pulled pork

this is one of my favorite things for mike to do on the grill.  it takes a little while, but it is worth it!!  the leftovers are great with the root beer bbq sauce on sandwiches.

1 boneless pork shoulder (about 4 to 41/2 pounds) 

4 tablespoons kosher salt 
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar 
1/4 cup paprika 
2 to 3 sprigs thyme, leaves only 
4 cloves garlic 
1/4 cup red wine vinegar 
Scant 1 tablespoon cayenne 
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

1. place the salt, pepper, brown sugar, paprika, thyme leaves, garlic, vinegar, and cayenne in a food processor and pulse until well combined. add extra-virgin olive oil until you have a nice paste. rub all over the pork, being sure to get into the nooks so the salt can penetrate the meat and pull out the moisture - this will help form a crust on the outside when cooked. cover the pork with plastic wrap or freezer paper and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to overnight. 
   
2. allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. set up a charcoal grill for indirect cooking, adding pecan wood chunks to the charcoal for smoke.
3. position the pork fat side up on the grill. there’s no need to turn the meat during cooking. cook slowly with the lid closed on low heat (325° to 350°F).  After about 3 hours, wrap the meat with aluminum foil and continue to cook for a total cooking time of 5 to 6 hours. the meat should be very tender and easy to pull apart. (If using a bone-in cut, you’ll be able to wiggle the bone free.)
4. let the meat rest on a cutting board or clean tray until just cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. (It will pull apart most easily while still somewhat hot.) pull the meat from the skin, bone, and fat working quickly, shred the chunks of meat with two forks by crossing the forks and “pulling” the meat from the roast into small pieces. 

my answer's for st. patrick's day tuesday take 5

1. have you ever made some thing a certain color for a holiday (i.e. green cookies for st. patrick's day)?
   yes, I do this quite often, I even have neon colored food dye (I know you are jealous)
   
2. what is your favorite green food?
   limes
3. what is your favorite irish dish to make?
   irish soda bread
4. what is one irish dish that you have always wanted to try?
   irish porter cake
5. have you ever had green beer?
   no, but I don't drink beer at all

st. patrick's day tuesday's take 5 -- week #7

thanks to everyone who has been playing along with tuesday's take 5. these questions are all in honor of st. patrick's day

1. have you ever made some thing a certain color for a holiday (i.e. green cookies for st. patrick's day)?
   
2. what is your favorite green food?
3. what is your favorite irish dish to make?
4. what is one irish dish that you have always wanted to try?
5. have you ever had green beer?

answer these 5 questions on your blog today and enter your name (or your blog's name) in the name field below and a permalink (the url for your blog post with the answer to these questions and not just to your main blog page) to your blog post in the url field. thanks for playing, see you next week!

irish soda bread

in honor of st. patrick's day this week, here is my recipe for irish soda bread.  it is great and it makes 2 terrific loaves.

4 cups whole-wheat flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced, plus additional for the baking sheet

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups buttermilk

1.    preheat oven to 400.  lightly butter an 11 X 17” baking sheet.

2.    in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  work in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mix resembles coarse crumbs.

3.    break the eggs into a measuring cup and whisk with a fork.  add the buttermilk to the eggs; to reach 2 cups of liquid.  pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until completely incorporated.

4.    turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with a little flour and knead with your hands for 3 minutes.

5.    divide the dough into 3 equal parts and form each part into a ball.  using a small, sharp knife, cut an X across the top of each ball and transfer the balls to the prepared baking sheet.

6.    bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

what we are missing in waco and eating at #sxsw

for some reason, this week, I have been thinking a lot about the restaurants/types of food that are missing from waco.  don't get me wrong, I LOVE living in waco, but it does not have all the restaurants and grocery stores that a larger city would have.  in a lot of ways I am grateful for this, it makes it all that more fun when we go places (which is why we seem to put so much thought into where we eat when we are out of town). also, it has inspired me to cook and experiment in the kitchen more, trying to replicate dishes that we can't get in waco.

I think what started this all for me this week was my twitter friend @youngfreetexas (I am beginning to discover he is a little bit of a foodie as well) talking about eating fried chicken and waffles while he was in atlanta.  fried chicken and waffles are one of those southern treats that I have never tried, but I would like to if I get the chance.  so, I asked @youngfreetexas if there was any place in waco to get fried chicken and waffles.  of course, the answer was no (actually, he had a pretty funny answer).  then this morning, I woke up craving some sort of yeasty breakfast pastry (I don't really know what exactly I wanted, but it wasn't the donut that I ended up having).  I couldn't think of any place in waco where I could go to get a great, fresh breakfast pastry.  maybe I'll talk my mom into making beignets when she is here this weekend!!

I am going to austin later this weekend for south by southwest and I was thrilled last night to see that @youngfreetexas had posted a wonderful blog post about eating in austin.  you can check out his blog at: http://youngfreetexas.com