BBQ Pork Tacos

I think that even if you are an occasional follower of this blog you will notice that I am a big fan of the pig... from pork tenderloins or chops to bacon I use it often especially this summer, it has been hot, so the grill has been getting a greater than normal work out.  A few days ago I had some leftover pork tenderloin in the fridge and wanted something a little different...  BBQ Tacos came to mind.  It turned out to be a really good dish:

The Pork:

I made a few simple changes to my normal BBQ Sauce for this:

1 cup Ketchup

1 TBS Honey

1/4  cup Tequila

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

Juice from one Lime

1 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

After it had lightly simmered for about 20 minutes I put half in the fridge for later to the rest I added about a pound of pork that I had pulled apart then let this cook together for about another half an hour.  While that was going I made a slaw to go on my tacos.

The Slaw:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1 minced jalapeno (the only one that my garden has produced)

1 TBS fresh grated ginger

1 TBS sesame oil

1 head of savoy cabbage sliced thin

1 red bell pepper halved then sliced thin

Mix the first three ingredients together and disolve then stir in the next three ingredients.  Add the cabbage and toss together.  Cover and let sit out at room temperature for about 1/2 an hour to temper.  Just before you serve it add the bell peppers.

I know that you are all smart enough to make tacos so I won't go into the step by step here, I used corn tortillas because it is what I had flour would work fine, maybe better.  The finished plate was the perfect weekend lunch, enough for 2 grown ups along with an icy cold Margarita.

Lamb Ribs in Poblano Mango BBQ with Diakon Cucumber Relish

I love the spring/summer I really enjoy grilling out it adds a whole casual dimension to cooking.  Not that cooking is ever stressful for me I enjoy my time in the kitchen I often chat about my experiments and adventures at work with the same alacrity my coworkers use when they talk about some hockey playoff games that are going on.  Grilling has a whole different aspect to it, cooking goes from being something that I enjoy to something well relaxing... call it culinary Tai Chi.

The latest adventure was... Well help me here it is hard to put into words the flavors and aromas worked well together and I love the taste of meat hot off the grill next to a light summery slaw the meal its self tasted wonderful but....  Anyway I will just start

Lamb Ribs with Mango Poblano BBQ Sauce served with Sweet and sour Cucumber Salad:

I am going to start with the Cucumber Salad:

1/2 of a seedless cucumber sliced thin (I used a Mandolin)

4-6 oz of peeled diakon sliced the same way as the cucumber

1 clove of garlic minced

a little bit of thinly sliced red bell pepper for color

1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar (maybe a little more)

2 TBLS sugar

Put the Cukes, Diakon, Red Pepper and Garlic into a heat proof dish while you heat up the vinegar and sugar on the stove.  Once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is almost boiling pour it onto the vegetables and mix so that everything can absorb the flavors then cover and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour or as long as a day or two.

The BBQ Lamb Ribs

I actually started these both, the ribs and sauce, a day ahead the Ribs were easy so they are next, I made a quick marinade:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 TBLS brown sugar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

salt pepper garlic to taste

Mix these together and put in a Zip Lock bag with a pound and a half of Lamb ribs (one serving by the way, after a trip to a local historic farm no one but me will even consider lamb to be food) marinade for several hours or overnight.  When it is time to start put the ribs and all the marinade into a baking pan, cover and bake at 325 for about an hour, basting a couple of times.

The BBQ sauce is something that I have been working on for a while it tastes good but there is still some work to do... you'll see:

1 roasted poblano chili (if you need help with the roasting look here)

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

2 TBLS Olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

Juice from one lime

2 TBLS honey

2 tsp Worcestershire

2 mangoes chopped

1 jalapeno diced

Saute the first four ingredients until the onions are soft then add the  and cook until everything is mushy, about half an hour.  Let it cool a bit (I let it cool overnight) then toss into a blender and puree.  When it is time to cook the ribs go on the grill for about 15 minutes before you brush the sauce on them.  Coat well then turn so you get the nice caramelized flavor and texture.  When they are good and hot take them off and serve with the Cucumber Salad.

Here is the issue that I talked about, the sauce tastes wonderful!  It has the smokey depth of the roasted poblano chili that pairs well with the tangy sweet of the fresh mangoes the summery pop that you get from the honey and lime... well it tastes great!  however it LOOKS like something that the Grinch would dip is crispy fried critters in before going postal on the Whos... just look!  

I have no problem with the look of it but can't imagine slapping this sauce on something before I served it to a guest or worse a client,  I guess that I have to work on the color scheme of the ingredients too.  Any ideas?

The Experiment

Last fall I bought a gas grill, I wanted to get it before another Chicago winter set in.  Kris, the kiddos and I packed up one afternoon to head across what seemed like a never ending trek of suburbs surrounded by corn fields to pick up the grill she found for me on craigslist.  I wanted it for the ease of cooking out in the winter, because I miss cooking out and the charcoal grill... well it isn't so much fun to light in a blizzard even if there isn't a blizzard it is hard to light in the dark, you know after the 3:45 sunset.  I do have to say that I was a little nervous about a couple of things.

1. Would I be able to get the same depth of flavor from propane as I did charcoal or charwood?

2. Would I be able to slow cook anything?

The answers are"pretty much" and "YES!"  I found that the flavors I get are just fine, maybe a little bit is lost from not cooking over actual burning wood but I think I have the ability to make up for that by seasoning and cooking food well.  As for slow cooking I was very happy!  this weekend I made a smoked beef brisket.  I started by going out a buying a "smoker box" which is a metal box with holes in it.  Imagine how much fun Mr. Man had while I was looking at metal boxes for all of 25 minutes.  Anyway I picked the $15.00 model  to put in my grill that I wouldn't pay more than $30.00 for.  Really this stuff all makes sense in my head, but looks funny written down.

I was lucky to find 2 pound Brisket at my normal store it had about a 1/4 inch thick layer of fat on it, you want about that much... if you can't find one with that you can add a few strips of bacon to the top,  yeah Bryan is back on the health food kick.  I did the simplest of rubs on the meat just Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder and set it on the counter to temper for about half an hour.  While that was waiting I soaked cheery wood chips in water and Tequila for the same time. While those were resting and soaking I made my mop sauce, the ingredients

1/2 cup Tequila

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBS Stone Ground Mustard

Juice from one Lime

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Put the Brisket into a shallow pan (I used a disposable pie tin, because throwing that away is so much easier than washing it).  Fill the smoker box with wet wood chips and put under the grate on low heat.  Set the meat in your pan on top of the grate so it only gets indirect heat..  You want to spent about 3 hours cooking this 2 pounds of meat, cooked too quickly and brisket is UN-Chewable!  So give it time.  Every half hour go out and spread some of your Mop Sauce on top, after a while use mop sauce and pan drippings.

You can only tell if it is done by poking it

If it feels like you are trying to poke a hole in a monster truck tire with a fork,  it is going to take a while.

If it feels like you are trying to poke through the steaks that you ate in college, you are getting there

If the meet feels like it is about to fall apart on your fork... done!

You probability want some BBQ sauce for this you can use your favorite from the store, if you are feeling all fancy try this one:

1 cup Ketchup

1 Heavy TBS of Molasses

1/4  cup Bourbon

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Heat over medium stirring occasionally until sauce starts to thicken, maybe 20 minutes or so.  you do have three hours so unless you are catching up on your soap you have the time.  In the picture I am serving with my Grandma's baked beans, (I came across a family cookbook a couple of weeks ago).

So how was it, well I am happy and sad to say it was wonderful, smokey and subtle with a depth that I didn't expect.  Happy because it worked so well, sad... well I really did like the old kettle grill but maybe it is time for the rusty old guy to go...

There it is, my new toy "smoker box" seems like

a fancy way to say metal box to me but it worked!

Pork Tenderloin Day 2

The Pork Tenderloin that Mr Man and I bought for our Anniversary dinner in my last post must have been from a Monstrous Pig.  Usually Kris and I split one and have very little if any left however this time we had a little more than half left when we finished.  I didn't check the weight on it this time, I am usually pretty good about that but I was shopping with Mr. Man so I was a bit distracted.

Kris and I are sometimes bad about using leftovers, I finish the meal, pack it all up and it sits in the back of the fridge until I grows enough "personality"  to file a formal protest then ultimately gets fed to the garbage disposal..  I couldn't let that happen to more than half a pork tenderloin.

The answer BBQ Pork Sandwiches!  The ingredients round 2:

Ginger Pickled Vegetables

2 Medium Carrots Shredded on a Mandolin (or by hand)

1 inch cube of Fresh Ginger shredded (same way)

1/2 medium White Onion sliced thin

1/2 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar

2 TBS Honey

Ok, you ask the obvious question, "Why three types of vinegar?"

Simple, I was going to use rice vinegar but ran out and thought I would finish with cider vinegar but ran out so finished with balsamic...  Like I have said before this is a very forgiving recipe.  Cut the first three ingredients and put into a bowl then heat up the Vinegar(s) and Honey on the stove.  When it comes to a soft boil pour the mixture into the bowl with the shredded vegetables, add a little salt and set aside for about 40 minutes I put it in the fridge.

I am not showing off here, but we were out of every drop of BBQ Sauce in the house so... The Sauce:

1 cup Ketchup

1 Heavy TBS of Molasses

1/4  cup Bourbon

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Heat over medium stirring occasionally until sauce starts to thicken, maybe 20 minutes or so.

While the sauce is going it is time for the good part, the meat.  I didn't really measure but I have to say that I had about 2/3 of a pound of cooked pork tenderloin.  I started this part the best way ever... I diced a couple of slices of bacon into a small saucepan and cooked until it was almost done then sliced the pork into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch strips and sauteed that with the bacon for a minute or two then added the BBQ Sauce. 

I made sure the pork was covered but not "over sauced" then cooked them together for 10 or 15 minutes.  The sandwich is what you see... open a bun put the pork on then top with the pickled vegetables.  The question comes up, "so how was it?" 

Really good! but quite a bit of work for just the two of us, this one will be on for a summer barbecue with with friends but I don't see it for the quiet weekend meal.