Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork, it has been stated, is part of the BBQ Holy Trinity...the other 2 being pork ribs and beef brisket.   For my pulled pork I like to use a sweet pickled pork butt weighing in at 8-10 pounds.   (SP  pork is sometimes called cottage roll here in Canada).

The first thing to do is use a dry rub made up of 1/2 cup of  each of the following; paprika, brown sugar, and sugar  ( i also add a few TBS of garlic powder and sea salt ) massage the dry rub mixture well into the meat and let sit over night (or at least 2 hours) in the fridge.

I use a Weber 22.5 inch Kettle for smoking, hands down one of the best BBQs in exsistence!  It hasnt changed much in design since 1952 and is great for barbecue, smoking, or grilling.

Put coals on one side of your kettle and an aluminum foil baking pan on the other side to act as a water tray / drip catcher.   The water will help keep the meat moist and stop any flare ups from dripping fat.   Get the coals up to 225 degrees farenheit and place the pork  on the grill over the tray and not the coals, we are going for indirect heat with lots of smoke.  The smoke can come from soaked wood chips or for a heavy smoke i use a couple of chunks of white oak.

Adjust your vents to maintain an even heat of of 225-275.  I leave the bottom one wide open and the lid vent almost closed...it takes a bit if experimenting to figure it out, but since we are slow cooking the pork to an internal temperature of 195-200 degrees it gives us a bit of play, it doesnt matter if you hit 300 once in awhile.

Now walk away and mow the lawn... this will take about an hour per pound to cook.

every 1/2 hour give the pork a good basting  of mop sauce ( equal parts beer, BBQ sauce, and cider vinegar) and add more wood chips or a small chunk of oak. 

when you feell like the coals are dieing out add a few chunks of charwood or 10 charcoal briquets to refuel the fire.

When the internal temp hits 195-200 remove the pork carefully and place in a large roasting pan and start pulling...2 large forks will work, but i prefer to don the rubber gloves and get in there with my hands. Once the pork is pulled and shredded  add some "Carolina" style sauce to it to keep it moist.  A typical Carolina sauce is made with the following:

2 cups cider vinegar

3 TBS brown sugar

1/4 cup tomato sauce (yes ketchup will work)

2 tsp coarse salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp crushed chili peppers

1/2 a can of beer is an optional ingredient I use

Mix it all up and serve on your favourite style bun with a vinegrette cole slaw on top.

Dancing Chickens aka Beer Can Chickens

I am a carnivore as most of my friends know, and when i want a light meal I opt for chicken. I really only know one way to cook chicken and that involves shoving a can of beer up its ass. Beer Can chicken (known as Dancing Chickens when cooking 2) is a fool proof way of ensuring moist, succulent meat every time.

There are many different tastes and marinades available but i prefer a zesty Italian salad dressing. I marinate the chicken a few hours before cooking time by placing each chicken in a large ziplock bag and pouring the marinade in, completely immersing the bird. Make sure to refrigerate until time to cook.

Light the grill and enjoy a nice, cold beer while waiting for it to get up to medium high heat (325-375 degrees f). Now comes the fun part...drink about 1/2 of a can of beer for each chicken, these are going to be inserted in the large cavity at the bottom of the chicken ( make sure to remove the giblets and neck from here ). I like to add a bit of garlic and butter to the can before inserting it.

Carefully stand each chicken standing up on a tinfoil pie plate to catch the drippings ( flareups from the oil and fat can quickly ruin a good planned feast).
Close the lid and walk away...for 1-1 1/2 hours with an occassional basting. The internal temperature of the meat should be 165 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh. Remove the chickens from the grill and remove the cans using an oven mitt before laying them to rest on a cutting board for a few minutes.

Pork Rib Loin Roast

One of may favourite cuts of pork is a boneless "rib loin" roast. Full of flavour and just the right amount of marbling...it is the pork version of a rib-eye. I rubbed this one in a mix of brown sugar and paprika ( with some garlic powder thrown in for good measure ) and threw it on the gas grill at 300 degrees until the internal meat thermometer hit 145 degrees.

Grilled Bacon & Cheese Burgers

Aaaah...cheeseburgers with bacon, a classic!

I use half beef and half pork for my burgers, mixed with egg, all spice, garlic, pureed onion and rolled oats ( to help bind it all together ). after flipping the burgers put a handful of chopped home-smoked bacon ( already cooked ) and shredded provolone cheese on top and cover them with tin foil roasting pans to speed up the melting....

Beef Fajitas

Mrs Sawhorse and I love fajitas...a simple meal full of great intermingling tastes. I like to grill a Top Sirloin steak ( we like our steak rare ) and slice it while sauteing onions and green peppers in chili infused olive oil with crushed pepper and sea salt. Throw the steak slices in for a minute or two and serve on tortillas with salsa and cheese.

Marinated Cheese

Marinated cheese is a very simple appie to make and is great with a fresh baguette. In this one used cubes of mozzarella, fresh rosemary, santalina tomatoes, and virgin olive oil. Marinate in the fridge for at least a week and take out of the fridge an hour before serving.

Flank cut beef sh0rt ribs

This is one of the easiest ways to enjoy the taste of beef ribs with about half the time ( it is still going to take 3-4 hours).

I like a simple rub of fresh cracked pepper corns and sea salt with a drizzle of olive oil. Very simple and allows the beef taste to be prominent. Throw these on a hot, pre-oiled, grill and stand back to listen to the beautiful sizzle of searing meat. Sear both sides to brown and lower the heat to low (225F) close the lid and walk away. a simple mopping of beer, butter, and BBQ sauce every hour with a flip and these bad boys should be fall off the bone ready after 3 hours.

I use a cast iron wood chip box on my direct heat burners as the ribs cook over the other side of the grill.

Uncle Sawhorse's Garlic Hot Sauce

I have finally decide to get off my ass and start making my garlic hot sauce for sale at local farmers markets. I have been making hot sauce for awhile now as presents to my friends who, in turn, have encouraged me to make more of it and sell it.

Uncle Sawhorse's Garlic Hot Sauce is made with red thai chili peppers, white vinegar, kosher salt, tomatoes, and of course garlic...lots and lots of garlic.

The taste has been described as a "BANG" of garlic followed by a wave of medium heat...never taking away from the taste of the meat. Hot sauce should never overpower the taste of meat...it should enhance it.

Grilled Top Sirloin Steak

Top Sirloin is one of my favourite steaks to grill. It is big and very beefy, but also tender. The c0st of top sirloin versus tenderloin makes it a great purchase to feeding a group of people.

The key to grilling a top sirloin is a thick cut and high heat. I like to use 1 1/2" thick 32 oz full slices of sirloin at 550 degrees farenheit.

a generous dry rub of cracked pepper and ground sea salt with a drizzle of of olive oil on each side is the best and most basic way to prepare the steak.

4-5 minutes at 3/4 of an inch above direct heat before flipping and then 3-4 minutes on the other side should give you a nice rare steak with plenty of bark ( the charring of the steak ).

If you prefer medium rare try moving the steak to indirect heat for about 2 minutes before flipping and then put back over direct heat and follow the process.

Remember there are different cuts of sirloin so make sure you ask your butcher for "Top Sirloin".

Barbecued Ham

There is nothing quite like the smell of ham being cooked on the barbecue. I like to use a picnic shoulder ham for 2 reasons, the first is its inexpensive, the second is because of the amount of fat that melts into the meat...remember fat = taste.

I use indirect heat in a charcoal kettle at about 300F and 20 minutes a pound. While the coals or charwood is getting ready i score the top of the rind in a checkerboard pattern and place the ham in a bbq roasting pan and add enough apple juice and beer to cover the bottom of the pan.

As I put the ham on the grill i add soaked wood chunks to the coals for smoke flavouring. I like to use a spritzer bottle filled with apple juice, liquid smoke, and chipolte hot sauce to keep the ham moist every 1/2 hour

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Barbecue vs Grilling

I am a fan of both methods of cooking and find the words are interchangeable with each other, but lets look at the difference:

The word barbecue is used to define a method of cooking, the food that is cooked, and the gathering that eats the food.... its a great verb and noun. People barbecue on the barbecue, while others eat barbecue at a barbecue. One word to describe so many things.

True barbecuing is the act of cooking meat at low temperatures for several hours over indirect heat. This process results in the meat becoming more tender and tasty as the natural juices have time to disperse throughout the meat. Examples of barbequed meat are ribs, roasts, hams, and whole chickens.

Grilling is the act of cooking meat at high temperatures for a short period of time usually directly over the heat. Hamburgers, hotdogs, sausages, and steaks are grilled.

So simply put grilling is "hot and fast" and barbecuing is "low and slow".