Bacon, its what's for every meal

Have I ever told you that I made really killer bacon? I do. I try to maintain humility in all other facets, but there is no way around this one: My. Bacon. Rocks. 

It certainly helps that I love to make it: first I cut the shoulder into the perfect slab. Large, rectangular, solid. Then I marinade it, and this is where the fun is. Should I make coriander, brown sugar, sage? or maybe bay leaf, garlic, brown sugar, coriander, dark rum? Black pepper, brown sugar crusted? So many options, so much delicious bacon to make. After marinading, it gets smoked in my Texas offset smoker over Maui Kiawe hardwood. Then in to cure for several days. 

Follow my Instagram or Facebook accounts @SmokeandspiceMaui to hear when I am making up my next batch. You will be glad you did. 

Making Porchetta

I made Porchetta for the second time last night during a private chef tasting dinner. I loved how mine turned out last time, but knew I wanted the skin to be completely crisped and the inside to be fork tender. I also planted a new crop of basil in my organic herb garden, which had bloomed well in the past couple of weeks. Growing things easily is such a side benefit to living on Maui and cooking on Maui. To me, garden fresh herbs always remind me of working in the soil alongside my mother when I was younger. The smell of the fresh soil coupled with the pungent aroma of the herbs whose leaves might have been bent or broken in the process really takes me back. I digress. After smoking the bound porchetta on my Texas offset smoker, I let it rest and placed it in the sous vide to hold it at temperature until I oven-finished it. The result was a crackling hot pork skin with a strong herb marinade flavor inside that complimented but didn't overwhelm the flavor of the meat. Bon Appetit!

Why we buy local

We are fortunate to call Maui our home, and the farmers and fisherman of Hawaii our neighbors. Buying directly from the source here at home not only ensures the peak of freshness and taste, but supports our local community.