Shillelagh Sticks

Shillelagh Sticks area named after an ancient Irish fighting stick - someone cleverly named this appetizer after that stick.  St. Patrick's Day is coming up so I thought I'd share this recipe with you.












Easy to make on a smoker or even in the oven.  This appetizer is great for any kind of party, easy to prep and quick to make.




Four basic ingredients:
1lb of bacon
2 cans of bread sticks
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan Cheese

Slice the bacon in half lengthwise.







Wrap one half slice of bacon around each bread stick piece.

Seemed easy to start the bacon and then twirl it around the bread stick so the bacon is evenly wrapped around and covering as much dough as possible.











I smoked these on a pellet grill at 275F.  I wanted the bacon to cook completely without overcooking the bread wrapped inside.












You could also bake these in the oven but take some precautions to ensure the grease rendering off of the bacon doesn't create a fire hazard.












While the bacon is cooking, go ahead and make up the seasoning.  Combine equal parts Italian Seasoning and Parmesan Cheese.










After the bacon is done - I cooked these at 275 F for about 70 minutes.  You would think that the bread sticks would be completely overdone - and the ends that were not wrapped in bacon were pretty crispy.  Not inedible but pretty crispy.

The inside bread stick that was wrapped in bacon soaked up some of the grease rendered out of the bacon and was still relatively moist - a little crispy - but pretty tasty.










After you get the snacks out of the smoker or oven and while they are still hot, roll the sticks in the dry spices and Parmesan Cheese and then shake off all the excess.

A nice even cover of seasoning will really add lots of flavor to the bread stick and bacon.

Make plenty of these for your St. Patrick's Day party - they'll go quickly!



Let's eat!

Chili Cheese Dog Fatty

Chili Cheese Dog Fatty!

Why would anyone want to make such a monster? Because you can AND it was really incredible! Also - July is National Hot Dog Month - do you really need any more reasons?!?



You can add just about anything you want to a fatty or bacon explosion. The list of potential ingredients are limited only by your imagination. I had a hankerin' for a chili cheese dog but we were on our way to a friend's house and they wanted me to bring an appetizer. I don't think this is what they had in mind but it blew them away and there was none left.

The ingredient list is really basic:

• Bacon - 2lbs of thick cut


• Sausage - 5 links of Italian Hot but you could also use 2 lbs of Jimmy Dean Spicy in the chub pack.


• Cheese - about 3 cups of shredded mild cheddar.


• Hot Dogs - 5 all beef dogs


• Chili - 1 can of no bean Hormel or similar chili


• Dry Rub - I used Sweet Mesquite but you can use whatever you prefer to add some flavor
  

Course shred the cheese and chop the hot dogs into small pieces. I didn't want to over chop the hot dogs but they could have been chopped a bit smaller. Mix with the can of chili.

Spinkle a heavy layer of dry rub on the bacon weave. Empty the sausage casings and layer onto the bacon weave about a 1/4" thick.

Now the tricky part - how do you get all that stuffing into the middle of the fatty so it doesn't blow out. Simple - the Fatty Piston - make your own with these instructions.
Get all of your ingredients in your Fatty Piston and extrude the stuffing onto the fatty.

You can see from the pictures that a layer of Saran wrap was placed under the basket weave. This makes it SOOOO easy to roll up the Fatty. Simply lift up the Saran wrap and slowly roll the weave ensuring the stuffing stays inside. You can then use the Saran wrap and twist the ends to store the Fatty until ready for cooking. This will help keep the shape of the Fatty.

I smoked the fatty on my Traeger Smoker at 225 F until the internal temp was 165F. You could also bake the Fatty in the oven. Another option is to cook the Fatty on a gas grill as long as you cook on the indirect side - DO NOT cook bacon over an open flame and always be aware of the fat rendering out of the bacon and ensure you do not start a grease fire.

Slice the Fatty in 1/2" to 1" slices. Serve Hot! Good luck keeping the slices of incredible goodness around for long.

A serving suggestion is a few different types of mustards to dip in!

Good luck keeping this bad boy around for very long! I brought this as an appetizer but could also be served on a roll as a sandwich or a late night snack!

Figs + Brie

Figs and Brie - Smoked!
This recipe is simple and quick - it takes longer to cook than it does to prep and eat. Two ingredients - Figs and Brie. This dish is a perfect afternoon snack or an appetizer for a fancy dinner party.

The brie is available year around in almost any store. You can select any quality that suits your taste. The figs on the other hand may be difficult to find. Figs are usually ripe in early to mid summer. Farmer's Markets are a good source or if you live in southern to mid latitude U.S., fig trees are easy to grow and produce lots of fruit each year. I have a Black Mission Fig Tree in my back yard and it produces two sets of fruit per season. Fig trees grow fast and can almost double in size per year if pruned properly.

I used an 8" x 6" corning baking dish. One round of brie was sliced into quarter inch slices. For each round, use about 8 average size figs. Remove the stem and bottom from each fig and then slice in 1/4" slices.

Stack and alternate the brie and figs in the baking dish.

If you want to add any additional flavors, you can sprinkle some seasonings across the top.

I put this dish into the smoker at 250F for about an hour or until the brie is completely soft and the figs start to reduce and boil a bit at the edges of the dish. You can easily bake this in the oven at the same temp. The cheese is already pretty flavorful so it didn't pick up as much smoke flavor as I was looking for but the wow factor was there when you open up the BBQ Pit.

I served this hot with various crackers.

Dig in! Let's eat!

Appetizers / Sides

Appetizers and Sides!

Normally you would use these recipes for a snack before the main meal but most of these are great for party snacks, tailgating, or the main course itself - but any of these are great for appetizers!




Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABT's) - Don't let the name fool you!  Once you make this tasty snack - it will be at the top of the request list!










Atomic Shrimp Boats - a twist on the ABT - for seafood lovers!











Armadillo Eggs - ABT hidden in the middle of a chorizo layer of goodness!








Smoked Brie and Figs - even the girls like this one!








MOINK Balls! - One of the best snacks in the world!







Pig Candy!  You won't believe your taste buds!







POINK Balls!  And you thought MOINK Balls were great!









Smoked Potato Chips - a million ways to make this one!










Shillelagh Sticks - Classic Irish snack!






Scotch Eggs - no booze but plenty of fun!









Stuffed Jewel Peppers - a huge crowd pleaser for all ages!

Smoked Salmon Bites - one of the tastiest treats known to man!

Ham & Cheese Roll Ups! - A Farmer John Challenge Snack.

808 State Fatty - The bacon explosion from Hawaii!








Farmer John Ham and Pea Pasta Salad - an easy recipe that makes the most of your left overs!

Smoked Stuffed Dates!

Stuffed Smoked Portobello Mushrooms