Carolina Pulled Pork with Lexington Red Sauce

Sorry I'm just now posting this - week got away from me but anyways here's what I did...

Menu: Carolina Pulled Pork with Lexington Red Sauce on hamburger buns with store bought potato salad

Carolina Pulled Pork with Lexington Red Sauce

Ingredients:
Pork:
8 hickory wood chunks (about 4 pounds)
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (I just used brown sugar)
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (5-pound) bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
1 cup cider vinegar
2 1/4 cups water, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon canola oil
Cooking spray

Sauce:
1 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. To prepare pork, soak wood chunks in water about 16 hours; drain. (Nix this if you're doing the crockpot)

2. Combine turbinado sugar and next 4 ingredients (through ground red pepper); reserve 2 tablespoons sugar mixture. Rub half of the remaining sugar mixture onto pork. Place in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and refrigerate pork overnight.

3. Remove pork from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Rub remaining half of sugar mixture onto pork.

4. Place the pork in the crockpot and combine reserved 2 tablespoons sugar mixture, 1 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and oil in a small saucepan; add this to the crockpot OR cook over low heat 10 minutes or until sugar dissolves.

5. Skip this step if crockpot cooking: Remove grill rack; set aside. Prepare grill for indirect grilling, heating one side to medium-low and leaving one side with no heat. Maintain temperature at 225°. Pierce bottom of a disposable aluminum foil pan several times with the tip of a knife. Place pan on heated side of grill; add half of wood chunks to pan. Place another disposable aluminum foil pan (do not pierce pan) on unheated side of grill. Pour remaining 2 cups water in pan. Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place on grill. Place pork on grill rack over foil pan on the unheated side. Close lid, and cook for 4 1/2 hours or until a thermometer registers 170°, gently brushing pork with vinegar mixture every hour (avoid brushing off sugar mixture). Add additional wood chunks halfway during cooking time. Discard any remaining vinegar mixture. Preheat oven to 250°. Remove pork from grill. Wrap pork in several layers of aluminum foil, and place in a baking pan. Bake at 250° for 2 hours or until a thermometer registers 195°. Remove from oven. Let stand, still wrapped, for 1 hour or until pork easily pulls apart. Unwrap pork; trim and discard fat. Shred pork with 2 forks.

6. To prepare sauce, combine 1 cup vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1 1/4 cups (about 5 minutes). Serve sauce warm or at room temperature with pork.

7. After your pork has cooked, shred it and take 1/2 of the meat and seat aside for Thursday night's Fajitas. Then mix with the bbq sauce and serve!
   

I served this on hamburger buns with store bought potato salad. Super yummy

Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

With summer winding down the time for backyard barbeques is running out but with this yummy meal you can savor the summer even in the dead of winter. Oh but who are we kidding, its still 90 plus degrees outside and here in Texas we've still got plenty of time. So go ahead and pour a glass of ice cold tea to wash this summer favorite down.

Menu: Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Green Bean & New Potato Salad, corn on the cob, and of course ice cold sweet tea

Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup canned tomato puree
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 (1 1/2-ounce) sandwich rolls
2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
4 (1/8-inch-thick) slices red onion

1. Ok our changes start at the very beginning. Instead of doing this in a saucepan dump it all in the crockpot, then move to step 2 after about an hour. Combine water, 1 teaspoon cumin, 4 sliced garlic cloves, and chicken in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Drain, and place chicken on a cutting board. Cut chicken across grain into thin slices; keep warm.

2. Remove 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 2 chipotle chiles from can; finely chop and set aside. Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Add 1 teaspoon cumin; sauté 1 minute. Ok here's the second change, now dump the sauted spices in the crockpot and then continue to dump remainder of ingredients in making sure to stir well. Stir in tomato puree; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens to a pastelike consistency, stirring constantly. Stir in reserved 2 tablespoons adobo sauce, 2 chopped chipotle chiles, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add sliced chicken to sauce; simmer for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. You want to allow the chicken to cook in the pot for about 3 hours after this, your time might vary but you want a nice thick bbq sauce. Don't let it get dry or pasty.
   

4. After chicken has cooked, take it out and slice it up, then return to crockpot and mix with sauce again.
   

5. Preheat broiler.

6. Split rolls in half; arrange in a single layer, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Remove top halves of rolls from baking sheet. Divide chicken mixture evenly among bottom halves of rolls, and top chicken mixture evenly with cheese. Broil chicken-topped rolls 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; top with onion and top roll halves. Serve immediately.

Green Bean and New Potato Salad

To streamline the preparation of this salad, cook the potatoes and green beans in the same pot of simmering water. The beans take less time, so add them to the pot after the cooked potatoes are scooped out. You can combine the mayonnaise dressing and store it in the refrigerator overnight. Toss with the potatoes and remaining ingredients just before serving.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
• 2 cups (1-inch) cut green beans (about 3/4 pound)
• 2/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Dash of salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. (I'd cook the corn on the cob at this time too) Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon; place on a cutting board. Let cool to room temperature. Add beans to simmering potato cooking water; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; let cool slightly. Cut potatoes into quarters.

2. Combine mayonnaise and next 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add potatoes, beans, onion, and basil; toss gently to combine.

Now everything is ready and I know you're just dying to take that first big bite, but be sure to pour that ice tea 'cause you might need it after you gobble up this spicy sandwich.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Thank the heavens there's a break in the 100 degree temperatures! I can finally use my oven and stove again. To celebrate this glorious occasion I plan on fixing a super yummy pizza. This recipe goes way back to my college days of experiment cooking. I found this recipe and of course what college student doesn't love pizza, so I had to try it. My roomies were thoroughly impressed and so was I. Everyone I make this pizza for can't believe that it doesn't have any bbq sauce in it and neither will your taste buds.

Menu: BBQ Chicken Pizza, corn on the cob, and a yummy glass of white wine/Chardonnay.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) Italian cheese-flavored thin pizza crust (such as Boboli)
3/4 cup tomato chutney
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
2/3 cup diced plum tomato
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onions

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Place crust on a baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 3 minutes. Remove from oven; spread chutney over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. If you're using your own chutney be sure to drain the juice from the tomatoes as you place them on the crust, otherwise you'll end up with soggy crust.
   

3. Top chutney with chicken. Sprinkle diced tomato, cheese, and green onions evenly over chicken. Bake at 450° for 9 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut pizza into 6 wedges.

Note: If you can't find tomato chutney, make your own. And I highly suggest that you choose this option. Combine 2 cups diced plum tomato, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon Jamaicañ jerk seasoning, and 1 minced garlic clove in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes or until thickened.

Serve with your corn on the cob and you've turned pizza night into a dinner grown ups and kids alike will love.

Recipe and picture courtesy of my favorite website CookingLight.com

Chipotle Pulled-Pork Sandwiches

Oh the dog days of summer in Texas and I have a new found love affair with my crockpot. I used to think crockpot cooking was only for winter where warm soups and roasts were just the thing to take the chill away but THINK AGAIN! With a 2 week run of 100 plus degree temperatures and my poor a/c cranking up every 5 minutes, I dread the idea of even turning the light on in the kitchen. So this week out came the crockpot again, we're best friends now. During the fall I usually make this meal on the stove per the directions but I thought I'd give my new best friend a crack at it, and sure enough it turned out even better than on the stove. The meat was so tender and just fell apart.

Menu: Chipotle Pulled-Pork BBQ Sandwiches, coleslaw and your choice of ice cold beer.

Chipotle Pulled-Pork BBQ Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups thinly sliced onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sugar
6 (1/2-ounce) slices provolone cheese
12 sandwich-cut bread-and-butter pickles
6 (2 1/2-ounce) Kaiser rolls

1. Remove 1 chile from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Finely chop chile. (If you like it spicy, use another or two, which come on bbq is supposed to be spicy right)
   

2. (Ok this is where the directions call for a saucepan but instead just throw the meat in and then cover it with the rest of the ingredients. ) Place chopped chile, barbecue sauce, and the next 4 ingredients (barbecue sauce through tomatoes) in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 10 minutes or until sauce thickens and pork is very tender. Remove from heat. Remove pork from sauce; shred pork. Return pork to sauce. (Since we cooked it in the crockpot no need to remove the pork, just take two forks and shred it in the crockpot and then give it a good mix)
   

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, thyme, and sugar; cook 10 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet (or your panini maker) over medium heat. Place 1 cheese slice, 1/2 cup pork mixture, about 2 tablespoons onions, and 2 pickle slices on bottom half of each roll. Cover with top halves of rolls. Add 3 sandwiches to pan. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches, and press gently to flatten. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until cheese melts and bread is toasted (leave cast-iron skillet on sandwiches while they cook). Repeat procedure with remaining sandwiches.

Doesn't this just make your mouth water! Now grab a bag of dress and serve coleslaw, mix it up and plate next to your ooey goey sandwich.

Now an important note, choose your bbq sauce wisely as this can make or break your sandwiches, you want to make sure it's not too sugary tasting because it'll be overkill with the pickles, too spicy itself and you'll be dying with the chipotle, not too smokey either because that's what the chipotle is for. I'd suggest a nice mild to medium flavor bbq sauce with a hint of kick whether its name brand or a local specialty.

Recipe and picture courtesy of my favorite website CookingLight.com