Barbecue Sauce for Pulled Pork

Mix together:

1/4 c catsup
1/4 c vinegar
2 T prepared mustard
2 T brown sugar
2 T fish sauce
2 t sriracha sauce or hot sauce
2 t liquid smoke
1/4 t Thai or Indian chili powder
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced

Southwest Collard Greens ☺

4 servings. These are Southwest Collard Greens inasmuch as fish sauce is native to Albuquerque. Total preparation time is at least 45 minutes.

2 t olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, sliced then coarsely chopped
1 chorizo sausage (3 - 4 oz), casing removed
1 lb bunch collard greens (see note)
1 T fish sauce (or substitute salt to taste)
1 T taco seasoning (homemade, or 1/2 package)
2 T apple cider vinegar

Note: To prepare the greens for cooking, cut the central rib (and stem) from each leaf. Discard the rib. Rinse the leaves, then spin dry in a salad spinner, or pat dry between layers of paper towels. To chop the greens, stack several rinsed and dried leaves on top of each other, roll them up into a tight roll, then slice the roll into thin slices. Continue to roll and chop the leaves until you have chopped the whole bunch.

Heat the olive oil in a tall saucepan (with cover) over medium high heat. Add the onion, and stir to coat with oil. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add the garlic, and fry for another minute or so. Add the chorizo, and break up into small pieces. Fry until the sausage is no longer pink.

Add the chopped collard greens, and stir to mix well with the onion mixture. Cover the saucepan, and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the collards are wilted, but still bright green. Stir in the fish sauce, taco seasoning, and vinegar. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and continue cooking for at least 10 minutes until the greens are tender and no longer bright green. You can leave this on a very low heat for a couple of hours.

This is a great side dish that stands up to just about anything. It's great with barbecue, and with beans. You can also double the recipe and fix it in a crock pot for a great picnic dish. (Fry the onions, garlic, and meat, add to the crockpot, add the other ingredients. Cover, set it to cook, and ignore for several hours.)

Pulled Pork

2 lb boneless country pork ribs
2 T olive oil

Rub

1/2 t pepper corns
3/4 t kosher salt
5 allspice pods
1/2 t cumin
1 t chipotle chili powder
1 t Spanish paprika

Sauce

1 large onion, chopped
1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 - 4 shakes of Angostura Bitters
1 t Worcestershire sauce
2 t liquid smoke
1 T vinegar
2 T brown sugar

Note: Believe it or not, you can get boneless ribs! Who'd a thought? You can use a pork loin roast if you can't find the ribs.

Mix together the rub ingredients in a spice mill, and whir until blended. Rub the spices into the surface of the ribs, and set aside for about 15 minutes or so.

In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil on medium heat until it smokes. Place the ribs fat side down in the dutch oven, and sear 3 - 5 minutes on each side. Remove the ribs from the dutch oven to a plate.

Turn the stove to low-medium and add the chopped onions and garlic to the oil in the dutch oven. Stir to coat the onions, and fry until the onions are translucent. Turn the burner to low, and add the remaining sauce ingredients, including any remaining rub. Simmer for about 5 minutes, and remove from the heat.

Turn the oven on to 250ºF. Place the ribs in the sauce, cover the dutch oven, and roast in the oven for at least a couple of hours.

Before serving, remove the meat from the sauce and shred it using a couple of forks. On the stove, reduce the sauce by half over medium high heat. Adjust its to taste for salt, pepper, vinegar, and heat (hot sauce, anyone?). Combine the reduced sauce with the shredded pork. Serve in a sandwich.

Jerk Chicken

This recipe is adapted from one that was published on FoodJamaica.net.

2 bunches green onions
4 T soy sauce
1 T Salt (to taste)
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 t dried thyme, or 2 T fresh thyme
1/4 c allspice berries, ground
4 - 6 scotch bonnets or habañeros
1 - 2 inches ginger, cut into chunks
4-6 cloves of garlic
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Mix all of the ingredients together in a blender, and pulse, then blend until smooth.

Rub the paste between the chicken skin and the flesh, as well as the chicken cavity. Smoke over an indirect fire with wood chips for an hour, and finish barbecuing over a slow fire until the chicken is done.

Pork Country Ribs

2 lb country pork ribs
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground pepper
1 T olive oil
1/4 c ketchup
1/2 t liquid smoke
1 T fish sauce
2 T brown sugar
2 T cider vinegar
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 t oregano
1/8 t Thai chili spice or cayenne pepper

Heat the oven to 225ºF. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium temperature. Use 1/2 of the salt and pepper to season one side the ribs. When the oil begins to smoke, put ribs, seasoned side down, in the dutch oven. Use the remaining salt and pepper to season the top side of the ribs. Fry the ribs for about five minutes, then turn, and continue to fry for another four to five minutes.

While the ribs are frying, mix all of the remaining ingredients. Remove the ribs from the heat. Brush the top of the ribs with the sauce, and turn the ribs over. Brush the other side of the ribs.

Cover the dutch oven, and bake the ribs for an hour.

Uncover the ribs and pour off and reserve accumulated liquid. Turn the ribs, brush them with the remaining sauce, cover the dutch oven, and continue to bake for another hour.

Remove the ribs from the oven. Add any additional accumulated liquid to the reserved liquid. Cover the dutch oven, and set the ribs aside while preparing the sauce.

Skim the fat from the liquid. In a small skillet, boil the liquid over medium high heat until it is reduced by about half. It will be slightly thickened.

Remove the ribs to a serving dish. Spoon the sauce over the ribs.

Happy's Chicken Barbeque

4 large chicken thighs, skinned and boned
1 onion, chopped
olive oil
1 c red wine
salt
pepper
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 t oregano
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T barbeque sauce
1 T ketchup

Heat the olive oil in an iron skillet on medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook slowly until brown and carmelized. Remove from the skillet.

Add some more olive oil to the skillet, and raise the heat to medium-high. Place the thighs, skinned side down in the skillet. Salt and pepper to taste. Brown the meat each side for three or four minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove the meat from the skillet. Put the skillet back on the heat, and deglaze with the wine. Add the onions and the meat back to the skillet. Add the crushed garlic. Sprinkle in the oregano. Turn the heat to very low, cover the skillet tightly, and cook very slowly for an hour or so, adding more liquid if necessary (but not too much!).

Set the skillet off the heat, and remove the meat from the skillet. Use a couple of forks to shred the thighs. Return the meat to skillet. Add the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, and barbeque sauce. Simmer for 15 or 20 minutes on low heat. Serve on hamburger buns, or any other way you like your barbeque.