Tag: BBQ

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork – Yum!

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon (6g) kosher salt
  • 5 tablespoons dark brown sugar (2 1/4 ounces; 65g)
  • Large pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon (2g) ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1g) ground fennel seed
  • 1 tablespoon (6g) paprika
  • 1 teaspoon (2g) ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon (2g) freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 whole bone-in or boneless pork butt (5 to 7 pounds; 2.25 to 3kg)
  • 1 cup ketchup (8 ounces; about 225g)
  • 1/2 cup dark molasses (4 ounces; about 115g)
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) high-quality liquid smoke, such as Wright’s (see note above)
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) brown mustard
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) hot sauce
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) cider vinegar, divided
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, finely minced (about 6 ounces; 170g)
  • 1 cup (240ml) bourbon
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock or water

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Combine salt, sugar, cayenne pepper, coriander, fennel seed, paprika, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl and mix until homogeneous. Season pork with 2 to 3 tablespoons spice mixture, making sure to rub it on all sides. Reserve remaining spice mixture.
  2. Whisk together ketchup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, mustard, hot sauce, and half of cider vinegar in a medium bowl. Whisk in remaining spice mixture. Set aside.
  3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pork and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes total. (Pork will brown fast because of the sugar. Do not let it burn.) Add onion and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until softened, about 2 minutes.
  4. Turn off burner and add bourbon. Relight burner. Carefully ignite the bourbon with a long match or lighter. (Stand back and make sure there is nothing flammable above it; it will produce tall flames.) Let cook until flames die out, about 2 minutes.
  5. Add half of sauce mixture and chicken stock or water. Cover Dutch oven, transfer to oven, and cook until pork is just starting to turn tender, about 4 hours. Remove lid and continue cooking until a knife or fork shows very little resistance when twisted inside the meat and a dark bark has formed, about 1 hour longer.
  6. Transfer pork to a large bowl, reserving liquid in pot. Using a ladle, skim off excess fat and discard. Add reserved sauce and remaining vinegar to pot and whisk to combine. When pork is cool enough to handle, shred with two forks.
  7. Transfer shredded pork to pot and toss with sauce. (If making ahead to serve over the course of several meals, store pork and sauce separately, adding sauce only to the portion you are serving immediately.) Season to taste with more salt, sugar, liquid smoke, or cider vinegar. Serve.

Becca’s Killer BBQ Pulled Pork!

Ingredients

  • 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodiumchicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 (4-1/2- to 5-pound) boneless or bone-in pork shoulder (also known as pork butt), twine or netting removed
  • 2 cups barbecue sauce (optional)

Instructions

  1. Place the onions and garlic in an even layer in the slow cooker and pour in the stock or broth. Combine the sugar, chili powder, measured salt, cumin, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork and place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.
  2. Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.
  3. If the pork has a bone, remove and discard it. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker, add the barbecue sauce, if using, and mix to combine. If you’re not using barbecue sauce, use a spoon to skim and discard the fat from the surface of the strained cooking liquid, and then add 1/4 cup of the liquid at a time to the slow cooker until the pork is just moistened. Taste and season with salt as needed.

Low and Slow Baked Chicken Thighs

This recipe is the basis for what we’re doing here.

1) Brine ~5 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken thighs for at least one hour in the fridge with brine mix of 4 cups water, 1/3 cup salt, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup white vinegar.

2) Create rub from 4 Tbsp brown sugar, 3 Tbsp paprika, 2 Tbsp red pepper flakes, 1 Tbsp black pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 nutmeg, 1 Tbsp salt

3) Generously rub all sides of chicken after patting dry and wrap all chicken in 1 or 2 tight foil packets on a drying rack on a cooking sheet

4) Bake at 260 for 2 hours

5) Open foil packets and pour juices into a sauce pan

6) Remove thighs from foil and place on drying racks in broiler until crisp, flipping once

7) Reduce sauce on high heat and by adding flour. You can cut juice with flour and water to reduce saltiness. Reduce until sticks to a spoon.

8) Serve sauce with chicken and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This recipe is going to be vague… it’ll get better as I get better at making it!

1) Throw Pork Sirloin Tip Roast (or similar) in the slow cooker for about 8 hours with spices including: paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic salt, cumin, and others to your liking plus one 12 oz beer (I used Lagunitas IPA) and 16 oz water.

2) Pull pork once tender using two forks (probably after 4-6 hours)

3) Drain out juices from pork keeping half in a sauce pan and discarding other half, spread pork on a lined backing sheet

4) Reduce juices via heating and adding flour until thick enough to stick to a spoon, add an equal amount of your favorite BBQ sauce and pour over spread pork

5) Broil for about 10 minutes stirring every few minutes to crisp

6) Serve with side of more BBQ sauce and enjoy!