A Stroke of Genius

Ok, whoever the individual is that came up with this idea has my write-in vote for President.  Genius.  Sheer genius.  And I’m mad that it didn’t occur to me earlier.

While this won’t come together in 30 minutes, it’s super simple, and I bet you don’t spend more than 30 minutes actually working on the meal, depending on what you serve with it.  Me, I stuck to some really simple sautéed corn and store bought rolls that I brushed with a little garlic butter.

The beauty of this is you can use your favorite BBQ sauce.  I stuck with my new favorite.
And while O2 is not a big fan of pork, she declared it ‘amazing’.  I’ll take it.

Oh, and while this is ‘Pulled Pork Spaghetti’, I actually used linguini since I had a box open already.

Pulled Pork Spaghetti

1 pork shoulder roast (about 3 lbs)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp ancho chili powder
½ tsp chipotle chili powder
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp cocoa powder
¼ cup apple juice
2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce
Cooked spaghetti

Combine all of the seasonings (salt through cocoa powder).  Rinse and pat the pork roast dry.  Sprinkle all over with seasoning blend and rub in thoroughly.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté just until they begin to soften.  Add the seasoned pork roast.  Sear on all sides until golden (just a minute or two for each side).  Meanwhile, add the apple juice to a slow cooker and turn on high.  When pork has finished searing, add to slow cooker and cover.  Cook on high for 3 hours.  Drain off all but about ½ cup of the liquid, being careful to leave the onions.  Add the barbecue sauce and cook for another 1 to 2 hours.   Shred the meat and add to cooked spaghetti, using a bit more sauce if needed.

No Grill? No Problem!

I may get run out of Blogland on a rail for saying this but my personal opinion is that if you’re not grilling over an actual fire, then it doesn’t really matter how your BBQ is being prepared. Gas just doesn’t cut it in my book. I mean, it’s a fine method of cooking, especially in hot weather when you don’t want to heat up your entire house, but taste-wise? I guess what I’m saying is that I really don’t see a difference between something cooked on a gas barbecue grill and the same thing cooked, say, in the oven.

Case in point…

I picked up a rack of baby backs but just basically wanted to throw them together and then forget all about them so I could do other things. This method is perfect for that and the results are fall-off-the-bone good.

I was able to toss these in the oven right after lunch and didn’t touch them again until dinner. To make things even simpler, I also threw some potatoes in the oven to roast at the same time. Once they were cooked through, I just pulled them out, covered them up, and when it was time to actually get dinner thrown together, I put them back in at a higher temperature to brown. Nothing could be simpler.

Oven Barbecued Ribs

1 rack baby back ribs (about 3 lbs)
1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp celery salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ancho chile powder
2 Tbs brown sugar
¼ cup hard cider (or a light ale)

Barbecue Sauce (I used this)

Heat oven to 250º. In a small bowl, combine all seasonings and the sugar. Mix well. Lay out a strip of aluminum foil about 6” longer than your rack of ribs. Lay ribs on top of foil and sprinkle with half of the seasoning. Rub the seasoning into the meat until well coated. Flip ribs over and repeat with the remaining seasoning. Pour cider over the ribs and top with another piece of foil. Seal tightly all around. Place in oven.

Allow to cook 4 hours. Remove from oven.

Turn oven up to 425º. Remove the top layer of foil from the ribs. Coat with barbecue sauce and return to oven when it has heated. Allow to cook about 15 minutes, or just until barbecue sauce begins to caramelize.

* * *

I wanted a couple of really simple sides to go with the ribs. As I mentioned, I roasted some potatoes with the ribs and browned them at the higher oven temperature after adding the barbecue sauce to the meat.

While that was cooking, I put together a quick sautéed cabbage using some of the hard cider left from cooking the ribs (and I have a bit of a confession… since the barbecue sauce calls for apple juice… well, you wouldn’t want me to let the stuff go to waste, now, would you?).


Sautéed Cabbage

3 slices bacon
1 Tbs olive oil
½ head green cabbage, sliced into thin strips
½ sweet onion (you can substitute a yellow onion, of course), thinly sliced
½ tsp celery salt
½ tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
½ cup hard cider

Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove from skillet, leaving the bacon drippings. Add olive oil and onions. Cook over medium heat until onions are translucent and begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage and seasonings.

Cook, stirring frequently, until cabbage has begun to soften, about 5 minutes. Add cider and continue to cook another 5 minutes until the cider has evaporated and cabbage is cooked through.

A Tale of Two Condiments

After a lot of painstaking soul searching, I have made my peace with a stunning realization about myself.

I am a sauce freak.

I’m sure it’s rooted somewhere deep in my childhood when I would employ every strategy I could to cover up the taste of food I was being forced to eat against my will.

Like peas.

Carrots.

Beef tongue.

My first standard cover-up was my grandfather’s barbecue sauce. This was more of a staple around the house than ketchup (which I was never a big fan of, anyway). And it had enough zip and flavor to adequately disguise some of those evil food products my mother subjected me to.

Like beans and ham hocks.

Can you tell I grew up in the South?

As someone who likes to play with her food, I have long sense ventured from the super secret family barbecue sauce recipe (which I was chastised soundly by my sister for threatening to publish) to any number of equally, if not more satisfying, recipes.

For the latest family barbecue, I thought I’d try one that was a nice combination of smoky, fruity and spicy. It went (I thought) very well with the grilled chicken we were having.

And of course for the traditionalists in the group, I made Granddad’s sauce as well.

The barbecued chicken was so good, I thought I’d whip up some barbecued chicken quesadillas this week for a quick dinner.

Smoky Apricot Barbecue Sauce

4 slices smoked bacon
½ cup sweet onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup water
1 cup tomato ketchup
¼ cup Dijon mustard
½ cup honey
½ cup apricot preserves
¼ cup apple juice
¼ cup cider vinegar

Brown bacon in a large saucepan until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add the onion. Sauté over medium heat until onion begins to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and water and bring to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients and bring back to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to cook about 20 minutes.

Puree the mixture with a hand blender.


* * *

For the quesadillas I spread the barbecue sauce on two flour tortillas. I added cooked chicken, cheese, green onion and crumbled bacon (which I had reserved from the barbecue sauce) to one of the tortillas and cover with the second tortilla. Heat a small amount of oil in a cast iron skillet and cook the quesadilla on one side until golden. Flip and cook the other side.

* * *

As an accompaniment to the curry I made the other night, I wanted some mango chutney, but rather than spending $5 for a little bottle of it, I decided to just make a batch of my own. Much more satisfying (and economical). I’m thinking that the leftovers would be really good on a Cuban type sandwich with sliced pork and some cheese.

Mango Chutney

2 firm-ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
½ onion, finely diced
½ jalapeno, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden raisins
2 cardamom pods, cracked, hulls removed and seeds crushed
¼ tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Allow to come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, about 30 - 45 minutes until thickened.