Smoked Ribs

My work place does a couple BBQ events in the summer. My boss asked if I could smoke some ribs for the event. I hadn't done this before, so I started looking around for recipes. I think I stumbled upon the expert.

Amazing Ribs

I used the Memphis Dust rub, (in the fridge, 12 hours) and then smoked them for 5 hours at 225 using alder hardwood. There are three people in my office that want to buy the same smoker now.

A few things I learned when cooking ribs:

First, you need to remove a skin that is on the back. I didn't know there was such a thing, but trust the expert cited above.

Second, trim the fat. When you do a roast you want that fat on there to flavor the meat and it's easy to remove after the cooking is done. For ribs, just cut it off first. I didn't do this step, and it was a mistake.

I'll go ahead and link the rub- there is a ton of information on his site.

Memphis Dust

Edit:
I cooked up some more this last weekend along with some garlic mashed potatoes. This time I remembered to snap a picture:

Pulled Pork

My B-Day present from my wife was a fancy smoker- We shopped for it last weekend, I put it together and I'm trying it for the first time today.

Traeger Grills

You load it with the hard wood pellets of your choice, and turn it to the temp you want.

Now if there is one kind of BBQ that I love, it's Carolina style pulled pork. My inlaws threw the best pig picking for an engagement party.

Well, I'm trying a relatively basic recipe for the first go-around. I've been an Alton Brown fan for a while now. I'm using his brine/rub on a Boston butt. (meaning it's bone in pork shoulder)

I also put together a vinegar type bbq sauce that you'd find in east NC. We have some sauces out of a jar that are tomato based if that turns out better, but the vinegar one is pretty good so far.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pulled-pork-recipe/index.html

I started at 7:30 am for dinner. I used hickory- 250 degrees at first but then changed to 200 for a few hours.

Here is the bbq sauce.

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™), or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

It got the perfect smoked pink ring. I'll be taking the leftovers to work Monday...

Croque Monsieur Bake

We just had some friends over for a brunch- this is a variation of Nigella Lawson's recipe.

6 slices of highly grained bread - think dark, texture-y with sunflower seeds
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
5 oz Gruyere cheese (4 oz sliced and 1 oz grated)
3 oz prosciutto
1/2 cup milk
9 eggs
Worcestershire sauce
Herbs
Salt

1. Spread mustard on the bread slices making sandwiches with ham and cheese. Cut the sandwiches into four triangles each.

2. Spray an 8x10 baking dish with cooking spray.

3. Put sandwich pieces into the dish such that they are tightly packed.

4. Beat 6 eggs together with 0.5 tsp salt and a third cup milk.

5. My wife added oregano, basil, black pepper, rosemary and thyme to the egg mixture... just to taste.

6. Pour the mixture over the sandwiches. Cover with plastic and refrigerate over night.

(aside: my wife pulled this out this morning, and needed to add three more eggs with milk- it was too dry already)

7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle the bake with the remaining cheese grated. Sprinkle with the Worcestershire sauce.

8. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Serves 4-6


It was delish- I highly recommend it....

Failed Smoked Chicken

I bought a new grill and I tried to do some smoked chicken. The good part is that there was some very tender chicken that came out of it. The bad part is that it wasn't smoked.

First I put in a brine of sea salt and molasses for about four hours. I stuck it on a grill at the very lowest setting I could pull off- it ranged from 185 degrees and 210- I watched it constantly for 5 hours before I pulled it off.

The wood chips I put in never really smoked, so that is the failure part. The grill keeps a good temp, but it's not high enough in one spot to fire up the wood. You want between about 180 and 200 and constant for hours. Doing things like brisket and pork, I'd say at least 8 hours- and some people do days. It doesn't take as long to do a chicken.

It was still good, I recommend it. I used a $6 chicken, cut it out so it would lay flat. I can show how to do that if there are requests- it was just like my El Pollo Asada days. Now I just have to do it and do re-fried beans and chili rellenos at the same time.

Chili Rellenos Casserole

This is a dish that my mother brought over. It was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 12 fresh Anaheim peppers, charred and skinned -or- 3 (7 oz) cans whole green chili peppers, drained
• 16 oz reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 16 oz reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 2 (5 oz) cans evaporated milk (or most of a 12 oz can)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 thinly sliced tomato
• red or green salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray
2. Lay half of the chilies evenly in the bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the Jack and cheddar cheeses, and cover with remaining chilies. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, and flour. Pour over the top of the chilies.
3. Place the tomato slices on top and sprinkle remaining cheese around them
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
5. Serve with sauces on the side.
   

Happy Holidays! Pork Tenderloin Marinade

We had the opportunity to entertain the family from NC this year, and we had some good food.

This is a recipe for pork tenderloin that comes from Paula Dean. It went over pretty well, and it's pretty easy.

This is just a marinade- put your tenderloin into it 24 hours before you cook. There is an online video of Paula making it if that helps you. Exact measurements really aren't necessary.

cup or more- depends on how much you are making Soy Sauce
1 Tbs ginger, grated
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs honey
1/4 cup green onion tips chopped
1-tsp to taste pepper
2 cloves garlic minced

some olive oil would help too- I didn't add any.

All of the measurements are estimates, and should be done to taste. 24 hours is a good way to go.

I brought the pork to a temp higher than I was planning. I think you want to pull it out when it's 140 to 150 degrees. Let it rest, it'll continue to climb temp as it goes.

I have two more recipes to share- one will be a guest post again, and the other is one my wife has made twice now, and both recipes are delicious.

Pico De Gallo

I made some Pico up today because I wasn't quite sure how ripe my peppers were- Had some tomatoes ready, and spices and peppers... just had to give it a try.

2-3 jalepenos, 1 beefsteak tomato, 1 roma, and a cherry. Added some chives, parsley, and a clove of garlic- add it to the top of my burrito- it was delicious. I would have done a white or yellow onion instead of the chives, but we didn't have any on hand. Turned out ok anyway. I might add a touch of olive oil too, but I'm trying to cut down on fat- didn't do it this time. Deborah tried it, she didn't like the the parsley so much. Again, not something I would add normally, just tried it.