What’s Stu Cooking

Being a half Southern, the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions BBQ is the slow smoked, pulled pork shoulder that is the only BBQ in the Southern USA. Down there a BBQ sauce isn’t thick, sweet and sticky catchup based goo, but a runny, sharp and peppery sauce based on vinegar.

I don’t own a smoker and my visits to the South are limited to once every year or two, so I make due with an oven based BBQ technique that is almost as good as the real thing. You cook it for almost as long as smoked pork so it really breaks down and gets nice and tender.

For cooking the BBQ:

• 3-5 lb pork shoulder roast (bone in is best)
• two shallots minced
• one clove of garlic minced
• 1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay*
• a dash or two Tabasco or pepper sauce
• a dash or two Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoon tomato purée
• 1/4 cup corn or vegetable oil

BBQ sauce:

• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay*
• a dash or two Tabasco or pepper sauce
• a dash or two Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon catchup

Place the pork in a dutch oven or a heavy roasting pan. Mix the remaining cooking ingredients, whisking in the oil last to combine and pour over the pork. Cover with a tight fitting lid or foil and place in a 300F oven.

Cook for about 6 hours basting the pork with the liquid in the pan every half hour or so. You will want the liquid to cook down and caramelise to get that dark, smokey look and flavour, but make sure that the pan does not dry out. I find that the liquid cooks down to a dark, sticky mess after about three hours so I just add a cup or two of water and scrape the bottom clean. The liquid should be all cooked off when it’s time to take it out of the oven.

Make the BBQ sauce while the pork is cooking. Simply whisk together all the ingredients.

Take the pork out of the oven and leave to rest and cool for about 20-30 minutes then slice it thickly and roughly shred with your fingers or two forks (fingers are best really). Re-heat if necessary and serve either on its own or in buns as BBQ sandwiches. Drizzle with the BBQ sauce at the table, a little bit of this sauce goes a long way.

* I found some chicken seasonings that are about the same thing as Old Bay or you could try some Cajun seasoning mix.

Every few months we buy a pack of lamb from Highgate Farms at the local farmer’s market that contains a shoulder, leg, chops, chump steaks, and a few riblets. We save them up in the freezer until we can make a meal with them. You might not see them too often in the meat case, but I bet you can get some if you ask the butcher. They are fantastically fatty and need braising to tenderise them, but they are inexpensive and great for BBQ.

• 2 lbs lamb riblets
• 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
• 1 large clove garlic thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup clear honey
• 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

In a dutch oven or large pan with a tight fitting lid, heat some oil on high until it starts to smoke. Season the riblets with salt and pepper and brown them in batches. Remove the ribs from the pan and set aside.

Turn off the heat as the pan will be very hot and let cool for a minute. Drop the ginger and garlic into the pan and cook for a minute or two (with the heat off if the pan is still hot). Then deglaze the pan with the cider vinegar and put the heat back on. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 300F. Layer the riblets in the pan, turning or basting them to coat with the braising liquid. Bring back to a simmer, cover and place in the oven. The oven temperature should just be hot enough to simmer the riblets. Simmer covered for about an hour turning and basting every 15 minutes or so.

Remove the lid from the pan and place back in the oven. Continue to baste and turn the ribs every 10 minutes and reduce the liquid until it just covers the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan and heat the oven to 425F.

Place the riblets on a wire rack over a baking tray covered in foil to catch any drips. Baste the ribs with the remaining cooking liquid and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp and brown nicely.

Garnish (I used chopped green onion) and serve.