Barbecue-Stuffed Corn Muffins

My Venture into Stuffed Corn Muffins
Anybody who regularly reads my blog knows the joy I get from cooking comes from making new recipes. I rarely make a recipe in its original form because I normally have lots of ideas of how I'd like to change it. Every so often, I come across a recipe that I just cannot think of a way to change. Today's recipe is like that.

I found today's recipe on Food Wishes – a video cooking blog that I love to frequent. I think this recipe is innovative and easy and I'm kicking myself in the rear for not having thought of it myself! I made a couple of very small changes to Chef John's recipe but they are hardly worth mentioning. He adds more milk than I do and his filling is drier. He also adds cheese on top (which I wasn't excited about) and he used muffin liners and I didn't.

This recipe is kind of the like the American version of cha shao bao (char siu bao for you Cantonese speakers). Cha shao bao is a Chinese steamed bun that is stuffed with Chinese-style barbecue pork. Very tasty. My backside bears many dimples caused by eating too many cha shao bao over the years.

Do you ever get in one of those moods when you JUST don't want to cook? I'm in one of those moods. That's why I like today's recipe. It can be put together and baked in just minutes. It's painfully simple and it's a great way to use up leftover barbecue meat. If you don't have any leftover barbecue, just go to your favorite BBQ restaurant and pick some up. I hope you like today's recipe as much as I do. Enjoy – and happy stuffing!

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Barbecue-Stuffed Corn Muffins
(Printable Version)

1 egg
1/4 c milk
1/2 c freshly grated cheddar, monterrey jack, or pepper jack cheese
1 8.5-oz box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (or a similar brand)
1/2 to 3/4 c leftover barbecue pork, rib meat, or brisket (cut into small pieces)
Barbecue sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a small bowl, add the leftover barbecue pork, rib meat, or brisket that has been cut into pieces. Add enough barbecue sauce to make the meat nice and wet but not swimming in sauce. Set aside. Butter or spray 6 wells of a muffin tin. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Fold in the cheese and corn muffin mix until the mixture is well combined.

Add approximately 2 tablespoons of batter to each of the six wells (I use a cookie scoop). This should use up half the batter. Spoon about 1 tablespoon or so of the barbecue meat on top of the batter in the wells – making sure to keep the meat from touching the sides of the pan. The meat needs to be somewhat piled up in the center. Evenly add the remaining batter to the top of the meat in the wells. Bake about 13 to 16 minutes or until the muffins have browned on top. Allow the muffins to cool for several minutes before attempting to remove them from the muffin tins. Makes 6.