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I finally got a chance to try out the lovely 4.2 qt Dutch oven that Emile Henry sent me on the Big Green Egg. For its maiden voyage, I decided to try a batch of carnitas. To make these tender, … Continue reading
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I had this velvety meat sauce a while back at an Italian restaurant and knew immediately that I needed to figure out how to make it at home. But months pass, and I kinda forgot about it. Then Chris over … Continue reading
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When I first decided to cook ribs for the weekend, it was a balmy 19°F and I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal. By Saturday an arctic airmass had dropped in. When I took the ribs off the Egg for dinner it … Continue reading
This is the dish I made exactly 16 years ago on the night I proposed to my dear wife. Well, this is actually way better than that dish – back then it would have been marinated in cheap bottled dressing and cooked in the oven until it was bone dry. In 15 years of marriage I’ve managed to become a better cook, and a better person. Thanks for loving me, hon!
Italian Pork Loin
1 4-6 pound boneless pork loin
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
5 cloves garlic
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Put the loin on a cutting board, fat side up. Score the fat cap by making shallow diagonal cuts in a diamond pattern at about 1-inch intervals.
Toss everything, except the pork, in a blender and give it a buzz until it’s all blended together. Put the loin in a zip-top bag and cover with the marinade, toss to coat the loin and make sure to work the marinade into the fat cap. Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal it, and put it in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight is better.
You’ll need a flame-proof roasting pan (I use an old 9×13 baking pan) with a rack. Set the grill up for a 3 hour indirect cook over medium heat (400°F). On the Big Green Egg this means using about half a fire box full of lump charcoal, an inverted plate setter to diffuse the heat, and a trivet to set the roasting pan on.
Roast the loin until the internal temperature of the pork hits 140°F (about an hour). Move to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
The Verdict: 
It was our anniversary dinner, so of course the meal was good and the company was lovely. I liked the way the fat on the loin crisped up, but it might get even crispier if I skip the roaster next time and do it direct on a raised grid. The marinade was just a little too sweet, so the recipe here reflects reducing the sugar to 1 tablespoon.
If I ever need to come up with a death row last meal request, this is it.
In my pre-gluten free days I used to make this at least twice a month. Since the Celiacs, I’ve tried a version over GF waffles that I call Country Eggs Benedict. Tasty, but not the real deal, so I kind of gave up making it altogether.
But prompted by my success with making gluten-free biscuits and Nobel Pig’s great sausage gravy post, I decided to try whipping up a batch of honest-to-god-clog-your-arteries-and-put-a-smile-on-your-face biscuits and gravy.
Ingredients
1 pound pork breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean’s in the case)
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup gluten-free flour (I like Pamela’s Amazing Bread Mix or Gluten-Free Pantry Country French Bread Mix)
3 tablespoon pancetta, diced
1 tablespoon bacon grease
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Melt the bacon grease in a large skillet. Add the sausage and pancetta and cook until the sausage is uniformly brown and the pancetta is a little crispy. Do not drain. Add the sage, red pepper, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Add the flour and cook over low heat for 5 minutes until it forms a roux and begins to brown.
Remove pan from heat and stir in milk a little at a time. Scape the bottom to get up any brown bits. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally until gravy comes to a simmer and starts to thicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and ladle over warm biscuits.
The Verdict:
Man, they were good! The pancetta added some crispy bits and porky goodness, while the bacon fat added a smoky richness. The red pepper and a shot of hot sauce warmed up the gravy, and the soft biscuits did a fine job of soaking up all that wonderfulness. Perfect. They could strap me in ol’ sparky tomorrow and I’d be a happy man.
Yet another excellent recipe I adapted from Adam Perry Lang’s BBQ 25: The World’s Most Flavorful Recipes-Now Made Fool-Proof. I cut these 1-inch thick chops from the rib end of a whole pork loin. Brining the chops adds a ton of flavor and keeps them very juicy.
The Brine
6 pork chops
Juice of 1 orange (about 1/3 cup)
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cilantro
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic
3 green onions, chopped
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
Put the garlic, salt, and onions in a food processor and pulse until the garlic and onions are minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except the chops, and give them a whirl until everything is well-combined.
Put the chops in a zip-top bag and cover with the marinade. Toss to coat. Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal it, and put it in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight is better.
The Baste
Combine in a foil pan or heatproof pan and warm on the side of the grill:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
5 crushed garlic cloves
4 tablespoons finely chopped savory herbs such as rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano and/or sage
The Cook
Set up your grill for a direct cook over medium (350°F) heat.
Remove the chops from the brine and put them on the grill. Grill the chops 5 minutes on one side. Then flip, baste, and grill another 5 minutes on the second side. Flip again, baste, and grill for 5 more minutes. Flip one last time, baste, and grill another 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork hits 140°F.
Remove the chops from the grill. Baste one last time, and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
The Verdict:
Wow! These chops were incredibly moist and tender with very rich layers of flavor. The original brine recipe called for fresh coriander, which we were out of, so I substituted dried cilantro – not the same thing. I’d use fresh next time as well as maybe a little diced jalepeño.
Much of what I know about making ribs I owe to “Car Wash Mike” McKernan and his postings on the Big Green Egg forum. Mike recently passed away, and while I never met the man, I thought it fitting to join the rest of the Eggheads in smoking a batch of baby backs in his honor.
I started with 3 racks of baby back ribs. These were a little smaller than the ones I usually get from Costco, and looked to already have had the membrane removed. I rubbed both sides of each rack with Dizzy Pig’s Dizzy Dust about 2 hours before they went on the smoker.
I set up my Big Green Egg for an indirect cook at 250°F – filling the firebox with lump charcoal and using an inverted plate setter to diffuse the heat and a drip pan with a little water in it to catch the fat.
I lit the charcoal just in the center, and once the temperature hit 300°F in the dome, I tossed in a a couple of chunks of crab apple for smoke. I added the plate setter, drip pan and grate, then adjusted the vents until the temperature settled at 250°F.
I arranged the ribs bone side down on the grate, then closed the lid and let the BGE do it’s magic for an hour. I flipped the ribs bone side up, and let them go for another hour. I flipped them back bone side down and let them go for another 2 hours.
After the ribs had been on 4 hours total, I started checking for doneness. Ribs are generally done when a full slab will almost fold in half and start to crack when you pick up one end with a pair of tongs. These weren’t there yet, but the meat had really started to pull back from the end of the bones and it looked like it wouldn’t take much to pull a bone right out of the ribs.
Hmmmm…
I flipped a rack over and discovered that the bone side was covered with that membrane that I’d thought had been removed. Oops. It was all brown and crispy now. I grabbed one corner with the tongs and pulled it off – underneath was the juiciest rib meat I’ve ever seen.
I lifted the end of the slab and it almost fell apart. These ribs were well done and it had only been the membrane that was holding them together. I quickly removed the membrane from the other 2 racks and moved all of them off the Egg and onto a jelly roll pan. I sauced them on both sides with a little Sticky Pig Barbecue Sauce and told our guests we’d be eating a little sooner than expected.
The lesson? There are a lot of great teachers out there. Take their advice, but don’t be afraid to make your own mistakes and then pass the experience along.