When we make a shoulder, we put it on top of a couple of pig's trotters that have also been rubbed after being quartered by the butcher. Weird huh? not really. You see, the feet are all skin and hooves and connective tissue. that means gelatin. lots and lots of gelatin.
When we put the meat on the smoker, we put a large roasting pan with an aluminum pan inside it. the kind you use to make the Thanksgiving turkey. and into that, about a gallon and a half to two gallons of water. then, another grill rack, the pig's trotters and the pork shoulder sits atop the trotters. now, as everything cooks, including the spices and sugars of the rub, it all drips into our water pan. and this cooks all night long. Next morning, when the coals begin to cool, we break open the barrel and we break it all down, putting the meat in a cooler cambro to keep warm. it's not done, yet.
but, we DO bring in the drip pan. we are now down to about a gallon of water and delicious, spices and gelatin and yes, grease, in the water. and all that meaty umami goodness. all of that goes into my 6 qt saucier and on the copper plate on the back eye of my stove with no lid. and turn the temp to simmer. it takes about 3-4 hours but that's OK, cause the meat is still cooking.
the important thing is not quickly boiling away the water but, like everything in BBQ, it is about lowly and slowly, simmering away the moisture until you're left with a bit that is JUST right. as I get closer and closer to the pan being empty, I watch it more and more closely. when I am down to about 3/4" - 1/2" of liquid in the pan, I turn it down even a little more. now it is JUST barely simmering. as we let the last tiny bit of water boil away.
you can tell when it happens. the bubbles change. if you've every made sugar candy, you know what I mean. you put sugar and water in a pan and cook and, at around 240 all the water is gone and the sugar starts to brown into caramel. but, first, the bubbles change. where you once had lots of biggish bubbles that were very thin walled and burst quickly with a puff of steam, you now have small bubbles of thick liquid that burst with a splatter. in that moment, you are making caramel. and this is the moment.
because this is the moment when your dripping pan full of water and grease and meat juice becomes magic. there's still a layer of oil on the liquid. but, in just a few moments, when the very last of the water cooks off, you stir. you stir all the way to the bottom of the pan, scraping the whole mass away, leaving a dry space that fills back in. you stir all the way to the edges. and within 60 -90 seconds, you'll see that thin layer of oil disappear. because, like everything else, at 240 degrees, even the oil caramelizes and becomes luscious umami bomb caramel, waiting to be the base of your best ever BBQ sauce.
THIS is the seed from which that beautiful sauce will grow.
depending on your style, this is when you put it together. Remember, this is any sauce recipe you like WITHOUT pantry spices. the spices are already there. and this is one of the main reasons for making your sauce this way, you know with certainty that your sauce will have the exact same spice ratio as your meat. cause ti came from your meat. better, you have meat juices. gelatins that came directly from your pig. THIS is why I use the trotters. because it means when I cook all of this down, I have at least 8 oz, usually more, of wonderful caramel base for my sauce.
when the meat comes off the grill, I will also take the trotters, after they have gone back on the smoker with the meat and the blade from the roast, and I'll run them with the secind drip pan contents through the pressure cooker to get all the gelatin I can out of the rest f it. that gives you a second batch of sauce. but this is the first. this is what I would put on my Competition plate if I ever had the money to do a competition.
If it's Carolina sauce, add your mustard & vinegar. for me, it's the KC Red sweet sauce. so I add cider vinegar, tomato paste (my own if I still have some from the garden the year before) Pineapple juice and apricot jam, honey and a little brown sugar and mix it all together until rich and thick and creamy ad the most beautiful, clingy delicious BBQ sauce you ever tasted.
making the sauce is a bit of a process, but THE most satisfying moment, the most important 90 seconds in the process, is that one point when the water puffs the last puff of steam and the last drop of oil becomes caramel. For the best sauce you have ever had, do try this. I promise, once you get there, you'll never go back.
When we put the meat on the smoker, we put a large roasting pan with an aluminum pan inside it. the kind you use to make the Thanksgiving turkey. and into that, about a gallon and a half to two gallons of water. then, another grill rack, the pig's trotters and the pork shoulder sits atop the trotters. now, as everything cooks, including the spices and sugars of the rub, it all drips into our water pan. and this cooks all night long. Next morning, when the coals begin to cool, we break open the barrel and we break it all down, putting the meat in a cooler cambro to keep warm. it's not done, yet.
but, we DO bring in the drip pan. we are now down to about a gallon of water and delicious, spices and gelatin and yes, grease, in the water. and all that meaty umami goodness. all of that goes into my 6 qt saucier and on the copper plate on the back eye of my stove with no lid. and turn the temp to simmer. it takes about 3-4 hours but that's OK, cause the meat is still cooking.
the important thing is not quickly boiling away the water but, like everything in BBQ, it is about lowly and slowly, simmering away the moisture until you're left with a bit that is JUST right. as I get closer and closer to the pan being empty, I watch it more and more closely. when I am down to about 3/4" - 1/2" of liquid in the pan, I turn it down even a little more. now it is JUST barely simmering. as we let the last tiny bit of water boil away.
you can tell when it happens. the bubbles change. if you've every made sugar candy, you know what I mean. you put sugar and water in a pan and cook and, at around 240 all the water is gone and the sugar starts to brown into caramel. but, first, the bubbles change. where you once had lots of biggish bubbles that were very thin walled and burst quickly with a puff of steam, you now have small bubbles of thick liquid that burst with a splatter. in that moment, you are making caramel. and this is the moment.
because this is the moment when your dripping pan full of water and grease and meat juice becomes magic. there's still a layer of oil on the liquid. but, in just a few moments, when the very last of the water cooks off, you stir. you stir all the way to the bottom of the pan, scraping the whole mass away, leaving a dry space that fills back in. you stir all the way to the edges. and within 60 -90 seconds, you'll see that thin layer of oil disappear. because, like everything else, at 240 degrees, even the oil caramelizes and becomes luscious umami bomb caramel, waiting to be the base of your best ever BBQ sauce.
THIS is the seed from which that beautiful sauce will grow.
depending on your style, this is when you put it together. Remember, this is any sauce recipe you like WITHOUT pantry spices. the spices are already there. and this is one of the main reasons for making your sauce this way, you know with certainty that your sauce will have the exact same spice ratio as your meat. cause ti came from your meat. better, you have meat juices. gelatins that came directly from your pig. THIS is why I use the trotters. because it means when I cook all of this down, I have at least 8 oz, usually more, of wonderful caramel base for my sauce.
when the meat comes off the grill, I will also take the trotters, after they have gone back on the smoker with the meat and the blade from the roast, and I'll run them with the secind drip pan contents through the pressure cooker to get all the gelatin I can out of the rest f it. that gives you a second batch of sauce. but this is the first. this is what I would put on my Competition plate if I ever had the money to do a competition.
If it's Carolina sauce, add your mustard & vinegar. for me, it's the KC Red sweet sauce. so I add cider vinegar, tomato paste (my own if I still have some from the garden the year before) Pineapple juice and apricot jam, honey and a little brown sugar and mix it all together until rich and thick and creamy ad the most beautiful, clingy delicious BBQ sauce you ever tasted.
making the sauce is a bit of a process, but THE most satisfying moment, the most important 90 seconds in the process, is that one point when the water puffs the last puff of steam and the last drop of oil becomes caramel. For the best sauce you have ever had, do try this. I promise, once you get there, you'll never go back.
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