Bacon, pickles, and beer (My Apartment)

This post is going to be short, but very important, so all you non-vegetarians pay attention: Bacon, dill pickles, and beer is the greatest snack combo ever. Really. I'm actually dead serious (and sober) as I write this; I ate dill pickles topped with strips of bacon earlier, washed down with beer, and it was perfect, truly perfect. All of it was local, too, which is a nice little benefit, harkening back to my appearance on a soap box, coming from:
Bacon:  Bostrom Farm
Dill Pickles:  Real Pickles
Beer:  High and Mighty Beer Company Pas de Dieux Saison

Bostrom Farm and Real Pickles are located in Greenfield, MA, and High and Mighty is from Holyoke/Easthampton, MA (I'm not actually sure which one), I heard they moved recently out of Holyoke.  All are fantastic, and Bostrom has a great meat CSA (community supported agriculture) share program, which I have a share in.  At $300 for a total of 40 pounds of meat, 10 pounds a month for four months of mixed pork and beef, it's a good deal, since the meat is so much better than I'd typically get in the supermarket, even a decent one like Big Y.

I bought the pickles at Pekarski's in South Deerfield, MA, a polish sausage company that is so damn good and popular they don't even have a website; they simply don't need one.  I also picked up some linguica and kielbasa, both of which are house made, while there, and both were incredible.  I have recently made a few meals that were entirely local, from local lamb bought at a farm stand in South Deerfield to potatoes, corn, and tomatoes in both Sunderland and South Deerfield.

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While I'm at it, a quick recommendation for the King Arthur Flour education center; for this most recent Mother's Day, my brother and I bought our mom a pass to a class there, and being the awesome son I am I agreed to go with her.  We took the "Yeast Bread Basics" course, making our own white bread loaves and shaping a loaf of semolina flour bread prepared ahead of time by the course instructor in about three hours.  The course was informative, and the instructor, Irene, was absolutely fantastic.  She was friendly, informative, and best of all, she was supportive of her students.  Instead of saying that things must be done her way, she told us to take what she taught us and then do what works for us; this was refreshing, as so often you get people teaching courses, whether it be baking or college class, or even trainings in emergency communications (my profession) who think their way is the only way.  At only $65 each, this was well worth the trip, and both of us had a lot of fun.

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Homemade Tomato Soup

When I was a kid, I HATED tomato soup.  It was gross!  Granted, I don't think I ever had the real thing, but many people enjoy canned tomato soup, so I think to some extent, my tastes have just changed.  This soup was inspired by a couple different recipes I found, including one of Alton Brown's, as I recall (gotta love AB!), but in the end, it really is my own.  This is best served with a hot, buttery grilled cheese sandwich; my favorite way to make it uses sourdough bread and a combination of smoked Gruyere and extremely sharp cheddar cheeses.  If you can get your hands on it, the Cabot Big E special cheddar is perfect for, well, everything.

Tomato Soup

1)      Two cans San Marzano whole peeled plum tomatoes

2)      Four fresh plum tomatoes (peeled and chopped into small pieces)

3)      Large head of garlic, peeled 
4)      Two carrots (peeled and diced)

5)      Half a large onion (diced)

6)      3 tablespoons butter

7)      Half a box of high quality low sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock to keep recipe vegetarian)

8)      One quart heavy cream

9)      Sea salt

10)  Black pepper

11)  Cumin

12)  Basil

13)  Oregano

14)  Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain canned tomatoes, reserving juice.  Place the tomatoes on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on them.

Form a “cup” from two layers of tin foil, and place the peeled cloves of garlic inside.  Liberally cover the cloves with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on them.  Close the “cup” by bunching the foil together at the top.

Place the canned tomatoes and the garlic in the oven and roast for 35 minutes.

After removing the tomatoes and garlic, melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy bodied pan over medium heat.  Sauté the onion and carrot until the onions are softened.  Sprinkle with paprika and sea salt.  Add the reserved juice from the canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, and stock and stir together.  Add sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, cumin, basil and oregano to taste.

Lower heat to low and, stirring occasionally, simmer for 50 minutes.  Add the heavy cream, stir to mix together, and simmer for five more minutes.  Blend until smooth and creamy.

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Bar-B-Que Sauce (Carolina Style)

To accompany my post on pulled pork, this is my recipe for Bar-B-Que Sauce, specifically a Carolina style sauce; this is a vinegar heavy sauce, but it is a bit of a mix of eastern and western Carolina styles, in that it does have ketchup (western) but is still mostly vinegar (eastern).  I like it a great deal, and quite honestly it turned out better than I expected.  I don't know how this would do with brisket or ribs, but I suspect it would be fine; regardless, it is great with pulled pork, especially for making pulled pork sandwiches, which are my favorite.

Carolina Style Bar-B-Que Sauce

3 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar

¾ Cup of Brown Sugar (dark)

Sea Salt (to taste)

Black Pepper (to taste)

Cayenne Powder (to taste)

Garlic Powder (to taste)

½ Cup of Ketchup (app.)

Heaping teaspoon of Crushed Red Chili Flakes

Several tablespoons of Honey (to taste)

Heat vinegar over medium heat until warm, then stir in the brown sugar until dissolved.   Stir in some honey until dissolved, then add the seasonings.  Stir in app. half of the ketchup, and stir in until dissolved.  Slowly add more until taste is how you want.

Start this recipe app. 20 minutes before the meat it will go on is done.  After pulling the meat bones out, add to the saucepan and continue to simmer for app. 20 more minutes.  It should have lost app. 25-30% of its volume by the time it is done and be noticeably thicker, but still soupy.

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Homemade Pulled Pork

Since it's been far too long since I have last posted, I figured I'd post about one of my all time favorite things:  Pulled Pork.  This is my own personal recipe, which is partially stolen from about ten different recipes and has many of my own ideas added in.  The rub also included some suggestions from my friend Kate, so thanks Kate!  I made this in a Dutch oven because, sadly, my current living situation doesn't allow for the use of a smoker.  Despite this, it was probably the best I've ever had north of the Mason-Dixon line, and I'm pretty sure that if I'd made it in a smoker it would have been just as good as any I've had.

Pulled Pork

Pork butt (aka Boston butt, pork shoulder), app 7-8 pounds, bone in

One bottle chocolate stout (Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout recommended); use only if cooking in a Dutch oven.

Brine

Enough water to cover the pork entirely

Significant amount of salt

2 carrots (roughly chopped)

One large white or yellow onion (roughly chopped)

Three large ancho peppers

Rub

Brown sugar

Molasses

Cayenne

Paprika

Black pepper

Cumin

Ginger

Garlic powder

Dark unsweetened or lightly sweetened cocoa powder; use only if cooking in a smoker

In a large (7 quarts minimum) Dutch oven, bring brine water to boil over high heat.  When hot but not boiling, stir in salt and add carrots, onion and ancho peppers.  Boil the water for 30 minutes.  Remove the ancho peppers and chop them into small pieces (they should be soft and re-hydrated by this time; if not, continue boiling until they are, then chop), and put them back in the water.  Boil for 15 more minutes, then remove and allow to cool to room temperature (this will take probably 2 hours).

When the brine is cool, put the pork butt in the Dutch oven, ensuring that the brine just barely covers the entire thing.  Place aluminum foil on top of the Dutch oven, then cover with the pot’s top so as to create a seal.  Refrigerate for not less than 20 hours, and preferably 24-36 hours.

After brining is complete, remove the pork butt and thoroughly wash it with cold water so as to remove any salt that has clung to the outside.  Pat it dry and set aside.  Wash and dry the Dutch oven. 

If cooking in the oven, continue to paragraph “*”

If cooking in a smoker, continue to paragraph “#”

*Place the pork butt back in the Dutch oven and score (cut slices through) the slab of fat on the back of the butt.  Rub the butt thoroughly with molasses so there is a thick layer.  Ensure that the molasses gets into every crevice and covers the entire pork butt.  Rub the pre-mixed spices into the pork butt, again ensuring that the rub gets into every crevice and thickly covers the entire butt.  Situate the pork butt in the Dutch oven with the layer of fat on top.  Reseal the top of the Dutch oven with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for app 8-10 hours.

After allowing the pork to rest with the rub on it, pour the beer around (not over) the pork butt.  Cover the Dutch oven with aluminum foil and then with the top, so as to create a seal. Place in the oven (preheated to 225 degrees), and cook for 12 hours.  Do not touch it until the full 12 hours is up.

#Place the pork butt back in the Dutch oven and score (cut slices through) the slab of fat on the back of the butt.  Rub the butt thoroughly with molasses so there is a thick layer.  Ensure that the molasses gets into every crevice and covers the entire pork butt.  Rub the pre-mixed spices into the pork butt, again ensuring that the rub gets into every crevice and thickly covers the entire butt.  Situate the pork butt in the Dutch oven with the layer of fat on top.  Reseal the top of the Dutch oven with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for app 8-10 hours. 

After allowing the pork to rest with the rub on it, place it in the smoker (preheated to 250 degrees), fat side up, and cook for 12 hours.  Do not touch it until the full 12 hours is up.

After the 12 hours is up, either remove the pork butt from the smoker or the cooking vessel from the oven.  Place the pork butt on a large cutting board, and using two forks, “pull” the pork into small pieces.  This should be quite simple as the pork butt should be falling apart.

Serve with Carolina style BBQ sauce.


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FYI, the Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout is pretty fantastic; if you happen to drink a second one while you're cooking with the first, you won't be disappointed.  I'll probably do a review of it at a later date.

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