Pork and Bacon Sliders -- When the Smoker's Already Warm and the Week Earned It

The grass going gold by August. Standard. Cattle work this week. Patrick rode in the truck. He pointed out two heifers I had not noticed. He sees things I do not. The work is shared.

Patrick on the porch in the afternoon. Coffee in the good cup. The cottonwoods. Tuesday meeting in Roundup. Eight regulars. Three vets. I do not lead. I show up.

Ribs in the smoker Saturday. Six hours. Apple wood. Dry rub.

I went to bed at ten. Slept seven hours. The body said thank you.

Listened to the cattle market report on AM radio while I worked the shop. Beef is up. Feed is up. The math is the math.

Took a walk to the river before supper Tuesday. The cottonwoods were silver. The water was running. I did not think much. I just walked.

Drove to Billings for parts Friday. Stopped at the cemetery on the way home. Stood for ten minutes. Came home.

The Tuesday Roundup AA meeting was eleven this week — three new guys from a referral. The room was full. The coffee was strong.

A neighbor's heifer was choking on a corn cob. I drove over with my emergency kit. Cleared the cob with a length of garden hose. The heifer recovered. The neighbor brought a pie the next day.

Storm came through Friday night. Thunder. The dog hid under the bed. The kids slept through it. The cattle bunched up by the windbreak. Standard.

Wrote a blog post Friday night. The first one in two months. About making chili in a snowstorm. Short. Practical. Posted it. Forgot about it.

Drove the back fence line Saturday. Two posts down from elk. Replaced them in the morning. The fence held the rest of the week.

The Musselshell was clear Sunday. Could see trout in the deeper pools. Did not fish. Just watched.

A reader emailed about the elk chili recipe. Asked what beer to use if non-alcoholic was not available. I wrote back: any beer is wrong if you don't drink. Use stock.

Mr. Whelan from down the road came over Saturday with a story about a horse he sold in 1979. The story took an hour. I listened. He needed someone to tell it to.

Hauled three bull calves to the auction yard Wednesday. Got a fair price. Came home. Counted the cash. Put it in the ranch account.

Truck started cold Tuesday. Twelve below. Battery is the original. I will replace it before next winter. I always say I will replace it before next winter. I never have.

Three days of horses this week. The work is meditative. The horses know. The owners pay. The cycle holds.

Worked on the truck Saturday afternoon. Plugs and wires. Two hours. Hands black with grease. Came in. Showered. Ate.

Hank, the dog, herded the chickens by accident. He apologized in the way dogs apologize — eyes down, tail low. The chickens were unimpressed.

The wood pile is half what it was at Thanksgiving. I will split another cord on Saturday. The cord will be ready by next winter. The wood always is.

Mended the chute hinge Wednesday. Welder was finicky. Got it on the third try. Patrick used to do this. I do it now.

The barn cats are doing their job. Down to one mouse this week, in the feed shed. The cats brought it to the porch as proof. They are professionals.

The ribs came out right on Saturday — dry rub, apple wood, six hours — and I went to bed at ten feeling like I’d actually done something. That kind of week, where you clear a cob from a choking heifer and weld a chute hinge on the third try and stand at a cemetery for ten minutes and then just drive home, it earns simple food. These pork and bacon sliders are what I make when the smoker’s still warm in spirit but the evening doesn’t have six hours left in it — all the same satisfaction, built for a Tuesday or a Friday when you still need to feed people and you’ve already given the day everything you had.

Pork and Bacon Sliders

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6 (12 sliders)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
• 6 strips thick-cut bacon, halved crosswise
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 12 slider buns
• 6 slices pepper jack or cheddar cheese, halved
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp whole-grain or yellow mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• Sliced dill pickles, for serving
• Butter, for toasting buns (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix the patties. Combine ground pork, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Mix until just combined — do not overwork. Form into 12 small patties roughly the size of your slider buns.
2. Cook the bacon. In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, cook bacon halves until crisp, about 4–5 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the rendered fat.
3. Cook the patties. In the same skillet over medium-high heat, cook pork patties in batches, 3–4 minutes per side, until cooked through and internal temperature reaches 160°F. Lay a half-slice of cheese on each patty in the last minute of cooking and tent loosely with foil to melt.
4. Toast the buns. If desired, butter the cut sides of slider buns and toast in the skillet or under a broiler until golden, about 1–2 minutes.
5. Make the sauce. Whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, and honey in a small bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
6. Assemble. Spread honey mustard sauce on the bottom bun, top with a pork patty, a half strip of bacon, and two or three pickle slices. Cap with the top bun. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving, 2 sliders)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 780mg