With International Coffee Day in October, we decided to do some of our favorite coffee-based recipes this week. Did you know that the earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century, in Yemen's Sufi monasteries. I don’t drink coffee but I love using it in recipes and I appreciate the loyalty many have. It is so versatile and adds such richness to recipes. These Coffee Chipotle Pulled Pork Sliders are the perfect way to get your caffeine fix without your daily cup of coffee.

Chipotle-Coffee Pulled Pork

Yields 12 sliders

Ingredients

1 4-pound bone-in pork shoulder

1 jar of Bellisari’s Barista Sauce

Chipotle-Coffee rub

Sesame slider buns, toasted

Chipotle-Coffee Spice Rub

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup of finely ground dark coffee

1/4 cup paprika

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp chipotle powder

2 tsp granulated garlic

2 tsp of cinnamon

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp allspice

Mix all spices until no lumps remain. You might not use all the rub, so have a container at the ready for the leftovers.

Directions

Preheat oven to 250.

Coat the pork shoulder on all sides with the rub (how amazing does it smell, right?!). Drizzle a large roasting pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and place the roast in. Pop in the oven, uncovered, for 7-8 hours. If possible, rub meat the night or eight hours before and put into refrigerator. Once cooked, pull the pork and slather with Bellisari’s Barista Sauce and serve on toasted sesame slider buns and enjoy!

Recipe 2: This Coffee and Bacon Sandwich is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Makes 2-4 sandwiches depending on how much bacon you take on yours. ❤️

Ingredients

For Bacon:

8 slices uncooked bacon

1/4 cup freshly ground coffee

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon water

For the sandwich:

1 jar of Bellisari’s Blue Cheese Honey & Shallot Spread

Fresh crusty bread

Fresh spinach or arugula leaves

Butter for toasting the bread

Directions

Lay bacon slices atop one another so that the fat is on top. Place bacon on top of a piece of plastic wrap.

In a small bowl, stir together ground coffee, chili powder, brown sugar, molasses, and water. Spread the mixture on top of the bacon slices, pressing with the back of a spoon. The coffee topping will only be on the top, fatted rim of the bacon. Wrap the bacon and coffee in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge in a sealable bag for 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pay separate bacon slices on the paper in a single layer. If you prefer, you can wipe some of the ground coffee marinade off before baking.

Bake until browned and crisp, 14 to 17 minutes, or until bacon has reached your desired crispiness. Remove from the oven, allow to drain on a piece of paper towel.

Toast bread and layer bacon on the bottom half of the sandwich then adding the greens. Add Bellisari’s Blue Cheese Honey & Shallot Spread to the other toasted piece of bread and enjoy!