My brother Jaybill has perfected southern style smoked pork.  He finally showed me how to do it, and it really got my faithful readers excited.  The 20 hour process involves brining, rubbing, smoking, roasting and only about 15 minutes of actual work.  Most of it is a drinking waiting game.  The night before you’re going to smoke, you need to get your pig in the brine.  I used two six or seven pound boned-out boston butts.  Jaybill swears by the bone-in cut, and I tend to agree with him.  I think the bone adds flavor as it cooks, and my dogs just love those things.  So you’ve got your meat, now crack a beer.  The brine is a simple recipe, taking just a few moments to prepare.  Whisk the ingredients together then sink in your meat.  Make sure the pork is covered with the flavorful liquid.  Optimal brining is about 12-14 hours.  Any longer, it might get too salty.  I floated mine at 6 pm the day before I was going to smoke, and pulled ‘em out at around 7:45 am the following morning.  Pat the meat dry to remove any excess moisture.  Now comes the rub.  As a cook, there have always been certain jobs that I’ve found naughty, almost erotic, and spice rubbing meat is certainly one of them.  Prepare your rub and go to town on that meat.  Every inch of that sucker should be crusted with spicy goodness.  When the meat is enrobed in deliciousness, get the smoker ready.  The genius of Jaybill’s smokers comes from their simplicity.  The parts for which can be found at any home and garden store, the heating element at your local Fred Meyer.  These things are everywhere.  Fellow Alton Brown fans the world over embraced this DIY set-up, and our recipe featured here is adapted from his “Q” episode.  Jaybill taught me to smoke the butts for four hours.  You’ll need at least a 12-pack of crsipy Longhammers for this part.  When four hours is up, remove the pork and tightly wrap it in tin foil.  Roast for an additional four hours in a pre-heated 300 degree oven.  Don’t be tempted to raise the oven temperature to shorten the cooking time.  All of those delicious juices you’ve worked so hard to create are going to escape.  Don’t you know, that with the pork bro, slow and low that is the tempo?  After 8 hours of cooking you’ll be well brined yourself no doubt and ready for the fun part, pulling.  After proper resting (about 20 minutes)  pull back the foil and take in the sweet smelling steam.  A pair of latex gloves will ensure your tender skin won’t get too warm as you pull apart the porky goodness.  At this point, the entire neighborhood will be lined up to sample your pork.  The smoke signal was sent out hours ago.  Don’t  Jersey up your meat with store bought barbeque sauce.  I recommend a North Carolina style vinegar sauce and some srirachanaise.  You can find AB’s original recipe here.  For our adapted ones read on.

Brine:
1/2  cup molasses
24 ounces kosher salt
1 gallon water
2- 6 to 8 pound Boston butts

Rub:
2 tblsp whole cumin seed
2 tblsp whole fennel seed
2 tblsp whole coriander
2 tblsp chipotle powder
2 tblsp onion powder
2 tblsp paprika

Combine molasses, pickling salt, and water in large bucket.  Completely submerge pork in brine, cover, and let sit in refrigerator 12 hours.Grind all spices to a fine powder in a coffee grinder.

Remove pork from brine and pat dry.

Rub them shits!!

Smoke them shits!!

Eat them shits with Foie Gras Baked Beans!!

On Saturday I rolled into work and found out I’d be doing an off-site catering event. I scrambled to get my prep done so I could be off to the Portland Indie Wine Festival. We were serving Chef’s delicious Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Dungeness Crab Salad and Trout Roe. We got there a little late and by the time we set up our table, throngs of people surrounded us. The panna cotta was flying off our display at such a rate at first we were totally going down, even though we had brought about six hundred of them. It was all we could do to keep up. After the initial rush, we noticed people were setting our little appetizer cups into their wine glasses so they could walk, talk, and eat. There was some cool stuff at this event, but the general consensus was that we had the best food. Some folks came back three or four times. We sold every single one we brought, and after cleaning up, we took a quick cab back to the restaurant to help with a busy night of service. Kate and her friend showed up for happy hour, and I knew Jaybill and Keri were coming in for his birthday dinner. With 80 something on the books we were in for a fun night. While the boys cooked their assess off, put up a multi-course (eight?) tasting dinner for my brother and his wife, I played gopher-boy for the line and plated desserts. I brought Kate a dessert sampler platter, and my brothers table had three dessert courses. They were gushing with satisfaction at thier meal. The following day, Chef threw a party at his house for Cinco de Mayo. I got up early and made empanadas with sausage and cheese. I started drinking PBR early and by 4:00, I was completely shnaukered. The sun was out, Salty Dogs were poured, and I made a dipping sauce from all the available items on the buffet. Guac, , sour cream, ceviche, bean dip, and who knows what all went in there. I got hella sick and stunk out the bathroom. It was a nightmare of clogged sinks, overflowing toilets, no paper, and people were pounding on the door!! I was embarrassed, but party kept on, and among friends all was well. We’ll remember this party. I fell of early, and Kate picked me up and we hit up Kennedy School for burgers and cheesecake.

Yesterday I played stagiaire at a new restaurant south of Portland called (Five-O-Three.)  Upon arriving in West Linn (after the 30 minute drive from No-Po) and checking the place out, I felt like I was back in The Pearl.  When I met the Chef I immediately recognized him as a guy I worked with breifly at Fenouil.  It’s a small industry, man….everybody knows everbody it seems!!  He’s looking for someone to come in and write a dessert menu, and take ownership of the pastry segment of the business, essentially a pastry chef.  So I busted out Charlie’s cream cheese dough and made a Red Pear Tart Tatin with a Blackberry Coulis.  They seemed to enjoy it, and the chef asked me if I wanted to have a beer and eat.  Of course!!  So I had a couple Mirror Ponds while he fed me Tuna Tartare with House Made Old Bay Potato Chips, Slow Cooked Halibut with Andouille Sausage, Gnocci, Manila Clams & Orange Reduction, and Braised Beef Short Ribs with Horseradish Crust, O.C. farms Spinach and Potato Galette.  As I was finishing that, I also tasted the Oregon Truffle and Gruyere Mac & Cheese, and that’s when I started to feel a little full. The Halibut was one of the best preparations of said fish that I have had, and The Mac & Cheese was one of those dishes that you think about, and have to drive and get it.  I now have more on this blog about the restaurant then they do on thier website, I hope they offer me a job.

Its a sad state of affairs when I have to event desserts in Photoshop, but right now, breathing is cost-prohibitive,  never mind ingredient shopping.  Anyway, here’s a plated dessert version of an Irish Car Bomb.  I found all the recipes on the web fairly easily, so I’m surprised that this hasn’t apparently been done before.  Learning the term New American Cuisine inspired me to look to what Americans love, which is of course, gluttony.  And drinking.  So why not use the flavors of your favorite party drink to create a truly decadent delight?  Hopefully I’ll get to make this soon. Guiness Stout Brownie, Bailey’s Ice Cream, and Jameson’s Caramel Sauce can all be found on the recipe page here.   I got the idea for the presentation from Charlie Trotter’s Dessert Book, which I fall asleep reading most nights.  I recommend serving this with an ice cold Gewürztraminer, just to add a refreshing element, form of, more alcohol!! YAY Gluttony!! 

For years, I’ve been hearing bits and pieces of the Kobe beef process, and finally decided to find out for myself what is actually going on.  Kobe Beef comes from a breed of cattle called Wagyu, ranched exclusively until recently in Kobe, Japan.  Wagyu cows are now raised in parts of America and Australia because the land and grain are cheaper than in Japan.  This type of cow is genetically predisposed to intense marbling, and the strict Kobe style of raising them produces a higher percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat than any other in the world.  Kobe beef cattle are fed expensive grains, japanese beer, and purportedly rubbed down with sake.  They are fed beer to stimulate appetite in the hot summer months, and continue the fattening up process.  The cows recieve frequent massages as well, to simulate the exercise the don’t get in thier very restricted living conditions.  What does this all mean to you faithful readers?  Simply put: YUM.

Thanks mom, for always being there…and thanks Kate, for always believing in me…and of course the fans, without them this would never have been possible.  But most of all, thank you Lagunitas for making this broken arm possible.