Sometimes I surprise myself.
Today’s Memorial Day BBQ effort was one of those events that you can't plan in advance—it just happens. We cooked ribs on the grill by the neighborhood pool.
In addition to charcoal and hickory chips, we also used up a bunch of ice, rum, and tequila in the blender poolside and entertained some innocent bystanders as our neighbors wandered into the proceedings. Can you say “drive-by BBQ?”
I barely got to eat any of the ribs myself. Oh well...
By cooking ribs, I don’t mean that I stripped the plastic wrap off the ribs and tossed them on the grill—no sir, I gave my baby back pork ribs a day at the health spa. If I were a rib, I would have been quite happy doing what my ribs did today.
Here’s what I did with (to) my ribs…
First there was a nice BRINE BATH:
1-1/2 gallon of water (enough for three or four racks of ribs)
½ cup of kosher salt
½ cup of sugar
2/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
(Increase the proportions of the ingredients if you need more water)
Put the brine together in a large covered boiler (mine was a three gallon pot.) Open your rib packaging and rinse the ribs off under cold water in the sink. Place the ribs on a cutting board and carefully strip off the “skin” membrane on the back side (the concave side.) Also cut away any extra chunks of fat and membrane that you don’t want to eat. By now your ribs should look very pretty.
Place your ribs in the brine, put the pot in the refrigerator, and let them swim around overnight, or for at least six hours (mine went about eight hours.)
When you are ready to cook your ribs, pull them out of the brine and place them in a pan or on a cookie sheet to drain for a few minutes. Pat them dry with a clean dish rag.
Next my ribs had a nice RUBDOWN:
1/8 cup black pepper
1/8 cup paprika
1-1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix up the rub in a mixing bowl, then store it in a small jar or plastic container until you are ready to use it. Sprinkle the rub over the ribs and rub it in with your fingers.
Then my Ribs went into a HOT SAUNA:
Now Your ribs need to go on the grill to cook. Don't use a gas grill (OK, if you must, you must), but don't just pile a bunch of charcoal brickettes up and light them using "Gulflight" lighter fluid...that stuff stinks. I use an electric grill starter and for these ribs you want to use indirect heat. After the coals are hot, push the charcoal over to the sides of the grill and cook the ribs over a pan of water in the center. I stood my rib racks up on their sides vertically, leaning against each other for support.
Now here is the important part--regulate your grill temperature to somewhere between 200 deg F and 250 deg F. Use those vents and dampers on the grill, don't just stand there and complain, burning off your eyebrows and the hair on your knuckles. (Sorry, I guess that ladies don't have hair on their knuckles?)
If you will keep the temperature under control, you can expect to spend between 2-1/2 and 3 hours fooling around at the pool or otherwise waiting while the ribs get nice and tender. Pour yourself a drink and relax...this is supposed to be vacation, not work, you know?
For my ribs "suntan lotion," I made some Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce:
½ cup light (or dark) brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard powder
1 tbsp dried ginger
½ tbsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp allspice
3 cups catsup
¼ cup black strap molasses
¼ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
I took the rib racks off the grill at about the 2-1/2 hour point and brushed them all over with a thick coating of the BBQ sauce, then put them back on the grill for the final half hour of cooking.
By the time my ribs had finished, I had collected a couple of kids and five other adults that had designs on sampling the results of my efforts.
We broke out the slaw, potato salad, and sliced up a fresh pineapple and ATE. (Did I mention the home-made Key Lime Pie for desert?)
Regards Y’all,
The Redneck Gourmet
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
Boston Baked Beans
Continuing our Memorial Day and Summer Cookout theme, I decided to attack home made baked beans. I’m not talking about opening a can of Bush’s beans or other store bought beans and adding brown sugar and stuff.
Nooooooooo sir… I’m into pain.
I want to make real authentic home made Boston Baked Beans. After doing some checking around on the Internet it became fairly obvious that the recipe is simple, it just takes all day to make your beans properly.
I really liked the simplicity of this 1940’s Gourmet Magazine recipe for Boston Baked Beans. I also referred to this recipe.
I ended up using these ingredients:
1 lb dried navy beans
1 pork neck bone
2 tbs butter
½ onion, finely chopped
½ tsp dried English mustard
¼ tsp paprika
½ cup black strap molasses
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
The night before you want to cook your beans, place them in a 4 quart boiler and add enough cold water to cover about an inch. I fooled around and started soaking my beans at 4:00 AM and let them soak till noon. Change your water once while your beans are swimming and pick through the beans to remove any dark or “stung” beans that might be less than appetizing to eat.
After the beans have soaked for at least six hours, place the boiler on the stovetop and fire up the heat to medium high. Bring the beans to a slow boil and add your pork neck bone and a couple of twists of fresh ground black pepper
Step away from the stove and let your beans boil for at least one hour. Mine could have cooked a little longer, so I suggest cooking 1-1/2 to 2 hours if you like your beans really tender.
Now dice your onion really fine. Some people like to put big chunks or “rings” of onion in their baked beans. Not me, but to each their own. Cut your onion the way you like.
I also like my onion sautéed, so I melted a couple of table spoons of butter in a small boiler and cooked my onions until they were clear and tender. You can use your onions raw, however, if you want to.
When the beans are done boiling, turn off the heat and let them cool down a little. Now dip a half cup of the water off of the beans and add to the onions in the other boiler. Stir in the light and dark brown sugar, the paprika, the mustard, and the molasses. A little salt and a couple twists of fresh black pepper can’t hurt—you decide how much.
Fish out your pork neck bone and place it aside (don’t toss it in the trash-you’ll need it later. Now drain your cooked beans in a colander, reserving the liquid. Dump the beans back in the boiler, stir the onion/sugar/spice/molasses mixture into the beans and add about ½ cup of the reserved water.
Now, if you don’t have an oven safe bean pot, use a covered casserole dish that is at least 4” deep. Also, if you don’t want to spend an hour cleaning the dish and the lid, I suggest spraying both with a non-stick cooking spray.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place your pork neck bone in the middle of your bean pot and pour the bean mixture in around it. Just for fun I drizzled the top of the beans with some more molasses ‘cause I like molasses.
Cover the dish, place it in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F.
Wander off to the pool or go watch TV, checking back once an hour to see how your beans are baking. Notice how the color changes to a nice dark redish brown?
Hey, you there...get your spoon out of those beans!
Each time you check your progress, add a ¼ cup of your reserved bean cooking liquid to the baking beans to keep everything from drying out. After four hours, remove the lid and cook your beans another thirty minutes to an hour.
When you think the beans are done, pull them out of the oven and let them cool for ten or so minutes, then plate them up with your slaw, slice your meat(loaf) and EAT.
Enjoy Y’all,
The Redneck Gourmet
Nooooooooo sir… I’m into pain.
I want to make real authentic home made Boston Baked Beans. After doing some checking around on the Internet it became fairly obvious that the recipe is simple, it just takes all day to make your beans properly.
I really liked the simplicity of this 1940’s Gourmet Magazine recipe for Boston Baked Beans. I also referred to this recipe.
I ended up using these ingredients:
1 lb dried navy beans
1 pork neck bone
2 tbs butter
½ onion, finely chopped
½ tsp dried English mustard
¼ tsp paprika
½ cup black strap molasses
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
The night before you want to cook your beans, place them in a 4 quart boiler and add enough cold water to cover about an inch. I fooled around and started soaking my beans at 4:00 AM and let them soak till noon. Change your water once while your beans are swimming and pick through the beans to remove any dark or “stung” beans that might be less than appetizing to eat.
After the beans have soaked for at least six hours, place the boiler on the stovetop and fire up the heat to medium high. Bring the beans to a slow boil and add your pork neck bone and a couple of twists of fresh ground black pepper
Step away from the stove and let your beans boil for at least one hour. Mine could have cooked a little longer, so I suggest cooking 1-1/2 to 2 hours if you like your beans really tender.
Now dice your onion really fine. Some people like to put big chunks or “rings” of onion in their baked beans. Not me, but to each their own. Cut your onion the way you like.
I also like my onion sautéed, so I melted a couple of table spoons of butter in a small boiler and cooked my onions until they were clear and tender. You can use your onions raw, however, if you want to.
When the beans are done boiling, turn off the heat and let them cool down a little. Now dip a half cup of the water off of the beans and add to the onions in the other boiler. Stir in the light and dark brown sugar, the paprika, the mustard, and the molasses. A little salt and a couple twists of fresh black pepper can’t hurt—you decide how much.
Fish out your pork neck bone and place it aside (don’t toss it in the trash-you’ll need it later. Now drain your cooked beans in a colander, reserving the liquid. Dump the beans back in the boiler, stir the onion/sugar/spice/molasses mixture into the beans and add about ½ cup of the reserved water.
Now, if you don’t have an oven safe bean pot, use a covered casserole dish that is at least 4” deep. Also, if you don’t want to spend an hour cleaning the dish and the lid, I suggest spraying both with a non-stick cooking spray.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place your pork neck bone in the middle of your bean pot and pour the bean mixture in around it. Just for fun I drizzled the top of the beans with some more molasses ‘cause I like molasses.
Cover the dish, place it in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F.
Wander off to the pool or go watch TV, checking back once an hour to see how your beans are baking. Notice how the color changes to a nice dark redish brown?
Hey, you there...get your spoon out of those beans!
Each time you check your progress, add a ¼ cup of your reserved bean cooking liquid to the baking beans to keep everything from drying out. After four hours, remove the lid and cook your beans another thirty minutes to an hour.
When you think the beans are done, pull them out of the oven and let them cool for ten or so minutes, then plate them up with your slaw, slice your meat(loaf) and EAT.
Enjoy Y’all,
The Redneck Gourmet
Hawaiian Cold Slaw
With Memorial Day rapidly approaching, Pat and I are getting the urge to expand our grilling and Summer cooking menu. Easy, light flavors, and simple “mass quantities” of foods designed to feed our guests lunch at the pool or be cooked and/or served at late afternoon cookouts.
I had to spend some time working on a set for a play at the local theater on Saturday so I charged Pat with coming up with a big batch of cold slaw for a couple of meals this weekend.
What she came up with is based on this recipe for Hawaiian Coleslaw.
As usual, we made a few modifications—adding fresh ginger root and substituting some red cabbage (we like the color.)
3 cups fresh, shredded green cabbage
1 cup fresh, shredded red cabbage
1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger (use fresh ginger if you have it)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (use freshly grated if you have it)
1 tbsp. orange juice
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
This is pretty much a no-brainer recipe. Shred your cabbage by hand or with the food processor. Drain the oranges and pineapple, reserving the juice.
Toss the cabbage with the ginger, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Redneck Tip: You can sprinkle a little of the reserved juices into the mix if you like your slaw juicier.
Add the drained fruit and toss well.
Now add the mayo, and toss some more. Cover and let the slaw sit overnight if you have the time—it will taste a lot better the next day.
Enjoy Y’all,
The Redneck Gourmet
I had to spend some time working on a set for a play at the local theater on Saturday so I charged Pat with coming up with a big batch of cold slaw for a couple of meals this weekend.
What she came up with is based on this recipe for Hawaiian Coleslaw.
As usual, we made a few modifications—adding fresh ginger root and substituting some red cabbage (we like the color.)
3 cups fresh, shredded green cabbage
1 cup fresh, shredded red cabbage
1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger (use fresh ginger if you have it)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (use freshly grated if you have it)
1 tbsp. orange juice
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
This is pretty much a no-brainer recipe. Shred your cabbage by hand or with the food processor. Drain the oranges and pineapple, reserving the juice.
Toss the cabbage with the ginger, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Redneck Tip: You can sprinkle a little of the reserved juices into the mix if you like your slaw juicier.
Add the drained fruit and toss well.
Now add the mayo, and toss some more. Cover and let the slaw sit overnight if you have the time—it will taste a lot better the next day.
Enjoy Y’all,
The Redneck Gourmet
Sunday, May 22, 2005
"Kicked Up" Meatloaf--Cooking Reruns
Today is a nice spring Sunday, with weather suitable for spending the afternoon at our swimming pool. Pat made a big batch of Hawaiian Cold Slaw yesterday, and I'm cooking Boston Baked Beans which will be in the oven for about five hours while I also cook my nose in the sun at the pool.
To go with our slaw and baked beans, I'm cooking a re-run recipe that I posted back around Thanksgiving. I found it on the Food Network website. The recipe is called Emeril’s “Most Kicked Up Meatloaf Ever.”
I made some modifications based on having dried spices rather than fresh. I've cooked it several times and found it to produce excellent results. No Catsup Required...
The modified ingredient listing, making enough for four to six people, looks like this:
3 tablespoons butter (or bacon drippings)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup ketchup, plus 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Heavy cream
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
1-1/4 pound ground chuck (try 90% lean—I used 80% and it was too greasy)
1/3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons plus 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Three or four medium potatoes, quartered (I omitted the potatoes since we had beans & slaw)
1 6oz jar green giant button mushrooms
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
In a large heavy skillet, heat the bacon dripping over medium heat. Add all but about 4 tbsp of the chopped onion, the celery, and all but 2 tbsp of the bell pepper to the skillet and cook until they soften, about 5 minutes or so.
Add one tsp garlic, the thyme, rosemary, and the parsley and cook an additional 2 minutes. Set skillet aside to cool. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F.
Redneck Tip: Tilt your skillet slightly and spoon off any extra bacon grease that you can.
In a large mixing bowl, transfer the cooled vegetable mixture and add the eggs, the mustard, 1/3 cup of ketchup, the Worcestershire sauce, the cream, and mix well. Then add the breadcrumbs, ground chuck, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is uniformly combined (no dry spots,) but don’t over mix.
Turn the whole blob out into a greased oval corningware casserole dish (I used an oval, 3” deep dish,) shape into a loaf with your hands. If you are using them, place your quartered red potatoes around the loaf in the dish.
In a small saucepan, combine the rest of the onion, garlic, the red bell pepper, ¼ cup ketchup, the red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and canned tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat and simmer for a few minutes to reduce slightly. Pour the mixture over the top of the meatloaf, sprinkle the button mushrooms on top of that, smooth out with a spoon, and toss the whole thing in the oven for 60 to 75 minutes.
Redneck Tip: At the hour mark, start checking every five minutes or so because you don’t want to burn the top of the loaf.
When you think it is done, turn off the oven and take the meatloaf out and set on a rack to cool for ten minutes or so. Put your plates in the oven for a minute to warm.
When the loaf has cooled a bit, put your warmed plates on chargers, slice the loaf, spoon out some of everything onto your plates, and serve with your slaw and baked beans or other vegetable on the side. No ketchup required!
Enjoy Ya’ll
The Redneck Gourmet
To go with our slaw and baked beans, I'm cooking a re-run recipe that I posted back around Thanksgiving. I found it on the Food Network website. The recipe is called Emeril’s “Most Kicked Up Meatloaf Ever.”
I made some modifications based on having dried spices rather than fresh. I've cooked it several times and found it to produce excellent results. No Catsup Required...
The modified ingredient listing, making enough for four to six people, looks like this:
3 tablespoons butter (or bacon drippings)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup ketchup, plus 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Heavy cream
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
1-1/4 pound ground chuck (try 90% lean—I used 80% and it was too greasy)
1/3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons plus 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Three or four medium potatoes, quartered (I omitted the potatoes since we had beans & slaw)
1 6oz jar green giant button mushrooms
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
In a large heavy skillet, heat the bacon dripping over medium heat. Add all but about 4 tbsp of the chopped onion, the celery, and all but 2 tbsp of the bell pepper to the skillet and cook until they soften, about 5 minutes or so.
Add one tsp garlic, the thyme, rosemary, and the parsley and cook an additional 2 minutes. Set skillet aside to cool. Preheat your oven to 350 deg F.
Redneck Tip: Tilt your skillet slightly and spoon off any extra bacon grease that you can.
In a large mixing bowl, transfer the cooled vegetable mixture and add the eggs, the mustard, 1/3 cup of ketchup, the Worcestershire sauce, the cream, and mix well. Then add the breadcrumbs, ground chuck, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is uniformly combined (no dry spots,) but don’t over mix.
Turn the whole blob out into a greased oval corningware casserole dish (I used an oval, 3” deep dish,) shape into a loaf with your hands. If you are using them, place your quartered red potatoes around the loaf in the dish.
In a small saucepan, combine the rest of the onion, garlic, the red bell pepper, ¼ cup ketchup, the red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and canned tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat and simmer for a few minutes to reduce slightly. Pour the mixture over the top of the meatloaf, sprinkle the button mushrooms on top of that, smooth out with a spoon, and toss the whole thing in the oven for 60 to 75 minutes.
Redneck Tip: At the hour mark, start checking every five minutes or so because you don’t want to burn the top of the loaf.
When you think it is done, turn off the oven and take the meatloaf out and set on a rack to cool for ten minutes or so. Put your plates in the oven for a minute to warm.
When the loaf has cooled a bit, put your warmed plates on chargers, slice the loaf, spoon out some of everything onto your plates, and serve with your slaw and baked beans or other vegetable on the side. No ketchup required!
Enjoy Ya’ll
The Redneck Gourmet
Monday, May 16, 2005
Pulled Pork Butt Barbeque
I was strolling past the meat counter at the local grocer the other day and noticed that they had Boston Butt Pork Roasts for half price--$0.98 per pound. I left the store with a five pounder in my cart.
My Butt sat in the fridge for a couple of days (sorry, I just couldn’t resist writing that without actually talking dirty) while I researched how to make pulled pork and my own barbeque sauce.
There are literally hundreds of opinions and recipes covering the subject in cookbooks, on TV shows, and on the internet, but the best ones all involve brining the pork before it is cooked and using a spice rub while it is cooked. Then, once you’ve brined your Butt and rubbed your Butt, you can grill your Butt, smoke your Butt, or roast your Butt in the oven. (Again sorry folks, I just couldn’t resist…)
Since we wanted to spend Sunday afternoon at the pool while the pork slow cooked, I chose roasting in the oven as my method du jour.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to cook your Butt…snicker…snicker
For the Brine:
1 gallon of water (more if you have a bigger Butt than mine…heh)
¼ cup of kosher salt
¼ cup of sugar
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
(Increase the proportions of the other ingredients if you need more water)
For the Rub:
1/8 cup black pepper
1/8 cup paprika
1-1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
For ”Kansas City” style Barbeque Sauce:
½ cup light (or dark) brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard powder
½ tbsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp allspice
3 cups catsup
¼ cup black strap molasses
¼ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
½ tsp Gravymaster flavoring/seasoning
First things first. The day or night before you’re going to cook your Butt you need to make up the brine.
I put the brine ingredients together in our largest 3 gallon boiler, stirred it all up, and put my Butt inside after trimming off the excess fat and any muscle “sheath” that is on the outside (hey, no comments please…)
Place your brined Butt in the refrigerator overnight, or at least six hours. I brined my Butt at about 3:00 AM and let it sit in the brine until noon the next day. It can actually stay in the brine for as long as two whole days.
Next make up the rub for your Butt. Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. I put mine “Butt rub” in a small jar so that I could save any left over for another Butt.
When you are ready to cook your Butt, pull it out of the brine, rinse it off real good in the sink, and place it on a platter to drain. Now pat your Butt dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towels. Dry off the platter also.
Now sprinkle your Butt rub all over your Butt and rub your Butt rub into the surface of your Butt with your hands (that has to be the record for the number of times I will write the word Butt” in one sentence in this recipe.)
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Preheat an appropriate sized Dutch-oven on the stovetop over medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Now place your Butt in the Dutch-oven and sear it well on all sides.
Once your Butt is seared, turn it over on it’s side and add a ½ cup of liquid to the bottom of the pot. You can use water if you want, but I used a little white wine and some left over chicken stock that I had sitting in the fridge. A lot of juice will cook out of the meat while it is heating, but the wine/stock mixture adds some flavor and it just seemed like a good idea to me.
Toss your Butt in the oven and go watch TV or go to the pool…I sun burned my nose this afternoon waiting on my Butt to cook.
Now is the time to make your Barbeque sauce if your aren’t using store bought sauce. By the way, everyone knows that real men don’t use store bought sauce.
Put the brown sugar, mustard powder, and the spices in a heavy skillet over medium low heat. Add the Catsup, molasses, water, and vinegar, and stir everything together.
Keep you heat low enough to avoid boiling your sauce. You need to treat it like a roux or a gravy and stir almost continuously. It needs to cook at least thirty minutes while you pay close attention to it. Once it thickens to where you want it, turn off the heat and let it coast.
Keep cooking your Butt until the meat flakes apart easily. I turned my Butt over in the Dutch oven once while it was cooking to keep both sides of my Butt juicy (for some reason that sounds wrong…never mind…)
A general rule is to cook your Butt in the oven about one hour per pound—on the grill it takes about 1-1/2 hours per pound.
Once your Butt is cooked (as opposed to your Goose), pull it out of the pot and place it on a clean platter to rest for a few minutes. My Butt was tired after all that work.
Now tear your Butt up with a knife and fork, place it on top of a couple pieces of light bread on plates with some slaw and potato salad, top with barbeque sauce, pour yourself a cold beer, AND EAT!
Enjoy Y’all,
The Redneck Gourmet
(P.S, I actually got to write the word “Butt” 33 times in this recipe. Oh, to be thirteen years old again.)
UPDATE: May 16, 2005
After the meat cools, pick though it with your fingers to remove the fat and stuff you don't want to eat (I'm like Jack Spratt--I eat no fat) and place it in a covered container, adding the rest of your barbeque sauce, stirring everything up, and storing it in the fridge.
It heats up well in a small skillet to make sandwiches over the next few days, or you can freeze it for a few weeks.
My Butt sat in the fridge for a couple of days (sorry, I just couldn’t resist writing that without actually talking dirty) while I researched how to make pulled pork and my own barbeque sauce.
There are literally hundreds of opinions and recipes covering the subject in cookbooks, on TV shows, and on the internet, but the best ones all involve brining the pork before it is cooked and using a spice rub while it is cooked. Then, once you’ve brined your Butt and rubbed your Butt, you can grill your Butt, smoke your Butt, or roast your Butt in the oven. (Again sorry folks, I just couldn’t resist…)
Since we wanted to spend Sunday afternoon at the pool while the pork slow cooked, I chose roasting in the oven as my method du jour.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to cook your Butt…snicker…snicker
For the Brine:
1 gallon of water (more if you have a bigger Butt than mine…heh)
¼ cup of kosher salt
¼ cup of sugar
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
(Increase the proportions of the other ingredients if you need more water)
For the Rub:
1/8 cup black pepper
1/8 cup paprika
1-1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
For ”Kansas City” style Barbeque Sauce:
½ cup light (or dark) brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard powder
½ tbsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp allspice
3 cups catsup
¼ cup black strap molasses
¼ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
½ tsp Gravymaster flavoring/seasoning
First things first. The day or night before you’re going to cook your Butt you need to make up the brine.
I put the brine ingredients together in our largest 3 gallon boiler, stirred it all up, and put my Butt inside after trimming off the excess fat and any muscle “sheath” that is on the outside (hey, no comments please…)
Place your brined Butt in the refrigerator overnight, or at least six hours. I brined my Butt at about 3:00 AM and let it sit in the brine until noon the next day. It can actually stay in the brine for as long as two whole days.
Next make up the rub for your Butt. Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. I put mine “Butt rub” in a small jar so that I could save any left over for another Butt.
When you are ready to cook your Butt, pull it out of the brine, rinse it off real good in the sink, and place it on a platter to drain. Now pat your Butt dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towels. Dry off the platter also.
Now sprinkle your Butt rub all over your Butt and rub your Butt rub into the surface of your Butt with your hands (that has to be the record for the number of times I will write the word Butt” in one sentence in this recipe.)
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Preheat an appropriate sized Dutch-oven on the stovetop over medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Now place your Butt in the Dutch-oven and sear it well on all sides.
Once your Butt is seared, turn it over on it’s side and add a ½ cup of liquid to the bottom of the pot. You can use water if you want, but I used a little white wine and some left over chicken stock that I had sitting in the fridge. A lot of juice will cook out of the meat while it is heating, but the wine/stock mixture adds some flavor and it just seemed like a good idea to me.
Toss your Butt in the oven and go watch TV or go to the pool…I sun burned my nose this afternoon waiting on my Butt to cook.
Now is the time to make your Barbeque sauce if your aren’t using store bought sauce. By the way, everyone knows that real men don’t use store bought sauce.
Put the brown sugar, mustard powder, and the spices in a heavy skillet over medium low heat. Add the Catsup, molasses, water, and vinegar, and stir everything together.
Keep you heat low enough to avoid boiling your sauce. You need to treat it like a roux or a gravy and stir almost continuously. It needs to cook at least thirty minutes while you pay close attention to it. Once it thickens to where you want it, turn off the heat and let it coast.
Keep cooking your Butt until the meat flakes apart easily. I turned my Butt over in the Dutch oven once while it was cooking to keep both sides of my Butt juicy (for some reason that sounds wrong…never mind…)
A general rule is to cook your Butt in the oven about one hour per pound—on the grill it takes about 1-1/2 hours per pound.
Once your Butt is cooked (as opposed to your Goose), pull it out of the pot and place it on a clean platter to rest for a few minutes. My Butt was tired after all that work.
Now tear your Butt up with a knife and fork, place it on top of a couple pieces of light bread on plates with some slaw and potato salad, top with barbeque sauce, pour yourself a cold beer, AND EAT!
Enjoy Y’all,
The Redneck Gourmet
(P.S, I actually got to write the word “Butt” 33 times in this recipe. Oh, to be thirteen years old again.)
UPDATE: May 16, 2005
After the meat cools, pick though it with your fingers to remove the fat and stuff you don't want to eat (I'm like Jack Spratt--I eat no fat) and place it in a covered container, adding the rest of your barbeque sauce, stirring everything up, and storing it in the fridge.
It heats up well in a small skillet to make sandwiches over the next few days, or you can freeze it for a few weeks.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Almond Tarragon Chicken Salad
Ok, we’ve all been through this process at one time or the other.
Its approaching noon on a weekday morning (or a weekend morning if you don’t work from home) and your significant other says “I’m Hungry…”
What do you do? A) Ignore their request (bad idea) B) go to the local deli to pick up a sandwich, or C) make something interesting to eat.
Well, for me, option A was out of the question, option B was a possibility, but I chose option C and made something to eat yesterday morning.
The idea came from an ad in the sale paper from a local grocery store—almond tarragon chicken salad. Pat thought that it tasted GOOD.
Here is what I did to make enough chicken salad for four sandwiches:
The Ingredients:
Two boneless chicken breasts—cooked as you like them (we used leftovers)
2 tbsp dried Tarragon (or fresh tarragon if you have it)
1 or 2 stalks of celery, diced very fine
½ cup sliced almonds
2 hard boiled eggs
5 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
½ tbsp white truffle oil
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
The preparation:
Dice up your cooked chicken breasts very fine. Toss the chicken into a medium mixing bowl. Now dice up the boiled eggs and toss them in with the chicken.
Redneck Tip: Contrary to popular belief, it does NOT matter if the chicken or the egg comes first—at least in this recipe.
Crumble up the sliced almonds and add them to the bowl, along with the celery, the truffle oil, and all of the spices. Now stir everything up really good. I SAID STIR IT UP GOOD. (Stir some more if you have any doubt.)
Now add the mayo and stir everything again. Refrigerate until you are ready to make chicken salad sandwiches, else you can eat it as a side dish with burgers or dogs or whatever.
Enjoy Y’all
The Redneck Gourmet
Its approaching noon on a weekday morning (or a weekend morning if you don’t work from home) and your significant other says “I’m Hungry…”
What do you do? A) Ignore their request (bad idea) B) go to the local deli to pick up a sandwich, or C) make something interesting to eat.
Well, for me, option A was out of the question, option B was a possibility, but I chose option C and made something to eat yesterday morning.
The idea came from an ad in the sale paper from a local grocery store—almond tarragon chicken salad. Pat thought that it tasted GOOD.
Here is what I did to make enough chicken salad for four sandwiches:
The Ingredients:
Two boneless chicken breasts—cooked as you like them (we used leftovers)
2 tbsp dried Tarragon (or fresh tarragon if you have it)
1 or 2 stalks of celery, diced very fine
½ cup sliced almonds
2 hard boiled eggs
5 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
½ tbsp white truffle oil
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
The preparation:
Dice up your cooked chicken breasts very fine. Toss the chicken into a medium mixing bowl. Now dice up the boiled eggs and toss them in with the chicken.
Redneck Tip: Contrary to popular belief, it does NOT matter if the chicken or the egg comes first—at least in this recipe.
Crumble up the sliced almonds and add them to the bowl, along with the celery, the truffle oil, and all of the spices. Now stir everything up really good. I SAID STIR IT UP GOOD. (Stir some more if you have any doubt.)
Now add the mayo and stir everything again. Refrigerate until you are ready to make chicken salad sandwiches, else you can eat it as a side dish with burgers or dogs or whatever.
Enjoy Y’all
The Redneck Gourmet
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Pork Tamale Filling
(Putting it all together)
I’ve written pretty extensively about beef tamales earlier. They take a good deal of time to make, but I believe that if you use a great filling that they are well worth the effort.
If you’ve been following along and cooking with my recent posts, by now you should have one or more pounds of pre-cooked pork tenderloin, cooled on a plate, along with a pot of really tasty stock with vegetables cooling in the fridge.
Take your stock out of the fridge and spoon the congealed grease off of the top. Now dip out a couple of cups of the liquid, along with a cup of the carrots, onions, etc. and process the mixture in your blender or food processor. You want the vegetables in little bitty teeny tiny chunks.
Place the pork tenderloin on the cutting board and slice it across the grain into ½” pieces. If you did things right it should crumble into shreds while you’re doing this step. If not, tear the slices up into small pieces with your fingers.
Next comes the final seasoning—Menudo. I think that Menudo is Mexican for “every darn savory spice in your pantry” or something like that because that’s what’s in it. I found this recipe on the internet. I didn’t have all of the spices and I didn’t want SEVEN CUPS of Menudo seasoning, so here’s what I made up:
2-1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1-1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp onion powder
½ tsp powdered mustard
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
This should be more than enough seasoning for the pork and the chicken. I added three table spoons worth to my one pound of shreded pork.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium low heat on the stove top.
Add your pork/spice mixture and sauté briefly, then add your processed stock and one can of chicken stock. You can also dice up some canned Chipolte peppers in Adobo sauce and add them to the mix at this point if you want. Careful with the Chipolte’s—they’re hot…
Stir everything up and let it simmer until the mixture is the consistency of “sloppy joes.” You want it wet, but not “dripping wet.”
When the mixture has reduced, you can either let it cool and place it in the fridge overnight, freeze it, or jump back to the beef tamale recipe and substitute “pork” every where you see “beef”.
Enjoy Y’all
The Redneck Gourmet
I’ve written pretty extensively about beef tamales earlier. They take a good deal of time to make, but I believe that if you use a great filling that they are well worth the effort.
If you’ve been following along and cooking with my recent posts, by now you should have one or more pounds of pre-cooked pork tenderloin, cooled on a plate, along with a pot of really tasty stock with vegetables cooling in the fridge.
Take your stock out of the fridge and spoon the congealed grease off of the top. Now dip out a couple of cups of the liquid, along with a cup of the carrots, onions, etc. and process the mixture in your blender or food processor. You want the vegetables in little bitty teeny tiny chunks.
Place the pork tenderloin on the cutting board and slice it across the grain into ½” pieces. If you did things right it should crumble into shreds while you’re doing this step. If not, tear the slices up into small pieces with your fingers.
Next comes the final seasoning—Menudo. I think that Menudo is Mexican for “every darn savory spice in your pantry” or something like that because that’s what’s in it. I found this recipe on the internet. I didn’t have all of the spices and I didn’t want SEVEN CUPS of Menudo seasoning, so here’s what I made up:
2-1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1-1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp onion powder
½ tsp powdered mustard
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
This should be more than enough seasoning for the pork and the chicken. I added three table spoons worth to my one pound of shreded pork.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium low heat on the stove top.
Add your pork/spice mixture and sauté briefly, then add your processed stock and one can of chicken stock. You can also dice up some canned Chipolte peppers in Adobo sauce and add them to the mix at this point if you want. Careful with the Chipolte’s—they’re hot…
Stir everything up and let it simmer until the mixture is the consistency of “sloppy joes.” You want it wet, but not “dripping wet.”
When the mixture has reduced, you can either let it cool and place it in the fridge overnight, freeze it, or jump back to the beef tamale recipe and substitute “pork” every where you see “beef”.
Enjoy Y’all
The Redneck Gourmet
Monday, May 09, 2005
I'm Back From Mexico--Part II
(It’s all a state of Mind—or insanity)
Now there is chicken…
Whole chicken, cut into pieces—about four pounds (more birds if you got them and have a big enough pot, just multiply the other ingredients)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, pealed
3 stalks of celery, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
3 tsp cumin
1 tsp allspice
2/4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 tsp powdered “herb ox” beef bouillon
10 cups hot water (enough water to cover your bird parts)
Once again, this is really simple to do. Take a big breath and don’t panic. All you need is one six or eight quart boiler.
Set the boiler on the stove top and turn the heat up to medium-low. Add your olive oil, the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are clear and tender, then add the garlic and cook a few minutes.
Mix your bouillon powder with the hot water and let it sit on the side while you continue cooking.
Now turn the heat up to medium and add your bird parts and the water/beef bouillon mixture and stir every thing up. Turn down the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and step away from the oven.
Cook the bird until it starts to fall apart, at least two hours. When the meat is done to your satisfaction, pull it out on the side and let it cool. Let your stock cool separately, and spoon the fat off of the top.
By now you should have a bunch of Chicken (and pork if you followed the previous recipe) as well as some really fine stock, so let’s look at the possibilities…
Enjoy Y'all
The Redneck Gourmet
Now there is chicken…
Whole chicken, cut into pieces—about four pounds (more birds if you got them and have a big enough pot, just multiply the other ingredients)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, pealed
3 stalks of celery, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
3 tsp cumin
1 tsp allspice
2/4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 tsp powdered “herb ox” beef bouillon
10 cups hot water (enough water to cover your bird parts)
Once again, this is really simple to do. Take a big breath and don’t panic. All you need is one six or eight quart boiler.
Set the boiler on the stove top and turn the heat up to medium-low. Add your olive oil, the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are clear and tender, then add the garlic and cook a few minutes.
Mix your bouillon powder with the hot water and let it sit on the side while you continue cooking.
Now turn the heat up to medium and add your bird parts and the water/beef bouillon mixture and stir every thing up. Turn down the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and step away from the oven.
Cook the bird until it starts to fall apart, at least two hours. When the meat is done to your satisfaction, pull it out on the side and let it cool. Let your stock cool separately, and spoon the fat off of the top.
By now you should have a bunch of Chicken (and pork if you followed the previous recipe) as well as some really fine stock, so let’s look at the possibilities…
Enjoy Y'all
The Redneck Gourmet
I'm Back From Mexico
(It’s all a state of Mind)
Cinco de Mayo has past now. As a result of our celebration of Mexican Independence Day, I’ve spent a LOT of time looking into “Mexican” cooking over the past couple of weeks. So much time that I think Pat is getting tired of Mexican.
That will never happen to me. As I’ve said earlier—I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD.
I’ve watched the Food Network shows on Mexican cooking and I have dreamed about black beans and tortillas. Here is the main thing that I have learned about cooking Mexican style. Mexican food is really simple—it’s just different from southern American food or Cajun food or Italian food or whatever.
The good news is, while it doesn’t have to cost much per portion served, it is hard to make just a little Mexican food for two. Seriously, Mexican seems to be best done in larger quantities, and some of it takes a good deal of time to do properly, so you don’t want to try to make just three tamales or one burrito or whatever.
Instead of cooking a single dish with a single meat, I’m starting to do my Mexican cooking in a process of cooking up one or two meats (pork, beef, or chicken), then making different dishes by further processing the basic meats as the filling ingredient for finished product.
What I’m going to do now is describe what I’ve been doing over the past few days to make the meat fillings for a couple of dishes, and the byproducts, some soup and other side dishes.
First there is pork…
Pork tenderloin—about one pound (more if you got it, just multiply the other ingredients)
2 tbsp olive oil
½ yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, pealed
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp powdered “herb ox” beef bouillon
4 cups hot water (enough water to cover your pork tenderloin)
This is really simple to do, so don’t panic. All you need is one six quart boiler.
Set the boiler on the stove top and turn the heat up to medium-low. Add your olive oil, the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are clear and tender, then add the garlic and cook a few minutes.
Mix your bouillon powder with the hot water and let it sit while you continue cooking.
Now turn the heat up to medium. Push the veggies to the side and toss your pork tenderloin in and sear it on all sides.
Once you have a nice “color” on the meat, add the water/beef bouillon mixture and stir every thing up. Turn down the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and step away from the oven.
Cook the pork until it starts to fall apart, about two hours. When the meat is done to your satisfaction, pull it out on the side and let it cool. Let your stock cool separately, and spoon the fat off of the top.
NOW, THE NEXT FEW POSTS WILL TALK ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR PORK, AS WELL AS COOKING UP SOME OTHER MEATS FOR USE IN YOUR MEXICAN COOKING…
Black Bean and Corn Soup
I made this little dish up on my own, accidentally. I dumped a can of rinsed black beans and a small can of whole kernel corn into a boiler for the purpose of making a ‘vegetable medley” side dish, and ended up making soup after storing the mixture in the fridge for a couple of days.
(1) 15-1/4 ounce can of black beans, rinsed well
(1) 8-1/4 ounce can of whole kernel yellow corn
a few pieces of roasted red bell pepper
diced onion or scallions if you like
hot sauce to taste
a few twists of fresh black pepper
1 cup of liquid stock from the pork tenderloin mixture cooked as described above
If you try too hard, you can screw this recipe up. Otherwise, open the cans, throw everything in the pot, and cook it for an hour--longer if you have the time.
Eat the results, and shut up while I write up the other recipes...
Enjoy Y'all
The Redneck Gourmet
Cinco de Mayo has past now. As a result of our celebration of Mexican Independence Day, I’ve spent a LOT of time looking into “Mexican” cooking over the past couple of weeks. So much time that I think Pat is getting tired of Mexican.
That will never happen to me. As I’ve said earlier—I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD.
I’ve watched the Food Network shows on Mexican cooking and I have dreamed about black beans and tortillas. Here is the main thing that I have learned about cooking Mexican style. Mexican food is really simple—it’s just different from southern American food or Cajun food or Italian food or whatever.
The good news is, while it doesn’t have to cost much per portion served, it is hard to make just a little Mexican food for two. Seriously, Mexican seems to be best done in larger quantities, and some of it takes a good deal of time to do properly, so you don’t want to try to make just three tamales or one burrito or whatever.
Instead of cooking a single dish with a single meat, I’m starting to do my Mexican cooking in a process of cooking up one or two meats (pork, beef, or chicken), then making different dishes by further processing the basic meats as the filling ingredient for finished product.
What I’m going to do now is describe what I’ve been doing over the past few days to make the meat fillings for a couple of dishes, and the byproducts, some soup and other side dishes.
First there is pork…
Pork tenderloin—about one pound (more if you got it, just multiply the other ingredients)
2 tbsp olive oil
½ yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, pealed
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp powdered “herb ox” beef bouillon
4 cups hot water (enough water to cover your pork tenderloin)
This is really simple to do, so don’t panic. All you need is one six quart boiler.
Set the boiler on the stove top and turn the heat up to medium-low. Add your olive oil, the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are clear and tender, then add the garlic and cook a few minutes.
Mix your bouillon powder with the hot water and let it sit while you continue cooking.
Now turn the heat up to medium. Push the veggies to the side and toss your pork tenderloin in and sear it on all sides.
Once you have a nice “color” on the meat, add the water/beef bouillon mixture and stir every thing up. Turn down the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and step away from the oven.
Cook the pork until it starts to fall apart, about two hours. When the meat is done to your satisfaction, pull it out on the side and let it cool. Let your stock cool separately, and spoon the fat off of the top.
NOW, THE NEXT FEW POSTS WILL TALK ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR PORK, AS WELL AS COOKING UP SOME OTHER MEATS FOR USE IN YOUR MEXICAN COOKING…
Black Bean and Corn Soup
I made this little dish up on my own, accidentally. I dumped a can of rinsed black beans and a small can of whole kernel corn into a boiler for the purpose of making a ‘vegetable medley” side dish, and ended up making soup after storing the mixture in the fridge for a couple of days.
(1) 15-1/4 ounce can of black beans, rinsed well
(1) 8-1/4 ounce can of whole kernel yellow corn
a few pieces of roasted red bell pepper
diced onion or scallions if you like
hot sauce to taste
a few twists of fresh black pepper
1 cup of liquid stock from the pork tenderloin mixture cooked as described above
If you try too hard, you can screw this recipe up. Otherwise, open the cans, throw everything in the pot, and cook it for an hour--longer if you have the time.
Eat the results, and shut up while I write up the other recipes...
Enjoy Y'all
The Redneck Gourmet
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