So, this weekend I’ve decided to fire up my little pot bellied smoker and char up some animal flesh. MMMMMM. Yum. I love me some ‘Que. The critter of choice this weekend is the North American swine, otherwise known as a pig.
I drove around the burg here and tried to find myself a nice big Pork Shoulder, or Boston Butt, but couldn’t find one. Not even at the so called “Meat Market”. (this will hopefully be averted in the future as I plan to buy a pig straight from the farm in the near future) So I had to settle for a little bitty Pork Butt from my local Mega-Mart (but not Wal-Mart, blech). I got two, so that will give me about 7-8 lbs, pre cooked, of potential Pulled Pork goodness. I’m also going to throw on a big ‘ol slab of spareribs and some pork bratwurst. I figure if the smoker is going might as well fill it up.
This pic is of the butts in the pot after I made up the brine. I stole the brine receipe from Alton Brown of Good Eats fame. I’ve used brines before for pork roasts cooked in the oven (after seeing him talk about it) and they really are the bomb for Pork. I won’t cook pork without one now. They infuse a ton of flavor and help make the pork more moist. Have you noticed when you eat a chop or hunk of pork that it is dry and not very tasty, unless you have a sauce with it? That’s because pigs have been breed over the past 30 years to be extremely lean and that makes them dry when they cook. The brine helps keep that dryness away, and brings a ton of flavor to the table too. Surprised you didn’t know that.
This here is a pic of the ribs after a liberal coating of my “secret” rib rub. I’ll tell you what’s in it, but not the proportions. Brown Sugar, Paprika, Salt, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Onion Powder and Garlic Powder. Put it in a container and shake well to distribute. I wrap these in plastic wrap and set them in the fridge overnight to get a nice thick coating on them.
I plan to cover the butts in the same rub in the morning after they come out of the brine.
FGLB
4 responses so far ↓
viper // March 17, 2006 at 7:31 pm |
Hey Matt, how’s it going? Well we are 1-3 now, with another game tommorrow(Sat). Hopefully we can get win number 2. I get my 2 best players back next week though, so hopefully things will turn around quickly for us. By the 1st week of April I should know how good we will be as a team, with everybody there. Now to the real reason I am on here. Have you seen the “Holy Shnike” edition of “Tommy Boy” It has some really good extra features on it included an interview with Farley’s 2 brothers. It also includes some home video footage of Farley growing up. I was a little disappointed in the outtakes and the gag real. I really thought they would be funnier. But the featurettes more than make up for it. It is well worth buying, if you can sneak it past Rach. Got the shirts, thanks. I know my ballplayers will love the “Gun Show” shirt. LOL. I guess I need to include something about some sort of BBQ or something ehh. I too am going to try some BBQ this weekend(if I can find time with my busy schedule). But, I plan to use Emeril cooking tips and sauces, etc. I will let you know how it turns out. Oh yeah, I still haven’t used the Rocket Roaster, but I promise I will soon. Probably not for this meal though. Bye.
Ben
Mom // March 18, 2006 at 6:07 am |
Maybe I need to fire up the grill tonight. You guys are making me hungry. But actually I think we will be going out for supper with Jim and Joleen to Montana Mikes.
Makes a mother proud to know her boys like to cook and not just for the sheer joy of eating but the experimenting and learning process of what is tasty.
Alton Brown, Emeril!! Guess Food Network is watched. Wonderful shows and recipes.
Enoy!!
fatguyonalittlebike // March 18, 2006 at 1:35 pm |
Viper–I haven’t seen that version of TB. My video tape needs to be replaced since our VCR died so I’ll be in the market for a copy soon. I’ll remember about that one.
How are you going to BBQ if you don’t use your roaster? I don’t think you have a grill unless you have made a new purchase recently.
Mom–I’m just glad you didn’t raise vegetarians. Critters are way too tasty.
viper // March 18, 2006 at 2:33 pm |
I am going to use my…..OH NO!!! oven. so maybe its not “REAL” BBQ, but it will be soft and tender and tasty…….hopefully.
P