed in the joys of great BBQ and so had a head start on his first cooks.

We hope you enjoy this interview as much as I enjoyed the conversation.

Intro
00:43 - Discuss the origins of podcasting, Jawbone Radio, etc.
14:16 - We begin the BBQ discussion

For more info on Len visit https://www.lenperalta.com
To listen to old episodes of Jawbone radio visit https://jawboneradio.blogspot.com/

BBQ guys seem to enjoy coming up with new and odd items to put on the smoker or eat with their smoked meat creations. Along with those new and odd items usually come a name that is equally as odd and this item is no exception.

Who wants to smoke a fatty? Well, you will after you taste it.

I stopped at my local market up the street for some lunch meat and noticed a 2lb package of freshly ground pork alongside a big slab of sliced bacon. It reminded me that I hadn't smoked a fatty for quite a while.

I started early Saturday morning as this takes about 2.5 to 3 hours on the smoker and I wanted to serve it for breakfast. I started by laying a piece of saran wrap on the counter to make the pork easy to roll and then smoothed out a 3/8" thick layer of ground pork in about a 10" x 10" square. You want this to be just a bit smaller than the length of your bacon. This ended up being about a pound and a quarter of the pork.

Once the pork is square and an even thickness, I lightly sprinkled my standard rub mixture which is salt, my favorite smoked chipotle powder, and a small amount of granulated onion and garlic.

I then lay 3 rows of pepperoni down the center, mashed a cup of shredded chedder and half a block of cream cheese together, shaped into a roll and lay on top of the pepperoni.

Using the top and bottom edges of the saran wrap I wrapped the pork around the center ingredients and sealed the edge and ends nicely and set aside.

I then created a weave with the bacon. You've probably seen this done several places on the internet but basically it involves laying out half your bacon strips side by side vertically and then folding back every other strip, lay down a horizontal strip and then alternate the strips of bacon that are folded back. https://www.foodrepublic.com/recipes/from-the-pitmaster-heres-how-to-make-a-bacon-weave/

When finished lay your pork roll in the center and wrap the bacon around making sure to also seal in the ends. This becomes a crispy layer of bacon around your roll of smoked pork. Place seam down on your smoker and relax for about 2 to 3 hours depending on your temp. This can be smoked a little higher than 225. Anywhere from 250-275 degrees seems to get the bacon crisp at the same time as the pork is done.

During the last 1/2 hour of smoking I brushed a layer of maple syrup on the bacon as I wanted to serve this for breakfast so wanted a hint of sweetness.

When the pork reaches 165, remove from the smoker and let rest for at least a half hour before slicing.

As it approached serving time I toasted a few english muffins and fried two eggs over easy to lay on top of one of the slices, one for myself and one for my favorite breakfast partner (my wife)

I served each of us two slices about 3/4" thick and layed the fried egg on top of one so that the yolk would run down over the cheesy pork roll.

It was a deliciously different breakfast option