Product Review: Kiolbassa Smoked Beef Sausage

As I was walking through Costco a few weeks ago, I again fell victim to the end case display.  Lo and behold, the whole end case was pack full with these beauties...

Kiolbassa Smoked Beef Sausage, straight from San Antonio, Texas.  When it come to Texas BBQ, smoked beef links are right up there in my book.  Slow smoked then grilled, mild or spicy, beef links are part of any three meat platter that I purchase.  So, I just had to try these.

When I opened the pack, there was a nice garlic scent, followed by a fragrant undertone of oak, or perhaps pecan.  Either way, I liked what I was smelling.

These are a nice, large sized link.  Texas sized if you will.  Sausage buns only here.  A smaller bun just will not work.  I grilled them up, taking care not to singe them too much in the process.  I didn't want to shrivel up the casing to much, letting out all of the sausage juice goodness.  Here was the final product...

I placed my beef link on a sausage roll with some diced sweet onion and Heinz Jalapeno Ketchup, along with some of the outstanding Butter and Sugar corn from Ambrose Farm Market...

How were they?  The casing was a perfect crispiness.  The sausage had a nice garlic flavor and was seasoned perfectly.  The oak/pecan smoke added a nice touch to a great beef link.  Sadly though, if you are looking for spice, you will not find it here.  These are produced for the masses.  But, that does not mean I won't be buy these again.  But, I do prefer a little Texas spice in my beef links.

Overall grade: A-.  Points deducted for a lack of spicy bite.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Peach Bourbon Baked Beans with Bacon

I got this idea from Too Sauced to Pork.  At the public sampling in Hamburg, NY, they made a batch of this and mixed their left over pulled pork inside to serve.  So, I took my friend Mark in Minnesota's bean recipe and made some modifications.  Here is the recipe.  It makes one, half foil pan of beans:

Peach Bourbon Baked Beans with Bacon

1 60 ounce can Bushes Baked Beans, drained
1 Medium to Large Sweet Onion, Diced
1 pound Bacon, Smoked and Diced
1 Green Pepper, Diced and Sauteed
5 Peaches, Skin removed, Diced and Sauteed
1/4 cup of packed Brown Sugar for the peaches
⅓ Cup Bourbon, For Peaches
Favorite BBQ Sauce, To taste
Optional (Previously Smoked Brisket Burnt Ends, or other smoked meat)
Olive Oil, For Saute
Butter, For Peaches

Saute peppers and onions.  Smoke bacon on smoker until slightly crisp.  Saute peaches in butter.  Add bourbon to peaches to deglaze pan.  Mix everything in bowl.  Place in ½ foil pan.  Cook in smoker at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Smoking the bacon.  This is a beautiful sight any day of the week.

Sauteing the peaches.  I halved 5 peaches, removed the pits, and used 1 Tbsp of butter.  Once the peaches were soft, I added to brown sugar and cooked until caramelized.  Then, I added 1/3 cup of bourbon and cooked down.  Here is what the peaches looked like at various stages of cooking.

The green pepper and onion was diced.  The jalapeno was diced and seeded.  Then, all three were sauteed in a bit of olive oil.  While this was going on, I drained my beans.

Once the beans were drained and the veggies were tender crisp, I crumbled the bacon, added 1 cup of Sweet Bay Rays Original BBQ sauce, mixed and poured into a half foil pan.  then 40 minutes on a 350 F smoker with peach smoking wood.

I took these to a work function and they were all gone.  Next time, I am going to try with fresh beans.  I will also cut back on the brown sugar in the peaches.  I think the sauteed peaches added enough sweet on their own.  Finally, I will add about 1/4 cup of yellow mustard.

You can add more jalapeno to suit your tastes.  I was cooking for a crowd, so I kept the spice to a minimum.  I have made this before with pulled pork and they are outstanding.  Give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Smoked Pork Chop Quiche

Quiche you say?  Fu Fu food?  Only if the ingredients are Fu Fu.  Besides, you eat those breakfast casseroles, don't you?  You know, the ones with sausage, cheese, and a ton of other ingredients.  All a quiche is would be a casserole in a pie crust.  So, on we go...

I had a left over smoked pork chop from the other night and some fresh tomatoes that were getting close to over ripe.  I stopped by the store and picked up some Jarlsberg cheese (swiss without the holes, but only better!) and a pie crust.  I stopped making homemade pie crust when my Mom declared the Pillsbury to be just a good as hers.  And you know what, she is right.

Since this was my first quiche, I needed a recipe for a base.  Here is the one I used from Southern Food.com.  I followed this to the letter, but the egg/liquid ratio will be my base for future experiments.

So, I diced my pork chop, tomato, and onion.  Then, I shredded my cheese and made my egg mixture.  Then, I placed my crust in a standard size pie pan and started layering:

Then, into the oven at 375 F for about an hour.  I backed off on the temperature a bit so that I didn't burn the crust.

Let cool for 10 minutes then slice.  Served with a thin drizzle of sriracha sauce for some kick.

Outstanding.  the hickory from the smoked pork chop mixed with the Jarlsberg cheese perfectly.  I can't wait to try other combinations with fresh garden veggies as the summer progresses.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Home Cured and Smoked Pork Chops on the Grill

If you follow this blog on a regular basis and can remember back to January, I went on a home curing and smoking kick.  Ham, bacon, and pork chops.  The ham and pork chops were vacuum packed and frozen for later use.  Well, we grilled up some of the cured and smoked pork chops last week.  Here is how they turned out.

Thawed and ready to do.  I was really happy at how the color developed over the 7 months in the freezer.  The chops had a very nice hickory flavor right out of the package.

On a screaming hot grill.  About 5 minutes a side.  The smoke rolling out of the stack had an enticing, smokehouse hickory scent.  

Done and ready for devouring.  How were they?  The crispy fat was especially nice.  Pork fat is always good.  But this fat and the meat around the fat had a nice bacon flavor.  It was a nice surprise.  The rest of the meat had a subtle had a nice subtle hickory flavor mixed in with hammy overtones.  I will be making this again for sure.

One issue was that some of the chops were a tad too salty.  I will rectify that in the future by soaking in ice water longer, perhaps overnight, to ensure that all of the salt is removed before smoking.  Other than than, these chops were better than any store bought smoked pork chop I have ever prepared.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill