Okay, okay, okay. We actually made this meal last night on Monday but I didn't have time to blog about it then. So, double whammy. First off, it didn't fall on Sunday and secondly... I didn't blog on the day it was even made. But it is what it is and I wanted to keep our "Smoking Sunday" theme so bear with me. It's worth it too because this meal was ah-maze-ing.
Initially our plan was to smoke on Saturday but we were worried that the pork butt that we had wouldn't thaw on time (plus, we scheduled to go to Blue Springs to see the manatees so we wouldn't be home) so we held it. We couldn't smoke on Sunday because we had church and we would need to be home to smoke. Also, we had our annual progressive dinner with our neighbors so although we were in charge of the entree this year, it wasn't a feasible option for us to smoke pork because this was only our second one ever and we are still working out some kinks.
Smoking pork starts pretty early. This is where we were really unsure. Last time, we smoked for about 8 hours but got stuck at the plateau that comes with pork. The meat sits around 190 degrees for an undetermined amount of time. You want it to be closer to 205 degrees. It can sit for hours at 190 though and it is what happened last time. We eventually pulled it last time and I ended up throwing some of the pork in a frying pan to make sure it was sufficiently cooked. This time, we planned to have at least 9-10 hours in hopes that it would all work out okay.
We prepped the pork by using a bit of mustard to hold the rub on. We use mustard on our ribs too. When it cooks, the mustard flavor disappears but it acts as a great bonding agent to hold rubs onto meats that might otherwise drop everything. We also used a pan this time after reading about it in a smoking recipe book we have. Since pork has no skin, it can't hold in it's juices as well. I think last time we wrapped it in tin foil but the pan was cleaner and easier. We used our Memphis rub. We use this rub when we want something that is less spicy than some of our others. We use it frequently on chicken because the kids (read: Will) LOVE it. (Kenzie will eat it too but Will can demolish an entire chicken if we use it.) We also decided to use Hickory chips. We have moved to almost exclusive Hickory use. We started with something else but Hickory was recommended to us and we like it better so we have just stuck with it.
Finally, about an hour after that check, we decided to pull it and see what the temp was at. We figured that I could finish cooking it again if need be. When we pulled it, it was right around 200 degrees. We decided that was close enough because it was getting late. We had already fed the kids other food because we knew this would take too long and they were about to get in bed so we were done with the smoking. We were hungry and ready to eat. Last time we did this, the pork wasn't 100% ready so it was really difficult to shred. I ended up cutting it into chunks to cook because I couldn't get it shredded. This time, it was cooked and pulled apart so easily.
Once we had it shredded, we mixed up a bit of it with some barbecue sauce and put it on hamburger buns. We were initially debating if we wanted to toast the buns with some garlic butter but decided against it. We might try it next time though.
We served it with homemade mac and cheese and some roasted garlic green beans. It was awesome! Here are the recipes for the mac and cheese and green beans for anyone interested:
Roasted Garlic Green Beans
Fresh Green Beans
Olive Oil
Butter (unsalted is probably preferred but I only had salted)
4-5 Cloves Garlic
First, I did a step that might be unnecessary. I blanched the green beans for 1.5 minutes in boiling water then put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. I did this because I initially planned to just saute them but ended up roasting them because I didn't think they were soft enough after the blanching and sauteing process.
Next, I put about a tablespoon butter in a pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. I don't measure usually for things like this so these are rough estimates. I added about a tablespoon of the minced garlic in a jar. I didn't have any fresh so this worked out pretty well. Otherwise, I would have minced about 4-5 cloves on my own. Saute those ingredients for a couple of minutes together and then toss in the green beans. I let everything saute together for about 5 minutes before laying the green beans in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Cook the green beans in a 400 degree oven for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them because they can burn all of a sudden and ovens vary. We like them to be somewhat shriveled and a little toasty but not outright burned.
Susan's Mac & Cheese
(This is a recipe my mother-in-law gave me and we LOVE because it isn't as heavy as some mac and cheese options. It is from a newspaper article from years ago apparently. If you have ever had the mac and cheese at a party at our house, this is it. It is always a hit. We cut the recipe in half roughly for just us because they kids don't seem to like this version at the moment... though they used to but that's how kids work and double it for parties or family gatherings.)
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 small onion, minced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp salt (I omit this)
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp pepper (I estimate this)
2 cups milk
1/2 pound velveeta cut into cubes (I use the light version)
3/4 cup breadcrumbs & an extra 1 tbsp butter
1. Prepare macaroni. I like to leave them a bit al dente because they will cook more in the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 400
3. Put onion and 2 tbsp butter in a pot and cook over medium heat for approximately 3-4 minutes or until onions become somewhat translucent.
4.Stir in flour, salt, mustard and pepper into pot. Cook an additional minute.
5.Slowly stir in milk. Cook until smooth.
6.Add cheese and stir until melted.
7.Add drained macaroni to pot to mix with cheese mixture once it is melted. Poor into a casserole dish.
8.Mix 1 tbsp butter with breadcrumbs and spread on top.
9.Bake uncovered 20 minutes.
Initially our plan was to smoke on Saturday but we were worried that the pork butt that we had wouldn't thaw on time (plus, we scheduled to go to Blue Springs to see the manatees so we wouldn't be home) so we held it. We couldn't smoke on Sunday because we had church and we would need to be home to smoke. Also, we had our annual progressive dinner with our neighbors so although we were in charge of the entree this year, it wasn't a feasible option for us to smoke pork because this was only our second one ever and we are still working out some kinks.
Smoking pork starts pretty early. This is where we were really unsure. Last time, we smoked for about 8 hours but got stuck at the plateau that comes with pork. The meat sits around 190 degrees for an undetermined amount of time. You want it to be closer to 205 degrees. It can sit for hours at 190 though and it is what happened last time. We eventually pulled it last time and I ended up throwing some of the pork in a frying pan to make sure it was sufficiently cooked. This time, we planned to have at least 9-10 hours in hopes that it would all work out okay.
We prepped the pork by using a bit of mustard to hold the rub on. We use mustard on our ribs too. When it cooks, the mustard flavor disappears but it acts as a great bonding agent to hold rubs onto meats that might otherwise drop everything. We also used a pan this time after reading about it in a smoking recipe book we have. Since pork has no skin, it can't hold in it's juices as well. I think last time we wrapped it in tin foil but the pan was cleaner and easier. We used our Memphis rub. We use this rub when we want something that is less spicy than some of our others. We use it frequently on chicken because the kids (read: Will) LOVE it. (Kenzie will eat it too but Will can demolish an entire chicken if we use it.) We also decided to use Hickory chips. We have moved to almost exclusive Hickory use. We started with something else but Hickory was recommended to us and we like it better so we have just stuck with it.
 |
| I think I have mentioned before that we LOVE Chinese food soup containers for our rubs. We can make extra and store it for later use. I attach the recipe for the rub on top so we can make it again. |
Steven and I prepped the pork together and got the smoker ready and then he ran out to pick up something from the store and left me in charge. This was my first time being entirely alone with the smoker and I had to get the pork in once the smoker was preheated to 250 degrees. I put it in uncovered, in its pan without any issues. Then I added the wood chips which was the only nerve wracking part for me. They sizzle when you drop them into the canister because it is so hot and I was so worried about burning myself or having a child or dog run up behind me, startle me, and me burn myself or one of them. It went off without a hitch though and at 8:40am, we started our pork smoking officially.
We let that smoke for the next 3 hours uncovered. At about 11:40, we pulled it out and covered it with tinfoil. Then we smoked for another 6 hours. We checked the temperature about 4 hours in and it was hovering around 190 degrees. That is the plateau. We checked again at the 6 hour mark and it was barely above 190. Crazy that it takes so long to go up.
Once we had it shredded, we mixed up a bit of it with some barbecue sauce and put it on hamburger buns. We were initially debating if we wanted to toast the buns with some garlic butter but decided against it. We might try it next time though.
We served it with homemade mac and cheese and some roasted garlic green beans. It was awesome! Here are the recipes for the mac and cheese and green beans for anyone interested:
Roasted Garlic Green Beans
Fresh Green Beans
Olive Oil
Butter (unsalted is probably preferred but I only had salted)
4-5 Cloves Garlic
First, I did a step that might be unnecessary. I blanched the green beans for 1.5 minutes in boiling water then put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. I did this because I initially planned to just saute them but ended up roasting them because I didn't think they were soft enough after the blanching and sauteing process.
Next, I put about a tablespoon butter in a pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. I don't measure usually for things like this so these are rough estimates. I added about a tablespoon of the minced garlic in a jar. I didn't have any fresh so this worked out pretty well. Otherwise, I would have minced about 4-5 cloves on my own. Saute those ingredients for a couple of minutes together and then toss in the green beans. I let everything saute together for about 5 minutes before laying the green beans in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Cook the green beans in a 400 degree oven for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them because they can burn all of a sudden and ovens vary. We like them to be somewhat shriveled and a little toasty but not outright burned.
Susan's Mac & Cheese
(This is a recipe my mother-in-law gave me and we LOVE because it isn't as heavy as some mac and cheese options. It is from a newspaper article from years ago apparently. If you have ever had the mac and cheese at a party at our house, this is it. It is always a hit. We cut the recipe in half roughly for just us because they kids don't seem to like this version at the moment... though they used to but that's how kids work and double it for parties or family gatherings.)
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 small onion, minced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp salt (I omit this)
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp pepper (I estimate this)
2 cups milk
1/2 pound velveeta cut into cubes (I use the light version)
3/4 cup breadcrumbs & an extra 1 tbsp butter
1. Prepare macaroni. I like to leave them a bit al dente because they will cook more in the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 400
3. Put onion and 2 tbsp butter in a pot and cook over medium heat for approximately 3-4 minutes or until onions become somewhat translucent.
4.Stir in flour, salt, mustard and pepper into pot. Cook an additional minute.
5.Slowly stir in milk. Cook until smooth.
6.Add cheese and stir until melted.
7.Add drained macaroni to pot to mix with cheese mixture once it is melted. Poor into a casserole dish.
8.Mix 1 tbsp butter with breadcrumbs and spread on top.
9.Bake uncovered 20 minutes.
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