Pulled Pork

Okay, I know, I promised you to post about the Pork Shoulder…..but finally... here it is!!!

Always wanted to make Pulled Pork but the fact that it would take so many hours I never thought I ever would….. Remember, I don’t have a smoker, just a regular Weber and that makes it a bit more difficult. But I did it!!
Wew! I decided to buy a small shoulder (bone in), only 2 lbs so that would mean it would be ready in about 6 hours, and that I could manage!

I choose this recipe from Noskos (sorry it’s in Dutch) and used the same rub (Southern Succor Pork Rub) and oh I can tell you it was a huge success!!! Now that I found out I can do this, I definitely will make it more often!

For the Southern Succor Pork Rub I used (not quite following the original recipe):
¼ cup (ground) black pepper
¼ cup paprika powder
¼ cup light brown / cane sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

This mixture was too much for the small amount of meat I had, but you can store it for later use.
Let the shoulder marinade for at least one day (in the fridge of course).

It was not easy keeping the temperature of the Weber at a constant low between 225 – 250F, so if you’re gonna try this too on a regular barbecue, keep an eye on the temperature!

I also used some wood chunks from Baxter's Original and I used the whiskey soaked almond chunks, oh I love whiskey! After 2 hours I sprayed the meat with a mixture of apple juice and whiskey, repeated this every hour and enjoyed the smell!!

Note: the Pork Shoulder is ready when it has reached 190F.

This might not be the usual way to make Pulled Pork, but it worked for me and that’s the most important!

The result:

I used the Pulled Pork in the baked beans (mentioned here), of course for Pulled Pork sliders with Big Butz BBQ Sauce (Original) served with coleslaw, and there’s still some pork left in the freezer that I want to use in a pasta sauce!

Smoked Chicken with Cranberry BBQ Sauce

The title of this post should have been " Lamb with Cranberry BBQ Sauce", and it’s all my fault. On Saturday I found out that my butcher didn’t had enough lamb left…should have ordered it in advance. So that’s the reason why it’s chicken now. Anyway....

Not that I don’t like chicken, but lamb…. You know…
But the good thing is, now I could use the wood chunks “ almond/whiskey” (from Baxter's Original, see this post …and that made me smile again as soon as I realized that!

So it became smoked chicken, corn on the cob and…..scalloped potatoes! As soon as the weather gets colder that’s one of my favorite side dishes. A few years ago I bought a combi microwave oven, and that “ combi” is the big trick. Scalloped potatoes are now ready within 25 minutes!

We’re gonna start with the marinade for the chicken: in a bowl pour 1 cup olive oil, add fresh thyme leaves, black pepper, 2 tablespoons Jack Daniels (or more…) and about a tablespoon of your favorite bbq rub. Add the chicken breasts and cover it with foil. Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

In the meantime I prepared the scalloped potatoes. Butter a large oven dish and slice potatoes. Make layers with thin red onion slices, potatoes and crumbled soft blue cheese (or another soft cheese). In a large measuring cup you pour 2 cups of cream, some crushed garlic, fresh thyme leaves, black pepper and 2 cups of milk. Pour this over the potatoes and add some aged cheese. In a combi oven this is ready within 25 minutes, in a regular oven it takes about an hour (400F). Of course I could have done this on the Weber too but I didn’t, I’m sorry….

The Weber was clean again after the Pork Shoulder Event (that’s gonna be the next post!!) and ready for a new session.

As soon as it had reached the right temperature (around 325F) it was time to put the corn on the grill because they needed more time than the chicken. Life can be so simple sometimes!
After 10-15 minutes I added (soaked in water) a few wood chunks and the chicken went on the grill, indirect, for about 10 minutes.
Move the chicken breast to the direct heat and brush them with the cranberry bbq sauce (yes the one and only from Big Butz). Repeat this every 2 minutes, keep turning and brushing the chicken.

The corn I brushed with butter and some herbs as soon as they got off the grill. And this is the result:

Really tasty and delicious!! The chicken was moist and had a really smoked taste and with the Cranberry Sauce it was super! (Excuses for the lousy picture...)

Serve with a cold Shiraz Rosé and I promise you’ll have a delicious dinner!

Enjoy!

Meatloaf

So many recipes...so little time. Why do weekends only have two days? Who decided that anyway?? Wanna talk to that person...

Anyway, let's get started. What was on the menu last weekend? A Pork Shoulder for Pulled Pork, a meatloaf, some chicken. That was all I could manage in 2 days. The Pork will make a nice appearance later this week, and so will the chicken.
That leaves us with the meatloaf for this post. I've never made it before, so I was very curious how that would turn out. Meatloaf is not so well known here in The Netherlands, yes we do know meatballs but that's something different. Totally different!

I found a yummylicious looking recipe on the website of Noskos and because I know his recipes always work out great, I choose this one. Of course I changed the ingredients a little bit, can't resist that!

What do you need:
3 lbs minced meat (beef and pork)
2 eggs
1/3 cup Big Butz Cranberry BBQ Sauce (or another bbq sauce)
some milk (about half a 1/4 cup)
bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
dried parsley
1 tablespoon Tabasco
black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and spoon the meatloaf mixture on a foil sheet, like this:

Prepare your barbecue, and soak some wood chunks, I used plum wood chunks . Only 3 chunks and that turned out to be enough.

When the Weber had reached 350F I placed the meatloaf on the grill (indirect). After half an hour, incise the loaf (see picture) and brush it with barbecue sauce (again I used the Cranberry Sauce).

After this I also placed the baked beans (it's a recipe called Keri's Hog Apple Baked Beans and I found it here (it's the dutch version) on the Weber:

One hour later the meatloaf was ready:

Dinner is ready!! Of course this was waaay to much meatloaf for one dinner, so some went in the freezer for the next time and some I left in the fridge to eat for lunch (or breakfast...). As I said before, I served it with the baked beans (oh and btw these beans taste so good, unbelievable and definitely a keeper) and mashed potatoes with celeriac (cook them together and proceed as if you make regularly mashed potatoes. The celeriac gives it a yummy sweet taste):

Let me tell you something, this was GOOD!!

And now the question is, what do you drink with it...wine of course! A Malbec from Argentina matched perfect!

Enjoy!

A Special Package

Dear Santa,
I know you're very busy, but the package I received last week was waaaay too early!!
But I'm not complaining, please keep sending them...my new wish-list is already on it's way to the Northpole!!

Wooh!!! Now this package made my day, wait......it made my week!!! And I assume you want to know what was the content of this box (yeah you do, don't you...??) .... okay, I'll show you:

* one bag of plum wood chunks

* one bag of whiskey soaked almond wood chunks

These came from Baxter's Original

* two jars of Big Butz BBQ Sauce Original

* two jars of Big Butz BBQ Sauce Cranberry

These came from Big Butz BBQ Sauce

I have lots of ideas for great meals with it, so stay tuned!

I'm a happy Dutchess!!


#Note for my Dutch readers: make a calculation before you order such products in the USA….customs is watching you and will charge you extra : 19% over the products costs + shipping costs + ensurance! You will be charged for this when the package is being delivered at your door.
If you want to know more about this, you can check it here nederlandse douane

Bread from Max Poilâne

Yesterday I enjoyed some "petits pains" from the famous bakery Max Poilâne, from Paris. At this moment their website is under construction but you can click on their Lyon website and have a peek at the assortment.

And no, I didn't travel to Paris to buy some of this famous and delicious bread....although that wouldn't be such a bad idea!! You can buy it here in Holland, fresh delivery every day from Paris...isn't that amazing....??

At youtube I found this. You really have to watch it, it's beautiful!

If you ever have the chance to try some of his bread, don't hesitate. You'll love it!!

Speechless Sunday

Fancy Super Sandwich

Most of the time on Fridays I try to avoid cooking as much as possible. And the last few weeks I ended up making sandwiches, great sandwiches, and this time I discovered the Fancy Super Sandwich. And together with a bottle of wine, I say it's a perfect start of the weekend!

Last time, a friend of mine came over and I actually wanted to make salmon burgers. But she's not much of a fish-lover so that plan got canceled. And while doing some shopping, I found this:

Mayonaise with truffle!!!! Wow....there are a few things I'm really addicted to, and truffle is definitely on that list!! Never bought a fresh truffle, not even a little part of it because of their price...only good truffle salt, truffle oil and now this....wow... Oh and btw....if you ever find salami with truffle, buy it and make an omelet with it....that's what you would like every (sun)day!! ok, I got sidetracked now, back to the sandwich!

Are you ready? Then watch this:

Halleluya!! The Best Sandwich I've made so far!! You want to know more?? Ha, I knew it!
It's a baquette, with the mayonaise on both bread sides, some arugula, a lot of thin sliced roastbeef and grated Parmesan cheese......Heaven # 1.

Are you still with me?? Trust me, it was good. Very good.
Too bad I ony had the ingredients for one sandwich for both of us, but there's more....Not as good as the one with the truffle, but certainly a good second!!
Take a look at this piece of heaven:

And this, this is a sandwich with layers of cheese, grilled eggplant and roasted red bell peppers. The dressing is a mix of mayonaise and yellow mustard. Put it on a panini grill just long enough to let the cheese melt and .... heaven # 2!!

I think this is enough for one post. Try it, enjoy it and oh you want some wine with it? I opened a bottle of Pinot Noir, it matched the second sandwich the best, but that was no surprise.

Enjoy....!

Sweet and Sour Zucchini

The book I always rely on when I want a recipe from the Italian kitchen is The Silver Spoon (De Zilveren Lepel in Dutch) my favorite Italian book! I received the book about one year ago, and have made a lot of recipes. All turned out great, and that's a big hurray, because that doesn't happen often (too bad).
This book reveils to you all the secrets of the Italian kitchen, and it's great for beginners but also for more experienced home cooks.The book contains more than 2000 recipes, so I'll be busy for a while!!

Last week I had an overload on zucchini's, yellow and green, and wanted to make a new dish. Sweet and Sour Zucchini, does that sounds good to you?? Well it certainly did to me!

Grab your knife and chopping board, and chop with me through this easy recipe:

The Ingredients:
0,5 cup raisins
5 anchovies fillets (from a jar)
1/4 cup pine nuts, roasted
olive oil
3 zucchini, chopped
1 clove of garlic,
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
salt

In a bowl with hot water, soak the raisins. Chop the anchovies in little pieces.

Heat the oil in  a large pan and add the zucchini. On medium heat, and don't forget to stir. After 10 minutes, add the garlic (use a garlic press). Stir and add the raisins (not the water!), the pine nuts, vinegar and sugar and some salt.

Give it a good stir and bring it to a boil, let it simmer for a few minutes and then add the anchovies. Let this simmer for 10 minutes. Taste if you need to add more sugar or vinegar. It should have a, of course, sweet and sour well balanced taste.
And that's it!

I served it with chicken breasts (grilled, cast iron), spaghetti with olive oil and parmesan cheese, and a simple green salad with tomatoes.

And then, the wine. Difficult because of all the different tastes. You could serve a white wine but I was in the mood for red and choose a Zinfandel from the US. Okay I know, it should have been an Italian red one maybe, but the Zinfandel was a great match too!!

Enjoy!