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Piggy Pops - Pork Lollipops
Piggy Pops
Smoked pork “lollipops” wrapped in bacon. This is as close to “pork candy” as wuff has tasted! Irresistible! Addictive! Probably illegal, its so tasty!
These are so good, they're almost pornographic! *chuckles* A candy-sweet start of maple and brown sugar, supported with a warm, savory foundation of cumin, chili, garlic, and soy. Complex notes from cinnamon, and Ponzu and Worcestershire sauces. And just a little amount of “heat” from a bit of cayenne to add zest.
Vargr experimented with Pork in two forms: Shoulder Picnic roast, and loin chops, both boneless. Also with 3 types of bacon: Black forest (sweet and smokey), Apple Wood (fruity smoke, not as sweet), and Maple (sweetest, but not as smokey).
The Shoulder has much stronger pork flavor, but a little tougher meat and somewhat harder to prep and cut into the cubes. The Loin was tender, leaner, and lighter in flavor, and much easier to work with.
The Maple bacon flavor married with the marinade, and became very prominent. The Apple Wood and Black Forest were more understated, and hard to tell apart under the powerful marinade flavors.
The bottom line: EVERY combination was FANTASTIC. Vargr's “review team” (roomie and co-workers) loved every one of them, and the decision was split as to “best” with no clear winner. But the dozen “pops” wuff brought in to taste test vanished in under 5 minutes, and they begged for more!
Ingredients:
2.5 lb boneless pork loin chops
1.5 lb boneless pork shoulder picnic roast
- (Or 4 lbs of either one alone)
~1.5 lb thick cut Bacon (Black Forest, Apple Wood smoked, Maple - your choice)
Bamboo “kabob” skewers (cut in half on the diagonal)
(NOTE – This made roughly 30 “pops”. ~Half that many would be nice appetizers for 8 people (2 a piece.)
For the Marinade:
(For 2 lbs of meat. Double it for the amount of meat listed above.)
1 C hot Water
½ C pure Maple Syrup
3 Tbs Cider Vinegar
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 tsp ground Cumin
2 tsp Ancho Chili powder
1.5 tsp granulated Garlic
1 tsp ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Omnivore Salt
1 tsp Ceylon Cinnamon
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 zip-top 1 gallon bags
Directions:
Make the marinade:
Mix all marinade ingredients together in a pot, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil a couple minutes to let flavors meld and sugars dissolve and mix.
Turn off heat and allow marinade to cool while cutting meat.
Prep and marinade the meat:
Cut meat into approx. 2 – 3 inch cubes.
Put loin chunks in one bag, shoulder chunks in the other. Split marinade between the two bags. Squeeze out air, zip tops closed, and 'massage' meat for a few seconds to make sure every piece is in contact w/marinade on all side.
Refrigerate overnight, flipping and 'massaging' pork every couple hours or so while you're awake, to make sure marinade gets evenly to all pieces.
Assemble:
Drain and reserve the marinade to make the baste/glaze.
Wrap a piece of bacon around a chunk of pork until the ends overlap slightly. Cut off the extra bacon (you will use it later). Push the skewer through from the overlapped part to the bottom, letting the end stick out a bit to hold the bacon on.
With the extra pieces of bacon, wrap a short piece half way around a chunk of pork. Wrap another piece the rest of the way around, overlapping at both ends. Push the skewer through so that it pierces through both overlapped parts on top and bottom of the pork chunk.
Cook:
Smoke @ 225 degrees F until internal temperature hits ~135 degrees; approx 2 hours. (Yes, this is less than recommended pork temp of 145. Grilling in next step will take care of this.)
While pops are smoking, boil down reserved marinade until reduced by about 1/3-1/2 and thickened.
When Pops are reach medium rare (135 degrees), remove from smoker. Dunk each pop in pot of warm glaze. Lift just out of glaze and spin to sling off extra glaze. Grill bacon side down over very high heat (or oven broil with rack at top setting) the pig pops about 3 minutes. Flip over to the other bacon side and grill (or broil) another 3 minutes. Glaze should char a bit and caramelize. Edges of the bacon should crisp slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Smoked pork “lollipops” wrapped in bacon. This is as close to “pork candy” as wuff has tasted! Irresistible! Addictive! Probably illegal, its so tasty!
These are so good, they're almost pornographic! *chuckles* A candy-sweet start of maple and brown sugar, supported with a warm, savory foundation of cumin, chili, garlic, and soy. Complex notes from cinnamon, and Ponzu and Worcestershire sauces. And just a little amount of “heat” from a bit of cayenne to add zest.
Vargr experimented with Pork in two forms: Shoulder Picnic roast, and loin chops, both boneless. Also with 3 types of bacon: Black forest (sweet and smokey), Apple Wood (fruity smoke, not as sweet), and Maple (sweetest, but not as smokey).
The Shoulder has much stronger pork flavor, but a little tougher meat and somewhat harder to prep and cut into the cubes. The Loin was tender, leaner, and lighter in flavor, and much easier to work with.
The Maple bacon flavor married with the marinade, and became very prominent. The Apple Wood and Black Forest were more understated, and hard to tell apart under the powerful marinade flavors.
The bottom line: EVERY combination was FANTASTIC. Vargr's “review team” (roomie and co-workers) loved every one of them, and the decision was split as to “best” with no clear winner. But the dozen “pops” wuff brought in to taste test vanished in under 5 minutes, and they begged for more!
Ingredients:
2.5 lb boneless pork loin chops
1.5 lb boneless pork shoulder picnic roast
- (Or 4 lbs of either one alone)
~1.5 lb thick cut Bacon (Black Forest, Apple Wood smoked, Maple - your choice)
Bamboo “kabob” skewers (cut in half on the diagonal)
(NOTE – This made roughly 30 “pops”. ~Half that many would be nice appetizers for 8 people (2 a piece.)
For the Marinade:
(For 2 lbs of meat. Double it for the amount of meat listed above.)
1 C hot Water
½ C pure Maple Syrup
3 Tbs Cider Vinegar
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 tsp ground Cumin
2 tsp Ancho Chili powder
1.5 tsp granulated Garlic
1 tsp ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Omnivore Salt
1 tsp Ceylon Cinnamon
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 zip-top 1 gallon bags
Directions:
Make the marinade:
Mix all marinade ingredients together in a pot, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil a couple minutes to let flavors meld and sugars dissolve and mix.
Turn off heat and allow marinade to cool while cutting meat.
Prep and marinade the meat:
Cut meat into approx. 2 – 3 inch cubes.
Put loin chunks in one bag, shoulder chunks in the other. Split marinade between the two bags. Squeeze out air, zip tops closed, and 'massage' meat for a few seconds to make sure every piece is in contact w/marinade on all side.
Refrigerate overnight, flipping and 'massaging' pork every couple hours or so while you're awake, to make sure marinade gets evenly to all pieces.
Assemble:
Drain and reserve the marinade to make the baste/glaze.
Wrap a piece of bacon around a chunk of pork until the ends overlap slightly. Cut off the extra bacon (you will use it later). Push the skewer through from the overlapped part to the bottom, letting the end stick out a bit to hold the bacon on.
With the extra pieces of bacon, wrap a short piece half way around a chunk of pork. Wrap another piece the rest of the way around, overlapping at both ends. Push the skewer through so that it pierces through both overlapped parts on top and bottom of the pork chunk.
Cook:
Smoke @ 225 degrees F until internal temperature hits ~135 degrees; approx 2 hours. (Yes, this is less than recommended pork temp of 145. Grilling in next step will take care of this.)
While pops are smoking, boil down reserved marinade until reduced by about 1/3-1/2 and thickened.
When Pops are reach medium rare (135 degrees), remove from smoker. Dunk each pop in pot of warm glaze. Lift just out of glaze and spin to sling off extra glaze. Grill bacon side down over very high heat (or oven broil with rack at top setting) the pig pops about 3 minutes. Flip over to the other bacon side and grill (or broil) another 3 minutes. Glaze should char a bit and caramelize. Edges of the bacon should crisp slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Category Resources / Tutorials
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1033 x 581px
File Size 169.6 kB
Ya'd NEVER be able ta make these fast enough ta last around me! Now I see why they went so fast at work when ya brought some over... shoot I'd probably woof down at least five b'fore I'd need ta be reminded ta slow down at least long enough ta savor the flavor of these! {:)
Well, the "smoke" is essential, but the "smoker" is not. It does make things easier though.
Alternatives:
If you have a normal gas or charcoal grill, set it up for indirect heat (only light the burners on half, or push the coals all to one side) and put some chips/pellets into a pouch made from some aluminum foil with a few holes poked in it. Put the pouch on the coals/burner, and use that for your smoke. A pie pan full of water on the heated side will add the humidity. Put the meat on the unheated side and close the top to keep the smoke in.
Or you can use a dutch oven or similar roasting pan with a small bowl or other bit of liquid inside the bigger pan for moist heat. Use some of the marinade for that, and use the rest of the marinade to reduce for the basting. Then cook it low and slow in your oven, probably about 250 or so degrees. Add some liquid smoke to your marinade (and to the liquid in the oven pan) to make up for the lack of "real" smoke. Finish the glazing off in the oven broiler instead of on a grill.
Vargr would not try pressure cooking or immersion in liquid, as the bacon will stay too soft and flabby.
Hope one of these will work for you!
Alternatives:
If you have a normal gas or charcoal grill, set it up for indirect heat (only light the burners on half, or push the coals all to one side) and put some chips/pellets into a pouch made from some aluminum foil with a few holes poked in it. Put the pouch on the coals/burner, and use that for your smoke. A pie pan full of water on the heated side will add the humidity. Put the meat on the unheated side and close the top to keep the smoke in.
Or you can use a dutch oven or similar roasting pan with a small bowl or other bit of liquid inside the bigger pan for moist heat. Use some of the marinade for that, and use the rest of the marinade to reduce for the basting. Then cook it low and slow in your oven, probably about 250 or so degrees. Add some liquid smoke to your marinade (and to the liquid in the oven pan) to make up for the lack of "real" smoke. Finish the glazing off in the oven broiler instead of on a grill.
Vargr would not try pressure cooking or immersion in liquid, as the bacon will stay too soft and flabby.
Hope one of these will work for you!
Missed one - if you're careful and keep the grill heat lower, you should be able to just grill these directly. Treat them like you are making kabobs, turning them to cook each face. Most any grilled kabob recipe on the net should give you a good technique for the cooking phase.
Wuff would cut the cubes of pork a little smaller, to cook to the center without charring the outside too much. Add some liquid smoke to the marinade to make up for lack of time in a smoky environment. Let them linger more on the sides with the bacon than the 'un-baconed' faces when you turn the on the grill.
Baste them occasionally with the thickened marinade, since you'll cook it away somewhat as you keep grilling the meat.
This should be effective, and quite tasty too!
Wuff would cut the cubes of pork a little smaller, to cook to the center without charring the outside too much. Add some liquid smoke to the marinade to make up for lack of time in a smoky environment. Let them linger more on the sides with the bacon than the 'un-baconed' faces when you turn the on the grill.
Baste them occasionally with the thickened marinade, since you'll cook it away somewhat as you keep grilling the meat.
This should be effective, and quite tasty too!
* sets a few glasses of weather on front of herself to rehydrate from lack of salvia *
My word Wuff, those are amazing! And glad I read right above me, making these without a smoker. ( gotta save up for one of these magic cooking tools)
I am literally slack jawed over these... They just seem so nummy!!
My word Wuff, those are amazing! And glad I read right above me, making these without a smoker. ( gotta save up for one of these magic cooking tools)
I am literally slack jawed over these... They just seem so nummy!!
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