Sunday, July 15, 2012

Smoked Boston Butt

Just came home from our volunteer weekend to spruce up one of the 10th Mountain Huts for the winter travelers.  We took along an 8 lb smoked Boston butt and two butterflied whole chickens to share with others.
Our favorite Memphis Dry Rub comes from Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA Cookbook.  We make a double batch of this seasoning at a time, and keep it in an airtight container in the pantry.
Ingredients: 
3 Tb sweet paprika
3 Tb pure chile powder
1 Tb salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to blend.  Store  the rub in an airtight jar away from heat and light at room temperature.  It will keep for at least 6 months.
Makes 3/4 cup.
For the chickens we cut out the backbone on each, then butterflied them  so the great smoky flavor could better permeate the meat.  They didn't get the dry rub treatment, just a little salt and pepper.  We smoked all of this at home several days before the trip, then vacuum sealed it all and into the freezer they went.
I also made a new BBQ sauce that I found on the Food52 blog.  It's called 'Dead Guy Sauce'.  Before you ask, I'll tell you that there is no explanation as to why it's named that.  After the pork was pulled apart we bathed it in this sauce, and it was delicious.
Dead Guy Sauce
makes about 2 Cups once reduced
3 C apple cider vinegar
2/3 C brown sugar
2/3 C ketchup
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground fresh pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco - I used Sriracha instead
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for about half hour, whisking periodically, until the sauce just begins to thicken. Serve immediately, or reserve in the refrigerator and reheat.  I needed to simmer it for twice the amount of time, but it was worth it. 

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