These Pork & Bacon Skewers are my latest and greatest creation! Tender pork chops are marinated in a delicious ginger-molasses marinade and is skewered between a thick slice of Double Smoked Bacon from Red Barn Market. Grilled to perfection on the BBQ and served with a refreshing mango salad and peanut dipping sauce– these skewers are perfect for upcoming summer BBQs!
#KitchenImprovYYJ Challenge
I came up with this idea for a recipe from participating in the #KitchenImprovYYJ cookoff, where each week we were given a list of ingredients that we had to make a recipe with. During the final week of the competition, our ingredients were: apple, coffee, bacon and peanut butter.
While many people would think to make a sweet recipe, I opted for savoury just to be a bit different. Plus, I love savoury foods way more than sweet foods! And so these Pork & Bacon Skewers were born!
I marinated the pork chop with ginger, molasses (for that sweet and smoky flavour), maple syrup, soy sauce, chili flakes, and coffee. I wasn’t too sure how good the coffee would be in this recipe or how strong the flavour would be, but it turned out so be so complimentary to the rest of the flavours! In used a local coffee from Salt Spring Coffee in the recipe and it turned out amazing!
Complimentary Sides
I wanted to make a peanut dipping sauce to go with the Pork & Bacon Skewers, almost like a satay sauce. I simply mixed peanut butter with sriracha, maple syrup, sesame oil and soy sauce and voila! The simplest peanut dipping sauce ever!
I incorporated the apple into my refreshing mango salad, that was perfect at offsetting the richness of the Pork & Bacon Skewers and the peanut dipping sauce. It was tropical and light, which made the pork taste extra delicious!
The Perfect Summer Recipe
While I didn’t win the competition for that week, I did win in my heart with a delicious recipe that I am happy to share with everyone! Plus, this is just in time for summer where the days will be warm and we can enjoy grilling outdoors!
Click the photo below to watch my YouTube video on how to make this recipe, or read the recipe down below!
Enjoy!
Get the Recipe!
Pork & Bacon Skewers with Mango Salad and Peanut Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
For the Pork Skewers:
- 4 pork chops bone removed and fat trimmed, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons fresh ginger finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons fancy molasses
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup strongly brewed
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 6 strips bacon
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves for garnish
- Lime wedges for garnish
For the Mango Salad:
- 1 mango sliced into matchsticks
- 1/2 fuji apple sliced into matchsticks
- 1 to mato seeds removed, sliced into matchsticks
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves roughly torn
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or white sugar optional
For the Peanut Dipping Sauce:
- 1 cup peanut butter or substitute with the nut butter of your choice
- 1/4 cup sriracha
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Begin my marinating the pork. Add the cubed pork into a large bowl, followed by the ginger, chili flakes, molasses, maple syrup, coffee, and soy sauce. Mix everything to combine then place in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Once the pork has marinated, skewer a piece of pork onto a bamboo BBQ skewer. Move it to the top of the skewer so that it is 1 cm from the top pointed end of the skewer. Take a piece of bacon and thread the end through the skewer. Repeat this process by adding another piece of pork and then wrap the bacon around the pork threading it between the pieces of pork in a "S" pattern. Repeat until you have 5 pieces of pork on the skewer, making sure to end the skewer with a piece of pork to hold the bacon in place as it cooks. Repeat for the remaining skewers. Set aside on a plate and leave at room temperature while you make the mango salad.
- Next, prepare the mango salad. Add the sliced mango, apple, and tomato into a large bowl along with the lime juice, olive oil and cilantro. Mix to combine. Taste the salad and add a splash of maple syrup or a pinch of sugar if needed to sweeten the salad. Set aside while you make the peanut sauce.
- Next, prepare the peanut dipping sauce. Add the peanut butter, sriracha, soy sauce, maple syrup and sesame oil into a small bowl and mix to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed by adding extra sriracha, soy sauce or maple syrup as needed. Set aside at room temperature.
- To cook the pork skewers, preheat your BBQ to 400 degrees F. Once hot, place the skewers on the edge of the grill so that the long end of the skewer is off the edge of the BBQ. This will avoid the skewer from burning too much.
- Grill the skewers for 2 minutes per side, making sure to leave the BBQ lid open the entire time. Once the skewers are grilled on all sides, use tongs to transfer them to the top rack of the BBQ, turn off the heat, and close the lid of the BBQ.
- Leave the lid closed for 2 minutes to "bake" the skewers, then open the lid, flip the skewers, close the lid and bake for another 2 minutes. This additional baking time will ensure that the pork is fully cooked and will help to crisp up the bacon. Once cooked, remove from the grill and set on a plate to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- To serve, place the mango salad on a large serving plate, followed by the grilled pork and bacon skewers and top with a sprinkling of cilantro. Serve with a few lime wedges and the peanut sauce to dip. Serve warm and enjoy!
Video
