The T House
Somewhere on the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania
In a cabin.
While they're drying, take about 1/2 lb of good, thick-cut bacon and slice it up.
Somewhere on the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania
In a cabin.
The cabin is more than what you expect when you hear the word "cabin". Going to the cabin is a real treat. The facilities are rustic, the setting is rural, and the good times roll. I usually get to cook dinner for the campers when I go. This time was not an exception. I brought some of the butt I'd vacuum packed and frozen a few weeks ago. As accompaniments I chose cole slaw, baked beans, and my mildly famous greens. Start by soaking the greens in cold water. I let them soak for 1/2 an hour or so then shake them off vigorously. Let them sit and dry for a while.
While they're drying, take about 1/2 lb of good, thick-cut bacon and slice it up.
If you peel the leaves right alongside the main rib in the middle you'll avoid the tough part of the leaf. Then you can set a bunch of them on top of each other and slice into 1/4" strips.
Dice 1/2 an onion and some garlic and your prep is done. Saute the bacon until it's just getting crisp, then pour off most of the fat. Toss in your onion and garlic.
When you're ready to put the greens in, it should look about like so. Deglaze the pot with about a 1/4 cup of cider vinegar and let that boil down, then put your greens in the pot in batches until they wilt, stirring it fairly frequently, until all the greens are in. Add 2 cups of beef stock, put it on simmer, then go sit by the fireplace with a glass of bourbon. In about 1-1/2 hour you've got some of the tastiest greens you'll ever have. No need to add any sugar or anything. These are good just as nature intended them: smokey-bacony-garlicky.
Plate up with the sides and pulled pork. You're good to go. The beans I served were the fancy Bush's kind (but I cheat and add some of the same bbq sauce I use on the pork to give it a little kick and bring the flavors together.)
If you're lucky, your kids will like it so much they'll make dessert.
Thanks for reading. As always, if you have comments or questions feel free.
Thanks for reading. As always, if you have comments or questions feel free.
The morning you're going to smoke let the pork come to room temp. I flauted food safety laws and left them in a cooler overnight with no refrigeration. I put them in the smoker at 220 at 5:45am. I let them smoke for 3-4 hours then started spraying with a mix of apple juice and cider vinegar.
Per my friend Shawn's recommendation I didn't wrap them and I left the vent open at the top of the smoker. We were trying to get all of the fat to render while allowing the bark to cure to an appropriate texture that would allow us to mix it in with the meat. It adds a lot of flavor.
The bark turned out just the way we were looking for it to. Nice.
What's 40 pounds of butt between friends?
