Pig Prep: A To-Die-For Barbecued Pork Combo
Want to cook the best barbecued pork ever? Follow my lead, kemo sabe Saturday, June 02, 2018
I may be a tad biased, but I happen to think that barbecued pork is one of the true treasures of grilled cuisine. See, I've grilled just about anything that can be grilled. Say what you will about beef or chicken, even caribou or bison: there's nothing quite like the succulent fatty flavor of well-prepared pork.
And that's why I've got not just one recipe for you to consider this month, but two: one a rub, one an actual sauce, both optimized for flesh of the porcine persuasion.
Hot hot pig rub
Let's start by massaging a few spices into the pork, shall we? This is for those of us who really love to pump up the volume on the heat, containing as it does some of the spiciest spices in the rack.
With no further ado, the recipe, suitable for all forms of grilled pork:
4 teaspoons of finely-ground cayenne pepper
8 teaspoons of mustard (the dry ground stuff, not French's)
1 cup of coarse ground black pepper
1 cup of chili powder (as hot as you like it)
½ cup of salt
1 cup of sugar
Just mix it all together, then rub it into the meat (I'd suggest wearing rubber gloves, and Heaven forbid you should rub your eyes). Store it in an airtight container until ready to use. If you need less or more, this recipe is easily scalable without any reduction of flavor.
Next, the sauce!
Barbecue's just grilled meat if left dry, so you need some tasty sauce to add during and after the grilling. Here's one of my favorites. When used in conjunction with the above rub, it adds up to a piquant flavor you're unlikely to forget.
The recipe, then:
2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought)
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce (the real stuff that's made with anchovies)
4 cups of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of finely-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of table salt
½ tablespoon of sugar
A bay leaf or two (to taste)
½ teaspoon of sage (optional)
Mix all the ingredients in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil for two minutes, before turning down to a simmer for 10-15 minutes (or until the sauce thickens to your liking). Take it off the heat and let it cool, covered, to room temperature, whereupon it's ready for basting and tasting.
And that's how it is.
Have at it, folks. These recipes are ideal for use either together or separately; but I recommend the former, because together, they're just heavenly. Give it a shot -- I think you'll love this barbecued pork combo as much as I do.
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