Meat Brings People Together

I learned this weekend that if you cook it they will come!  My cousin Chris was kind enough to invite me over for a go at his meat smoker and he was an excellent host! :) My aunt Mary and uncle Joe came at my urging to graciously help with the kids.  My sister Deanna showed up too, as did my cousin Dann and Teresa's sister/"the neighbor".  Hence the saying, "if you cook it they will come"!

We started our project on Friday by purchasing a 7 pound pork butt and making a spice rub to coat it.  I asked the butcher to put a rub together   for me and he gave me bread crumbs- doh!

No biggie though, we threw some stuff together and I rubbed away!

We let the meat sit overnight and the next night he put it on the smoker, checking it before bed and first thing in the morning.  Here is where I feel I cheated a little with the process.  I feel like if I were a true "smoker" I would be out keeping night vigil over my meat! Just like the big Texans you see on those food competitions on the Food Network, basting and watching the temperature on their smokers like they were watching Christ being born!  Alas, Chris assured me that he had it under control and twist my rubber arm, I was fine with that!  I showed up Sunday morning with two kids in tow and an ice coffee and I was ready to party.

Here are some pics of Chris' home smoker!

 

 Chris told me that the meat temp needs to stay within a certain "smoke" range in order to cook properly. Don't quiz me but I think the max temp you want to reach for smoke is 250 degrees.  If you have cooked your meat right you will end up with a beautiful smoke ring on the inside of the meat.  The rub also turns into a nice crispy crust, called bark.  The meat is cooked using fire, wood chips to season and a pan of water used to create steam.

Here is our meat after being smoked overnight.  We took it off around 12:30 on Sunday.

While we waited for the meat to cook, Chris showed me his recipe for traditional Texas-style chili.  It was delicious! He makes his chili with lots of spices, ground sirloin, beef broth and other surprises.  He doesn't use beans of any kind and his base is not a heavy tomato base.  It was definitely a winning recipe! 

Finally it was time to pull the pork! Chris showed me the proper technique (forks facing out) and then we added some malt vinegar and some barbeque sauce.  We completed our pulled pork on toasted buttered bulky rolls and melted cheddar jack.  We ate like kings!  I finished the day off by returning home with said "party crew" shown above, and took a two hour long, blissful, meat-induced nap!

Thank you Chris for an awesome day of meat exploring, pants-splitting fun!  YUM!