Slow cooked pork shoulder butt. 7.3 lbs 12/13/20

4/11/21 made it in the over 7.5 lbs about 3 1/4 hrshours came out perfect. 30 minutes a lb. 200 degrees internal tenp and let rest 

Did the rub here with out the brown sugar

Excellent

4/24/21 made again with cooking info on label below

 Started at 530pm 12/12/20 - finished 830am 12/13/20

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Measure out spices in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together.

Before owning a Saffire Grill and learning how to smoke pork shoulder, I wasn’t a huge pulled pork fan.  But now, I can’t seem to get enough of it!  My mouth is watering just thinking about the pulled pork we ate last night! This recipe is super easy, but it does take time for the pork to smoke. Plan ahead and start your pork the night before and you’ll have it ready by dinner. First, make my bbq rub and rub it all over your pork shoulder. It’s called “rub” for a reason, really rub it into the meat.

Next, preheat your grill to 250°F and make sure it has plenty of charcoal in it so it will keep going for the duration of the time. We will be grilling this on indirect heat at 250°F for about 16 hours depending on your size of meat.  Plan on smoking the pork shoulder for 1.5-2 hours per pound of meat plus an additional 1-2 hour cushion.  I have found that when doing a long smoke with pork, there is typically a “stall zone” where the meat’s internal temperature stalls for awhile.  This stall zone is normally around 165-180°F.  Don’t worry when this happens to you, just plan ahead and give yourself a cushion just in case the stall zone takes longer than anticipated.

A few other notes on timing… It’s better to overestimate on time when smoking pork. I’ve found typically, an 8-12 lb. pork shoulder takes around 15 hours at 250° F. I always plan on at least 16 hours though, because for whatever reason, some take longer. Also, I’ve grilled larger quantities of pork totalling an overall higher weight that took less than 16 hours, i.e. 3 pork shoulders weighing in around 15 lbs. ended up taking around 14 hours. So if the weight of your meat is divided up, it might take less time.

Don’t sweat it if the pork reaches the final internal temperature early! If it finishes early, just wrap your pork (in butcher paper or foil), wrap it in a towel, and then put it in a cooler to keep it warm. This will keep the pork warm for hours! However, if you underestimate the time for smoking pork, you will be rushed and might end up turning the heat up on your grill to reach you finish time and that results in drier meat. So always give yourself plenty of time! Remember it’s a low and slow smoke 🙂

Once your grill is at 250°F, put your meat in a roasting rack and set it on your Kamado.  Alternately, you can brush your grill grates with olive oil and set pork shoulder directly on your grates.  I prefer using a roasting rack because sometimes when pulling the meat off the grill, it can get stuck on the grill grates.

Add wood chips if using them. I used apple wood chips and it really made the meat taste good. If you like a strong flavor from your wood chips, add more about every hour. The Kamado I grill on, the Saffire Grill, has an amazing feature called the Smokin’ Chip Feeder that makes it super easy to add wood chips. If you’re interested in learning more about that feature, please check out the Saffire website.

I could continue to go on and on about how much I love the ingenuity of the Smokin’ Chip Feeder, but I digress…

When the internal temperature of your pork shoulder reaches 190° F, you are done grilling it.

 Take your meat off the grill, wrap it (in butcher paper or foil) and let it rest for a good 30 minutes. Shred your meat and you’re done! I usually eat pulled pork on a bun with my favorite bbq sauce.  Sometimes I get fancy and buy pretzeld buns and add jalapeno cheese and some hot sauce as well.

Tri-Tip Marinade

We've been pretty spoiled having had Reams (Elburn IL) in our backyard for over 20 years. They had an amazing Tri-Tip that they had in a marinade. Since we no longer have that we have been in search of a butcher which is a bit harder than we thought here in Nashville.

Bare Bones Butcher is our new go-to. Located at 906 51st Ave N in Nashville.  Everything we have had has been fantastic. They offer the Tri-tip but not in a marinade but fear not we have found this recipe that came out just perfect.

Ingredients:

2 t salt

2 t freshly ground black pepper

3 t garlic powder

1 1/2 t paprika

1 t onion powder

1 t dried Rosemary

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1 (2-4 lb) beef tri-tip roast

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 t Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Stir salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, rosemary and cayenne pepper together in a bowl. Place beef in a glass baking dish and coat beef on all sides with spice mixture. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours. 
• Combine vinegar, vegetable oil, crushed garlic and Dijon mustard together in a seal able container. Cover the container and shake to blend ingredients.
• Remove beef from refrigerator, uncover and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat your grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate
• Place the meat on the preheated grill and brush with garlic-vinegar mixture. Cook for 4 minutes, flip and baste. Repeat the flip and baste process every 4 minutes until beef starts to firm. About 20 minutes total or to your liking. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read about 105 degrees F. Let rest (covered) for about 15 minutes before slicing. 

Balsamic Butter Sauce for meat/fish/vegetables

Looking for a sauce to have with salmon this afternoon, I came across this one. I'm not a salmon lover

but its in my spartan plan, so I thought a sauce would help. It really is great, but who doesn't love butter. I just might put salmon in my meal plan more often since this is a simple and a great sauce.

I would imagine its heaven on potatoes! 

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 clove's garlic,  minced

1/2 cup butter

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, simmer the vinegar and the garlic.

Simmer until reduced to a thick syrup, about 5 minutes. Set aside while the rest of

the meal is prepared.

When ready to serve the sauce, re-warm over medium low-heat. Cut a stick of butter

into 6-8 pieces and add to the balsamic reduction one piece at a time. Whisk until all

the butter is incorporated and the sauce is smooth again. 

Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Drizzle over mashed potatoes, fish and vegetables.

Best ribs you might ever have - Baby!!

We get the craving for this every once it while - but its sad when you get the vibe and you're out of the country. We couldn't wait to make this. So today is that day! Enjoy

The dry rub makes enough for several batches, you can save the mix and use it later or get more ribs!

Dry Rub:
8 T light brown sugar tightly packed
3 T Kosher salt
1 T chile powder
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t jalapeno seasoning..or spicy to your taste
1/2 t Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 thyme
1/2 t onion powder

Braising Liquid:
1 cup white wine
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T worcestershire
1 T honey
2 cloves garlic chopped



In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of ribs on a piece
of heavy duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub.
Pat the dry rub into the meat.

You want to make it easy to pour the liquid in, so close the foil around the meat in a way that you can just open a little and pour in the liquid. Place closed foil packet, without the liquid, in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

When you are ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 250. Place all of the liquid ingredients in a microwaveable container and heat on high for about a minute. Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open 1 end of the foil on each slab and pour 1/2 the braising liquid into each foil packet. Tilt the baking sheet in order to equally distribute the liquid.

Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Transfer the braising liquid into a medium sauce pot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by 1/2 or until a thick consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler just until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into 2 bone portions.

You can use the remaining glaze for dipping or add more to each portion. Its up to you!

Gyros - homemade everything!

We spent the last few weekends trying different recipes for the perfect Gyros that you can make at home.
It really has to be all homemade for us these days since then we know what we are actually getting. This came from Pam, who as a Greek Goddess, should have the best recipe anyway. So tried and true this is the one you want to use. Toss all the other recipes away. I promise you! We split this in half so we could try 1 in the oven and the other on the rotisserie - called the neighbors over for a taste test...The result is the rotisserie is the way to go!

1 leg of lamb - seems like they are all about 5 lbs..when you
remove the bone you have 3 1/2 lbs left and thats what you want for this recipe.
2 1/2 lbs boneless beef round steak - or a good steak with nice marbling
1/2 cup dried oregano leaves
1 1/4 T dried dill weed
3 3/4 T  granulated garlic
1t   ground thyme
1 T salt
2 t pepper
olive oil

We found that if we butterfly the thicker parts of the lamb,it works better to get an even thickness. Pound the lamb with meat mallet until its about 12 X 14". Do the same with the round steak. Depending on your rotisserie you can leave this all as 1 large roast or divide it in half for 2 smaller pieces.

Combine the herbs all together and place the lamb on a cutting board. Brush the top lightly with olive oil and spread 1/3 of the mixture on the meat   (remember if you split this into 2 portions, split your herb mixture so you have an even amount for each part) Pound the herbs into the meat. Layer the roundsteak on stop of  the lamb, brush the top lightly with olive oil and spread another 1/3 of the herb mix on top.
Pound the herbs into the meat.

Roll the meat as tightly as possible and tie it securely in several places. Brush the outside lightly with olive oil and rub the remaining herb mixture all over the outside of the meat. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Remove the plastic and place your roast on the spit and cook until the internal temperature reaches 140. About 1 - 1 1/2 hours. The outside of the meat will become very dark and crusty.

Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing. Slice very thin.


Pita bread: super super simple
1 package quick rise yeast
1  cup warm water
3 - 3 1/2 cups flour  - a little extra for your hands
1 1/4 t salt
1 t sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit in a warm area  for 10-15 minutes until the water is frothy. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and put the yeast water into the depression. Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with a fork until elastic. Place dough on a floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. Add more flour as needed so the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic. Coat a large boil with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Turn upside down so all the dough is coated. Cover and allow to sit in a warm place until doubled in size...about a 1 hour.
Once doubled turn onto a floured surface and knead slightly. Roll into a rope and divide into 10-12 small pieces. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Preheat your oven and baking sheet to 500 degrees.

Roll our each piece with a rolling pin until they are about 6-8 inches (whatever size you like) keep them about 1/4 inch thick or thicker depending on how you like it. Bake each one about 2 minutes and then flip for another 2 minutes. Remove each pita and allow to cool. You can cut them in half and slice the center open and use them as pockets as well...they work great.


The Sammie extras:

Onions: Thinly slice your onions and add whatever seasoning you like. Add a few tablespoons of red wine vinegar, cover and let sit for a couple hours..they are fabulous!!

Tzatziki Sauce:
medium cucumber peeled, seeded and finely chopped
16 oz plain yogurt - greek preferred of course
pinch of kosher salt
4 cloves garlic finely minced
1 T olive oil
2 t red wine vinegar
pinch dill

Place the yogurt in tea towel or strainer and allow to drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Place the cucumber in paper towel and squeeze to remove the liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and serve as a sauce for your sammies!

You're gonna be sorry you read this!!

Swedish Meatballs

So I read an article about people that go to IKEA just for the Swedish Meatballs. I thought that was crazy - who would do that? So, I find this recipe that says this is the one from the IKEA chef. Without hesitation we knew we had to try it. Conclusion says its the best!  It made 85 meatballs and I thought for sure we'd freeze some, but no way. They are gone!

For the meatballs:

1 cup breadcrumbs
2 T butter
1/3 cup minced white onion
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 t ground allspice
2 t salt
1/4 t white pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 t worcestershire sauce
3/4 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 large egg plus 1 egg white beaten
vegetable oil for brushing

To make the meatballs, add the bread crumbs to  a large bowl. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, salt, white pepper and cook, stirring, until soft. About 5 minutes.
Add the milk and the worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer.  Pour the milk mixture over the bread crumbs and stir to make a thick sauce paste and let cool.

Then add the beef, pork, egg and egg white to the bowl. Mix until combined.  Brush a baking sheet with vegetable oil. Roll the meat into 1 inch balls and  arrange on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour.

Preheat the oven  to 400. Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

For the gravy:

2 T butter
2 T all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 t worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 T chopped fresh parsley

To make the gravy, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking until smooth. Wisk in the beef broth and the worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until  gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the meatballs and the gravy.

Prepare your favorite noodles and add to a serving dish. Add the meatball mixture to the noodles, sprinkle with parsley and serve.