This is my take on old-timey country bacon that’s made from the meatier pork shoulder roast (aka pork butt). It’s like a cross between country ham and traditional bacon – smoky, salty, and just a little sweet. I like to make up a big batch of this and freeze it off in breakfast-sized portions.

2 pork butts (pork shoulder roast), boned and trimmed
1 tablespoon Morton’s Sugar Cure per pound of meat
1 teaspoon white sugar per pound of meat
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons ground black pepper

The meat needs to cure before it gets smoked. This takes at least a week and preferably 10 days. These particular butts were both just under 8 pounds, so I cured them separately because I didn’t have a container big enough for both of them.

Place each butt in a large zip-top bag. Combine the black pepper with 1 tablespoon Morton’s Sugar Cure and 1 teaspoon white sugar per pound of meat (so each butt got 1 tablespoon pepper, 1/2 cup Morton’s cure, and 8 teaspoons sugar). Rub the cure all over the butt, making sure to cover all sides. Pour 1/4 cup of maple syrup over each butt, and turn to coat.

Seal the bags and store the butts in the fridge. Liquid will begin to collect to collect in the bags, indicating  that the cure is working. Cure for 7-10 days, flipping the meat over once a day.

After the butts are cured, remove them from the bag and soak in cold water for 3 hours to remove some of the salt. Let them drip dry on a rack while you fire up the grill.

Set your grill up for an indirect cook at 300°F. On the Big Green Egg this meant filling the firebox with lump charcoal and using a plate setter and drip pan to diffuse the heat. When the cooker is up to temp, add some chucks of wood for smoke. Apple or hickory work great here.

Smoke the butts until the internal temperature hits 140°F. That took about 5 hours for these butts. At this point the meat is cured, but not fully cooked. Stash the meat in the fridge to cool, and then slice to your desired thickness.

I ran the butts through my Chef’s Choice 610 Electric Food Slicer at about a 1/4 inch thick setting.  This is thin enough that the meat will fry up quickly but not so thin that it starts to fall apart.

The Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars
This batch of cottage bacon had some great flavor. I like the addition of maple syrup and how the sweetness plays off the saltiness and bits of pepper. Pork shoulder has a good amount of fat in it, but not nearly as much as the belly meat that bacon is usually made with, so it fried up nicely on the chewy side of crispy versus chewy.

These butts had had the bone removed when I bought them. That makes slicing them a lot easier, but the meat wasn’t as compact as I would have liked and some of the little bits that stuck out got overcooked during smoking. I would tie up the butts (oh, that sounds wrong) with butcher’s twine next time.

I’m a sucker for real corned beef hash. Not the crap in the cans, but the stuff you get at some roadside diner where the waitress serves your cuppa joe in those stocky white mugs, the short-order cook has a tattoo that says ”Mom”, and you can order breakfast all day long.

2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
6 ounces diced corned beef (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 eggs
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

You’ll need a medium non-stick skillet with a lid. Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Fill the pan with alternating layers of potatoes, corned beef, onion, and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper.  Press mixture to flatten with spatula. Cook uncovered until bottom begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Flip and flatten again. Continue to cook, flipping every 5 minutes, until hash is mostly browned and the onion and bell pepper are tender (about 10 – 15 minutes).

With the back of a spoon, make 4 shallow wells in the hash for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the wells, pour the water into the middle of the hash, and cover with the lid.

Let cook until the egg whites are set, but the yolks are still runny (my favorite), about 5 minutes.

The Verdict: 5 out of 5 stars
Eating these I could almost hear the ring of the “order’s up” bell – crispy hash browns with tender bits of corned beef and all that lovely yolk oozing over top – perfect!

Pulled Pork Shortcut (April 16, 2010) – a year ago I was trying to figure out exactly how I was going to get 8 pork butts cooked for an upcoming graduation party. This first attempt wasn’t bad, but I eventually went with a hotter & faster cooking method that let me get all the cooking done in one weekend.

Gluten-Free Egg Rolls (April 12, 2009) – two years ago my dear wife helped me make up these treats. They were tasty, but a bit putzy and didn’t freeze well. I’d like to try them again, but fry them this time and then freeze off the extras.

Bacon – Buckboard and Canadian-style (April 15, 2008) – three years ago I took my first shot at curing my own bacon. It was such a hit that nowadays I regularly make 15 pound batches and freeze it off for later.

As smoked salmon can be awfully pricey, the only way I can afford to keep the outin-laws happy is to buy fresh salmon when it goes on sale and smoke cure it myself.

The Salmon

1 salmon fillet (1-1/2 to 2 pounds), preferably wild-caught
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon Chesapeake Bay seasoning (I use Penzey’s, which is a blend of paprika, salt, mustard, celery, ancho, black pepper, red pepper, dill, caraway, allspice, horseradish, cardamom, thyme, ginger, bay, mace, cinnamon, savory and cloves)

Combine all of  the dry ingredients in bowl, mixing well. This is the dry cure.

Put the fillet flat in a large zip-top bag. Cover one side of the fillet with half of the cure, working it in with your hands to cover. Flip the fish and repeat on the other side. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible, seal, and lay flat in fridge for at least 12 hours, but no more than 24. Turn the fillet over every 3-4 hours.

Remove the fish from cure and rinse it well in cold water. Let soak in fresh water for 30 minutes.  Remove from water and pat dry. Place the fish skin-side down on a rack (I use a small baker’s cooling rack). Move the fillet to the fridge until surface is dry but slightly sticky to the touch – 1 to 3 hours.

This semi-gloss finish is called the pellicle, and it helps the fish hold both moisture and smoke.

Set up your grill for a 3 hour indirect cook at 225°F. Add your smoking wood (I used guava) and smoke until the fillet starts to flake – about 2 hours. Remove from the grill and let cool to room temp. Package and store in the fridge overnight so the flesh gets a little firmer and the flavors get to know each other.

I’ll often smoke several fillets up in advance, vacuum seal them, and freeze them for later. I’ve not noticed much loss in quality and it’s a ton cheaper than buying store-bought smoked salmon.

The Dip

1 smoked salmon fillet (1-1/2 to 2 pounds), skinned and de-boned
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces sour cream
4 ounces mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh ground horseradish
1 teaspoon Chesapeake Bay seasoning
1 (3.5-ounce) jar capers, undrained
Fresh ground back pepper to taste

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine everything but the black pepper. Blend until smooth and almost paté-like (you can add more mayo or sour cream if the mixture is too dry). Season with black pepper. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. Top with more capers and/or a few pomegranate seeds scattered on top before serving. It goes great with almost any dipper – crackers, pita chips, corn chips, baguette slices, even sliced veggies.

The Verdict: 5 out of 5 stars
This dip is always a monster hit – smoky and rich with just enough tang from the capers to keep everything in balance. This recipe will make a good 2 quarts and we can finish it off during the course of a long weekend just hanging with my brother-in-laws and their families. Sometimes I’ll just make the smoked salmon and serve it as an appetizer with a fancy cheese log.

I have been in love with this recipe ever since I spotted it over at Noble Pig. I would really like a decent Reuben sandwich, but with the whole Celiacs thing I’ve yet to find a gluten-free bread that really holds up to grilling. That’s the joy of this dip – it’s everything I love about a good Reuben, just in a dip form.

1/2 pound corned beef, diced
1 (8-ounce)package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 1/4 cup sauerkraut, drained well.
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon caraway seed
1 Against the Grain Gluten-Free baguette, sliced into rounds and toasted

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Combine the corned beef, cream cheese, 1 cup of the sauerkraut, sour cream, ketchup, and mustard in a medium bowl.  Spoon 1/2 the mixture into a 1-quart baking dish. Top with half of the Swiss cheese. Spoon in the rest of the mixture, and top with the rest of the Swiss cheese, the remaining 1/4 cup of sauerkraut, and the caraway seeds.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until brown and bubbly.

The Verdict: 5 out of 5 stars
Boy, am I glad the nephews didn’t care for my corned beef . The leftovers made this a wonderfully rich and ever so naughty dip. Plan on sharing this one as the two of us couldn’t eat more than a couple of rounds worth before being stuffed. The next time I make this it’ll be for a holiday party where I can share the love.

Buy a 3 to 4 pound pre-seasoned corned beef brisket. Throw away the nasty package of seasoning that came with it, remove the brisket from the brine, and rinse with fresh cold water for at least 30 minutes.

Move the brisket to plastic container with a lid, or a large zip-top freezer bag, and cover with water. Store in the fridge at least overnight, and up to 48 hours, changing the water a couple of times.

Smoking

Set up your grill for an indirect cook that will burn for at least 5 hours at between 225 to 250°F. Add wood for smoke (I like grape vine for this dish).

While the grill is getting up to temp, remove the brisket from the water and pat dry. Season with a few grinds of black pepper. Cook at 225°F for about 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat hits 160°F. Remove the brisket from the grill and let it rest on a cutting board.

Braising

1 medium cabbage, shredded
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 bay leaves
Enough water to come up about halfway on the cabbage

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a large Dutch oven, add the cabbage, garlic, spices, and water. Bring cabbage to a boil over high heat. Cook uncovered until cabbage has started to wilt (about 5 minutes). Remove pan from heat and lay the brisket on top of the cabbage. Add enough water so that it comes half way up the brisket. Cover the dutch oven and move to the oven. Braise until the cabbage is tender and the meat is very tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove the corned beef and slice thinly across the grain. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cabbage to a large platter. Lay the sliced meat over cabbage and ladle over with a little of the remaining liquid. Serve with boiled potatoes.

The Verdict: 5 out of 5 stars
While my nephew didn’t care for it (his loss), I thought it was a tasty dish – tender flavorful meat on a bed of savory cabbage with a salty/smoky broth. Yum! The only thing better than corned beef and cabbage is the corned beef hash and Reuben sandwiches that I’ll be making later this week with the leftovers.

Our local Mega-Mongo-Mart had a sale on full pork loins, so I decided to cure a couple and replenish our dwindling supply of Canadian-style bacon.

Ingredients

2 boneless pork loins (8 to 10 pounds each)
1 tablespoon Morton Sugar Cure (Plain) per pound of loin
1 teaspoon white sugar per pound of loin
2 tablespoon black pepper, ground
1 tablespoon Dizzy Pig Raging River
1 tablespoon Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express
4 tablespoons maple syrup
4 tablespoons molasses

Instructions

Trim any excess fat from the pork loins, then cut them in half.

Just to jazz things up a little, I made up 2 batches of cure, one for each loin.

For loin #1:  combine the Morton Sugar Cure, white sugar, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of the pepper, and Raging River. Mix well. Place 2 of the loin pieces in a large freezer bag and coat with the cure. Rub the cure into the meat, covering all sides. Add the maple syrup, and turn the loins in the bag to distribute it. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal.

For loin #2:  combine the Morton Sugar Cure, white sugar, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of the pepper, and Red Eye Express. Mix well. Place 2 of the loin pieces in a large freezer bag and coat with the cure. Rub the cure into the meat, covering all sides. Add the molasses, and turn the loins in the bag to distribute it. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal.

Place both bags in the refrigerator for 5 days, flipping the meat over once a day. Liquid will begin  to collect in the bag almost immediately, indicating that the cure is working.

On the 6th day, remove the meat from the cure and soak in cold water for 1-2 hours to remove some of the salt. Dry off the meat and refrigerate uncovered for an hour – this helps the meat dry and form a pellicle, or glaze, to keep moisture in and help hold the smoke.

Set up your grill or smoker up for an indirect cook at 250°F for at least 4 hours. Once the cooker is up to temperature, add your smoking wood (I used pecan for this recipe).

Put the loins on the grate and cook until the internal temperature of the loin hits 160°F. Remove from the smoker and let cool before cutting into slices. I ran this batch through our food slicer and made both 1/4 inch slices for breakfast as well as some deli-thin ones for pizza topping and sandwiches.

Cottage bacon (a.k.a. buckboard bacon) is made from cured pork butt, rather than the usual belly meat. It’s a meaty, leaner product that makes great BLTs. After buying some from a local farmer this summer, my dear wife asked if I thought I could make it.

“Sure, but I’ll need a meat slicer.”

“Make me bacon like this and I’ll buy you the slicer.”

“Done!”

Ingredients

2 pork butts (pork shoulder roast), boned and trimmed
1 tablespoon Morton’s Sugar Cure per pound of meat
1 teaspoon white sugar per pound of meat
1/2 cup maple syrup or molasses
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

The Cure

I cured the 2 butts separately. Each went into a FoodSaver bag with 1 tablespoon Morton’s Sugar Cure and 1 teaspoon white sugar per pound of meat (so the 8 pound butt got 1/2 cup cure plus 8 teaspoons sugar, the 6 pound butt got 3/8 cup of cure plus 2 tablespoons of sugar). The smaller butt had a 1/4 cup of molasses added, and the larger one got a 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Both got a 1/2 tablespoon of ground pepper. I made sure to rub the cure into the meat and cover all sides.

I sealed the bags using the partial vacuum option (I only pulled out about half the air to give the cure room to circulate) and stored them in the refrigerator. After the first day, liquid began to collect in the bags, indicating  that the cure was working. I cured them for 7 days, flipping the meat over once a day.

After 7 days, I removed the meat from the cure and soaked in cold water for 3 hours to remove some of the salt. I dried off the meat and let it rest covered in the fridge overnight.

I set the Big Green Egg up for indirect cooking with a plate setter to diffuse the heat and a drip pan to catch the fat. I added a chunk each of apple and hickory for smoke. When the temperature stabilized at 225°F, I put the bacon-to-be on. I smoked them at 225°F for 5 hours until the larger of the 2 hit 140°F internal.

I pulled the butts, let them cool a little, and stored them in a covered container in the fridge overnight. The next day they met my new Chef’s Choice 610 Electric Food Slicer (thanks, honey).

In about 5 minutes I turned the 2 butts into a couple of big piles of 1/4 inch slices. Most of it went into quart-sized FoodSaver bags to be frozen for later, but I also loaded up a broiler pan with some for breakfast. I baked it in the oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes a side.

Crispy, smoky, just a little sweet – like a cross between country ham and belly bacon. Very tasty.

This is yet another grilled chicken recipe that really benefits from the marinade. In this case it’s a simple, tangy Argentinean chimichurri that combines herbs, lemon, and garlic to deeply flavor the chicken and keep it moist.

Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh Italian parsley
Juice of 1 large lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
6-8 chicken thighs

Instructions

Put the salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except the chicken, and give them a whirl until they are well-combined.

Put the chicken in a freezer bag and coat with the sauce. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.

Set your grill up for a direct cook over medium (350°F) heat. I like using a raised grid on the Big Green Egg to help even out the cooking temperatures. Put the chicken on the grill and close the lid. Cook for about 10 minutes, then flip. Flip again every 10 minutes until the thighs hit 180°F internal – about 40 minutes.

This Irish-American dish appears on many a St. Patrick’s Day table. You can buy pre-seasoned corned beef brisket at most grocery stores,  but I’ve been curing my own for a couple of years now and it’s well worth the effort. While the dish is traditionally braised, I like the firmer texture and greater depth of flavor I get from smoking it a little first.

The Cure

Start with an uncured, trimmed 3-4 pound brisket flat (the bottom portion of the brisket).

Combine all of the following ingredients to make your dry cure:

3 tablespoon  Morton’s Sugar Cure (plain)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons corned beef spices (I like Penzey’s with brown & yellow mustard seeds, coriander, allspice, cracked cassia, dill seed, bay leaves, cloves, China ginger, peppercorns, star anise, juniper, mace, cardamom, red pepper, whew…)

Place brisket in a large freezer bag and coat with the cure. Rub the cure into the meat, covering all sides. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Store in the refrigerator for 5 days, flipping the meat over once a day. Liquid will begin to collect n the bag – this is a good thing as it indicates that the cure is working. Do not drain it off.

On the 6th day, remove the brisket from the cure and rinse under cold water to remove most of the pieces of spice. Then soak the brisket in cold water for 1-2 hours to remove some of the salt. Dry off the meat and season lightly with a little fresh-ground black pepper.

The Smoke

Set up your grill for an indirect cook that will burn for at least 5 hours at between 225 to 250°F. Use a drip pan under the brisket to catch the fat. Add wood for smoke (I like grape vine). Cook at 225°F for about 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat hits 160°F. Remove the brisket from the smoker.

The Braise

1/2 large head green cabbage (about 2 pounds), cut into thick wedges
6 Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), quartered
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Place the brisket in a large roasting pan, surround with the remaining ingredients and add enough water to barely cover. Braise in the oven until the vegetables are done and the meat is very tender, about 30 minutes to an hour.

Remove the corned beef and slice thinly across the grain. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a large platter. Lay the sliced meat over vegetables and ladle over with a little of the remaining liquid.

I’ve been making my own Canadian-style bacon for the past couple of
years. I started out doing it because it was kind of fun and unique (in an old-timey-frontier-kind-of-way) to preserve my own food. But once I
got the hang of it, I realized that it really wasn’t that hard to make
Canadian-style bacon that tasted a lot better than the grocery store
brands at a fraction of the price.

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin (8 to 10 pounds)
1 tablespoon Morton Sugar Cure (Plain) per pound of loin
1 teaspoon white sugar per pound of loin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper, ground
4 tablespoons maple syrup (for glazing)

Instructions

Trim excess fat and remove the silver skin from pork loin. Cut the
loin into two equal pieces.

Combine the Morton Sugar Cure, white sugar, brown sugar, and pepper.
Mix well. This is your dry cure. Place the loin pieces in a large
freezer bag and coat with the cure. Rub the cure into the meat,
covering all sides. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Store in
the refrigerator for 5 days, flipping the meat over once a day. Liquid
will begin to collect in the bag – this indicates that the cure is
working. Do not drain it off.

On the 6th day, remove the meat from the cure and soak in cold water
for 1-2 hours to remove some of the salt. Dry off the meat and
refrigerate uncovered for an hour.

Set up your grill or smoker up for an indirect cook at 225°F for at
least 4 hours. Once the cooker is up to temperature, add your smoking
wood (I like hickory for this recipe). If using a gas grill, place 2-4 cups of soaked wood chunks in
the smoker box. If using a charcoal grill, toss a couple of fist-sized lumps
right into the coals.

Cook at 225°F until the internal temperature of the loin hits 150°F,
about 3 hours. Baste the top side with half the maple syrup. Cook
another 20 minutes, flip and baste the other side with the remaining
syrup. Cook another 20 minutes or until the internal temperature
reaches 160°F

Remove from the smoker and let cool before cutting into 1/8 inch thick
slices.

We usually make up a batch of this recipe for the holidays. The cured salmon makes a great appetizer served on crusty bread spread with a little cream cheese and topped with capers.

1 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
Several grinds of fresh black pepper
2 Salmon fillets (about 4-5 pounds)

Combine all of a the dry ingredients in bowl, mixing well. This is your cure.

In a long, low non-reactive container that will hold the salmon, layer the cure with the salmon fillets – cure, salmon, cure, salmon, cure. Place the fillets so that the meat sides face each other.

Cover and place in fridge for at least 12 hours, but no more than 24 hours. The brine will become like syrup. That’s a good thing. Turn the fillets over every 3-4 hours.

Remove the fish from cure, rinse well in cold water and pat dry. Place the fish skin-side down on a rack. Season with a little barbecue rub if desired (I used Dizzy Pig Raging River for this batch). Move to the fridge to to dry until surface is dry but slightly sticky to the touch – 1 to 3 hours.

Smoke indirectly at 250°F using alder or grape vine for smoke. Cook until the fillets starts to flake but are still a little translucent red inside – about 1 hour.

Brisket is a cut from the breast of a side of beef, and pastrami is brisket that has been cured and smoked. It is certainly one of the best things every to happen to a brisket.  I’ve been curing my own for a couple of years now, and it’s well worth the effort.

Start with an uncured, trimmed 3lb brisket flat (the bottom portion of the brisket).

Combine all of the following ingredients to make your dry cure:

• 3T of Morton’s Sugar Cure (plain)
• 1T brown sugar
• 3T of corned beef spices (I like Penzeys with brown & yellow mustard seeds, coriander, allspice, cracked cassia, dill seed, bay leaves, cloves, China ginger, peppercorns, star anise, juniper, mace, cardamom, red pepper, whew…)

Place brisket in a large freezer bag and coat with the cure. Rub the cure into the meat, covering all sides. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Store in the refrigerator for 5 days, flipping the meat over once a day. Liquid will begin to collect n the bag – this is a good thing as it indicates that the cure is working. Do not drain it off.

On the 6th day, remove the brisket from the cure and rinse under cold water the remove most of the pieces of spice. Then soak the brisket in cold water for 1-2 hours to remove some of the salt. Dry off the meat and season heavily with a good steak seasoning that has plenty of black pepper. I like Dizzy Pig’s Cow Lick.

Set up your smoker for indirect heat. Add wood for smoke (I like grape vine). Cook at 225°F for about 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat hits 175°F. Remove the brisket from the smoker and wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Let it cool for about an hour. This helps the meat to stay juicy. Slice thinly against the grain. Enjoy!

I’ve been wanting to try and duplicate the tasty red pork that we get at our local Chinese restaurant. After doing some research, I decided to start with a 13-pound pork butt (shoulder roast) thinly sliced into strips. Rather than use food coloring to get the usual red color, I went back to the traditional method and cured the pork first.

To cure the meat, put the sliced pork butt in a large freezer bag and coat it with 1t of Morton’s Sugar Cure for every pound of meat. Rub the cure into the meat, covering all sides. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Store in the refrigerator for 2 days, flipping the meat over once a day.

After the pork has cured, rinse it off and soak in fresh water for an hour. While the pork is soaking, prepare the following marinade:

• 1c soy sauce
• 1/2c honey
• 1/2c chinese rice wine (or sherry)
• 1c hoisin sauce
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 2t five spice powder
• 1T crushed red pepper flackes

Put a single layer of the the pork strips in a shallow baking dish and pour enough of the marinade over to coat. Alternate layers of pork and marinade until all the meat is covered. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge at least overnight.

Set your grill or smoker up for an indirect cook at 350°F. Remove the pork from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Season with a good coating of Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin and roast the strips about 20 minutes per side, or until the the thickest pieces hit about 160°F internal.

Spicy, sweet and savory – very nice.

I decided to do something a little different than traditional pulled pork – pulled ham.

I started with a 5lb half of a pork butt (a.k.a. Boston butt or pork shoulder roast) and cured for 5 days using a mixture of 5T of Morton’s Sugar Cure and 5t of Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express.

After curing, I rinsed the butt and soaked it for about 2 hours in fresh water, then let it air-dry for another hour. I set up the Big Green Egg for an indirect cook at 250°F with hickory for smoke. I smoked it until the butt hit 140°F internal.

After it hit 140°F, I moved the roast to a foil pan and basted it with a glaze of:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup maple syrup
1T cider vinegar
1T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup coffee
1t Coleman’s mustard
1T frozen orange juice concentrate

The whole pan went back into the BGE, still at 250°F, and got basted every 20 minutes or so until the butt hit 190°F internal. Then I sealed the pan with foil and let rest for 2 hours. When it had cooled a little, I pulled it with a pair of bear paws just like you would pulled pork.

It was salty, and sweet, and tangy, and ever so delicious!