Grilled Vietnamese Sausage Skewers (Nem Nuong)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Swift Double Smoked Thick Cut Bacon
• Bacon fat mixture
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 shallot
• Annatto oil (this part is optional)
• 2 Tbsp avocado or coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp annatto seeds 

Nem Nuong Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ground Swift Pork
• 4 Tbsp Cornstarch
• 3 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
• 1 Tbsp rice cooking wine or sherry

Directions:

1. Start out by adding the bacon, garlic, and shallot into the food processor and pulse until a bacon paste forms. Set aside and save for later.
2. Next, make the annatto oil. This part is optional, but if you skip it, you will still need the oil to be added to the mixture so don’t forget to add it in!
3. Make your annatto oil (to add nice color to the Vietnamese Sausage Skewers)
4. Heat your oil in a pan on low heat and add the annatto seeds and stir for a few minutes. Once the seeds have turned the oil a bright orange color, turn the heat off.
5. Remove the seeds and save the oil for adding to the pork later.
6. Mix your sausage ingredients in the food processor.
7. Combine the ingredients in a food processor or stand mixer for 10 minutes. We are looking for a very fine texture here, like “Pork Paté”.
8. Add in the bacon fat mixture and annatto oil and mix for an additional 5 minutes.
9. Put the meat in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, soak your skewers in water.
10. Set up an area with the meat, your skewers, and a sheet pan or big platter where your place your skewers. Add a touch of oil to your gloves or hands so the meat doesn’t stick to your hands. Take a spoonful (about 1 Tbsp of meat) into your hands and roll it into a little ball. Continue to do this, rolling into balls, putting them onto the skewer, and repeating until you have worked your way through all the meat.
11. Skewer your Vietnamese Sausage Balls.
12. Preheat your grill to 450-500ºF degrees.
13.  Coat your grill grates with oil so your meat is less likely to stick. Grill your meat about 3 minutes per side, or until you’ve formed char marks, and then flip. If the meat is not ready to be flipped it will stick to the grates. Your skewers are done once the internal temp hits 145ºF internal degrees.
14. Serve them in lettuce wraps paired with this sweet, mildly spicy, umami flavor-packed Nuoc Cham sauce.
15. Enjoy!