Yesterday, I put some glowing hardwood charcoal in the bbq, tossed a double batch of water-soaked hickory chips and dried yerba santa leaves on top, and put an 8lb. pork shoulder (coated in a rub of ancho chile, paprika, onion and garlic powders, Mexican oregano, marjoram, thyme, and a little allspice) in there for a couple of hours to smoke.
For some reason (coals too close together? wood chips too wet/numerous? or...?), the coals stalled and failed to completely burn, so the pork hadn't developed quite as planned. Luckily, when I poked at the coals and spread 'em out, they proved to still have a lot of heat at their core, and immediately started smoking again. Another 45 minutes or so in there really helped the pork. After that, I took it out, wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven to finish. When it was done, and tender, I removed it, broke it up and let it cool enough to handle (barely) and pulled it.
We had the pork in taco, with cheese, shredded cabbage, pickled onions and hot sauce. YUM! I had made a fresh pot of beans earlier in the day, and cooked up some long grain rice and fideo (the really short Mexican vermicelli) with extra-virgin olive oil, chicken broth and garlic. A very tasty dinner.
A few days ago, we had a late lunch/early supper of Lebanese-style grilled, spiced chicken with garlic sauce, grilled ciabatta bread (brushed with the lemony garlic sauce too), and cucumber-onion-tomato salad. Also a very tasty meal!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Warm Sunday...
I kinda' burned out on cooking anything elaborate for awhile. I'm starting to get back into it. After a morning working in our new community garden plot, I came back and fixed lunch.
Philly has its cheesesteak, Boston has chowder, Cincinnati its own unique chili. The Northwest, in my mind, goes for pizza, subs and teriyaki chicken (...besides the ubiquitous coffee). Teriyaki is probably the big one of that trio. I've seen an intersection in the Seattle area where there were three different teriyaki joints. I decided to try my hand at it, so I cooked up some homemade teriyaki sauce (fairly traditional - just sake, mirin, soy sauce and sugar, w/a little cornstarch to thicken it) and marinated some chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) overnight. For lunch, I grilled it over oak charcoal and served it with some short-grain rice, homemade coleslaw and watermelon. It came out quite nice. Smoky, moist and tender, good flavor from the marinade (soy & mirin, garlic & ginger, scallions, sesame oil, some fresh ground pepper & seven-spice powder, etc), a mellow, molasses-y sweetness (not as strong as actual molasses) probably offset by the winey flavor of the sake and mirin. All-in-all, very successful.
Dinner was just some simple bacon, egg & cheese burritos, a few (leftover from Friday) spicy chips, and for the warmth, a refreshing drink called es timun, an Indonesian drink of fresh squeezed lime juice, sugar, peeled and seeded cucumbers and ice, all put through the blender. Very nice.
Philly has its cheesesteak, Boston has chowder, Cincinnati its own unique chili. The Northwest, in my mind, goes for pizza, subs and teriyaki chicken (...besides the ubiquitous coffee). Teriyaki is probably the big one of that trio. I've seen an intersection in the Seattle area where there were three different teriyaki joints. I decided to try my hand at it, so I cooked up some homemade teriyaki sauce (fairly traditional - just sake, mirin, soy sauce and sugar, w/a little cornstarch to thicken it) and marinated some chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) overnight. For lunch, I grilled it over oak charcoal and served it with some short-grain rice, homemade coleslaw and watermelon. It came out quite nice. Smoky, moist and tender, good flavor from the marinade (soy & mirin, garlic & ginger, scallions, sesame oil, some fresh ground pepper & seven-spice powder, etc), a mellow, molasses-y sweetness (not as strong as actual molasses) probably offset by the winey flavor of the sake and mirin. All-in-all, very successful.
Dinner was just some simple bacon, egg & cheese burritos, a few (leftover from Friday) spicy chips, and for the warmth, a refreshing drink called es timun, an Indonesian drink of fresh squeezed lime juice, sugar, peeled and seeded cucumbers and ice, all put through the blender. Very nice.
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