Smoked Rack of Pork

When you get down to it, a rack of pork is one big pork chop before the butcher slices them up into individual chops.  I love roasting this cut of meat on the smoker at high heat so that the outside gets crispy and brown and the inside says nice and juicy.

How do you get to here?  Well, read on...

First, I take my rack of pork, rinse with water and pat dry.

Then, after a thorough massaging with olive oil, I liberally apply rub to all surfaces of the meat with whatever flavor I am in the mood for that day.  In this case, I used Dizzy Pig Raging River Rub.  This rub is a nice combination of citrus and maple flavors.  It really does pair well with pork.  But, you could use whatever you have on hand or whatever you are in the mood for that day.

I fired up my smoker to 375 F, then placed the pork on the top rack with some apple wood in the ash pan.  I cooked to an internal temperature of 140 F, then pulled from the smoker and let rest with foil tented over the meat for 15 minute.  At this point, to slice, I remove the bones, then slice the roast part of the rack.

The high heat smoking locks in the juices and makes for a nice, juicy and fork tender piece of pork.  One of my favorite methods for preparing this cut of meat.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Chili Lime Rubbed Red Drum and the First Asparagus of the Year

Every year since he retired, our good friend Jerry heads down to the Florida Gulf Coast to go fishing. Jerry is like Captain Ahab, sitting in his boat, trolling in relentless pursuit of its plentiful bounty.  This year, we were lucky enough to score some care packages of sea trout and red drum.

At the same time, the asparagus in our garden was ready for its first trimming of the year.  I honestly thought it was still frozen after this past winter.  This is the latest our asparagus has ever peaked its head above ground. But, Hope happily trimmed our delicious green stalks to have with our ocean treat.  Off to the grill we go.

I am a minimalist when it comes to grilling fish.  A light rub, or perhaps some blackening spice, and some olive oil as usually all that a fresh fillet will see around here.  We chose the red drum for dinner on this evening.  Red drum is a nice, firm white fish with a mild flavor.  It will hold up to the grill nicely.  

I used to use Stubbs Chili Lime Rub, but our store no longer carries this product.  So, on short notice, I settled for Mrs. Dash Salt Free Chili Lime Rub.  Anyway, I put 2 Tbsp of the rub in a bowl with some salt and pepper, then added enough olive oil to make the rub mobile, and the juice of one lime.  Into a plastic bag and about one hour of marinade time.

For the asparagus, we whisked some granulated garlic, salt, and pepper with some olive oil and let everything mingle in a plastic bag.  Then, I lit my charcoal and prepared a nice, hot fire.

The asparagus went on first.  I placed the spears on direct heat, moved them around a bit, then moved after five minutes off to the side. 

Then, the drum fillets were placed on direct heat.  I flipped after about four minutes and let cook for about four more minutes, eight minutes of total cooking time.  The fish was starting to flake, a sure sign of doneness, when I removed the fillets from the fire.  

This grilled red drum was some of the best fish I have ever had.  Firm, meaty, with a nice blacked exterior and a juicy interior.  The chili lime flavor was nice, but I hope to find a better rub.  If anyone has a recipe for a good chili lime rub it would be appreciated!  The first asparagus of the year never disappoints.  Slightly caramelized on the outside, tender crisp on the inside and sugary sweet.  This is the gift that will keep on giving for a month.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival: A Nice Start to the Season

With great anticipation and a chilly morning, we hooked up the trailer last Friday and drove down to the Naptown section of Annapolis for the Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival for our first competition of 2014.

After negotiating the PA Turnpike traffic and construction and the traffic that only the Greater DC area can bring, we finally arrived at the Anne Arundel Fairgrounds and found our spot.  It was a pull through spot, so no turning around and backing the trailer into our spot.  Things were shaping up nicely.

We set the trailer up, put everything in its place, rubbed and injected our butts and brisket, then sit down for a bit to hydrate.

Proper hydration is key...

We then stopped by the BBQ Guru tent to pick up some new pit probes.  

Same price as online, but no shipping.  So, another win.

After sunset, we fired up our smokers and waited to put on our larger cuts of meat.

Everything is running fine at midnight, so off to bed for some sleep.

We awoke to a beautifully smokey sunrise and enjoyed some coffee.

Said good morning to our neighbors over at Lo and Slo BBQ.

Prepared the ribs and brined the chicken, it was time to get down to some serious BBQ.

Here were our scores.

Now the breakdown:

Our chicken entry was good for a 167.9884 out of a possible 180 and 11th place.  A team best for chicken score.  As you might imagine, I was dumbfounded when I saw the 5 for appearance when the other 5 judges gave 8's and 9's.  We probably didn't deserve 9's, but that box is better than a 5.  But, they throw out the lowest score, so I got over my issues and moved on.  

Our ribs were good for 161.6800 and 21st place.  Again, a team best for total rib score.  They could have been a little more tender.  But, we'll gratefully take this score.  Thanks for the help Hutch and Chilebrown.  

Our pork box was good for a 159.4056 and 32nd place.  I thought these butts turned out so good that for the first time, we were confident enough to add pulled, chunks, and money muscle to the box.  But, some may have been a hair over done and it may have been a bit under sauced.  But, overall, I was good with this score.  

Finally, the brisket.

The above box was good for a 153.1544 and 33rd place.  I have to say, I am really proud of this score.  Why?  That flat was downright dry.  Not overdone, just dry.  Then, I remembered Lee Ann Whippen on BBQ Pitmasters resuscitating a dry brisket with her injection and 15 more minutes on the smoker. Guess what?  It works.  Lee Ann, if you happen to ever read this, thanks!

So, overall we scored 642.2284.  This was good for 22 out of 60 teams.  This was our second highest point total ever.  Not bad for the first time out in 2014.  Congrats to 3Eyz BBQ, our Grand Champions and to Lo-N-Slo BBQ, our Reserve Grand Champion.  Full results from the KCBS website.

We would also like to say hi to our new friends Chip and Sally with Big Chippers BBQ.

Chip, that is one sweet trailer!

Finally, thanks to our BBQ Groupies, Deb and Jerry for the moral support and letting us crash at their place on the way home.

Overall, we were very happy with our showing this weekend.  Hopefully we can mike some minor changes and improve on our scores as the year progresses.  

Next up, the Roc City Ribfest in Rochester, NY on Memorial Day weekend.  Hope to see you there.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Hitting the Road

Well, the time has come.  The last practice is over and it is time to see if we have improved our entries for the 2014 BBQ season.

No more early morning practice cooks.  The trailer is clean, stocked, and ready to go.  So, if you live in the Annapolis area, stop on by and say hi this weekend.  Naptown, here we come.

Naptown barBayq Contest and MusicFestival, May 2-3, Anne Arundle County Fairgrounds
www.barbayq.com

More on how we did next week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill