Sweet Sensation Rub

Well, let's talk about everything we've missed talking about. 

Connie had a birthday.  Not one of the big ones but we celebrated nonetheless.  Three dishes and three cocktails.  Loved the meal.  Haven't blogged about it yet...  In truth, I can't find the recipes now...

Drove the Natchez Trace to a conference in New Orleans.  Amazing food and drinks.  Except for the food at the conference hotel - Hyattt by the Superdome.  Go to Borgne but do not stay at that hotel.  The food was the worst conference food I've EVER had.  And, I go to a LOT of conferences!  New Orleans, however, was stellar.  Antiones, Commanders Palace, Arnauds.  Oh, yeah.

Had a party.  90+ people at our house for a pitch-in.  We did BBQ from Black Diamond.  Except, we found out on Friday that we'd have 90+ instead of 70+ and we couldn't add to our order.  On to Sam's to purchase six racks of ribs.  Many dishes that I want the recipe for.  YUMMM

Went to Michigan for a long weekend with our friends Chris and Mark.  Saugatuck and the Hungry Village Tour.  AMAZING!  Then, on to Grand Rapids for the Meijer Gardens and the Gerald Ford Museum.  One fabulous B and B and one we'll not be back to.

Family party at my brothers where he cooked the PERFECT summer dinner.  Yup, it just doesn't get better than bbq chicken, corn on the cobb, sliced cucumbers, salad, cheesy bacon potatoes and pickled beets. 

Now, if I was to do a blog on all of those I'd still be typing tomorrow morning when I'm supposed to be at the office for the first of six appointments.  With an internet that's running at maybe 25% of what it's supposed to be doing.  Painful.  So, let me tell you about the ribs and the leftovers from the party.  Oh, and a few photos from the party.  Of course. 

Back in 1994, Cheryl and Bill Jamison published Smoke and Spice.  I bought it that year.  It was my first true barbecue cookbook and is still my favorite one.  I've tried rubs, marinades, sauces, entrees, side dishes.  They've all been wonderful.  So, when we wound up with a herd of ribs to cook at the last minute, I turned to Smoke and Spice.  I'd already decided to use the Maple Mustard Porter mop and sauce we made a couple of months ago.  Nice warm spices, thyme, brown sugar.  Those were the flavors I was looking for.  They were there.  In a rub recipe called Sweet Sensation rub that I first used back in May, 1997.  It was labeled, "WOW" back then.  Same applies today.

Here are a few shots of the party:

Then, we had leftovers.  Lots of our friends left goodies.  Sue left half a pan of baked beans.  These weren't just any baked beans.  They were so good that Connie stopped me in the hall outside our offices and asked who'd brought them and could I get the recipe because they were the BEST beans he'd ever had.  I had to agree.  Sammy and Sarah left chorizo mac and cheese.  Killer.  Just killer.  There was another half pan of REALLY good mac and cheese.  And, Nancy and Roy left some of her German potato salad. That I don't share.  Connie says he's not that fond of potatoes so I take that as a green light to hoard the potato salad all for myself.  It's the best I've ever had.  There was a big tub of a yummy bean, corn and red bell pepper salsa.  I have NO clue who brought that.  We also had some of Becky and Dave's loaded baked potato salad.  Yummy!  Brett and Gabe left a huge bowl of pimento cheese.  Not only is this one of our favorites, but Brett kicks it up with jalapenos and other goodies.  Connie said please, please, please get the recipe.  I've already got it somewhere in my email.  Thank goodness!  We had part of a pan of mostly pulled pork with a few flecks of beef brisket mixed in.  The meat was a bit crispy and dried out but I'm too Scotch to toss that.  As Connie said, it was kind of reminiscent of burnt ends.  We had a few ribs left.  Last, but not least, there were a few dried out pieces of smoked chicken.  So, an overload of protein and carbs.  What to do?

Lunch Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was ribs and baked beans.  Normally after two times I'm done.  Not quite sure I'm done after three even though we're out of beans...  Yes, I'll share the recipe as soon as I get it.  This will go to family dinners and be devoured!

Monday night was pulled pork and pimento cheese sliders.  On the side we had carbs, carbs and carbs.  And, boy oh boy was it all good!

Tuesday night some of the pulled pork got mixed into some of the mac and cheese along with some pimento cheese and milk.  The whole shebang was topped with toasted panko crumbs and baked.  The only thing missing was some red peppers.  Either roasted red bell or peppadews or another red pepper would've added a bit more pizazz.

Wednesday night was hot smoked chicken and pulled pork salad.  Topped with shredded cheddar and crumbled bagel chips that Brett had brought for the pimento cheese.  We paired that with a cherry cherry tomato salsa.  Yes, there are two cherries in that description.  I'll share those recipes in another post...

Sweet Sensation Rub

1/4 c ground allspice
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c onion powder
2 T salt
2 t ground nutmeg
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t dried thyme

Gingered Salad, Duck Breasts wtih Raspberry Port Sauce and Pulled Pork

 

The big family birthday party is this weekend.  My brother John loves to cook as much as I do.  So, we split the menu and both have a grand time cooking away.  My responsibilities this time are pulled pork, strawberry salsa, three bean salad, rhubarb cream pie and strawberry torte.  He's doing ribs, cole slaw and a brie appetizer.  His mother-in-law will do the potato salad.  Since the party got pushed back a week, my strawberries had to be replaced.  My red grapes (good for my eyes!) were on their last legs.  And, I wanted a rotisserie chicken to make Giada's Chicken Salad.  That meant a trip to Costco or Sams.  Costco it was.  We had a gift certificate to use up. 

On the way to Costco I read a recipe for a bourbon pepper bellini.  It'd be perfect with the bourbon smoked pepper the kids had given us in our Christmas goodie box.  That meant I needed frozen peaches.  No dice at Costco.  So, Connie'd be heading to the grocery as soon as we got home.  Well, I also needed onion powder for the pulled pork rub and raspberries for the duck. 

Last time I made the pulled pork I wasn't thrilled with the rub.  This time I used a recipe from Smoke and Spice by Cheryl and Bill Jamison.  It's probably one of my five favorite cookbooks.  It's positively dog-eared.  Oh, and by the way, I saw a paperback version at Sams the other day.  I also used one of Cheryl's mop recipes.  But, I used the method from Heartland.  You rub the butt then smoke it for 2-3 hours on the grill then move it to the oven for 8-12 hours at 250.  Pretty easy.  And, VERY good.  The best part is it's doing it's deal in the oven while you're sleeping :-) 

Dinner was to be duck breasts with a raspberry port sauce.  The recipe was from Food and Wine Fast.  I needed a salad or veggie that would go along...  Somewhere I'd read a recipe for a gingered iceberg salad.  My guess was Rachael Ray's FAST section.  I was right.  But, it called for chopped iceberg lettuce.  I had romaine hearts.  And, I really wanted to grill them.  The recipe also called for pureeing the dressing ingredients in the blender.  But, I love the crunch of toasted sesame seeds.  Whisked it was.  That worked because my fresh ginger was ginger puree.  You'll need to actually puree it if you are working with truly fresh ginger.  Oh, and we have about six seed packets of radishes in our garden.  They'd be a perfect addition.

The duck was looking good.  I put together the salads.  Oh, my.  I called out to Connie to come look at them.  He walked in an whistled.  If only they'd taste as good as they looked.  Our score?  If we gave out sixes, these'd get a six.  But, alas, our top score is a five.  Absolutely a five.  They'd be perfect with shrimp or chicken added to make a meal.  Any raw veggies would work.  I'll try snow peas soon - like as soon as they're ripe!

You ready for some recipes?

Here we go:

Gingered Iceberg Salad
serves 2 with dressing left over

Ingredients:
for the dressing:

1/3 c mayonnaise
1/4 c rice wine vinegar
1 T ginger puree or 3 T chopped fresh ginger
4 t soy sauce
2 t sugar

for the salad:
1/4 c finely chopped carrots
1/4 c finely chopped radishes
1 heart of romaine lettuce
2 T toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

If you're using ginger puree you can whisk the dressing ingredients together.  Otherwise, use your blender or immersion blender.  Chop the carrots and radishes and set them aside.  Cut the heart of romaine in half

and brush with olive oil or vegetable oil.  Grill it for a couple of minutes.  Remove from the heat and put half on each of two plates.  Drizzle it with dressing

then top it with the carrots and radishes.  Top everything with the toasted sesame seeds. 

adapted from Rachael Ray Everyday

The duck breasts were good.  But they were only a four.  Rarely do we dole out two fives in a meal.  The original recipe called for smoked duck breasts so my guess is that might've elevated these to a five...

Duck Breasts with Raspberry Port Sauce

Ingredients:

1 T unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1/4 c port (ruby is preferable)
1/4 c dry white wine
3 T seedless raspberry preserves (we had strawberry so that's what we used...)
1 T raspberry vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1/2 c raspberries
salt and pepper
2 smoked duck breasts

Directions:

Make the sauce.  Melt the butter in a small skillet.  Add the shallot and cook until it's softened, about two minutes. 

Then, pour in the port and wine and cook until it's reduced to about two tablespoons.  Stir in the preserves, vinegar, mustard and raspberries.  While the sauce is cooking, prepare the duck breasts.  Cut a cross-hatch pattern in the fat and start them cooking skin side down in a large skillet. 

When the skin is nicely  browned, flip them.  It depends on how you like the duck cooked and the thickness of the breasts as to how long you cook each side.  We prefer our duck rare so cooked them about 5 minutes a side.  When the breasts are cooked to your satisfaction, remove them from the heat and allow them to rest for five minutes.  Slice them thinly and serve them drizzled with the sauce. 

adapted from Food and Wine Fast




Pulled Pork

Sweet Sensation Rub

1/4 c ground allspice
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c onion powder
2 T salt
2 t ground nutmeg
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t dried thyme

Basic Beer Mop

12 oz beer (use a lager)
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c water
1/4 c corn oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T Worcestershire
1 T rub

Directions:

Score the fat on the top of the pork butt.  Rub the pork butt liberally with the rub.  Allow it to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.  Heat your grill to medium/low (abot 250F.)  Add wood chips to the smoker.  Put the pork in a disposable aluminum pan.  Put it on the grill.  Smoke for 2-3 hours, adding wood chips as necessary.  Move the meat to the oven, tenting it with aluminum foil.  Bake it for 8-10 hours at 250.  The meat should be falling off the bone and extremely tender.  Pull the pork. 

Rub and mop from Smoke and Spice.  Cooking method from Heartland


  

BourBQ Sauce and Smoked Pork Butt

My back was screaming and my arms felt like they were going to fall off and my knees were shot.  Painting is not my friend.  Except for the end result.  Now, that is a wonderful thing.  I got up at 5:45 am on Memorial Day to start the pulled pork.  The rub went together wonderfully until I discovered that the container of dry mustard was about empty.  No way I was going to get 2 T of dry mustard out of that hummer.  So, off to the grocery I went.  I grabbed the list from the fridge since it seemed wasteful to just go for one item.  The pork butt would wait another 30 minutes.  Seven bags of groceries later, I got home and finished the rub.  The pork butt went on the grill to smoke for 2-3 hours and I headed toward the living room to start painting the ceiling. 

We started with yellow walls and white ceiling.  Nice enough in daylight.  Deadly at night.  Thanks to my Other Mother, Babs, I had some help picking out new colors.  I've always been able to figure out the decorating thing myself but this time I wanted a professional eye.  I needed to find something that wouldn't clash with the plaid couch Connie brought to the marriage but that would also work with new upholstery.  You see, that couch has a bunch of holes in it.  Within a year I'm going to have to break down and recover it.  It's one of the few non-antique things I "inherited" from his ex that I like.  Most of it is too flowery or too formal.  This couch, I really do like.  But, it's got to be recovered and it won't be plaid since my hubby has announced he's not terribly fond of plaids...  My grandmother's couch - last recovered in 1984 - will wait yet another year...

Ok, so as usual that reminds me of a story.  When I painted my condo lo those many years ago I went to the paint store and got a chip of every white.  I tossed the ones that were too yellow or too grey.  The ones with a slightly pink cast were my favorites.  I took my two favorites to Mom to see which she liked.  She chose the one I liked best then walked into their utilty room and got a can of paint out.  2510.  Same number.  Same paint.  Amazing.  Out of all of those choices I'd selected the same one. 

This time, however, I have Swiss Miss on the ceiling and Heirloom Lace on the walls.  The trim will be Delicate White when I get it painted.    So, here's the contrast:

 And a bit of the ceiling and walls - with the same dingy trim and new window...

Well, I painted and painted and painted.  Finally, I had to head to the office.  I knew on Memorial Day the phone wouldn't ring.  And, I had a big project I wanted to do that couldn't be done from home.  I got home and I got busy and trimmed the walls.  Almost done.  Just have to paint the trim...

The best news of all is that the whole time all of this work was going on, my oven was happily cooking away.  This lovely pork butt was the result. 

The recipe called for Sooey Sauce.  That's basically commercial barbecue sauce plus some cider and honey.  I really wanted to make BourBQ Sauce instead.  If you've not yet found the cookbooks by Cheryl and Bill Jamison, you're in for a treat.  Smoke and Spice and Sublime Smoke.  Both are excellent grilling cookbooks.  Smoke and Spice is my first choice when the grill comes into play.  I bought the cookbook in 1994 and as usual, read it cover to cover.  Over the last 17 years, I've made too many of the recipes to count.  I think only one has been a clunker - the cole slaw.  Needless to say, when I was thinking about bbq sauces my brain went immediately to BourBQ Sauce.  I'm VERY glad it did.

What did we think?  The rub was good but not fantastic like the lamb ribs rub.  The meat was incredibly moist and flavorful.  BourBQ Sauce.  Let me just say this is incredible stuff.  

Smoke Roasted Pork Shoulder

Ingredients:

7 lb boneless pork butt
1 c ball park mustard
1/4 c freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c smoked or sweet Hungarian paprika
2 T garlic powder
2 T onion powder
2 T  brown sugar
1 1/2 T dry mustard
1 1/2 T celery seeds
1 1/2 T chili powder
1 c apple juice or other fruit juice
1 12 oz can or bottle of beer

Directions:

Slather the pork butt with mustard. 

Mix the next eight ingredients. 

Pat onto the pork butt. 

Allow the pork to sit for 30 minutes until the rub has become "tacky."  While the pork is sitting, put hickory chips in the smoker of a gas grill or make a smoker packet by putting water soaked wood chips in a packet of aluminum foil with a couple of vent holes.  Now, it's time to smoke the pork.  Smoke it on medium heat for an hour.  Remove it from the grill and put it on the rack of a roasting pan. 

Pour a cup of fruit juice in the bottom of the pan.  Tent the pork with foil.  Bake at     for    About halfway through the baking, pour the beer into the pan. 

BourBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

1 T butter
1 T canola oil
2 medium onions or 1 large, minced
3/4 c bourbon
2/3 c ketcup
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c orange juice
1/2 c pure maple syrup
1/3 c dark molasses
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t salt

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the oil and onions.  Saute until the onions begin to turn golden.  Add the rest the ingredients.  Simmer on medium heat for about 40 minutes. 

The sauce will thicken.  Stir frequently.  This will keep in the fridge for about two weeks. 

Pork adapted from Heartland,  BourBQ Sauce adapted from Smoke and Spice