FireChefs954

10/07/2026

🇨🇺 Cuban Sandwiches & Croqueta Preparada! 🔥🥪

We started this one the day before, slow-roasting a pork shoulder until it was fall-apart tender and ready to shred.

Then it was time to build the classics — Cuban sandwiches loaded with that slow-roasted pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard.

And of course, we had to do it Miami style with the Croqueta Preparada — everything you love about a Cuban sandwich, upgraded with hot, crispy ham croquetas stuffed right inside. 🤌🔥

If you know Miami, you know… the croquetas belong in the sandwich. 🇨🇺🌴

10/06/2026

10/01/2026

🥩 Trust Kiki With Your Meat🔥

This one started the two days before, with Kiki trimming and prepping a beautiful Snake River Farms brisket at home. Then it was an early start—on the Oklahoma Joe’s smoker at 4 AM and low & slow from there.

Once the brisket hit his desired temp it was then pulled and lathered up with his secret sauce 🤫, wrapped it tight in butcher paper, and sent it right back into the smoke.

Around 4 PM, it came off the pit and got one of the most important parts of the entire cook—a nice long rest until our 6 PM firehouse dinner.

Brisket takes patience. It takes experience. And most importantly, you can’t rush it. Kiki knows the assignment. 🔥👨‍🚒

That bark. That smoke ring. That juice. Worth every damn hour. 🤤

09/10/2026

🔥🇰🇷 BEEF BULGOGI BOWLS — FIREHOUSE STYLE
When cooking for 12 firefighters who always get seconds you don't show up with a couple pounds of beef. 😂 We went with 9.5 LBS of Costco Beef Loin New York Thin-Sliced Strips and put together these Bulgogi Bowls with homemade japchae, rice, kimchi and a sweet & spicy gochujang drizzle.

🥩 BULGOGI — 9.5 LBS BEEF
• 3 cups Korean soy sauce
• ⅔ cup mirin
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large Asian pears, peeled & puréed
• 2 medium onions, puréed
• 10–15 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger
• ⅔ cup toasted sesame oil
• 2 bunches green onions
• ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp black pepper
• 2 additional medium onions, sliced

Blend the pears, 2 onions, garlic and ginger. Mix with the remaining marinade ingredients and marinate the beef for several hours. Before cooking, mix in the 2 sliced onions. Cook hot and fast in batches until the beef is caramelized around the edges. 🔥

🍜 GARLIC-HONEY JAPCHAE
• 1½ lbs Korean sweet potato glass noodles
• Korean soy sauce
• Honey 🍯
• Fresh garlic 🧄
• Toasted sesame oil
• Carrots, cut matchstick-style
• Green onions, cut matchstick-style
• Toasted sesame seeds

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Combine the remaining ingredients in a pan or wok and cook for 5–10 minutes, leaving a little bite in the carrots. Toss with the cooked noodles until everything is coated.

🌶️ SWEET & SPICY GOCHUJANG DRIZZLE
• Korean gochujang
• Soy sauce
• Honey
• Toasted sesame oil

Mix until smooth and drizzle over the finished bowls.
🍚 BUILD IT: Rice + garlic-honey japchae + kimchi + a BIG pile of bulgogi + green onions + sesame seeds + gochujang drizzle.

12 firefighters. 9½ pounds of meat 💪🏾 Seconds were already built into the recipe. 😂🔥

09/05/2026

Pre-football Friday called for a homemade random chicken tender sandwich. 🏈🔥

Dave's Killer Bread multigrain bread stacked with Publix Super Markets chicken tenders, maple-glazed ham, sliced roasted chicken, spicy mustard, hot honey & Valentina hot sauce.

Topped with lettuce… for health, obviously. 😂🥬

🤤🔥

08/26/2026

🔥 Firehouse lunch 🥩🥖

Cuban-style skirt steak sandwiches — skirt steak seared on the Blackstone, then onions sautéed right in all that leftover steak flavor. 🔥 Loaded onto Cuban bread with fresh station-made chimichurri, crispy potato sticks, and plantain chips on the side.

Big Cuban flavor. 🇨🇺🔥

06/28/2026

🍖 Food overload! 🎉

We celebrated birthday a little early, and we definitely didn't hold back!

The ribs were seasoned with a homemade dry rub, marinated for over 24 hours, and slow-smoked on the Traeger for roughly 6 hours. Huge shoutout to Kevin—who beat us on MasterChef—for sharing his competition Carolina mop sauce. It was the perfect finishing touch! 🔥

The feast also included grilled chicken and andouille sausage, creamy mac & cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts with feta and a balsamic glaze, garlicky sourdough toast, cast iron cornbread with maple-cinnamon whipped butter, fresh slaw, corn on the cob, and to wash it all down, a refreshing watermelon, ginger, berry, .riddle.10 's famous Guava bread pudding and citrus-infused water. 🌽🥖🍉

Good food, great company, and another unforgettable dinner around the table. Happy early birthday, Tony! 🎂🎈

Great team effort. Thanks for the help like always to the entire crew!

06/15/2026

Another steakhouse-style meal at the firehouse for just $15 a person. put a whole lot of love into this one. The picanha was perfectly seared and grilled — even earning the approval of the two Brazilians at the dinner table. He paired it with his family’s basil and parsley chimichurri, creamy garlicky cauliflower mash, Southern-style green beans, rosemary-infused sourdough, and sweet creamed corn.

And as always, the best food pics are captured by 📸🔥

05/25/2026

This weekend, I had the honor of cooking for Adan’s graduation party up in Georgia 🎓🔥. I wanted to show some extra love, so everything was made from scratch and kept as authentic as possible.

The star of the show was definitely the jerk pork 🇯🇲🐖. It was marinated for over 24 hours in a flavorful blend of homemade green seasoning, jerk paste, and jerk dry rub that was made back home in Miami. To bring that authentic island flavor, we cooked it over pimiento leaves and filled the smoke box with apple wood chunks, fresh thyme, pimiento leaves and berries, whole nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks — all to recreate that traditional pimento wood smoke as closely as possible.

At the same time, a Cuban-style pork shoulder was roasting away in the oven 🇨🇺🔥, marinated overnight in homemade mojo and packed with classic Cuban flavors. Between both pigs, the aromas and flavors definitely transported people straight to the islands.

Everything was paired with spicy pear chutney, abuela’s black beans, cilantro green sauce, and plenty of other delicious sides. Nothing better than feeding family and friends with food made with love❤️🔥

05/19/2026

🔥 Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes 🔥
These aren’t your average mashed potatoes… you’ve got to put a little love into these. 👨‍🍳🥔🧀
Start by building the infused cream: In a pot, sauté 1 whole shallot, a full head of garlic, a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme, a bay leaf, and a few peppercorns in olive oil, butter, and a pinch of salt. Let that cook for a few minutes until fragrant. 🌿🧄🧈
Slowly pour in your heavy cream (or milk of choice) and keep it on low heat for about an hour, stirring often so it doesn’t scorch. This lets all those aromatics infuse into the cream. Once ready, strain everything out and set the infused cream aside.
In another saucepan, melt some butter and add your bleu cheese crumbles. I also threw in some Boursin Garlic & Herb cheese and it took it to another level. 🧀🔥
Slowly whisk in the infused cream until the cheese melts into a smooth, rich sauce.
For the potatoes: Let the peeled potatoes soak in beef broth for a few hours before boiling for extra flavor. Then boil until fork tender and drain — but save about a cup of that starchy potato water. 🥔
Place the potatoes back into the hot pot on low heat for a minute or two to help remove excess moisture. Mash by hand or run them through a ricer for an extra smooth texture.
Slowly fold the bleu cheese cream sauce into the potatoes until creamy and velvety. Add a little reserved potato water if needed for consistency. Finish with salt and pepper to taste. 👌
These pair perfectly with grilled tenderloins, steaks, or a slow-braised pot roast. 🔥🥩