All this talk about avoiding food and beer makes me want to talk about… food and beer!
Memorial Day weekend is time to fire up the smoker. I'm having a bunch of people over on Monday, and we're gonna serve pork barbeque. I'll stop on the way home tonight to pick up two pork shoulders (aka pork butts) and some beer. Beer is a necessary component when smoking meat in the backyard. (Before anyone else says it, I'll say it first: Question: Don't you have trouble rolling that in those little papers? Answer: You have to practice a lot!
)
I'll coat the meat with this dry rub and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator:
- ½ cup paprika
- ¼ cup kosher salt, finely ground
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 Table spoon mustard powder
- ¼ cup chili powder
- ¼ cup ground cumin
- 2 Table spoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup granulated garlic
- 2 Table spoon cayenne
Then on Sunday morning, I fire up the smoker and put the meat on for some 5 or 6 hours until its about 185° inside. I'll use charcoal with chunks of apple wood for flavor. Once the smoking starts you have to stay around to monitor the fire and add more wood occasionally. This is when the beer becomes important. When it's done, I let it cool about an hour and then my wife and I and anyone else around pull and shred the pork.
Some time during all the smoking, I have to make some bbq sauce. I won't need it until we serve the bbq:
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- ½ cup apple juice or cider
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
- 2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 1/3 cup bacon bits - ground in a spice grinder
- 1/3 cup peeled & grated apple
- 1/3 cup grated onion
- 2 tsp grated green bell pepper
Combine ketchup through bacon bits in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the apple, onion, and bell pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Stir often.
Recipes for the rub and sauce come from a book
Peace, Love and Barbeque by Mike Mills and Amy Mills Tuncliffe
I've done the smoked pork before, but the recipes for the rub and sauce are new. I think its gonna taste great. I'll keep you posted of the results.
Happy Memorial Day
!
