2 pounds frozen bread dough
1 pound turkey, sliced
1/2 pound bacon
6 ounces Swiss cheese, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup red onion, sliced
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1. Grease a baking sheet; thaw frozen bread dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface. Preheat the oven to 375*F.
2. Divide the dough into thirds. Roll into a 20-inch rope and line up on the baking sheet. Braid together and form into a circle, pressing the ends together. Let rise for 30 to 60 minutes in a warm place, or until doubled. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
3. Cool. Slice in half horizontally and on the bottom half, layer cooked, sliced turkey, cooked bacon, sliced Swiss cheese, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onion, mayonnaise, and prepared mustard. Return the top half and cut into slices.

Makes 36 servings.

Pulled Pork with Mint Julep Barbecue Sauce

1 bone-in pork shoulder, 5 lb. (2.5 kg)
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) apple cider
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) cider vinegar
4 yellow onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and finely chopped
12 sesame seed-topped sandwich buns, split and warmed
12 dill pickle spears

Sauce
1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) unsalted butter
3 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peeled and chopped fresh ginger
2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) tomato purée
3/4 cup (9 oz/280 g) dark molasses
1/3 cup (3 oz/90 g) coarse-grain Dijon mustard
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) bourbon
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup (1/2 oz/15 g) chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot-pepper sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly coat a large baking pan with vegetable oil. Rub the pork shoulder with the pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and mustard seeds and place in the baking pan. Pour the cider and vinegar over and around the pork. Scatter the onions, garlic, and bell pepper over and around the pork. Cover with aluminum foil.

2. Roast for 3 hours. Uncover and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 180 degrees F (82 degrees C), about 1 hour.

3. While the pork is roasting, make the sauce: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and ginger and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée, molasses, mustard, bourbon, vinegar, Worcestershire, lemon, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 2 hours. Discard the lemon slices. Stir in the mint and Tabasco.

4. Remove the pork from the oven and transfer to a plate. Let stand for 1 hour. Reserve the roasted vegetables. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other, discarding any fat. Place the shredded pork in a bowl. With a slotted spoon, transfer the roasted vegetables to the bowl with the pork.

5. Mix the sauce with the shredded pork. Stuff each bun with some of the pork and serve immediately with the pickle spears on the side.

Makes 12 sandwiches

Texas Beef Brisket Barbecue

8- to 10-pound beef brisket, untrimmed (it should have a thick layer of fat on one side)
Texas Dry Rub, or salt and black pepper to taste
Texas Wet Mop, optional
Lone Star Barbecue Sauce
10 to 12 white sandwich buns, optional
Dill pickle slices, sliced onions, and/or pickled jalapeno peppers, for garnish

Generously coat all sides of the brisket, particularly the fat layer, with the rub or salt and pepper. Cover and let the meat come to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare a fire by lighting wood or a combination of wood and charcoal in the firebox of a cooker or at the end of a barrel smoker opposite the end with the vent or chimney. Or light the coals in a water smoker. Or preheat a gas smoker/grill.

When the fire has burned down to glowing embers or the coals are covered with gray ash, place the brisket on the grate but not directly over the coals. Or place a full pan of water over the coals or hot lava rocks, then add the grate and brisket. The fire should be low, 225 to 250 degrees.

Cover the cooker and smoke the brisket, turning every hour or so, until it is tender and the internal temperature reaches 180 to 190 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 8 to 10 hours. Tend the fire by adding wood (or wood embers from a separate fire) or coals to keep it from going out and to keep the temperature inside the cooker between 225 and 300 degrees. If using a mop (basting is advisable only when cooking without a water pan), brush it on when turning the brisket or after tending the fire.

When the brisket is charred and tender (a fork should insert easily), remove it from the cooker and allow to rest about 20 minutes.

Trim off the fat layer and cut brisket in thin slices across the grain. Serve with warm barbecue sauce, if desired. Or stack several slices in a sandwich bun spread lightly with sauce. Add more sauce, as desired.

Serve with pickles, sliced fresh onion rings, and jalapeno peppers. Serves 10 to 12.

Fail-Safe Technique: The following technique produces smoky, tender brisket and cuts the time almost in half. Season the brisket as for long cooking. Light a fire in a charcoal grill that is big enough to hold the brisket. Allow the coals to burn until covered with gray ash. Place the brisket on the grill, fat side down. Grill the brisket about 45 minutes or until the fat is charred, turning when necessary to stop fat from dripping into the fire. Squirt flare-ups with water to douse the flames. Remove the brisket from the grill.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the brisket on a double thickness of aluminum foil in a shallow roasting pan. Wrap it tightly and bake for 4 to 5 hours or until the meat is very tender. Remove the brisket from the oven and peel back the foil. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Return the brisket to the oven and roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes to crisp the top layer of fat. Allow the meat to rest for 20 minutes. Trim off the fat layer and cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve with barbecue sauce.

TEXAS DRY RUB
Use this rub to season brisket before barbecuing. It's also good on ribs, steak, and chicken.

2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder

In an airtight container with a lid, combine the salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Shake to mix well. Sprinkle over the entire surface of the meat, concentrating on the fat layer. Rub or press into the fat and meat.

Makes 1/2 cup.

TEXAS WET MOP
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large (or 2 small) bay leaf
1 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 1/4 cups beef stock

In a medium saucepan, combine the salt, dry mustard, chili powder, paprika and vegetable oil. Stir to make a paste. Add the remaining ingredients slowly, stirring all the while.

Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

Brush the mop on beef or ribs while barbecuing over dry (no water pan), indirect heat.

Makes 1 quart.

LONE STAR BARBECUE SAUCE
1 1/4 cups ketchup
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter or pan drippings from barbecue

Combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, mustard, water and garlic in a medium saucepan. Place over very low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. For really smoky flavor, place on the grill away from the heat source during the last hour of smoking.

Stir in the butter or drippings and cook 15 minutes longer. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate to store, up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 3 cups.

Note: To obtain pan drippings, place a drip pan under the brisket during cooking or save the juices that collect while the meat rests during slicing. You can also heat some of the fat trimmings to obtain some fat drippings. If using the fail-safe technique of barbecuing brisket, as described with the accompanying recipe, the meat drippings collect in the foil and can easily be spooned up and added to the sauce.