Older Bolder Life

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The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Grilled Bacon (Pork Belly) Skewers

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A couple of months ago a friend from Montana sent me a pic of thick-cut bacon threaded onto skewers and slowly cooked on the grill; he was at an outdoor expo and a vendor was cooking these and apparently selling them hand over fist one early summer day in Boise.

My friend is not the handiest guy in the kitchen or around the grill (patience is indeed a virtue, and the lack of it can lead to disaster when cooking over live fire); he didn’t have the best of luck with this one the first time he tried it, leading to him pestering me the past few weeks for help working this one out.

After figuring out that you simply can’t rush these Spicy Grilled Bacon (or Pork Belly) Skewers over too hot a fire, we’ve had great results the past couple of times I’ve grilled these up, including the night before last served over a simple salad with a great guacamole on the side.

When stirring together the basting mixture, note there are three ingredients listed as optional; we think it needs all three, including just a bit of honey to add a hint of sweetness to the heat, and the ginger and lemongrass weave in a couple of other flavor notes that round out the Asian-inspired riff here.

Build a two-zone, fairly slow, live fire or just fire one burner if cooking over gas, and don’t wander off and leave these unattended for long. Keep turning and baste right at the end a few times to build a flavor-packed layer of flavor on that crispy bacon.

1 pound thick-cut bacon or uncured pork belly, cut into 1/4-inch slices

3 tbsp chile paste (sambal oelek)
1-2 tbsp honey (optional)
2 tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
2-3 tsp good Sriracha
1 tsp minced or pureed ginger (optional)
1 tsp minced or pureed lemongrass (optional)

To serve
Your favorite green salsa or chimichurri, such as…
Quick Columbian Guacamole
Tomatillo Avocado Salsa
Quick Columbian Aji Sauce
Our House Chimichurri

Lime quarters

Fire your grill and set things up to cook over indirect heat – bank the coals to one or two sides leaving an unheated zone in the middle or on a gas grill just fire one burner.

Combine the glaze ingredients (the Chile paste, optional honey, rice vinegar, Sriracha, optional ginger, optional lemongrass) and set aside. Thread the bacon/pork belly slices onto wooden (soaked) or metal skewers like an accordion (see the images) and grill over indirect heat for 15-30 minutes, pending how thick your slices are. Turn every several minutes, adjusting position as needed, until beginning to brown.

At this point start brushing with the glaze every 45 seconds or so, followed by a turn, for another 3-4 minutes until they’re nicely colored and maybe even a little sticky.

To serve, set out the salsa and limes, and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Ancho Coffee Pork Tenderloin

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Back a few weeks ago when I posted this Crispy Ancho Coffee Chicken recipe I had a hunch that this particular rub would work wonders on a grass-fed/pastured pork tenderloin. I have to admit, and again readily confess I didn’t develop that recipe (see the prior post) – this spice mixture is just damn good (if not great).

In fact I wrote this about it over on our fly fishing blog ChiWulff several weeks ago –

The flavor of ancho chiles has always kinda reminded me of a sorta sweet, sorta smokey raisin, with a little bit of heat added for interest; combined here with the cumin and just a bit of a dark, freshly ground coffee and good salt, the ancho anchors this very interesting, and tasty, crust.

Over the grill these need to watched carefully and managed over indirect heat or the spices will burn; we think the best way to cook a batch of these up is to sauté them in a skillet in EVOO or avocado oil, taking care to give them time to develop a crispy crust before turning.

Amazing in a taco with all the fixin’s, or topping a tostada or a big-assed salad, these were awesome a few days back on a bed of shredded lettuce and a great guacamole. What a great boat lunch on a hot summer day these would make too…

Well, the rub works amazingly well on pork tenderloin as well, and speaking of pork tenderloin, have you tried cooking it medium rare using a sous vide technique? Sous vide is a wonderful tool to use to produce great proteins (and more), and pork tenderloin, along with a great steak (ribeye around our house), might just be the crown jewel of sous vide meats in terms of bang for your buck and return on your (rather modest) efforts.

By all means you don’t have to sous vide these, a careful grill or roast in the oven would work just fine, but if you’re waffling on sous vide, find a friend with a machine and cook this recipe together – you’ll be hooked for life.

And finally, you can serve pork tenderloin any number of ways, but consider a New Mexico-inspired “red and green” plate (as in the image above) using our Easy Romesco Sauce and either this Columbian Aji or this Columbian Guacamole. Wow, was that delicious.

4 parts fresh ancho chile powder
4 parts ground cumin
1 part (scant) good salt
1/2 to 1 part finely ground fresh dark roast coffee

2 pastured pork tenderloins, silver skin removed

Combine the ancho powder, cumin, salt, and finely ground coffee in a small bowl, stir to mix well.

While not really necessary, I like to paint the pork tenderloins with a bit of apple cider vinegar, then rub with the spice mixture. Cover tightly and throw in the fridge for 2-4 hours.

If cooking sous vide, heat your water bath to 130-135 (F), and cook using routine methods for an hour. Remove, drain, and let rest for 15-30 minutes at room temperature before searing quickly in butter and avocado oil on the stove top or on the grill (my preferred). Don’t sweat it when the rub/spice mixture darkens significantly when seared/grilled – it’s the spices and you’re not burning the outer layer. Don’t forget to be quick about this process to preserve that delightful medium rare cook you’ve just done perfectly in the sous vide bath.

If grilling, cook over medium-high indirect heat per routine, until done to your liking (though I’d personally never cook these past medium…). Let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Serve as desired, and enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Sauce Wednesday: Libby’s Verde Cashew Wonder Sauce

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This past week I was chatting with our friend Chef Libby in Austin about different sauces she uses to dress-up proteins during the long, hot Texas summers, adding interest and flavor to the food she dishes up in her catering business.

Being based in Austin she of course has a decided bias toward the flavors of Texas, one of her favorites being Tex-Mex or Southwestern cuisine (I share her bias as well!). She’s been using a variety of nut-based recipes the past few years to create innovative sauces; this has in part been driven by increasing requests for vegan-compliant recipes, but also because they just taste good, hold well, and can be worked into a variety of other dressings and flavor profiles.

One of her go-to versions is what she calls her Verde Cashew Wonder Sauce, based on either raw or roasted cashews, a handful of flavor-packed fresh herbs, a splash of acid, and whatever flavor additions her recipes for the day call for.

Libby insists her very favorite version uses fresh lime juice (instead of the vinegar), cilantro, and a bit of arugula for its peppery bite, along with a chopped serrano or two, though she was careful to point out that the sky is the limit in terms of what herbs to use.

She also noted there were two other minor decisions to make; one, whether to use raw or roasted cashews. Of course, if using roasted cashews, be mindful of the oil they’re roasted in, and you’ll (most likely) want to dial back the added salt (adjust to taste). After making dozens and dozens of recipe batches, she said she prefers to use roasted nuts for the added flavor dimension as well.

The second decision to make is whether or not to soak the nuts for 10 minutes prior to blending; Libby said her vegan chef friend who taught her the recipe always soaked raw cashews, though Libby insists the recipe works just as well without soaking in her kitchen, whether using raw or roasted nuts.

We’ve enjoyed this one alongside a bit crudite platter and cold ancho cumin coffee roasted pork tenderloin this week…

2 cups cashews, either raw or roasted
1 cup fresh, tender herbs, i.e. parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, chives, etc
2-3 tbsp unseasoned rice or white vinegar
1-2 tsp good salt
1 cup (plus a bit more) filtered water

Optional (see notes above)
1-2 crushed garlic
Lime or lemon juice instead of the vinegar
Chipotles in adobe
Other fresh peppers (i.e. jalapeño or serrano)

If soaking the cashews: bring two cups of water to a boil, place the cashews in a heatproof bowl, pour the boiling water over, cover for 10 minutes, then drain.

To prepare, add the nuts to your trusty blender, add the herbs, vinegar or citrus juice, salt, and one cup filtered water. Blend for one to two minutes until smooth and yogurt-like; you will likely need to add a bit more water.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Thai-Inspired Shrimp Stir-fry

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Growing up years ago, both my wife and I had grandparents who lived, at least part of the time, a stone’s throw from the Texas Gulf coast. We have common memories of beach-combing, big bonfires, hot and steamy summer days, and eating lots of stunningly fresh seafood.

Later living in the northern Rockies (small town Montana) for years made accessing fresh seafood (from anywhere) a surmountable but expensive challenge, though being back down in Texas for a spell has made the seafood game much easier, something we’ve thoroughly enjoyed given the amazing benefits – flavor and health – that seafood brings to the table.

My wife loves good shrimp, and while it’s hard to turn down a big platter of iced and spiced boiled shrimp, I personally probably lean to cold-water fish as being my absolute favorite seafood.

That said, this Spicy Thai-Inspired Shrimp Stir-Fry recipe, recently shared by our friend Chef Libby in Austin, and I believe originally sourced from one similar published in the past several years in Bon Appetit, might just have rolled to the very top of our seafood favorites list.

It’s packed with great flavors, including the herbal heat from the jalapeños (or Fresnos), a hefty handful of garlic, and with lemongrass and fish sauce thrown in to ensure you’ve hit all the taste senses and flavor notes. The wilted basil takes this one over the top, and don’t forget the spritz of lime at the end.

Of note, there’s a little bit of sugar in the marinade to aid in caramelization, leave it out if you wish, but as you’re not cooking the marinade in the final dish, you’ll have minuscule amounts of actual sugar clinging to the shrimp as they’re cooked.

4 red jalapeños (or Fresnos in a pinch), stemmed, seeded, chopped
7-8 garlic cloves, smashed
3 and 1/2 tbsp avocado oil or EVOO
2 tbsp good fish sauce
1 tbsp minced lemongrass or lemongrass puree
1 and 1/2 tsp good salt
1-2 tbsp sugar (see note above, optional)

1 and 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1-2 tbsp avocado oil or EVOO
2-3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 or 2 limes, quartered

Prep the shrimp and set aside.

Into your trusty blender go the peppers, garlic cloves, 3.5 tbsp of your oil of choice, fish sauce, lemongrass, salt, and sugar if using. Blend until smooth, then pour over the shrimp, mixing well (use your hands) to ensure the shrimp are well coated.

Marinate for a minimum of 20 minutes; can cover and throw in the fridge for up to an hour if desired.

When ready to cook, heat a tbsp of oil in a fairly large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, then add 1/3 to 1/2 of the shrimp (use a slotted spoon to leave the marinade behind) to the skillet in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for a couple of minutes, checking one or two make sure they’re developing some color or char around the edges; then turn and cook for another minute or so.

Remove the first batch to a plate, then repeat with the remaining shrimp. When the second batch is done, remove the pan from the heat, dump the first batch of shrimp back into the pan along with the basil, and stir/toss until the basil begins to wilt.

Plate and serve with lime wedges; if you have a crowd, this is a very attractive dish presented on a large platter.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday: Chile Peanut Cauliflower Rice

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Like many of you, we’ve been enjoying a variety of spiced-up, tasty and delicious cauliflower rice (or riced cauliflower if you prefer) dishes on our ancestral food journey.

I have to be brutally honest, I’ve been a big fan of rice of all shapes and sizes since a young child, perhaps related to my parents growing in rice country along the Texas coast, and missed rice dearly in the first months of transitioning away from grains.

We were in fact somewhat late to jump on the cauliflower rice bandwagon – it made me miss the “real thing” at first – though with the wonderful preps we’ve been cooking of late, honestly we find cauliflower rice dishes to be as good or better than actual rice these days. Right now our favorites include these recipes: Asian Fried Cauliflower Rice, Crispy Verde Cauliflower Rice, and this Ginger Pecan Cauliflower Rice.

That said, when this version of the traditional Indian recipe for this dish showed up in Bon Appetit’s feed, I set out to adapt it to a cauliflower rice version. Of note, we’ve done it with both the traditional curry leaves as well as substituting fresh basil and lime zest for the curry leaves and like the basil/lime zest version better. By the way, if you enjoy food and cooking videos, the video of Priya Krishna cooking the traditional version at the Bon Appetit link above is very well done, and she is simply a delight.

And like all recipes, sometimes you simply have to change things up to fit what’s in the fridge or pantry; you’ll note in the pictures there aren’t any serranos, but instead half ring slices of green jalapeños (they were delicious by the way), as that’s all I had in the fridge last week.

This one is easy-peasy with a great tasting, high-presentation value result.

1 pound bag frozen cauliflower rice (about 5 cups)
1 tbsp ghee, butter, or oil of choice

4 tbsp fresh lime juice (2 limes)
2 tsp good salt
1/2 cup ghee, divided
1 and 1/2 tbsp black mustard seeds
14 fresh curry leaves OR
Zest of one lime + 10-12 basil leaves, chopped
1 cup roasted peanuts
1 large onion, sliced into strips
3 serrano chiles, halved lengthwise
3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro (w/ tender stems)

Heat the frozen cauliflower rice until dried and it just begins to caramelize at the edges a little; remove to a bowl.

Heat 1/4 cup ghee, then sauté mustard seeds until they begin to pop, remove from heat and stir in curry leaves until they’re coated with ghee (leaves will pop and crisp); if using the basil and lime zest instead of the curry leaves, don’t add them yet.

Return pan to medium-low heat and add peanuts; cook until medium brown and fragrant, stirring frequently (6-8 minutes), then pour over the cauliflower rice in the bowl. Add the lime zest and basil to the bowl if using to replace the curry leaves. Add the lime juice.

In same pan heat the remaining ghee, add the sliced onions and chiles, and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring now and again, until the onions begin to caramelize. Stir onions and peppers into the cauliflower rice mixture, taste and adjust for for salt, lime, and basil (if using).

Top with chopped cilantro just before serving.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Sauce Monday: Garam Masala and Cucumber Dip

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I don’t know what it’s been like around your neighborhood this summer, but after a short break from the summer heat here in North Texas, we’re back to typical scorching summer days this week.

Summer is prime time grilling season of course (though thinking about it, when is it not grilling season?) and we’re always looking for a nifty sauce, salsa, slather, or dip to make things more interesting.

Here’s a great one – Garam Masala and Cucumber Dip, a kissin’-cousin to my wife’s favorite tzatziki and my personal go-to in this flavor arena, Bebe’s Curry Mayo and Dip. This one couldn’t be easier to stir together, and with a few simple options you can fancy up this very simple prep to suit any occasion.

By the way, the crispy shallots are a nice touch our friend Chef Libby in Austin uses; she’s always reminding us how easy they are to make at home, and what an amazing vinaigrette the shallot oil makes when you’re done sautéing the shallots. If you’ve not done this before to garnish salads or Thai dishes at home, try it using this technique.

Of course this one is for the daily tolerant, and I’d encourage you to track down some sheep’s milk yogurt as my lovely wife did last week….

1 cup unflavored whole milk yogurt
1 large garlic clove, finely grated
1/2 to 1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 to 1 tsp good salt
1 4-to-5 inch cucumber (Persian if you can), small dice or grated

Optional
Crispy shallots, see note above
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Add the yogurt to a small bowl, grate in the garlic, and add the garam masala and salt. Stir to combine well, then fold in the grated or diced cucumber. Taste for seasoning, remembering that the curry/masala flavors will intensify a little over time; I almost always end up using a full tablespoon of the garam masala.

Top with the optional goodies, grab the crudite platter, and go to it.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Hanger Steak Lettuce Wraps

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Having grown up in Texas and spent much of our adult lives wandering around the Southwest and West, my lovely wife and I have have devoured our fair share of great tacos and wraps over the years.

After becoming adamantly Primally-aligned food-wise now almost four years ago, we very rarely enjoy the occasional corn tortilla (much more often than other traditional versions of the veritable tortilla), preferring to use lettuce instead of tortillas or taco shells to transport great proteins from plate to palate.

Living in Texas again, we’re of course smack dab in the middle of fajita and carne asada country, and love our skirt steak dishes and recipes, though of late I’ve been looking for and cooking hanger steak (as in this amazing Hanger Steak Korean Bulgogi Bowl).

Hanger steak comes from the diaphragm of a steer, as does the skirt, though the hanger is the more tender, inner portion of the diaphragm, the skirt the outer portion. Hanger steaks are also known as the “butcher’s cut”, as they historically have been kept by the butcher for their own enjoyment. Ask your butcher or meat-cutter; they should have some of these around…

Pre-freezing the meat for a short time before slicing makes it a breeze to thinly slice, and as I’ve said many times before, after experimenting for years with a variety of alternative sweeteners, in the big picture considering health and nutrition impacts, I still argue that a bit of sugar in a marinade isn’t harmful and sometimes simply cannot be replicated by alternatives in terms of the chemistry of cooking. Substitute as you wish, or leave it out all together.

Bottom line, this is a nifty prep for your taco (lettuce wrap) night, and you have a chance to let your creativity shine as you build your wraps with your toppings / fixin’s.

2-3 red jalapeño or Fresno chiles
3-inch piece of fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves
Juice of two limes
1 tbsp brown sugar, optional (see above)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp good salt

1 and 1/2 pounds hanger steak (skirt or boneless beef short ribs work well too)
2 tbsp avocado oil for cooking

Your favorite lettuce and fixings for lettuce wraps (or tacos), perhaps including:
Chopped cucumbers
Chopped cilantro, parsley, or even basil
Chopped roasted, salted peanuts
Pickled red onions
Thinly sliced radishes
A batch of your favorite house guacamole
Crumbled cotija
2 or 3 quartered limes
Maybe even a recipe of a tasty cauliflower rice (like this one, or this one)

Throw the meat in the freezer while you’re preparing the marinade.

Grate the peppers (yep, seeds and all), ginger, and garlic into a medium bowl; add the lime juice, brown sugar if using, sesame oil, and good salt.

Now slice the meat thinly (I mean thin, not more than 1/4-inch) across the grain; throwing it in the freezer beforehand for a short time makes this much easier. Now add the meat to the marinade bowl and mix thoroughly, your hands are best here, to make sure the meat is well coated. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temp, or even better, overnight in the fridge (covered of course).

When ready to cook, remove from the fridge and let warm slightly while preparing your lettuce wraps and your chosen fixin’s (use the list above as a starting point).

Preheat your favorite large skillet of medium-high heat, add a tbsp of avocado oil, and half the meat in a single layer. Cook without moving it around for about 3 minutes, or until nice and caramelized. Turn, and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the second side matches the first. Remove the first batch of meat, and repeat with the second.

Set out the meat on a platter and let everyone build their lettuce wrap as they wish; you’ll wish for leftovers but there won’t be any…

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Crispy Ancho Coffee Chicken

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I don’t know about you, but occasionally on these blisteringly hot summer days I just don’t feel like cooking through a big production in the kitchen (or on the grill).

That’s one of the reasons we often grill (or sous vide, or sauté) enough protein at a time to eat for several meals upcoming; it doesn’t take a huge amount of creativity to present good proteins in a variety of ways, and what a great summer lunch chilled grilled proteins make too.

A residency mate of mine married a wonderful woman from New Mexico; she was a delightful and skilled cook, and her delicious food was instrumental in growing our appreciation for the unique flavors of the American Southwest.

She would often make a big batch of these Crispy Ancho Coffee Chicken thighs (breasts work too) for parties; she’d set out the crisped chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces, and the makings for tacos, tostadas, and salads to pile on your plate and devour with gusto.

This chicken works amazingly well over a spicy slaw, colorful salad, or wrapped in your favorite wrap (I recently trialed some pretty danged tasty keto nearly-corn tortillas that worked really well too – I’ll share that recipe soon). As in the images above, I even like these over a bed of shredded lettuce, topped with guacamole (try our simple House Guacamole if you’re looking for a great go-to recipe), and maybe a pickled onion or jalapeño or two.

And please note, with the ancho chile powder and the coffee in the rub, the crust darkens significantly as these cook, though they’re not “burned”; actually the sweetness of the ancho really shines through in the end.

These are really good cold for lunch tomorrow too, you may want to throw another pound in to make sure there are leftovers…

4 tbsp fresh ancho chile powder
4 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp (scant) good salt
1-2 tsp finely ground fresh dark roast coffee

2 pounds chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)

Combine the ancho powder, cumin, salt, and finely ground coffee in a small bowl, stir to mix well.

Toss the chicken with at least half (we use more) of the spice mixture in a large bowl making sure every piece is well coated (use more of the rub if needed). Cover tightly and throw in the fridge for 2-4 hours.

Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before you intend to quickly sear these in a skillet over medium-high heat and preferably avocado oil (though I’ve used ghee in a pinch, it was delicious).

Remember you’re building a crispy seared crust here, so place the thighs in a single layer in the skillet and let them sit undisturbed for at 4-5 minutes before turning, and don’t turn them until a good crust forms (peeking is fine near the end). They’ll need 3-4 minutes on the second side to cook through and get crispy.

Let rest a few minutes, cut into bite sized pieces, drizzle with any accumulated juices, and go to it.

Enjoy.