What’s Stu Cooking

Well, I’m half way though my 6 month sabbatical and I’ve not been at the computer much, but I have been cooking up some tasty food down here in North Carolina.

Not having to go into an office job during the day allows the family and I to have nice big mid-day dinners and lighter evening meals.

Here’s a sampling of what’s been on the table here:

• Grillades and Grits
• Baked Sea Trout (caught by me!)
• Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy
• Szechuan Style Eggplant
• Chicken Gumbo (with fresh okra from Dub’s garden)
• Butter Beans with Country Ham
• Bluefish Fishcakes
• Baked Ham, Fried Apples, Acorn Squash and Cornbread
• Corn, Okra and Tomatoes

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.