Cochinita Pibil

There is cochinita pibil and then there is cochinita pibil. The former involves a suckling pig (cochinita = little pig) that is first marinated with a mixture of achiote, sour orange juice, chiles and other ingredients, then wrapped in banana leaves, and finally placed in a relatively shallow hole in the ground that is lined with very hot stones or the remnants of a fire (pibil = piib, or Yucatec Mayan for "earth oven"). The hole is covered and the meat roasts for a very long time, often at least eight hours or overnight. By contrast, the latter is a pork shoulder, marinated with the same mix of ingredients, but roasted in either a smoker or an oven. One dish, but two ways to prepare it.

The authentic preparation -- banana leaves and the hole in the ground -- has a very long history throughout the Yucatan peninsula and surrounding regions. That history is tied to the indigenous Mayans, who used this process to prepare wild boar or venison. However, the dish that we know today has been heavily influenced over time. This influence came principally from the Spanish, who brought many things in their conquest over of the indigenous Mayan civilization and the colonization of the Mayan lands. 

Placing the wrapped pork in the pib.
Source: Mexicolores

The influence can be seen in three ways with respect to this dish. First, there is the use of pork. The Spanish introduced pigs to the Yucatan region approximately in 1511, although it would be a few decades later before pigs were brought in significant numbers to the area. The Mayans accepted the pigs as a food source, and, prepared the pork in the same way as the boar and venison. Second, there were the oranges, most notably, the Seville orange. Its sour juices were incorporated into the marinade and preparation of the pork prior to the roasting of the meat (just as the Spanish used the orange juice for marinating fish and meats). Third, the influence of the Spanish can be seen in the banana leaves. The banana tree is not native to the western hemisphere. The tree probably originated in Southeastern Asia, somewhere between Malaysia and New Guinea. The fruit made its way through trade routes in the east. However, the Spanish -- more specifically, Bishop Vasco de Quiroga (the first Bishop of Michoacan) -- brought the banana trees to what would become Mexico in 1554. Thus, cochinta pibil demonstrates how cuisines can change with the introduction of new ingredients and cooking processes.

Turning to this particular recipe, it falls more in line with the latter form of Cochinita Pibil, that is, the one that is prepared in a smoker or oven, as opposed to a hole in the ground. A few notes. First, my beautiful Angel will not let me dig any holes in our yard for culinary purposes. So, no pib. Second, I had to dispense with the banana leaves. While I have occasionally seen banana leaves in ethnic food markets, but I have not seen them recently. However, this recipe provided an interesting substitute: parchment paper. I have a lot of parchment paper thanks to a purchase at the local warehouse store. So, I cut pieces that could be used much in the same way as banana leaves to wrap the pork.

One last thing about this recipe. I decided to use a smoker, which would give me the closest thing to a charcoal fire that would have been used to heat the rocks that would have gone into the pibil. Given I was using a smoker, I also decided to add some wood for smoke. I needed to decide on a wood; and, I went with post oak because I felt that (after doing some research) oak would be as close as I could get to the type of wood that might be found in the region.

COCHINITA PIBIL

Recipe adapted from Glebe Kitchen

Serves several

Ingredients (for the marinade):

• 8 cloves unpeeled garlic
• juice of 2 medium oranges
• juice of 2 large limes
• 3 ounces achiote paste
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup white vinegar

Ingredients (for the pork):

• 4 pounds of boneless pork shoulder
• chunks of oak wood (for the smoker)
• Banana leaves (or parchment paper)
• Foil pan

Ingredients (for the pickled onions):

• 2 red onions, sliced about 1/8 inch thick
• 2 cloves garlic, cut in half
• 1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 clove
• 5 allspice berries, whole
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients (for the presentation):

• Corn tortillas
• Pico de gallo

Directions:

1. Prepare the pork.  Roast the garlic in their skins. Use a small cast iron frying pan over medium heat and toast them until they blacken slightly and soften. This takes about 3-5 minutes. Peel the garlic. Combine the peeled, softened garlic with the lime and orange juice, achiote paste, and salt in a blender and blend thoroughly. Check to ensure that the achiote paste is broken up. Add the marinade to the pork and ensure that all sides of the meat are covered by the marinade. Marinate for two to four hours.

2. Prepare the smoker. Prepare the smoker to reach a temperature of about 275 degrees to 300 degrees. Soak the chunks of oak wood for about 1 hour in water.

3. Prepare the pickled onions. Combine all of the ingredients except the onions in a pot and bring that pot to a boil. Add the onions and boil for one minute. Remove from the heat and let cool, stirring occasionally. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. Let the onions rest for at least 4 hours before using.

4. Prepare the pork for the smoker. Typically, the pork is wrapped in banana leaves; however, I did not have access to those leaves. However, I used four pieces of parchment. Scrunch one piece of parchment to form a receptacle for the pork along with the marinade. (The goal is for the pork to be steamed with the marinade while it is smoked.) Take a second piece and cover the pork wrapping it around the pork. Place the pork in an aluminum pan. Place the pan in the smoker and smoke for about 3 to 4 hours or until the pork reaches 190 or 195 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Continue to prepare the pork. After removing the pork from the smoker, let it rest for 20 minutes. Remove the pork from the parchment packets but keep the marinade and juices. Use a fat separator to separate the fat. shred the pork with two forks and then mix the juice back into the meat. 

6. Finish the dish. Serve with corn tortillas, pico de gallo and the pickled onions.

ENJOY!

Wesley Jones' Barbecue and Antebellum Sauce

Federal Project Number 1. The moniker for a government program that employed upwards of 40,000 writers, musicians, artists and actors during the Great Depression.  The Federal government hired all of these individuals because, as the then-Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins bluntly put it, "Hell, they've got to eat too." However, there was two important principles underying Federal One, as the project became known: (1) in the time of need, the artist - no less than the manual worker - is entitled to employment as an artist, even at the public expense; and (2) the arts - no less than business, agriculture, and labor - are the immediate concern of the country. 

One of the initiatives of Federal One was the Federal Writers Project. This project within a project employed thousands of writers, historians, researchers, editors and others to do what they do best: preserve the American experience. They did what was asked of them; and, in the process, demonstrated the important contributions that they could make to our country. 

Most notably, the Federal Writers Project produced, Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from interviews with Former Slaves.  This work is a literary opus, bringing together 2,300 individual interviews of former slaves and 500 original pictures that span nearly 10,000 pages. My introduction to this literary composition placed me squarely in its middle. It was Volume XIV (of thirty-three parts).  This volume is entitled, South Carolina Narratives, Part 3. It includes the interviews of approximately 75 former slaves.

One of those slaves was Wesley Jones, who was interviewed on June 21, 1937. 

Wesley was born in 1840 on a plantation somewhere in Union County, South Carolina. During his interview, Wesley talked about what he would do for the plantation owner, such as driving him to church or goiong to a store in Sardis, South Carolina to pick up papers (or letters).  Today, the town of Sardis appears to be little more than a crossroads just south of an exit on Interstate 95. However, back in the 1850s, a lot more was apparently going on in that little town, especially at that store. According to Wesley, there were "big barbecues" at the Sardis store. 

As it turns out, Wesley had a role at those barbecues. He worked as the pitmaster.  Wesley recounted that, "on his 'karpets' (pit stakes), ... I had whole goats, whole hogs, sheep and de side of a cow." He also discussed how he prepared these meats:

Night befo' dem barbecues, I used to stay up all night a-cooking and basting de meats wid barbecue sass (sauce). It made of vinegar, black and red pepper, salt, butter, a little sage, coriander, basil, onion and garlic. Some folks drop a little sugar in it.  On a long pronged stick, I wraps a soft rag or cotton fer a swab, and I swabs dat meat 'till it drip into de fire. Dem drippings change de smoke into seasoned fumes dat smoke de meat.  We turn de meat over and swab it da way all night long 'till it ooze seasoning and bake all through.

This excerpt from the Slave Narrativees provides a first hand account of how African-American slaves prepared barbecue.  However, let's be honest, it is an account of how those slaves prepared barbecue for the white plantation class. Slaves would not have had access to whole goats, whole hogs, sheep and a side of a cow to prepare their own meals or meals for their families. They often only had the discarded cuts, the tough portions of an animal that required a slow cook over low temperatures in order to make them tender enough to eat.  

Yet, the story of Wesley Jones remains important.  It provides a starting point on an educational journey to explore the true roots of barbecue. Those roots originated with the enslaved and persecuted.  The problem is that much of the history of barbecue is not written by those who did the work. 

The picture shown above is a good metaphor for this point. It shows a person working the pit, mopping the meat as it smokes. You can see who is doing the work, except for his face. Countless African Americans and Native Americans, whose identities have been ignored or forgotten by history, contributed to what we all enjoy today when we eat some pulled pork or sliced brisket. It was their cooking traditions, along with those of the Native Americans, that constitute the origin story of American barbecue.

I want to learn more about their work. That is my goal with this post. I decided to recreate what Wesley Jones would prepare for the barbecues in Sardis. Thanks to the Federal Writers Project, and one of the Project's editors named Elmer Turnage, I have the words of Wesley Jones for a starting point.  

Wesley said that he spent the night "basting de meats wid barbecue sass" and "all night long I swabs dat meat...." These passages suggest that he used something that modern pitmasters could refer to as mop sauce.  It is basically a thin liquid - usually vinegar (if you are trying to tenderize the meat) or beer (if you want to add flavor) - with spices.  Wesley basically provided the ingredients for this sauce: vinegar, black pepper, red pepper, salt, butter, a little sage, coriander, basil, onion and garlic.  He also provided one additional tidbit of information.  Wesley noted that some people added sugar, which suggests that what he was describing was a fairly typical barbecue sauce for the time period. 

A mop sauce is applied during the cook.  The question remained what happens before the cook.  Wesley did not say how the meat was initially prepared. He made no mention of applying salt or spices to the meat in advance of cooking it. I gave it a lot of thought and I came up with two options. First, I could do a simple salt and pepper seasoning. Second, I could prepare a rub, using the ingredients for the barbecue sauce as a guide. I chose the second option. I used the dry ingredients and substituted onion powder and garlic powder for onions and garlic.  

As for the meat itself, I don't have access to whole goats, hogs, sheep or even a side of beef.  I did have a pork butt.  I applied the rub to the meat and let it rest for a while, as I got the smoker going.  Once the cook began, I used the mop sauce basically every hour. I decided to wrap the pork about half way through the cook to help maintain the moisture. I applied a lot of the mop sauce before I wrapped it to help keep the meat moist during the final hours of the cook.  

WESLEY JONES' BARBECUE

Adapted from the Slave Narratives, Vol. XIV, pg. 73 (1937)

Serves many

Ingredients (for the meat):

• 1 pork butt (between 6 to 9 pounds)
• 2 tablespoon of kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seed

Ingredients (for the mop sauce):

• 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoon of kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seed
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare the pork.  Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Season the pork butt with the rub on all sides until well covered. Cover the pork and allow it to rest for at least a few hours, if not overnight. 

2. Prepare the smoker.  Prepare a fire in the smoker, and, allow it to burn until the temperature reaches approximately 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Soak wood chunks (preferably hickory or oak) in water for at least an hour before smoking the pork. 

3. Smoke the pork.  Once the smoker is ready, oil the grates and place the pork in the smoker. Add a few chunks of wood, such as hickory or apple wood to the fire to create the smoke.  You may want to wrap the pork about halfway through the cook to help retain the moisture. 

4. Prepare the mop sauce. Combine all of the ingredients for the mop sauce and stir well.  With a barbecue mop, apply the mop sauce at least every hour to the pork. Smoke until the pork reaches an internal temperature of at least 185 degrees Fahrenheit. 

One caveat: the foregoing recipe is experimental.  After all, this was the first time that I tried to make this recipe.  It needs some refinement, especially with respect to the rub. I hope to be able to cook it again and make some improvements.  When I do, I will update this post. 

Finally, a reknown writer, culinary historian and educator -- Michael Twitty -- recreates a barbecue sauce that is based upon Wesley Jones' mop sauce. Twitty recommends applying this sauce toward the end of the cook as a light mop sauce or glaze.  I used it as a barbecue sauce that could be mixed in with the pork once it was chopped or pulled.   

ANTEBELLUM BARBECUE SAUCE

Recipe from Afroculinaria

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow or white onion, well chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 tablespoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seed
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar or 4 tablespoons of molasses

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic until translucent.  Turn the heat down slightly and add vinegar, water, optional ingredients (sugar or molasses), salt and spices.  Stir and allow the mixture to cook gently for about 30 minutes to an hour.  Use this sauce as a light mop sauce or glaze during the last 15 to 30 minutes over the pit of coals and as a dip for the cooked meat. 

Michael also offers to options for this sauce.  The first option is to add 1/2 up of brown mustard and a bit more sugar to create a Carolina Mustard Sauce. The second option is to create a "red sauce" by adding two cans of tomato paste or 4 very ripe red or purple heirloom tomatoes (Large Red, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine or Amish Paste), and then cook it down for several hours on low heat to a comparable consistency, adding two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. 

*        *        *

As I noted above, this post is a starting point on a journey to explore the original roots of barbecue in America. I plan on doing more research on this subject and, over time, to continue posting what I have learned.  Thank you for taking the time to research this post; and, as always,

ENJOY!

Santa Maria Tri-Tip

It has quite a while since I have posted anything on my Chef Bolek blog. I have to admit that I have been cooking less, even though I have been home more due to the coronavirus pandemic. Shopping habits have changed, eating habits have changed. Posting habits have changed. Yet, the chances that I have had to cook have presented me with some opportunities to explore new recipes, culinary influences and the history of food. This post offers yet another glimpse into those opportunities. 

I have explored many different barbecue styles, from Eastern Carolina to Kansas City to Western Texas. Now I reach the other side of the country, with my introduction to Santa Maria style barbecue.

This style takes its name from where it first emerged, namely, the Santa Maria Valley. The valley is located in Santa Barbara County, in central California.  It also dates back to the mid-19th century, when local ranchers would hold feasts for their vaqueros (Mexican cowboys).  The style emerged with cooks stringing cuts of meat -- marinated with a rub of salt, pepper and garlic salt -- on skewers and cooking them over the coals of a red oak fire. 

Over time, the style evolved. The focus turned to one particular cut of meat: the tri-tip. The credit goes to a manager who worked at the Santa Maria Market.  Back in the 1950s, that manager had the idea of taking a little-used triangular cut of meat butcher, seasoning it (with salt, pepper and garlic salt), and roasting it on a rotisserie. That led to the Santa Maria style of barbecue that exists today. 

Where as most barbecue is low and slow, the Santa Maria style goes hot and fast. The true Santa Maria style requires the heart to come from red oak coals. The trees grow from the Mendocino County all the way down to the Mexican border and beyond. If you don't happen to have any red oak handy, regular oak wood will do. And, if you don't have any wood or charcoal, a gas grill will do. (It just won't be true Santa Maria barbecue.)

The rub is still the classic salt, black pepper and garlic salt; however, there are many "Santa Maria" style rubs that add other ingredients, such as ground ancho chile pepper (which adds some smokiness to the rub, a benefit if you are using a gas grill with no charcoal). Cayenne pepper, onion powder, oregano and other ingredients have also found their way into rubs.  Even a little sugar can be added.  I found a good recipe with all of these ingredients.  

Finally, the side dishes. If you want some ideas for sides to serve with the trip tip, the traditional side dish is pinquito beans, which are grown in the Santa Maria Valley. Other sides include salads, salsa fresca and garlic bread. 

SANTA MARIA TRI-TIP

Rub recipe from Alison Ashton 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Tri-tip, about 2 pounds
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ancho chile pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried oriegano
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Marinate the meat. Combine the salt, black pepper, ancho chile pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, dried oregano and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly.  Apply a thin layer of olive oil on all sides of the tri-tip. Apply the marinade to all sides of the tri-tip, making sure that it adheres to the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the meat to marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

2.  Grill the meat.  Heat a gas grill on high heat. After oiling the grates, place the tri-tip on the grill.  Allow the meat to cook for about 5 to 10 minutes per side, until the tri-tip reaches an internal temperature of about 135 degrees (between rare and medium rare). Remove from the grill, wrap in aluminum foil and allow the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve immediately. 

ENJOY!

Smoked Rack of Pork Peri-Peri

One of my bucket list items as a cook is to prepare a Smoked Rack of Pork Vindaloo, using Vikram Suderam's recipe in his book Rasika: Flavors of India.  (Actually, the bucket list is to recreate a dinner at Rasika but in my house, including dishes such as Palak Chaat, Calamari Balchao and others). When I bought a bone-in pork roast, I thought this might be the opportunity. However, it was not.  The roast was not ideal (the roast was not cut well, which explains why it was so cheap).  I would also have to go to at least two grocery stores, and, I wanted to prepare this meal for family and guests.  Given the current limitations in this time of social distancing, I would have to put off my bucket list item for a future date. 

That doesn't mean that I could not at least use Chef Suderam's recipes as an inspiration.  Chef Suderam uses a very spice chile paste, which he refers to as a peri-peri paste, as the base for his vindaloo (and other dishes).  The basic piri-piri paste recipe in his book produces a cup, which was enough to use by itself as a rub or marinade for this pork roast. 

However, I got to thinking about those chiles. Although a Goan dish, vindaloo can traces its origins to Portuguese explorers and colonizers. Goa was a Portguese colony until 1961. The Portuguese were known for introducing peppers to their colonies, including those in Angola and Mozambique. Once the peppers took root, figuratively and literally, the cultivation spread beyond the borders of both countries. Today, peri-peri chiles are grown and processed in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda. The reach of the peppers extends as far as Nigeria and Ghana in western sub-Saharan Africa. 

Returning to Rasika, for the moment, Chef Suderam does not use peri-peri peppers for his vindaloo.  Instead, the chef uses Kashmiri chiles to make his peri-peri paste.  Despite the name, these peppers are not grown in Kashmir (or Jammu and Kashmir). Instead, they are principally cultivated in the southwestern Indian state of Karnatka. The Kashmiri chile is relartively mild, clocking in at around 2,000 Scoville units. At this level, the Kashmiri chile is in the company of some well known peppers, such as the passilla, ancho and and poblano peppers. This low level of heat makes the Kashmiri chile particularly popular in cooking, but that popularity is probably more due to the fact that the chile contributes a deep red hue to any curry dish.

It may be just happenstance that Karnatka is just due east of Goa, the Indian state where the famed vindaloo curry calls its home. This geographical relationship provides an explanation for the use of Kashmiri chiles in Chef Suderam's own recipe for vindaloo.  In any event, this recipe put a dent in my Kashmiri chile supply.  Given all of the recipes that I want to make in Rasika, many of which use these chiles, I am going to need to buy some more chiles very soon.  

SMOKED RACK OF PORK PERI-PERI

Peri-Peri Paste from Vikram Suderam, Rasika: Flavors of India, pg. 29

Serves several

Ingredients (for the paste):

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns

8 whole cloves

5 green cardamom pods

1 inch cinnamon stick, crushed

1/4 ounce (about 1 cup of stemed dried Kashmiri chiles, with seeds

5 medium garlic cloves 

1 cup malt vinegar or red wine vinegar

Ingredients (for the pork):

1 six-bone rack of pork

Hickory wood

Directions:

1.  Make the paste.  In a spice grinder, grind the cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon into a powder.  Transfer to a small blender.  Add the chiles, garlic and vinegar. Blend for 10 full minutes, shaking the container or scraping it down every now and then.  The paste should be a deep adobe red, smooth and the texture of a thick tomato sauce. 

2.  Prep the pork.  In a large bowl, coat the rack of pork on all sides with the paste.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, but preferably 24 hours.

3.  Prepare the smoker.  Bring a smoker to a temperature between 250 degrees and 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a drip pan filled with 2 cups of water) under where the pork will sit (if you have a lower rack, or between the coals.  Place the pork on the rack and use a rubber spatula to scrape out any of the marinade left in the bowl and slather it over the top of the pork.

4.  Smoke the Pork.  Smoke the pork roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove the roast and let it rest, covered with aluminium foil for about 15 to 20 minutes.  At this point, you can either slice off the bones and then slice the roast into relatively thin cutlets or you can leave the bones on and slice thicker cutlets.  

ENJOY!

Cape Town Lamb

Like many countries, South Africans have developed their own style of barbecue, which is called "braai" or "grilled meat."  Although that term is Afrikaans, the word has become so eponymous in South Africa that each of the twelve official languages recognizes "braai" as what many would call  barbecue. Not only has the word been adopted into all of the languages of South Africa, but the social custom of a braai is enjoyed by all social classes, from the rich to the poor.   

The subject of barbecue is one that is near and dear to my heart.  I have spent a lot of time learning about different barbecue styles across the United States and around the world.  When I came across Steven Raichlen's recipe for Cape Town Lamb, I decided that I had to look a little more into the South African barbecue generally, and, this recipe in particular.  

There is a lot of information out there about the social custom of a braai.  A braai is like a potluck, centered around a wood fire over which different meats are grilled over direct and indirect heat.  The meats include sausages, kebabs, marinated chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, and even steaks.  If the braai takes place near the coastline, it is not uncommon for fish to appear on the grill. Once the meats are finished, they are served alongside side dishes and salads. 

I could go more into a braai, but that may very well end up as part of my culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes, to prepare a main dish from South Africa. 

Unlike the braai, I had a much more difficult time learning about the history of the Cape Town Lamb recipe.  Every thing I found ultimately led me back to Steven Raichlen and his Barbecue Bible book.  With that said, I turned to the recipe itself.  There is some information in that recipe that provides some insight.  The use of soy sauce and Chinese hot mustard is a nod to the Asians who have made their way to South Africa, as is the use of ginger, as the largest producers of the root include China and India. In other words, the use of these ingredients gives us a glimpse into the diversity of the people who call the Rainbow Nation their home. 

I made a couple of changes to the recipe.  Although this recipe calls for a bone-in leg of lamb, I decided used a boneless leg of lamb, which was tied up so that it was a tight ball. This helped to ensure that the meat cooked evenly. It was also a necessity given my second change.  The recipe calls for indirect cooking. I decided to go full-on barbecue, smoking the meat with a combination of apple and pecan wood. I smoked the lamb in my Weber Smokey Mountain, and, a boneless leg of lamb fits better int that smoker than a bone-in leg of lamb.

In the end, I think this recipe produced a very tasty lamb barbecue dish that, much like barbacoa, opens one's eyes to how different peoples approach a common cooking technique.  

CAPE TOWN LAMB

Recipe from Barbecue Bible

Serves 12

Ingredients (for the lamb):

1 bone-in leg of lamb (6 to 8 pounds) 

     trimmed of any papery skin

6 cloves of garlic, cut into thin slivers

6 thin slices of peeled fresh ginger, cut into thin slivers
(Optional: apple and pecan wood for smoking)

Ingredients (for the glaze):

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons hot Chinese style mustard

     or one tablespoon dry mustard

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced, peeled fresh ginger

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1.  Prepare the lamb.  Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, slits about an inch deep all over the surface of the lamb.  Insert a sliver of garlic and ginger into each slit.  Place the lamb in a non-reactive roasting pan and set aside while you prepare the glaze.

2.  Make the glaze. Combine the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, mustard, lemon huice, minced garlic adn ginger in a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Cook the glaze until thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.  Remove the glaze from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Let cool to room temperature. 

3.  Continue to prepare the lamb.  Pour half of the cooled glaze over the lamb in the roasting pan, brushing to coat it on all sides.  Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator, for 3 to 8 hours (the longer the better).  Refrigerate the remaining glaze, covered.

4.  Prepare the grill. Set up the grill for indirect grilling (preferably, you'll have built a wood fire; let it burn down to glowing embers), place a large drip pan in the center, and preheat the grill to medium.  Toss the wood chips on the coals.  

5.  Cook the lamb.  When ready to cook, place the lamb on the hot grate over the drip pan and cover the grill.  Cook the lam until done to taste, 1 to 1 1/4 hours for rare (internal temperature of 120 to 125 degrees); 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours for medium rare (130 to 135 degrees); 2 hours for medium ({145 to 150 degrees).  Start brushing the lamb wit the remaining glaze during the last 45 minutes of grilling, brushing it two or three times.  If using a charcoal grill, you will need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour. 

6.  Finish the dish.  Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and brush it one last time with glaze, then let it rest for 10 minutes for carving.  While the lamb rests, heat any remaining glaze to serve as a sauce with the lamb. 

ENJOY!

Project Maryland BBQ: Part 4, Free State Smoked Pork Shoulder

While every barbecue style is defined by a principal protein (beef in Texas, pork in North Carolina, etc.), that style is never limited to just that one protein. Pitmasters also work their magic on other proteins, adding their distinctive regional approaches to the resulting barbecue.

In this multi-part series, Project Maryland Barbecue, I have been exploring what would be true Maryland barbecue if the Free State had its own regional barbecue style. Part 1 generally focused on the elements of a regional barbecue, such as protein, rubs, sauce and wood.  Parts 2 and 3 turned to specific elements of what would be Maryland barbecue.  The discussion in Part 2 explained why, of all the proteins that could be smoked, the principal protein of Maryland barbecue would be chicken. With the protein in place, Part 3 turned to the sauce. Despite the range of sauces,  from white to red, from tomato to vinegar, the discussion in Part 3 explained why if Maryland barbecue had a signature sauce, it would be tomato based, but lighter and thinner than a Memphis based sauce or Kansas City sauce.

Part 4 takes us to the next logical extension of a BBQ style ... to other proteins.  There are a few options, such as beef, pork, lamb or mutton.  If there was to be a secondary protein for Maryland style barbecue, I think it would more likely than not be pork.  There are three reasons.

First, pork figures a little more prominently in Maryland agriculture than beef, lamb or mutton.  Maryland ranks 30th in the United States in terms of the number of hogs and pigs in the State, while it ranks 41st when it comes to the number of cattle in the state. By the numbers, there are over 7,000,000 hogs and pigs in the Free State, while there are only about 197,000 cattle in the state.  More pig farms than cattle ranches supports the conclusion that pork would feature more prominently than beef in a barbecue style. 

Second, the regional barbecues surrounding the state have pork as their primary protein.  The Carolinas are all about pork, whether it is whole hogs in eastern North Carolina or pulled pork in Western North Carolina and South Carolina.  In addition, ham features prominently in Virginia.  The prevalence of pork not just in the State of Maryland, but also nearby States, also supports the conclusion that pork would feature in any barbecue style in the Free State.

Third, a review of the menus from BBQ joints in the State of Maryland features a lot of pulled pork. This factor is a little less reliable than the first or second reasons because BBQ joints often try to feature a range of barbecue, including beef, sausage, and other offerings.  However, when one drills down to what the joint is known for or what it promotes, it is more often than not pork, and, more often than not pulled pork.

So, if there was a Maryland Barbecue Style, and, if there was a secondary protein in that style, it would be pork.  And, more specifically, it would be pulled pork.

With that in mind, I decided to smoke a pork shoulder.  When it comes to pork shoulders, one of the keys is the rub.  After doing some research, I decided to use a rub created by a native son to the State of Maryland ... Steven Raichlen.  I utilized his basic rub, which happens to be my go to rub for barbecue for both pork and chicken. The rub has the perfect balance of paprika, garlic, onion and salt, with the added flavor of celery seeds.  The one thing that this rub lacks, at least in my humble opinion, is a little heat.  If you are a chilehead like myself, then adding a couple of tablespoons of cayenne pepper could provide the requisite heat.

So, in the end, if there was a Maryland Style of barbecue, pork could also figure into that style, with a pulled pork that could be served with the Maryland style sauce.  Stay tuned for the next segment in Project Maryland BBQ, because, who knows where it may lead!

FREE STATE SMOKED PORK SHOULDER

Pork Recipe adapted from and inspired by Steven Raichlen

Rub recipe from Steven Raichlen's Barbecue Bible

Serves many

Ingredients:

1 Boston Butt Pork Shoulder (6 to 8 pounds)
Chunks of apple wood

Ingredients (for the rub):
1 cup sea salt (or kosher salt)
1 cup brown or white sugar
1 cup sweet paprika
1/2 to 1 cup coarsely ground or cracked black peppercorns
3 tablespoons granulated garlic powder
3 tablespoons granulated onion powder
1 tablespoon celery seed

Directions:
1.  Marinate the pork butt. Combine all of the ingredients for the rub. Season the pork shoulder on all sides with the rub, massaging the rub into the meat.

2.  Prepare the smoker or the grill.   Set up the smoker or grill for indirect grilling and get a fire going.  Preheat the smoker or the grill to about 250 degrees.

3.  Smoke the pork butt.  Place the pork but, fat side up in the middle of the grate over a drip pan.  Toss a handful of soaked wood chips (soaked for about an hour) on the charcoals.  Cover and smoke the shoulder until it is the color of mahogany, about 7 to 9 hours.  The internal temperature should be about 195 degrees.  This will require the addition of fresh charcoal every so often,  After about 4 hours of smoking, check the fire and the shoulder.  At this point, it may be appropriate to wrap the shoulder in aluminum foil for the rest of the smoke.

4.  Finish the smoke.  Once the pork shoulder reaches the requisite temperature, remove the shoulder from the smoker and let it rest for about 15 to 30 minutes.  Pull the pork and serve immediately.

ENJOY!

D.C. Pulled Pork with D.C. Mambo BBQ Sauce

When it comes to food, sauces often become symbols of cities or even entire regions.  Think of Alabama White Sauce, the thin white velvety sauce that slowly drips off of a whole smoked chicken.  There is the East Carolina Vinegar Sauce, a somewhat transparent sauce that slightly glazes the pulled or chopped pork but makes its presence known with a stiff kick from the vinegar and peppers.  And there is the Kansas City Barbecue Sauce, with its thick, sweet, tomato-based sauce that and the list can go on.

All of those sauces are traditionally used in barbecue, to provide additional levels of flavor to the smoked meat.  I have spent a lot of time reading and learning about barbecue sauces and, during this effort, I discovered that Washington, D.C. has its own iconic sauce.

It is the Mambo Sauce.  And, it has quite the history ...

That history begins in Indianola, Mississippi.  Argia B. Collins Sr. was born there but emigrated north as part of the post World War II migration in the United States.  Collins made his way to Chicago, where he opened a barbecue joint, Argia B's BBQ, on the south side at Forestville and 47th Street.  At that BBQ joint, Collins created what he called "Mumbo Sauce," a mild barbecue sauce.  He drenched everything he sold -- hot links, fried chicken, fried shrimp, fried fish -- in his Mumbo Sauce.  Eventually, Argia B. Collins Sr. trademarked his sauce in 1957 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Collins' sauce, as well his food, became very popular, with Argia opening a total of ten store fronts.  Other restaurants on the south side of Chicago, especially those serving barbecue and fried chicken began making a mild sauce similar to Mumbo Sauce.

There is a separate claim to Mumbo Sauce, which was made by Charlene Archie. She claims that the sauce originated in Washington, D.C. with a restaurant called Wings N Things, which was located at the intersection of 7th Street, NW and Florida Avenue, NW, near Howard University.  Wings N Things operated from 1962 to 1978. While the restaurant eventually closed, the sauce lived on.  Soon it found its way to menus throughout the District.  One could find Mumbo Sauce being used by Chinese and Korean restaurants, as well as served with fried chicken. 

Eventually, D.C.'s Mumbo Sauce would be bottled and sold in stores by Capital City Mumbo Sauce; and, that is when the story takes a turn.  Argia B's BBQ learned about the D.C. version of Mumbo Sauce and then sued Capital City in court.  The principal allegation was that the use of the term "Mumbo Sauce" violated the trademark obtained by Argia B. Collins, Sr.   Capital City fought back and the case was ultimately decided in 2013, when a court ruled in favor of Argia B's BBQ.  As a result, at least in D.C., Mumbo Sauce became Mambo Sauce. 

Mambo Sauce combines the taste elements of sweet and sour, spice and salt; and, it does so in a very balanced way. How that balance is achieved has been the subject of much debate.  As one writer observed, "get five people into the room and you'll get six recipes for mambo sauce."  Nevertheless, there are some commonalities among the various recipes.  The sweetness comes from ketchup (or tomato paste).  The sour or tartness comes from vinegar.  The salt comes from soy sauce.  The spice comes from hot sauce.   With this in mind, I turned to my cooking.

The recipe that I used contains these four ingredients (tomato paste, vinegar, soy sauce and hot sauce), as well as a couple of other ingredients that find their way onto most mambo sauce recipes. While I could have incorporated the sauce into a range of dishes that I make (as I have made Chinese and Korean dishes), I decided to use it in the traditional way ... with barbecue. I smoked a Boston butt and mixed in the sauce after pulling the pork.  While I am a big fan of spicier sauces, I have to say that I was truly impressed with how a very basic and mild sauce can still shine and be the star of the dish.   

D.C. PULLED PORK WITH D.C. MAMBO BBQ SAUCE

Rub recipe from Steven Raichlen's Barbecue Bible
Sauce recipe from American Food Roots

Serves many

Ingredients (for the pork):

1 Boston Butt pork shoulder

Chunks of apple wood

Ingredients (for the rub):

1 cup sea salt (or kosher salt)

1 cup brown or white sugar

1 cup sweet paprika

1/2 to 1 cup coarsely ground or cracked black peppercorns

3 tablespoons granulated garlic powder

3 tablespoons granulated onion powder

1 tablespoon celery seed

Ingredients (for the BBQ Sauce):

1/2 cup of tomato paste or ketchup
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup of pineapple juice
1 cup of sugar
4 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1.5 teaspoons of smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce

Directions:

1.  Marinate the pork butt. Combine all of the ingredients for the rub. Season the pork shoulder on all sides with the rub, massaging the rub into the meat.

2.  Prepare the smoker or the grill.   Set up the smoker or grill for indirect grilling and get a fire going.  Preheat the smoker or the grill to about 250 degrees.

3.  Smoke the pork butt.  Place the pork but, fat side up in the middle of the grate over a drip pan.  Toss a handful of soaked wood chips (soaked for about an hour) on the charcoals.  Cover and smoke the shoulder until it is the color of mahogany, about 7 to 9 hours.  The internal temperature should be about 195 degrees.  This will require the addition of fresh charcoal every so often,

4.  Make the Mambo Sauce.  In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce.  Simmer, but do not boil, for about 20 minutes to marry the flavors and thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust to your preferences.

5.  Finish the dish.  Once the pork butt reaches the temperature goal, pull the pork out  and let it rest for about 15 minutes.  Pull the pork and then mix in some of the Mambo sauce.  Serve immediately with a side of Mambo sauce.

ENJOY!

Smoked Jamaican Jerk Chicken

For the precious few who follow this blog, it may seem that I love Jerk Chicken. There are three recipes already on the blog for Jerk Chicken.  The first one dates back to October 2010, when I made Jerk Chicken as part of my Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge to make a main course from Jamaica. (It is hard to believe that the challenge is in its 9th year, and, I have only completed 34 of the 80 challenges.  I need to get working on that!) The second recipe dates from July 2011, when I made it as part of one of the two Savage Bolek Barbecues that we hosted.  (We haven't hosted one since that time.  We need to do another one.)  The final recipe is Bob Marley's Jerk Chicken, which is one of my favorite Jerk Chicken recipes. 

What ties all three of these recipes together is that the chicken is grilled.  In fact, that is how Jerk Chicken has traditionally been made ... well, almost.  And, that story is the subject of this post.

Jerk chicken originated with the Taino, the indigenous people who lived in Jamaica and much of the rest of the Caribbean before the colonization.  The Taino developed the "jerk" method, which was to cover the meat (usually chicken, but could be pork, goat, seafood or vegetables).  The meat was then cooked slow over a fire.  Now, that is what is reflected in most recipes for jerk chicken.  There is one critical component of the cooking process that is missing.  The Taino cooked the "jerk" chicken not just over a fire, but with green pimento wood.  The use of this wood added a smoky flavor to the chicken, which gave the chicken its distinctive flavor.  Most recipes omit the use of the wood, leaving the jerk chicken something less than the original Taino version. 

For my fourth Caribbean Jerk recipe, I wanted to go back to that original version.  I decided to cook the chicken low and slow over a fire, with wood.  In other words, I would smoke the jerk chicken.  The problem is that I don't have a ready access to green pimento wood.  (Believe it or not, Amazon does not ship green pimento wood chunks.)  So, I did a little research and discovered that any fruit wood, such as apple wood, would work as an adequate substitute for pimento wood.  As I have an overabundance of apple wood, I used that to smoke the chicken.

As one would expect, there is a significant difference between jerk chicken that is just grilled and smoked jerk chicken.  The question for me is which one I liked better. The answer is a close call because, as I noted at the outset, I love jerk chicken.  However, in the end, I am always drawn to the way food was originally prepared.  It is the history buff in me that comes through in my cooking.  Thus, I have to say that I like the Taino approach, to cook the chicken over a fire with the wood. 

SMOKED JAMAICAN JERK CHICKEN

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 3-5 pounds)

1 bunch of scallions

6 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons minced ginger

1-2 habanero peppers, seeded and minced 

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground allspice

2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dry thyme

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

Directions:

1.  Marinate the chicken.  Add all of the ingredients into a very large, non-reactive bowl.  Cover and place in the refrigerator.  Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 2-3 hours, but preferably overnight. 

2.  Prepare the smoker.  Soak some chunks of apple wood in a bowl for at least 1 hour prior to the smoke . Heat a smoker to between 250 degrees and 275 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add a couple of apple wood chunks.  Oil the grate and then place the chicken, skin side up onto the grate.  Smoke the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.  The cooking time should take about 30 to 45 minutes per pound, but that will depend upon the temperature of the smoker. 

3.  Finish the dish.  Remove the chicken from the smoker, cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 to ten minutes.  Carve the chicken as desired and serve immediately. 

ENJOY!

Kansas City Style Spareribs

One caveat at the outset of this post ... this is the very first time that I have smoked ribs of any kind.  While there are quite a few Savage Boleks BBQ posts, none of them involve the smoking of pork ribs.  Beef ribs, yes (already marked that off my list).  Pork ribs, no.  No baby back ribs.  No spare ribs.  Until now.  I am going to smoke some spareribs, and, do a little experimentation with the cooking method along the way. 

A friend from Kansas City bought me a pack of rubs and sauces from Gates BBQ, one of the legends of barbecue in the City of Fountains. (Let me just say, I am very thankful for the gift.) Those rubs and sauces got me to research and learn about the Kansas City style of barbecue.  If one had to write one sentence to describe KC BBQ, and be incredibly general about it, one could write (as one did in Wikipedia): the meat is "rubbed with spices, slow smoked over a variety of woods, and served with a thick, tomato-based sauce."  

There are over 100 barbecue restaurants in the Kansas City area; and, many of them are well known.  There is Arthur Bryant's BBQ, whose namesake stakes the claim of the "most renown barbequer in history."  There is only one Arthur Bryants, which has stood at the corner of 18th & Brooklyn for as long as anyone can remember.  Then there is B.B. Lawnside's BBQ, a barbecue joint that may not have been around as long as Arthur Bryant's, but it still has developed its own lore.  And, there is Gates BBQ, which my friend swears is the best in Kansas City.

I did a little research into Gates BBQ and found that there are many others who think very highly about Gates' barbecue.  One writer noted, when discussing Gates' ribs:

The ribs are excellent, and like another of my favorites covered in this column, the Salt Like outside of Austin, they employ a less common hybrid method where they are slightly seared close to the live fire then moved away and slow smoked in a more traditional fashion.  Most ribs are overcooked and too tender or mushy, but these are perfect consistency, tender but with enough bite so it doesn't fall apart, and very flavorful. 

The use of dry rub is minimal by Kansas City standards, with more reliance on Gates' line of proprietary sauces, which you add at your discretion.  The sauces come in varying degrees of heat, but all are tomato and vinegar based, tasty and delicious and not as cloying or sweet as common supermarket sauces. The popularity of the sauces has in large part been responsible [for] the growth and success of Gates, and they are now widely available in bottles nationwide. 

With reviews like that, there was no choice to be made.  I would try to smoke my first spare ribs in the Gates style.  The only problem that I have is that I don't have the Gates' recipe.  Instead, I have to work from the above quote: slightly seared close to the live fire then moved away and slow smoked in the traditional fashion. The smoke would be between 225 degrees and 275 degrees Fahrenheit, but I started the smoker out at a higher temperature, between 300 to 325 degrees.  I placed the ribs on the smoker without the liquid bowl, which made it a direct cook.  I closed off the air vents to help bring the temperature down as slight sear took place.  After about 15 minutes (I did not want to go too long), I put the liquid bowl back in and got the temperature down to about 275 and proceeded to smoke "in the traditional fashion."

From what I tell, when it came to the wood, it appears that, just with the meat, a variety of wood can be used in K.C. barbecue.  I decided to use hickory wood, but apple wood could work just as well.

With everything in place, I made my first barbecue ribs.  The experiment was basically a success.  To be truthful, the ribs were slightly overcooked, as some of the bones came right out during the slicing of the ribs.  The thing with ribs is that thermometers really don't work well during the smoking process.  There is simply not enough meat and too many bones for them to work.  It takes practice to know when the ribs are done.  I guess that I need more practice and that is something that I will happily undertake.

KANSAS CITY-STYLE PORK RIBS
Recipe adapted from many, including one by Tuffy Stone,
available on Saveur, and Aaron Franklin's Franklin's Barbecue, pp. 161-68

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 rack St. Louis-style spareribs (about 3 pounds)

1 cup of barbecue rub (Gates Spicy Rub)

1 1/2 cups of apple juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup of barbecue sauce (Gates Extra Spicy)
Chunks of hickory wood

Directions:
1.  Prepare the ribs.  Trim the excess fat off of the ribs and remove the membrane off of the bone side of the ribs.  Sprinkle the rub over the ribs so that the meat is covered evenly on both sides and along the edges.

2.  Smoke the ribs.  Start the smoker at about 300 to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place the ribs on the smoker, meat side up and cook over the direct coals for about 15 minutes.  After that, remove the ribs from the smoker, add the liquid bowl and return the ribs to the smoker.  Add the hickory wood to create the smoke.  Get the temperature down to between 225 degrees to 275 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the ribs for 3 hours, spritzing or mopping the ribs with the combination of apple juice and apple cider vinegar once every 30 minutes.

3.  Wrap the ribs.  Remove the ribs from the grill and transfer to two sheets of foil.  Cover the ribs with 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce. Place the ribs meat side up and close the foil.  Return to the smoker for 2 hours

4.  Finish the ribs.  Uncover the ribs and discard the foil.  Return the ribs to the grill and cook ,basting with sauce after 30 minutes, until the tip of a small knife slips easily in and out of the meat for abut 1 hour.    Remove the ribs and let them rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

ENJOY!

Project Maryland BBQ: Part 3, The Sauce

Barbecue styles are not just about the protein, but, also about the sauce (or, in some cases, the lack of sauce).  Many well established barbecue styles have a particular sauce that helps to define that style. The best example of a sauce that defines a barbecue style can be found in northern Alabama. Think Big Bob Gibson's Barbecued Chicken with White Sauce.  Chicken smoked low and slow, finished off in a bath of a barbecue sauce that is part vinegar, part apple juice and part mayonnaise. 

And, in some cases, the sauce can draw the borders of the barbecue. The Carolinas provide the best example of those borders.  Carolina barbecue is pork centric, usually whole hog or pulled pork.  Nevertheless, there is Eastern Carolina barbecue, which is known for its thin, peppery vinegar sauce. If one traveled west toward Lexington, North Carolina, pitmasters add tomatoes to that vinegar sauce or, as they call it, the "dip," That tomato/vinegar sauce is the defining characteristic of Lexington style or Piedmont style barbecue.  And, if that person then travels south, he or she will find that pitmasters use mustard, which is thinned with the vinegar.  That mustard sauce is the cornerstone of South Carolina style barbecue.

Yet, all of the sauces that I have discussed are not even the most well known sauces.  When most people think about barbecue sauce, they think of Kansas City.  A thick sauce, with both sweet and tangy characteristics, that is often slathered on ribs. The sauce is usually made with ketchup, molasses, vinegar, and brown sugar (which gives you an idea where both the sweet and tangy come from), along with a variety of spices to add depth.   A variant of Kansas City style barbecue sauce could be found in Memphis, where the sauce is thinner, and more vinegar based.

With all of this said, the question is, if there was a Maryland style of barbecue, what sauce would be part of that style?

Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce

One would think that, due to its proximity to the Carolinas, a Maryland-style sauce would be, at the very least, influenced by the use of vinegar, if not vinegar based. Vinegar base sauces have made their way, to differing extents, into Virginia.  So, it is not too difficult to imagine vinegar based sauces in Maryland.  Indeed, if one were to check out local BBQ joints in the Delmarva, he or she would probably fine examples of a vinegar BBQ sauce.  The sauce is not a true vinegar sauce as one would find in eastern Carolina.  Rather, it is probably closer to a Lexington barbecue sauce, because there is usually tomato in the sauce.

With the use of tomatoes (whether sauce or ketchup), I think that brings us closer to what the barbecue sauce would be with a Maryland style of barbecue. But, I don't think that the sauce would go so far as to be a thick, sweet or smoky sauce that one would find in Kansas City barbecue, or even in Memphis barbecue.  I think that the sauce would be a little more basic; tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, and spices.  In this regard, I think I would go there and add some Old Bay, because that spice mix is quintessential Maryland.

So, in the end, I decided to make a Maryland barbecue sauce.  I started with a simple sauce from the New York Times.  That sauce had good proportions of tomato (ketchup), vinegar (apple cider) and sugar (I used dark brown sugar, which I prefer in sauces), along with the use of smoked paprika, which gives a little hint of smoke to the finished product. The original recipe also provides for the use of cumin, and, it is a very cumin-forward sauce.  I decided to swap out the cumin with the Old Bay, which, surprisingly enough, does not stick out as much as the cumin did. The end result is pictured below and it worked out very well.

MARYLAND-STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE

Recipe adapted from NYT Cooking

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

2/3 cup ketchup

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika)

1 teaspoon Old Bay

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes.

ENJOY!

Kansas City Style Burnt Ends

Brisket and me have not had it always so easy.  I have smoked brisket a couple of times; but, despite my efforts, the end result isn't always so great. I've tried different ways to preserve the tenderness of the meat, such as injections of beef broth or mops of beef stock and ingredients, but the finished product is far from what I want or expect.  

I think the problem is that I have worked exclusively with the brisket flat. That piece is long, flat and very lean. It is difficult to smoke because it dries out and can become tough.  But the flat is just one part of the brisket; there is also the point.  The point is thicker and fattier.  It is far more forgiving to a amateur pitmaster like myself.  Together, the flat and point constitute an entire "packer brisket."  However, that packer typically weighs between 8 to 12 pounds.  I don't have the time, patience or appetite to eat an entire brisket point, at least right now. 

A while back, I decided to check out a local butcher cshop called Chop Shop Butchery.  I went there expecting to buy some pork, like a Boston butt, to smoke.  However, as I stared into the glass case, I saw brisket points.  My mind began to race. Do I want to do brisket?  How long had it been since I smoked a brisket? What I can I do with brisket point? I decided to answer that last question with a quick Google search.  The answer was simple: burnt ends. The quintessential Kansas City barbecue.

The history of burnt ends begins with that packer brisket. Some pitmasters removed and set aside the brisket points. The points were, so thought the pitmasters, too fatty to serve, caramelized and burnt.  The pitmasters and restaurants, like Arthur Bryant's, set aside the points and ends on the counter, offering them as a treat to customers while they waited for their brisket sandwiches. Customers ate  those fatty, caramelized pieces of brisket.  One such customer, a food writer and Kansas City native, Calvin Trillin, wrote, "I dream about those burnt ends."  Trillin further dubbed Arthur Bryant's "the best single restaurant in the world." After that, some restaurants took notice, and, collected the end pieces to sauce them once more time and serve them on bread.  Burnt ends made it on to menus and are now as BBQ as the brisket sandwiches themselves.

Although I have not made it to Kansas City (yet) or had the opportunity to eat at KC BBQ joints like Arthur Bryant's (yet), I have had burnt ends.  Those barbecue joints that are closer to where I live, and who strive to provide different kinds of barbecue, inevitably have burnt ends on the menu.  This at least gave me some idea of what the end result should look like.  Now, I had to try to make it myself.

Overall, I think that my first effort at making burnt ends was successful. It may not have been Arthur Bryant's successful, but it was amateur pitmaster in the Mid-Atlantic successful. The burnt ends had the smoke rings, along with some of the expected caramelization and bark that defines these little one-bite wonders. If there was anything that I could improve upon,  I think that the burnt ends could have been a little more caramelized.  That might require some additional time in the smoker at the end, or,m some refinement to the sauce recipe.

(You can learn a lot more about burnt ends from Burnt Legend, the Story of Burnt Ends, available at PBS.) 

KANSAS CITY STYLE BURNT ENDS

Recipe adapted for Brisket and Sauce from Hey Grill Hey

Serves several

Ingredients (for the Burnt Ends):

1 6 to 8 pound brisket point

2 teaspoons coarse ground kosher salt

2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 cup beef stock

1 cup Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce (see below)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Ingredients (for the Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce):

14 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 cup ketchup

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup molasses

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Directions:

1.  Prepare the cook.  Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit using wood charcoal.  

2.  Prepare the brisket point.  combine the salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Shake liberally on all sides of the brisket point.

3.  Smoke the brisket point.  Place the brisket point in the smoker, close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature of the meat reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit.  This step usually takes 6 to 8 hours depending upon the size and thickness of the meat.  Spritz with 1 cup of beef stock every hour during the initial smoke period. 

4.  Continue smoking the brisket point.  Once the brisket reaches 165 degrees, wrap tightly in butcher paper (or aluminum foil) and return to the smoker.  Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees and then remove to a cutting board.  This typically takes another three hours

5.  Make the sauce.  Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sauce pan.  Whisk to combine.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Allow to cook completely before transferring to an air tight container.  You can refrigerate it overnight to get the best flavor. 

6.  Create the brisket ends.  Once the temperature of the meat reaches 195  degrees Fahrenheit, unwrap the meat and drain any liquid into an aluminum pan.  Cut the brisket point into cubes about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Place the cubes into the aluminum pan and toss with the BBQ sauce and brown sugar.  Work quickly during this step to prevent your brisket from cooling down too much.

7.  Finish the cook.  Set the uncovered pan back on the smoker and close the lid.  Continue smoking at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-2 more hours, or until the burnt ends have started to absorb the BBQ sauce and caramelize on all sides and are very tender.

ENJOY!