Pig done well
Now I've done it. I've opened the covers on a subject as fraught with regional tension, racial tension, professional tension, emotions, opinions and who knows what else. For some people, the very notion that pig should be cooked any way but theirs "just ain't right". I. Don't, Care...There are a lot of things I don't miss about living in the South, mostly having to do with how different people are treated, but BBQ is a universal language (at least unless you are vegetarian), and I plan to continue cooking, eating, talking and writing about it.
Prelims
First, let's define barbecued pork. We aren't talking about ham, pork belly, chops, tenderloin or any other part of the pig except pork shoulder or "Boston Butt". BBQ is cooked over a low, indirect fire for 10-15 hours, requiring basting, recharging the fire, and not much else. The old time pitmasters settled in for the evening with a jug of tea, a pipe, and maybe a few friends to keep company through the night. Or maybe it was a jug of a little something more powerful, depending on whether they were Baptist or not.In the modern world, most of us don't have the luxury of a covered outdoor kitchen with a brick pit. We have to make do with a Weber, or maybe a barrel shaped smoker/grill like a Char-grill. The biggest challenge is to have some way of isolating the meat from direct heat.
Next, let's talk about rubs, injections and other flavor inducing contraptions. Nope. Not in my kitchen.
And finally, the last time I was in North Carolina, there was a religious 'discussion' taking place regarding the sanctity of wood, and the heretical notion that it was ok to cook BBQ in a gas or electric oven, maybe with a smoker installed. Now I've talked to perfectly respectable people that use an electric or gas oven to more accurately regulate the temperature for their _commercial_ operation. And they usually have thermocouples, automatic vents, rotating spits or rack and other fancy toys to ensure they turn out a high quality, uniform product. But even these folks feature real wood in their smokehouse.
Preparing the meat
Go to a *butcher shop* and buy a pork shoulder or Boston Butt. Get about 3-4 pounds. If it's just two of you, it's ok to start small. DO NOT go to your local grocery store unless you know for a fact that they do their own butchering! It's unforgivable, but most of the meat coming from packing houses has 'water added', and is often packed in carbon monoxide to give it that nice even color with no oxidation! The 'water' is to keep the meat from drying out. Ever notice that ground beef from the grocer has to cook off a bunch of liquid before you can brown it? Yup, water added. A reputable butcher shop that is breaking down a whole carcass won't have this problem. If you really want to live, find a butcher who sources their meat locally.And that's it - no rub, no brine, no anything. Just pig.
The sauce
Every region has its preferences, but for a North Alabama boy, there is only one sauce. It's kind of like the old German Reinheitsgebot for beer - the purity law. BBQ sauce shall consist of cider vinegar, sugar, cayenne pepper, and salt.- 1 qt cider vinegar
- 4 oz cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- Bring all ingredients to a boil, remove from heat, let cool. Pour off into glass container for use.
Preparing the fire
Fire is the pitmaster's secret sauce. Well, their other secret sauce.In a true pit, the only wood worth burning is hickory. It's a hardwood, burns slowly, with long lasting coals, and a decent amount of smoke. It's not particularly subtle, and provides a strong tang of smoke. As it should be.
Again, in our modern world, unless you live in the Appalachian watersheds, hickory *wood* can be difficult to come by. You can find chips, pellets, and lump or briquette hickory charcoal. You may be able to find a local source, or you can order online.
Since Weber kettles are perhaps the most popular grill, we'll talk through that. Use your chimney to start about 10 briquettes, and get them burning, but not fully white. Pile them on one side of the kettle, in as small a pile as possible. One of the secrets is to not let oxygen get to the whole briquette. Place your grill on top, put the lid on with the vent fully open (top and bottom) and walk away for a few minutes. After 5 minutes, come back and check the temp. It should be a little less than 200. If you have an instant read meat thermometer, you can also lay it in the grill and leave it, or drop a thermocouple through the vent hole. Adjust the top vent to regulate the temperature. You want to find the happy place where the grille is producing just enough heat to keep the temp around 180, and make some smoke.
Now open it up, remove the grill and put a drip pan down directly under the meat. Old fashioned 9x9 aluminum baking pans work great. Put the grill back down, and if it's hinged, make sure a flap is over the coals. If not, you may be able to feed coals thru the handle slot. If that doesn't work, you'll need to lift the meat and grill periodically to add more coals.
Put the meat in, fat side down, and close the grill. Keep an eye on that thermometer and make sure it doesn't get too hot or too cold.
After about 30 minutes, pop the top, check to make sure the coals look healthy, and turn your meat over. It won't look like much has happened, but it's working. Add 3-4 new coals to your pile, close the lid and walk away.
Once you've done this cycle a few times, maybe 3 hours, you can start mopping the meat with sauce before you turn it over. If you have a turkey baster, you can also suck up some of the drippings and add them to the sauce. Nothing better.
Now, mop, feed, turn and close for another few hours. If it's a smaller piece of meat, like a 2lb butt, you'll start to see it falling apart a bit on the outside. You should be able to shove a skewer or steak knife in deep without much reistance at this point. If it's hard to push, you probably aren't done. Experience *is* the teacher here. Check the internal temp - it should be at about 180, and the drippings should be plentiful. Keep mopping with these to help keep things moist. That fat will keep soaking back in preventing dry-out.
Dinner time!!
When it's finally time, or you think it's time, carefully transfer the meat to a bowl and cart it back to the kitchen. Let it cool for a few minutes. Like maybe another half hour while you make the coleslaw you should've made this morning. (Recipe below). Or run to the store for the buns you forgot to get. Once the meat has cooled enough to handle with your *clean* bare hands, use a sharp knife or cleaver to break it down into bits. It's supposed to be chopped into chunks of various sizes and shapes, none of which require biting in two in order to eat.If you find that the meat is still solid, go ahead and cut it up, maybe a little finer, and across the grain. You'll know next time to leave it on the heat longer.
Sides
A proper bread for bbq is a 12 pack, white sandwich bun. No seeds, no potatoes, no giant size buns. Spread a little mayo on both sides, pile on the meat, drizzle a little sauce (the leftover mop sauce plus the drippings), and pile on a little cole slaw. My personal favorite is a couple of these, maybe a side of greens, sweet tea, and a little banana pudding or lemon icebox pie for dessert.Coleslaw
1 small head green cabbage1/2 cup real mayonnaise (I prefer Hellman's, but just no Miracle Whip, reduced fat, etc)
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Coleman's dry mustard
1/4 tsp celery seed
Mix all ingredients (except the cabbage) together in a small bowl (I use a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup).
Peel the outer leaves to expose shiny fresh (and tight) leaves. Quarter the cabbage, remove most of the core from each section. Use a 4 sided grater, holding the cabbage by the outer leaves to protect your fingers, grate the cabbage. (I still use the old Ekco that I bought in the grocery store more years ago than I want to mention). Pro tip: If you put the grater on a cutting board, you can slide the chef knife you used to break down the cabbage under the grater, and plop the contents into a fairly large bowl. Pour in a good portion of the dressing, and mix well. It should coat the cabbage, but not be soupy. Start with less - you can always add more, but you can't un-add!
NOTE: Coleslaw is best if it can sit in the fridge for several hours.
