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Bill

Here’s what I used:

• 1 Pork Loin – 2 – 3lbs, sliced into inch thick chops
• 1 Bottle Jim Beam Marinade – available in the STORE
• 1 Bottle Jim Beam Bacon BBQ Sauce – also available in the STORE

Slice your pork loin into chops about an inch or so thick.  I didn’t measure, but they grill better when they’re at least 1 inch thick.  Marinate in the Jim Beam marinade (boy that stuff is incredible) and let them come near room temperature before you put them on your hot grill.  When you place them on the grill, make sure to put them as far away from the heat as possible, you want to BBQ them, not grill them.  I added a handful of apple wood chips to my charcoal for flavor, but that’s completely optional.  When they’re done, brush them with the Jim Beam Bacon BBQ sauce and let that caramelize on both sides for about 2 – 3 minutes.

Here’s the pics:

Many cooks will add some BBQ sauce or sauce of another kind to their finished meats, to help enhance the flavor of the food.  I think the best way to explain this is to say the BBQ Sauce is an enhancement to BBQ, not a main ingredient or even a necessary one.  My BBQ ribs, pork, brisket and chicken are NEVER prepared with sauce.  I serve them as-is, directly off the smoker, and rely on the wood smoke, spice rubs and natural meat flavors to make it tasty.  I always offer sauce on the side for those who enjoy dipping or using it as a condiment on their sandwiches, but it’s just that, a condiment or dipping sauce.  Some even call this a “finishing” sauce.  When you add the sauce, the food is finished.

This isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with BBQ Sauce on your grilled food.  Honestly, I like many sauces, and have even started an online store to offer you the chance to try these same sauces that I personally enjoy.  When I’m grilling chicken, shrimp or other quick cook meals, I like using the BBQ sauce during the last few minutes of grilling to glaze the meats before serving.  It’s a flavor enhancer.  And who doesn’t like dipping their chicken tenders in a little something while chowing down?  McDonald’s built a dynasty with nuggets and dipping sauces, and their choices are extremely limited.

Marinades are a sauce unto themselves.  Obviously, these aren’t finishing or serving sauces, you soak your meat in them for as little as 4 and as many as 24 hours prior to cooking.  The idea here is to impart the flavors INTO the meat, and to help retain moisture and tenderness throughout the cooking process.  And with marinades, you have many many options to consider.  Spicy, Sweet, Tangy, Smokey, Hearty, and the list goes on.  Me, I prefer a citrus marinade for chicken and fish and a savory marinade for beef.  Pork is the ultimate meat for marinating.  You can run the gamut on flavors for pork.  Sweet to spicy and everything in between is good with pork.

Finally, you have what’s known as a Grilling Sauce.  Grilling sauce is generally used to baste meat that you’re barbecuing throughout the long cook.  Some are as simple as apple cider and vinegar, others are more complex than the most involved sauces.  The idea here is to retain moisture and impart flavor during the cooking process.  Ribs and brisket benefit from grilling sauces quite a bit, because you’re still able to get some of that juice to seep into the meat, and it helps to form a light flavor crust on the food.  Typically, these are only used while cooking, and not as a dipping or finishing sauce.

This is a short primer on sauces and their uses.  If you want to make honest-to-Pete BBQ, you have to learn the technique first.  Then the sauces will help you put the icing on the cake, or, the final flavor on the meat.

This is a pleasantly sweet BBQ Sauce that goes great on grilled chicken.  It’s got just enough smoke and pepper flavor to keep it from being too sweet, yet it adds a whole new layer of taste to the food.

They say you can taste the “creamy goodness” of the A&W Rootbeer in this sauce, but I have to admit, I didn’t really notice too much of a rootbeer flavor to it.  That’s not a negative, just something I wanted to point out to you in case you were wondering.

I now have a few bottles of this in my pantry, for when I get the urge to grill up some chicken legs or even thighs, this is the perfect complimentary condiment.  I have this available for sale in the Black Eyed Pigz online shop for just $7.00.  You get an 18 ounce bottle of sweet smokey goodness.

As I said in the past, I won’t offer for sale anything I have not personally tasted and approved of.  The store’s selection will grow in time, but I’m taking it slow to insure only the best tasting products are made available.  While you’re in the shop, be sure to grab a bag of my own Cinnamon Chipotle BBQ Rub before it’s gone!

You’ll need:

• Corn on the cob, remove the silk, but not the husks
• Thin sliced Bacon
• Pot of water

It’s pretty simple really.  Get your corn, and peel the husk back, careful not to remove the leaves, and pull out as much of the silk as you can.  From there, soak the entire ear of corn in a pot of water for an hour or more, so the husks don’t burn up on your grill.

When you’re ready to grill, peel back your husks one more time and wrap each corn with a slice or two of bacon.  Pull the husks back up to cover everything.  You can use butcher’s twine to hold it shut if you like, just be sure to soak the twine in water before you grill it.

On a hot grill, place the corn on the grates.  Rotate it every 4 or 5 minutes, to prevent too much scorching and cook until the bacon is done.  Usually about 15 minutes.

Bring it in, peel it off, add the bacon to your beans and enjoy!

Here’s all the pics: