You know, every now and then, some magic happens. The stars are aligned, your favorite charcoal is on sale, et.c., you get the point. Today was one of those days. I had the day off, and invited a friend over for lunch (think: ribs!), and some other friends for dinner (think: pork butt!).
Little did I know I would blow myself away this Friday. Yes, I know, I’m biased, but this one sure hit home.
So, time for an all day (12 hours+) bbq session. Well, it’s a dirty job…
I figured this was a good time to put me and my grill to the test. If I got started early enough, I would be able to run a set of ribs, serve them at lunch, then continue with pork butt for my evening guests.
Said and done, at 8 am I started the fire, put the ribs on at 8:30 am, then continued to watch over them for the next 3.5 hours. I did wrap them after 2.5 hours (I kinda like the extra juiciness). Then glazed them, put them back on the grate and just waited them out. My friend came over, we had a cold one, and enjoyed good ribs. It turned out to be a good way to start the day.
Now to the magic. I had two 2 pound butts (slightly more than 2 pounds actually). I was thinking of what I should use for flavor, when I came to think of a dish I was served when I was a little kid: prune stuffed pork butt! I have only tried the oven-made version, but never barbecued. Time to go to work. I dry brined the butts the day before, then applied a 50/50 mix of Memphis Dust and my own rub one hour before grilling. The MD alone is a bit too sweet for me.
The butts were fairly equal in size, and the only flavoring I applied (except for my standard rub) was to poke some holes with a small knife and stuff them with prunes.
The butts went on my big green egg att noon. The egg was running a solid 225 deg F. I let them sit for a good four hours, then checked them, and sprayed some conc. apple juice on them every now and then. After 5 hours, when the internal temp was at 170 deg F, I decided to wrap them, as I had a deadline to catch (my guests arriving). I wrapped them for an hour, so all in all they were on the grill for roughly six hours. I wrapped them again in fresh alu foil, and then wrapped them in a towel, and let them rest for another hour.
Side dishes
I wasn’t really sure, but I have taken a liking to the sweet potato mash, so I made some. I also cooked â€ÂRomanesco†(a hybrid between cauliflower and broccoli) in the oven, and (of course) corn on the cob.
The Sauce
I have always wanted to make a good whiskey sauce. Not that I’m a really big fan of whiskey (I’m more of a rhum man), but I figured it must be easy to make one. I scoured the internet for recipes, but 8 out of 10 weren’t that good, or even whiskey sauces, so I decided to do it my own way, kind of like how you do a red wine reduction. See recipe below.
Sauce ingredients
1-2 shallots
1-2 tablespoons (liquid) beef stock
2 cups cream
5 ounces good whiskey
Making the Sauce
Chop the shallots. Fry them in a good amount of butter. Add the beef stock and whiskey. Let it simmer and reduce to about a fourth of the original amount. Add the cream and some brown sugar (and salt of course). Mix it to a smooth sauce. Thicken the sauce a bit if you like.
When the guests arrive, i started carving the pork butt, and then we enjoyed really good food. The pork was just packed with flavor, perfectly tender and juicy, and the sauce really hit the spot. All in all, one big happy family!
If theres one thing you should take with you from this recipe, it is the pork butt with prunes and the whiskey sauce. Those two were out of this world. The prunes are a perfect match for a pork butt.
Little did I know I would blow myself away this Friday. Yes, I know, I’m biased, but this one sure hit home.
So, time for an all day (12 hours+) bbq session. Well, it’s a dirty job…
I figured this was a good time to put me and my grill to the test. If I got started early enough, I would be able to run a set of ribs, serve them at lunch, then continue with pork butt for my evening guests.
Said and done, at 8 am I started the fire, put the ribs on at 8:30 am, then continued to watch over them for the next 3.5 hours. I did wrap them after 2.5 hours (I kinda like the extra juiciness). Then glazed them, put them back on the grate and just waited them out. My friend came over, we had a cold one, and enjoyed good ribs. It turned out to be a good way to start the day.
Now to the magic. I had two 2 pound butts (slightly more than 2 pounds actually). I was thinking of what I should use for flavor, when I came to think of a dish I was served when I was a little kid: prune stuffed pork butt! I have only tried the oven-made version, but never barbecued. Time to go to work. I dry brined the butts the day before, then applied a 50/50 mix of Memphis Dust and my own rub one hour before grilling. The MD alone is a bit too sweet for me.
The butts were fairly equal in size, and the only flavoring I applied (except for my standard rub) was to poke some holes with a small knife and stuff them with prunes.
The butts went on my big green egg att noon. The egg was running a solid 225 deg F. I let them sit for a good four hours, then checked them, and sprayed some conc. apple juice on them every now and then. After 5 hours, when the internal temp was at 170 deg F, I decided to wrap them, as I had a deadline to catch (my guests arriving). I wrapped them for an hour, so all in all they were on the grill for roughly six hours. I wrapped them again in fresh alu foil, and then wrapped them in a towel, and let them rest for another hour.
Side dishes
I wasn’t really sure, but I have taken a liking to the sweet potato mash, so I made some. I also cooked â€ÂRomanesco†(a hybrid between cauliflower and broccoli) in the oven, and (of course) corn on the cob.
The Sauce
I have always wanted to make a good whiskey sauce. Not that I’m a really big fan of whiskey (I’m more of a rhum man), but I figured it must be easy to make one. I scoured the internet for recipes, but 8 out of 10 weren’t that good, or even whiskey sauces, so I decided to do it my own way, kind of like how you do a red wine reduction. See recipe below.
Sauce ingredients
1-2 shallots
1-2 tablespoons (liquid) beef stock
2 cups cream
5 ounces good whiskey
Making the Sauce
Chop the shallots. Fry them in a good amount of butter. Add the beef stock and whiskey. Let it simmer and reduce to about a fourth of the original amount. Add the cream and some brown sugar (and salt of course). Mix it to a smooth sauce. Thicken the sauce a bit if you like.
When the guests arrive, i started carving the pork butt, and then we enjoyed really good food. The pork was just packed with flavor, perfectly tender and juicy, and the sauce really hit the spot. All in all, one big happy family!
If theres one thing you should take with you from this recipe, it is the pork butt with prunes and the whiskey sauce. Those two were out of this world. The prunes are a perfect match for a pork butt.
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