Pulled Pork

Off the shelf: 4 lb. pork butt, fat removed and layered
across the top for the smoking.

We found this recipe for pulled pork on the traegar.com recipe site. What got our attention was the ease of the procedure and the promise of something "new and different."

Ingredients: 

1 (6 to 9 lb) Pork Shoulder/Butt
Rub
2 C  Apple Cider
Aluminum Foil

Procedure: 

Start the smoker (Traegar)  on "smoke" for 4-5 minutes with the lid open. Set the temp at 250 and preheat, lid closed for 10 - 15 mins.

Trim excess fat off the meat.  Generously season with your favorite rub, here's a link to mine, on all sides of the meat.

Place the meat directly on the grill and cook until the internal temperature in the fattest part is 150 degrees (about 3 hours - give or take). Remove from the smoker.

Stack 4 layers of aluminum foil large enough to wrap the meat on all sides. Pour the apple cider (or beer, or coke - not diet - or whatever you prefer) over the meat and foil all sides creating a leak-proof seal.

Replace on the grill, still at 250 degrees, and cook until the internal temperature in the fattest part of the meat is 204 degrees, another couple of hours, or so, depending on the size of meat and weather.

Remove from grill and allow 45 mins for the meat to rest while still wrapped.

Open the foil, pour off the juices into a fat separator, place the meat in a dish large enough to pull it apart with a pair of forks, remove and discard the bone, if any, and excess fat.  Add the separated liquid back to the meat and season to taste with additional rub,  mix, and if you wish, add a few dollops of your favorite bbq sauce, mix again.

Serve either alone, in one of your favorite recipes, or as a sandwich on fresh hamburger buns.

Leftover pulled pork can be stored in the refrigerator, in sealed container, for up to 4 days.

 

Country Style Ribs

Country Style Western Ribs on my Traeger

Country Style Ribs, off the shoulder/loin area of the pig, are not really ribs; but they are fabulous when cooked correctly. It takes some care to smoke them to that fall apart tenderness that cannot be achieved if the cook is in a hurry. Been there . . .

Plan for five hours.

Ingredients:

3 - 5 lbs Country Style Ribs
2 C        BBQ sauce
1 C        Apple Juice, Beer, Regular Coke or Dr. Pepper
1/2 C     Vinegar
tsp         Paprika
tsp         Black ground pepper
tsp         Onion Powder
3 - 4 tbl Brown Sugar


Procedure:
1.  Smoke the meat for 30 - 45 minutes, hickory wood.
2.  Set temp to 225 degrees: cook about an hour, until the meat is 155 -160 degrees
     Blend the sauce ingredients, put on simmer until the next stage.
3.  Place the meat in a saucepan, pour the sauce in enough to cover the bottom of
     the pan, more is ok (good), foil and return to smoker
4.  Two plus hours, at 180 - 190 degrees, the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
     Replace the meat to the grill, layer with remaining sauce on each side 5 - 7 mins.
5.  Place meat on a serving tray, foil, let rest for 5 - 10 mins.

These types of ribs are done at 165 degrees, but they aren't tender.  The higher temps will melt the collagen in the meat rendering perfection in the tenderness.

Enjoy

Bourbon-Glazed Ribs

The recipe is on page 69 of Smoke & Spice, the pre-mo smoken' cookbook of the age. Yesterday was my second attempt at this "smokin'" meal, and I think it came out like, "wow."

I didn't use the rub in the recipe, the one that calls for paprika and chili powder. I used Traeger's "Salmon Rub." Salmon rub on a slab of ribs? I licked my finger and touched it to the rub and rubbed it across my tongue. Yeah, it was good, real good. I checked out the Traeger site and found since they developed this rub, they have found it works on pork, beef, veggies and just about everything else. Next time I use this recipe, I'll use it again!

The mop is fun! 3/4 cup bourbon and 3/4 cup cider vinegar mopped on at 1 1/2 and 3 hours. What I like is the odor of the bourbon and way it sizzles when added to the meat.

In the past I have tried to use intuitive judgement as to how to manipulate the temps as Smoke & Spice always calls for 200 to 240 degrees, and Traeger recipes move from a few minutes on "smoke" (140 to 180 degrees), to starting on medium (225 to 300) or high (325 -450). I've decided to go with the Smoke & Spice temps until I know better.

What I really like about this recipe is the sauce: it calls for butter, vegetable oil, onions, bourbon, ketchup, cider vinegar, orange juice, maple syrup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. The recipe is created for 3 slabs of ribs and that's probably close enough. Yesterday, for some odd reason, I was thinking last time it wasn't enough. Well, the reason is because rather than cook on low for "about 40 minutes" to thicken the mix, I cook it on low for about 4 hours, stirring frequently and getting it thick; like those bbq sauces you buy in the store.

At about 3 hours and 15 mins of smoking at 220 - 240 (as called for in Smoke & Spice) you apply the sauce at least once, maybe two or three times, until 4 hours. It carmelizes beautifully. I brushed the sauce on three times.

At 4 hours, I took the ribs off the smoker and into the kitchen where I let the meat rest for about 10 minutes before cutting the individual ribs and stacking them in a plate. Once stacked, I brushed on more of the sauce and had plenty left over.

Was it good? My oh my...it was simply, to die for.

Apple City Baby Back Ribs

Ok, so I have a little experience under my belt with the new Traeger Smoker. I've done ribs a few times and received rave reviews from family and friends. A few weeks ago, using a recipe from the Smoke & Spice cookbook, I put together one fine bunch of ribs called, "Apple City Baby Back Ribs."

The soak is made up of 1 1/2 cups of apple juice; the Rub has brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and dry mustard; and the mop contains 1 1/2 cup of apple cider or juice and 1/2 cup of cider vinegar.

Apple pellets light the fire and the smoke was heavenly to smell.

The ribs were, what can I say, marvelous. The apple brought out a flavor not many have tasted and it was worth all the effort.

All that being said, we agree the Bourbon-Glazed Spare Ribs are the BOMB!! Check the next post to find out more about them.