Stuftivus In Arizona...7 Days A Week

The Heart Attack Grill in Chandler, Arizona is a place that has the Stuftivus spirit!

Stuftivus I: We Made, We Ate, Again & Again &...

Bacon Explosion Steps 1 (weave) 2 (sausage on weave) 3 (cooked bacon) 4 (rolled!)

And this is how our Saturday began! Reno Mike showed up in our kitchen about 1:30 on Saturday with some homemade KC sauce and mint juleps in jars from his accountant and ready to roll some Bacon Explosion! The sauce was sweet and sour and tasty, the roll was expertly achieved and the mint juleps...well that is another story that can be told later.

While Smokey was browning lamb to stuff into a pork loin, Reno Mike began construction of the Bacon Explosions--yes plural. His technique belied years at summer camp weaving lanyards and baskets, quickly he had constructed the first bacon lattice that would wrap the sausage and was asking for "more bacon!" Which was not a problem as described in previous post he shuttled a fifteen pound box down from Carson City.

The Bacon Explosion layers are thus:

1) Weave bacon in a tight weave (picture far left above)

2) Cover with sausage (picture 2) and apply generous amount of your favorite rub and barbecue sauce

3) Cover sausage with cooked bacon (yes bacon rolled in sausage rolled in bacon)

4) Roll the sausage to one side of the bacon weave

5) Roll the bacon weave over the sausage into a nice tight bundle (final picture)

6) Put on indirect heat (make sure you have drip pan under the Explosion!) and baste with barbecue sauce for the next couple of hours.

Serve! (Reno Mike cutting Bacon Explosion with guidance from Colleen):

But this was the capper, the piece de resistance, the grand finale...well we had dessert so it was the last bit of pork served at Stuftivus I. Prior to the Bacon Explosion Smokey and Reno Mike were pulling food off the grill and guests were dishing it as well. We had four kinds of sausage (not counting what was in the Bacon Explosion), the Tulsa Treat (barbecued bologna), pork belly, chicken, tri-tip, pork loin stuffed with lamb, brie and basil, Arrogant Bastard beans with two kinds of pork, hash brown casserole with cheese and butter, cornbread, home made bread and some stuff people described as "asparagus" and "salad", and to make sure no one went home hungry we ended with Ginger Orange Cheesecake--all of it. For the record that is ten different variations of pork. No wonder Chef Paul was calling it Pork-A-Polooza!

Picture on the left is the early grill with sausages, Tulsa Treat, chickens and tri-tip; picture on the right is the grill with the Bacon Explosions added (note the drip tray, critical!).

Smokey and Wonder Woman want to thank Reno Mike and Shelle (or Mark and Shirley) for their help and guidance, and very importantly, Anna, Brian, Brian, Chef Paul, Colleen, Dana, James, Julie, Marty and Nicole provided the great laughs, friendship and of course receptivity for everything coming off the grill! Special thanks to the little ones Blaire, Jenna and Skye for keeping themselves occupied and allow the Mamas and Papas the ability to relax and enjoy.

As for that beverage debate, Smokey weighed in...beer goes best with the Bacon Explosion and of course, you can have barbecue sauce on anything including Ginger Orange Cheesecake!

Planning will be underway soon for Stuftivus II as Reno Mike and I contemplate moving from the plains and Porkapolooza to the other three-quarters of the earth and feasting on water based food stuffs, we will have to Sea it to believe it! Stay tuned! Harrison is resting so he will be ready!

Postscript.... About 9:30 Wonder Woman proclaims, "I can't believe this...I'm kind of hungry."

The Shipment Is Rolling!

Reno Mike just called from the 395 and he and Shelle are headed south with over 20 pounds of pork for Stuftivus. It seems his bacon purveyor only sells in quantities of 15 pounds, what's a fella to do?

Drive careful there Reno Mike, that is some precious cargo you have in the cargo hold!

Forty-eight hours to Stuftivus One!

Is It Wrong?

Here is a question for Stuftivus readers. Is it wrong to start meats in the oven for the long slow cooking and then finish them on the barbecue to pick up the smokey flavor and add sauce for glaze and more flavor?

I never cook ribs on the grill. Following the food genius Alton Brown's method I rub them, wrap them in foil, pour some braising liquid in the foil pouch and leave in the oven on 250 for about three hours. Then I take the braising liquid, maybe add a thing or two, boil it down some more and use it to as a baste for the ribs.

The ribs are put on the uppper rack of my barbecue over some wood chips and I baste them for fifteen to thirty minutes (depends on what my "basting" liquid is and how fast I want to drink it). Ribs get a nice glaze from the basting sauce and a nice smoke flavor from the wood but I don't have to mess with checking them on the grill for several hours, worry about flame ups, etc.

Is this wrong to start your meats in the oven and finish them on the grill?

Menu Items

We already know we are having the Bacon Explosion as the centerpiece of Stuftivus, I thought I would share some other tasty treats that are making your way onto the menu for Stuftivus.

Reno Mike's gal Shelle is bringing hashbrowns with many additives that makes for a delicious sounding dish--and believe me if Reno Mike passes a dish to be present you know it is delicious.

Chef Paul (really, he's a chef how he managed to make the cut for this amateur event is under intense investigation--we can probably use photos to blackmail him later to protect his career) is bringing "Arrogant Bastard Smoked Pork and Beans." Someone point out something wrong with that juxtaposition of words! Every time I read that phrase I salivate.

Smokey is going to have some chicken on the grill to cleanse the palettes, nice and juicy. As well a bit of tri-tip for the obligatory beef dish. Accompanying this will be plenty of Nancy Jane's barbecue sauce passed down from Momma to Smokey.

Anyone up for some ginger-orange cheesecake? We'll be getting that put together as well.

Smokey is working on one more stuffed pork item that was debuted about seven or eight years ago combining pork and a four legged protein not yet mentioned on the menu. Stay tuned!

I'm a man of numbers. I'm a man of data. I'm a man who would sell his kidneys for some really good bacon. But I know that there are those of you out there who are afraid of bacon. Many of you fear the god-meat, but you don't need to. Just look at the data:

Nutritional Values

Preparation	Serving Size	Carbs	Fiber (g)	Fat (g)	Energy (kj)
Middle Rasher - fried	1 (10g)	0	0	3	155
Middle Rasher - trimmed, fried	1 (10g)	0	0	1	95
Middle Rasher - grilled	1 (10g)	0	0	2	135
Middle Rasher - trimmed, grilled	1 (10g)	0	0	1	10

I would like to point out that there are only three grams of Fat in bacon. And if you look carefully.....there are no calories. That's right. Look at the table above.....grams of Fiber, grams of Fat and kilojoules of Energy....but not one sorry calorie.

So rest assured fellow Stuftivus travelers, there are no calories in bacon, and naturally that means that pigs in general are calorie-free. So enjoy the pig. Embrace the pork.

Now with no calories.

Cheers.

The Initial Debate

The initial debate centered on Stuftivus was not between Smokey and Wonder Woman when the Bacon Explosion was introduced--that merely sparked a series of comments from WW, "that's gross" "I don't want to see you make it or eat it" and "that will kill you." Smokey took the comments in stride and pressed ahead without argument. The first debate was in fact the beverage to accompany the Bacon Explosion.

One of the more, how can I say this without seeming judgemental....let's say "elitist" comments on the Bacon Explosion indicated she would "provide the wine." Wine? With pork wrapped pork cooked on flame? Smokey's head almost exploded from the possibility. Beer. Beer is a beverage that is provincial, rooted in American culture and damnit is what one drinks with pork wrapped pork.

It did not take long for the beverage snobbies to begin to disparage poor Smokey and his clinging to his grill and his beer. Wine, they said, wine has varieties that go with every meal! A zinfandel or cabernet is perfect with the Bacon Explosion. One "expert" stated she had in fact had the Bacon Explosion with a cabernet and it "paired beautifully."

The debate was on creating one of the challenges for Stuftivus: beverage tasting test with the Bacon Explosion. Wine or beer, try a bit of both and decide for yourself.

After this was decided a new voice cried out, "what about margaritas?" Huh?

Welcome Stuftivus Invitees!

If you are reading this chances are you have received an invite to Stuftivus. Stuftivus is the result of a serious argument on Facebook between "friends" as a result of a posting by Dennis, aka Smokey, of this gorgeous barbecue element, the Bacon Explosion. After posting on the item several friends who know my passion for combining controlled fire and meat challenged me to make one and to invite them. Despite Leslie's, aka Wonder Woman, initial refusal to allow me to not eat this gastronomic wonder, I pressed ahead. The comments section quickly degenerated into whether red wine could be served with the Bacon Explosion--whose name and ingredients and blue collarness scream "BEER." It became necessary to create the Bacon Explosion and have a taste testing as to which paired better, the beer or the cabernet/zinfandel/Boon's Farm.

Mike Caltagirone, aka Reno Mike, has known WW since their days at CalState Fullerton and as passionate about what he eats and makes as anyone we know. His love of pork products extends to my regularly receiving text messages of pictures of barbecue from all over the country as his previous luckily landed him in some of our nation's finest smoked meat havens. Nothing like checking your Blackberry on a Tuesday evening and all the message consists of is a picture of pulled pork, brisket, cole slaw and a biscuit on a paper plate from an oilcloth covered table in Kansas City. Once Stuftivus the idea became Stuftivus the event the date had to be delayed until Mike's travel schedule would have him within 200 miles of Long Beach. Thankful that date is a mere weeks away.

Smokey and Reno Mike will provide grilled proteins and guests are encouraged to bring everything else for our Stuftivus event. Our invitation list has been carefully crafted to provide a wide range of personalities and backgrounds to encourage lively discussions, new friendships, and entertainment for all. Come hungry, physically and intellectually--this event ain't for lightweights.