Tag Archives: pork

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Smoked Lamb Shoulder + Smoked Pulled Pork

Take 10lbs of lamb shoulder (we sourced ours from Central Market), rub generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder overnight, then smoke over oak and hardwood just like a beef brisket.

Mind you that this lamb shoulder does have a few rib bones in it, so a little more studious monitoring is required so it doesn’t overcook. Our Thermoworks Thermapen MK4 and Dot make this an easy task.

Most BBQ lamb recipes I’ve seen treats lamb like a steak, to be grilled or seared over high heat to a rare temperature. In this instance we are cooking low-and-slow for juicy, fatty, shred-ready pulled lamb.

We wrapped the lamb shoulder at the 165F mark and smoked till internal meat temps reached 195F-200F in our BGEXL, again as we would a beef brisket. I should mention that we also had a pork shoulder (boston butt/picnic) also sharing grill space with the lamb that we sauced and wrapped at the stall temperature. (Our favorite bottled sauce on most everything barbecue is Trader Joe’s Organic Sriracha & Roasted Garlic BBQ  Sauce.)

Once rested, we started pulling the meats apart and feasted on the bbq goodness for over 2 weeks.

 

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Smoked BBQ Ribs

It’s no secret that we’re in love with smoking on the Big Green Egg. And with our handy ThermoWorks gear, (i.e. DOT and Thermapen Mk4 both in screamin’ Green) smoking and grilling to temperature has gotten a whole lot more accurate.

So when I spotted a post on ThermoWorks blog about competition style BBQ ribs, I just had to put our BGE to work reproducing those delicious BBQ pork ribs.

We sourced our pork ribs from two vendors: our local Kroger grocery store (for back loin ribs) and a butcher shop, Matador Meats, in Plano (for St Louis cut ribs).

I applied our cajun-style dry spice rub to the ribs and refrigerated until we were ready for meat to hit the grill.

Here’s a reprint of my Cajun/Blackening Spice recipe:

  • 2-3 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes, ground cayenne, or a dash of ghost pepper
  • 1-2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
  • 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

We primed our BGE to cook low and slow at no more than dome temp of 250F, using oak chips and lump. We had at least 3 temperature probes monitoring meat temperatures during the 8 hour smoke. When the the temps hit 165F, we pulled them from the BGE for the wrap portion of the cook.

Our go-to sauce is Trader Joe’s Organic Sriracha & Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce, and we slathered this on the ribs in their foil wrap, before returning them to the BGE for the final march to 200F.

The result: tender, pull-apart sweet-spicy pork ribs that easily fell off the bone.

 

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Slow Cooker Jalapeno Chili

This slow cooked chili ambushed many at a workplace potluck lunch with its heat. The secret is leaving the seeds intact on 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers. Cumin powder lends a distinctive aroma to the chili. Additional heat furnished by chili powder, red pepper and a dash ghost pepper chili added to meat while browning in a pan.

  • 8 oz, Angus Ground Beef Chuck 80%/ 20%
  • 8 oz., Ground Lamb
  • 8 oz, Ground Pork – Fixed
  • 9 oz(s), Onions, raw
  • 56.00 g, Garlic, raw
  • 4.50 oz(s), Peppers, jalapeno, raw
  • 6oz can (10 tbsp ea.), Tomato Paste
  • 14.5oz can (1 4/5 cups ea.), Fire Roasted Diced Garlic Tomato
  • 6 fluid ounce, Water – Municipal
  • 1 tbsp, Spices, chili powder
  • 2 tbsp, Spices, cumin seed
  • 2 tbsp, Spices, paprika
  • 1 tbsp, Spices, cinnamon, ground
  • 0.50 tbsp, Spices, pepper, black
  • 1 tsp, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne
  • 8 oz, Fresh Lean Ground Turkey With Rosemary Extract
  • dash of ghost pepper chili

Over medium heat, lightly brown the meats in a skillet, season with spices to taste. Add to a preheated slow cooker. Using the fat/grease left over from the cooked meats, saute garlic and onions until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes, then add to the slow cooker. Toss in the remaining ingredients, then cook low and slow for 4 hours. Or cook on high for 2 hours.

Serving suggestion: serve warm over hard boiled eggs or egg bake. For my potluck lunch, it made for a spicy, meaty topping on burgers and hot dogs.

IMG_20160707_JalapenoChilionEgg

Yields about 78oz of chili.

MPF calculation per 2oz serving:
71 calories
Total Fat 4g
Total Carbohydrate 3 g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 5 g