The truth is, gourmet sausage simply isn’t just for breakfast anymore!

Seems like everywhere I go, I see more and more gourmet sausage as (1) the featured item or (2) a primary part of a delicious lunch or dinner menu item.

Here’s one that will definitely make a positive impression on everyone who tries it!

Rocco’s Recipe For Pasta With Broccoli and Sausage!

Serves 4:

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh broccoli, cut into florets
9 oz fettuccine
2 tbsp butter
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 clove minced garlic
1 lb. Gourmet smoked sausage, sliced
3 large eggs
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

First cook the broccoli and fettuccine in a pot of boiling water to be covered in a Dutch oven 4 minutes or until the broccoli is still firmly “crisp-tender.”

Drain with care.

Thoroughly rinse with cold water

Carefully drain.

Place the broccoli and fettuccine in a large bowl.

Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet.

Now add the mushrooms and garlic.

Sauté’ 3 minutes or until tender.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to fettuccine mixture.

Cook the gourmet sausage in skillet over medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes or until done to taste.

Carefully drain and add to fettuccine mixture.

Wipe skillet clean with a paper towel.

Stir the eggs together with the whipping cream and pepper in skillet until well blended.

Add the fettuccine mixture and be sure to toss well.

Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly for approximately 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened.

Sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese and then toss.

Serve and enjoy!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

Marianne over at “R.B.S.” always has some pretty interesting and insightful things to say about our all time favorite food …Bacon! So what do you think about the idea of “Bacon Tats!” For those of you not paying attention, that’s “Bacon Tattoos,” not Bacon & Tatters!

Looks like they have a brand new, fun contest to “pork-ticipate” in if you like the idea of inking “pig-tures” of pigs on human flesh.

Check it out and enjoy!

So my husband is a real sport. He’s got many tattoos, most of them on a nautical theme as he is, himself, a nautical man. However, in the spirit of supporting me and Naseem and our blogging endeavor, he has volunteered to get a bacon tattoo. This came as a surprise since he is not, in general, a “joke tattoo” kind of guy. Okay, he kidded once about getting a fingerstache, but I never believed he’d actually do it. And so it occurs to me that he may be just as serious about bacon as we are. And honestly, aside from Naseem, I’ve never seen anyone love a breakfast burrito as much as that man.

So here’s where you come in: this is going to be a Royal Bacon Society contest, done in two phases.

Phase One- Send in your favorite bacon images for consideration. Naseem, Husband and I will sort through these along with images of our own to create a short list, probably three of the best for potential tattoo art. But please send us your submissions by January 31to royalbaconsociety [at] gmail.com.

Phase Two - We’ll present you with our final choices and you, the RBS readers, get to vote for which bacon tattoo will be my life-long reminder of how important bacon is to me and mine.

Sound fun? Well then get to work! (I’m looking at you, reddit kids!!) We can’t do this one by ourselves, and someone around here is just dying to add to his art collection.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

These days a lobster dinner is far more affordable than ever. There’s simply no reason to ever again reserve the luxury of a delicious lobster dinner for only those very rare and special occasions. Kim Honey, the illustrious “Food Editor” of the Toronto Star has recently written a great column on how to regularly enjoy a meal made for royalty with this very simple ands easy to follow recipe.

Dig in and enjoy!

The price of lobster has fallen dramatically, which is bad for the fishermen but good for us, since it now costs less than, say, a prime rib roast (between $7 and $10 a pound for lobster at time of writing).

For six people I’d buy 10 beasts. Most can eat only one 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pound crustaceans, but there are always one or two in the crowd who go for a second. If you don’t have a pot big enough (a 20-litre pot can handle four lobsters), use two. Finally, be sure to snip off the elastics holding the claws shut. The rubber can subtly flavour the water and the lobster flesh if you add it to the cooking pot.

INGREDIENTS

Lobster:

4 gallons of water

1 cup rock or coarse salt

6 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 lb live lobsters

Lemon butter:

1/2 pound salted butter

Fresh lemon juice to taste

DIRECTIONS

For lobster, bring water and salt to boil in large stockpot, starting about an hour before you want to eat. Turn it off if you’re not ready; it will come quickly to boil next time heat is turned on.

Hold lobster firmly by body behind the head; snip off elastics and quickly dunk head first into boiling water. Add another 3 lobsters in quick succession, taking care not to crowd the pot. Cover with lid.

Cook 12 minutes (don’t wait for water to return to boil). Remove with tongs; hang by tails from edge of sink to cool for 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining lobsters.

For butter, melt in small pot. Pour into ramekins, leaving solids behind. Add fresh lemon juice to taste.

Twist bodies at tail to separate; clean any roe or green stuff (the tomalley) out. Pull off legs. Twist off claws. Supply lobster shears or scissors along with picks to help remove meat from shell. Serve with butter for dipping.

Makes 6 servings.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

The Cocktail Goes Carnivorous.

Hey there my fellow Bacon Freaks.

As you know, we’ve been discussing the various versions and competing recipes for the “Bacontini,” otherwise known as the Bacon Martini for quite some time now.

However, I recently came across Brian Abrams’ article over at Chow Magazine and my interest was re-ignited once again as I suddenly felt the need to “wet my whistle” with wondrous wit and whimsy. No kidding, make this right and it truly does taste delicious. You’ve got to try it for yourself!

I hope it has the same effect on you as well!

Cheers!

Behind the bar, where the typical bartender macerates pineapple slices in vodka or maraschino cherries in bourbon, the mixologists at the Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas keep an unmarked bottle of vodka in which float several slices of bacon. The off-the-strip dive bar serves its signature Bacon Martini ‘round the clock, and quite a few early-morning lushes inhale the pork-belly libation as if it were a Grand Slam from Denny’s.

One of the advantages of infusing swine is that it’s easy to know when it’s ready: When the booze thickens into an opaque, filmy solution, shake it with ice and pour into a traditional martini glass. Sounds easy enough, but does the Sin City hipster actually prefer the taste of Castrol motor oil to the natural bite of quality Russian water?

Quite a few early-morning lushes inhale the pork-belly libation as if it were a Grand Slam from Denny’s.

“Our patrons have very refined tastes, and they will be the first to tell you that progress has passed the Soviets by,” says P. Moss, Double Down’s owner. “Rotgut vodka’s chemical makeup changes with pork fat and turns into a delightfully robust beverage.”

The extremist, dare-you-to-drink-it sort of concoction is nothing new to the happy-hour crowd but still has its devotees. From the 20-something slacker’s Gorilla Fart (Bacardi 151 rum and A1 steak sauce) to the age-old frontiersman’s bourbon–raw egg yolk combo, the shock-tail has established itself as an alternative form of expression for rebel boozers everywhere, as well as a clinching timesaver for those on a serious liquid-lunch diet.

The bacon martini may not offer much good to the palate. (Same probably goes for the Gorilla Fart.) But there is potential in the carnivorous cocktail.

At the Circle Bar in New Orleans, owner Lefty Parker’s Beefytini has garnered near-cult status within his Warehouse District hangout. A dirty martini gone filthy, the $5 cocktail has Beefeater gin for its base, includes a little vermouth, and is topped with a splash of “jerky juice,” a brine mixture from inside an olive jar infused with homemade Louisiana beef jerky. For garnish, a shard of jar-soaked jerky (instead of the usual pimiento stuffing) skewers a hollowed olive.

While a less successful experiment was his Comfort Food (pieces of salami muddled inside a rocks glass, followed by a couple of jiggers of Southern Comfort), Parker swears the Beefytini has a culinary quality about it. “The juniper and the beef jerky mix really well,” he says. “The smokiness of the jerky really allows the good flavor to come out.”

Want to know the recipe for trying this at home:

Lightly mist martini glass with vermouth, and rim the edge with bacon grease.
In a cocktail shaker, mix 3oz vodka, one dash tobasco, and one dash olive juice.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Skim excess bacon grease from surface of cocktail.

Garnish with one slice of bacon.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

People ask me several times a week if there is a best way or if I have a favorite way to cook our gourmet ribs.

I’ve decided to start sharing some of my favorite recipes for the ribs as well as a lot of the other premium quality gourmet food and wine that we proudly present our valued and appreciated club members and customers.

Here’s a delightfully delicious recipe that I think you are going to absolutely LOVE!

Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Ingredients:

Brine

-2 gallons water
-4 oz bourbon
-¼ cup kosher salt
-¼ cup sugar
-1 Tablespoon pickling spices
-½ teaspoon liquid smoke

BBQ Sauce

-1 14 oz bottle of ketchup
-¼ cup molasses
-¼ cup brown sugar
-1 Tablespoon garlic powder
-1 Tablespoon onion powder
-1 Tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce
-Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Go ahead and mix all of the ingredients for the Barbecue Sauce together and refrigerator until it is needed.

Then, in a deep pan, mix together the brine ingredients, stirring continuously until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.

You can now put the Baby Back Ribs into the mixture and allow them to marinate in the refrigerator for 7 to 8 hours.

Now remove the ribs from the brine solution and be sure to pat them dry.

Place ribs on a medium-low heat grill and let them grill for about 45 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes or so, until tender.

Now brush the ribs with the barbecue sauce and grill then for another 15 minutes or so, turning them every 3 or 4 minutes.

Enjoy!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

We’ve all heard some of the wild, wonderful and wacky tales coming out of the annual “Burning Man” celebration. Some of the stories are psychological, philosophical or political in nature while others are artistic, some silly, some scary, some freaky but most all of them are pretty “trippy” to say the very least!

Our very good bacon buddies over at the Royal Bacon Society snagged this story and once I read it, I just knew I had to pass it on to all of you Bacon Freaks out there as quickly as humanly possible!

Check this out!

Do I smell bacon?

I’ve always thought that bacon was a highly valuable commodity. My entire life I’ve been hearing about pork belly futures, and honestly, nothing works better as a bribe to get people out of bed. So I wasn’t too surprised to learn that even at a hippiefest like Burning Man, bacon holds it value like gold.

According to this anecdotal tale from Noelle Carter in the LA Times blogs section, bacon is king if you find yourself in a bartering situation. And speaking of the Times, they’ve been on a serious bacon high lately. The Daily Dish has been hooking up one article after another with tons of great bacon recipes. In fact, Noelle is currently in the process of compiling a list of 1,001 things to do with bacon. Ambitious! I like it! In addition to her regular updates, you can find lots of handy bacon ideas in the comments section of her articles.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

Recently Bacon Freak was named again in the Bacon Porn section of Maxim Magazine being named two months in a row as a top Holiday Gift. This months edition of Maxim Magazine features a bunch of hotties including Olga Kurylenko (The Hottest James Bond Girl Ever). This months edition of Maxim includes of course the 12 best gift for the holidays including a calendar loaded with some of the hottest stars and models. Be sure to pick up an edition or click here to see the article and cover models.

Additionally the Bacon Freak Bacon of the Month Club has become an official sponsor at www.reddit.com. Our new partnership is a great one! We provide gifts for their top bloggers and contest winners. Here is the banner on their site.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

Looks like the “Bacon Crisis” is finally over in Northern Ireland, and not a moment too soon, as the official government regulators give the Celtic Pork a “!0 Snout Salute!”

Check this out!

Free Bacon “Sarnies” Mark Pork’s Return To Northern Ireland Menu!

The Belfast Telegraph

Wednesday, 10 December 2008

Northern Ireland pork was back on the menu in Belfast yesterday — and customers were eager to bite into their bacon butties.

The Merchant Hotel in the city centre offered free bacon sandwiches all day to celebrate the news that Northern Ireland’s pork was in the clear. Staff said diners kept on requesting pork throughout the crisis — when the hotel withdrew selected items from its menu for two days — and were glad to see it make a comeback.

Executive chef Tony O’Neill said the Merchant is a proud champion of locally grown meat. He avoided binning the hotel’s stock of pork when news of the crisis broke, instead keeping it refrigerated and ready to use.

Mr. O’Neill said: “We were advised to hold on by the Environmental Health Service on Monday night, and on Tuesday morning we got the all-clear. We source everything locally, including our bacon and our sausages, so we were sure none of our suppliers had been affected by the contamination.”

He added: “I think the whole thing has been overblown. I don’t think the government has been fully aware of the real situation until this morning (Tuesday), so there has been an awful lot of confusion.

“It’s been devastating for farmers and people in the industry.”

Joanne Doherty, a customer visiting the hotel for lunch yesterday, said: “I definitely think it’s a good thing Northern Irish pork is back on the menu here. I would be confident eating it, I think its fine. In the future the government should be more careful in sending the right message out because this kind of thing can affect the whole economy.”

Her friend Ann McDermott said: “There have been confusing messages coming out about the crisis since Sunday, and we’ve seen retailers taking things off their shelves, but I’d still be happy eating pork.”

Moyallon Foods, which supplies meat to the Merchant and other Belfast restaurants, voluntarily suspended deliveries on Monday but resumed on Tuesday after receiving written guarantees from its farms that its pork was clean.

Managing director Jilly Dougan said: “We are absolutely delighted that the Merchant and others are putting pork back on the menu, but we’re worried that the Food Standards Agency has shaken the public’s confidence.”

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com