Grilled Apple, Bacon & Swiss Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Looking at the abundance of apple orchards in Pittsburgh's North Hills, it clearly appears that Johnny Appleseed  traversed our hillocks, hummocks and slopes long ago, all the while leaving the fruits of his labors for many future generations. If not literally descended from Mr. Appleseed, the Shenots, Soergels, Kaelins, Reillys (to name just a few) have done an outstanding job of being the next best thing to old Johnny and his sack of seeds. Our North Hills are covered with apple orchards!

There is nothing like a fresh-from-the-farm apple, especially if it's from one of those just-mentioned local farms. Such an apple stands heads and shoulders above the long-stored, sometimes mealy and dry variety that has been shipped across country to a nearby grocery store. Hooray for local apples!!!! 

Now that apple season is here...and you know it's ALWAYS grilling season(!)...I thought it was time to combine the two. 

Pondering a way to stuff grilled chicken breasts with tart, sweet apples, the other components of the dish naturally fell into place. A melange of diced apple, onion, crisp bacon, shredded Swiss cheese and stoneground mustard was mounded into the center of each butterflied chicken breast, then secured with toothpicks and then onto the grill. A nice slow flame insured both the inside of the chicken AND the stuffing cooked through without singeing!

Then...and only then...the outside was basted with a combo of honey, balsamic vinegar, Kosher salt and stoneground mustard...just enough sweet, sour and tangy to echo and accent the sweet and savory stuffing.

Although I used Granny Smith apples, you can use your very own favorite variety. Later in the season - after the first frost, my absolute all time fave apple is the crunchy sweet and tart Stayman Winesap. Maybe the apple that's dearest to your heart is a Honeycrisp or a Jonagold, maybe an old fashioned McIntosh tickles your fancy...or even the classic Red Delicious or a Fuji or a Gala or....I could go on and on. 

If a trip out to the suburbs is on your to-do list for the weekend, be sure to stop by the farm market to load up on all the bounty apple season has to offer. Johnny Appleseed would approve!

Grilled Apple, Bacon & Swiss 

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

 Stuffing:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup onion, finely minced
• 4 slices bacon, crisped & crumbled
• 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon stoneground mustard
• 1/3 cup Granny Smith or similar tart, crisp apple - peeled, cored, diced medium fine - still some chunkiness to them

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - butterflied and opened like a book

Basting sauce:

• 2 tablespoons stoneground mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Add onion and saute until softened. Add the crisp crumbled bacon, chopped apple and mustard. Remove from heat and add cheese. Mix just to combine. Set aside.
 
Mix the basting sauce - mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar and salt and set aside.
 
Open the butterflied chicken breasts and evenly divide the stuffing among the breasts, firmly mounding the stuffing along the inside seam. Fold the breasts over the filling, compacting the filling as you go. Secure the edges with toothpicks to keep all the goodness inside.
 
Preheat the grill. Grill the breasts over indirect heat until each is thoroughly cooked all the way through, making sure the stuffing is cooked through, as well. Once the breasts are done, baste with sauce on both sides and grill until browned, but don't let them burn.

Enjoy!

Peach Jalapeno Smoked Rack of Pork

In my neverending quest to learn the fine art/craft of smoking pretty much on my own (with some precious tips from Greg Blanton down in the fine state of Georgia), Mark and I set out to experiment with the peach chips recently bought at Cabela's. The orange chicken we smoked last weekend was a rousing success...would the peach pork work as well? Not going to keep you in suspense here, the peachy pork was just, well, peachy! 

When it comes to the chips, I really don't think the peach chips added anything to the flavor that apple or cherry or pecan wouldn't contribute. In teaching ourselves, one of the things we're learning is that the type of wood doesn't necessarily impart the flavor of what the tree produces. Peach doesn't impart a peach flavor, apple doesn't lend a true apple-y essence to the protein on the smoker. 

Wood simply (in my opinion) imparts a smokey flavor - some woods produce a stronger smoke flavor (mesquite/hickory) and some milder and sweeter (apple/pecan). It is the marinade and/or rub and/or glaze that truly determines any flavor that isn't smoke.

This recipe really layers the flavors. The first layer was a good garlic/jalapeno rub, the second a tenderizing peach, garlic and vinegar marinade, the third was the smoke of peach wood and fourth was a peach and jalapeno echo of a rich, sweet finishing glaze. 

To help get the flavors ALL through the roast, I pierced the pork all over with a small sharp knife to insure the marinade got into every nook and cranny and then let it laze for a few hours...kind of like a meat hot tub only cool and comfy. Nothing like pampering your pork before it gets all hot and bothered on the smoker! (Did I just say that?!)

A few pitted, fresh peach halves, onions, jalapenos and garlic were scattered around the roast for about an hour to impart some smokey goodness to them before turning them into a chunky sauce that's kind of a cross between a spicy chutney and a good peach salsa. With the addition of a little vinegar, honey and mustard to accent the sweet heat aspect of the dish even more, I call it Peach Jalapeno Chut-Salsa.

A final step of glazing the roast during the last half hour turned it into a gleaming beauty of a hunk of meat just waiting for its close up! Was this labor intensive? Yes. Was it worth it? YES! Even though it is more time consuming than most Sunday dinners, everything was done in steps throughout the day so it really wasn't bad at all time-wise.

Tender, juicy and smoky

The schedule went something like this: the meat went into the marinade and the chips started soaking early. They did their thing while we brunched and watched CBS Sunday Morning. (It's a Sunday ritual at our house.)

When the show was over, Mark got the smoker going while I prepped the peaches and veggies. The pork went on the smoker by 11:30 a.m. and everything was done by 4:30 p.m. 

In between, laundry, cleaning, making the rub and peach glaze, some shopping, putting together the salsa/chutney, a little yardwork and some neighborhood socializing, it all made for a relaxing, yet productive, day. In fact, one might just call it one peach of a day!

Peachy Jalapeno Smoked Rack of Pork 

with Peach Chut-salsa

• 2 pounds pork roast, a 4-rib rack of pork

Rub: 

• 1 1/2 jalapenos, leave seeds & ribs in for lots of heat, remove them for less heat - cut into 1/2" pieces
• 7 large garlic cloves, paper skins removed
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder

Marinade:

• 2 cups peach nectar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Glaze:

• 1 peach, pitted
• 2 tablespoons stoneground mustard
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Chut-Salsa:

• 3 peaches, cut in half, stones removed
• 1 medium onion, peeled, cut in half lengthwise
• 2 jalapenos, whole
• 4 cloves garlic, whole, left in skins
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon stoneground mustard

Using a small, sharp knife, deeply pierce roast on all sides. Massage the rub into all the cuts, using all the rub, all over. When it is thoroughly covered, carefully put the roast into the ziptop bag that contains the prepared marinade. Refrigerate for 3 hours, remove from fridge and let it marinate another hour at room temp. 

Prepare smoker as you normally would using peach wood - if you can find it. I really don't think it makes a difference. Feel free to use apple, hickory or your own favorite variety. 

Once the smoker is ready to roll, put the roast on bone side down. Smoke the roast for about 2 hours before putting the peaches and veggies on. Let those smoke for about an hour, remove and let the roast continue to smoke for another 1-2 hours. 

The length of time it takes to smoke depends on your smoker. You know your smoker best, so use your own best educated smoking judgment for when it will be done to your own taste.

Glaze about 1/2 an hour before removing from smoker. Let it rest for about 20 minutes before carving.
 
Rub: Put the 7 garlic cloves, kosher salt & granulated onion into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.
 
Marinade: In a large ziptop bag, add peach nectar, 1/4 c. cider vinegar, 1 T granulated onion and 1 T granulated garlic. Set aside.
 
Glaze: Add the pitted peach WITH the skin on, 2 T mustard, 1 T vinegar, 1/4 C honey and Kosher salt to the food processor. Process until pureed. Add additional honey to desired consistency.
 
Chut-salsa: Finely dice the smoked peaches and veggies and add to a medium bowl. Add 2 T honey, 2 T red wine vinegar, 1 T Kosher salt and 1 T stoneground mustard. Mix well and serve as a condiment atop slices of pork.

Beer-Braised Reuben Meatball Hoagies

There are favorite sandwiches all over this great country of ours...a Primanti's sandwich here in Pittsburgh, a Polish Boy in Cleveland.  Baltimore? The venerable crabcake sandwich. But there is one that sandwich that goes by different names all over the U.S.  What is it? Well, that depends.

Whether you call it a hoagie (Pittsburgh), sub (Baltimore), grinder (Boston) or a hero, the big, long sandwich on an enormous bun is one of America's favorite casual meals. 

Another favorite sandwich is a Reuben, so why not make it a best-of-both Reuben meatball hoagie? Why not indeed.

In quest of a union of the two esteemed sandwiches, I put together a mixture of canned corned beef (Why canned? It crumbled and combined SO well with the other ingredients!), ground pork, egg, panko, shredded Swiss, chopped Bavarian sauerkraut, mustard and other goodies. The result? The meatballs turned out light, tender and jam packed with Reuben-y goodness. A chunky topping of more sauerkraut, onion, butter and beer complemented the sandwich to perfection.

What an ideal make-ahead meal for the middle of the week! Heat them up and pile them on crusty buns. If you're lucky enough to find rye rolls, even better! Accompanied by a crisp and crunchy Kosher dill pickles, Beer-Braised Reuben Meatball Hoagies make a hearty meal in these cold winter months.  

Some very lucky guests would enjoy these at a weekend get-together, too.  In fact, I'm going to tuck this one away to pull out for Steelers tailgates next year! Is it too early to say, Go Steelers?!

  

Beer-Braised Reuben Meatball Hoagies

Makes 24 meatballs or 8 sandwiches

• 1 can corned beef brisket, canned, crumbled with your fingers or mashed with a fork
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 tablespoons stoneground mustard
• 1 egg
• 1 14 oz. can Bavarian (with caraway seeds) sauerkraut, 1/2 c. removed & chopped, the rest of the can reserved  (if you don't like caraway seeds, use regular sauerkraut)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, gluten-free if you want to make this GF
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed (optional)
• 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded - preshredded is just fine
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted in a skillet
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• sauerkraut, what's remaining in the can above
• 1 cup beer, gluten-free to make this GF
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 8 hoagie rolls, sliced - gluten-free to make this GF
• Swiss cheese, shredded, extra for the tops

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 
Lightly mix the ingredients from corned beef through black pepper. Form into approximately 2" balls and set on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a Silpat. Bake 25 minutes, turn and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon into a large casserole dish.
 
While the meatballs are baking, melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until wilted. Add the rest of the can of sauerkraut, 1/2 t. caraway seeds and the beer. Quickly whisk in the cornstarch until smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until thick.
 
Pour the sauerkraut/beer mixture over the meatballs in the casserole dish. Serve on hoagie (or sub or grinder....you get the picture) rolls with a little shredded Swiss on top.
 
NOTE: If you don't like caraway seeds, leave them out!


NOTE 2: Wish I'd thought of this before....these would be great for a cocktail party on little slider rolls!

Beer and Pretzel Pork Chops

What do most men happily dream about? What do they crave? Now come on...not THAT! The correct answer in this case is beer. And what do they enjoy most with their beer? Pretzels, of course...with mustard! (None of you had an inappropriate answer, did you? Tsk, tsk.)  

Now that we've established the proper answers, let's make a dish any man (or woman) will love. Oh, and how about adding pork chops into that equation?  Yeah, I didn't think you'd say no.

You know, of course, that I used gluten-free pretzels - Snyder makes a really good gf pretzel that you can find in just about any grocery store.  If gluten isn't a problem, just use whatever brand you like the best. Same with the beer...use a nice dark or a light or whatever makes you happy.  It's beer!  How can you go wrong?! 

These pork chops aren't just hearty, they're easy, too.  Only a few ingredients total up to a whole lot hell of a lot of goodness.  You just can't go wrong with pretzels and beer...and a damned good mustard. Here's the recipe:

 Beer and Pretzel Pork Chops

• 4 pork loin chops, center cut, 3/4" thick
• 1/2 cup beer, your fave (gluten-free to make this GF)
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

• 1/2 cup honey mustard, a good one that's more honey-looking than mustard-looking...I like French's Honey Dijon
• 2 cups pretzel sticks, crushed relatively fine, but not into dust (gluten-free to make this GF)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1/2 cup beer, your fave (gluten-free to make this GF)

The night before, combine beer and dry mustard in a zip top bag and mix well.  Add the pork chops, squeeze out all the air and seal tightly.
 
Before you want to serve.  Crush the pretzels and put them in a plastic bag.  Remove the chops from the bag and dry them well.  Coat both sides of each chop liberally with honey mustard.  Put the chops into the bag with the crushed pretzels.  Coat each chop thoroughly. 
 
Melt butter and oil together in a large skillet.  When hot, add the chops.  Cook over medium heat until the chops are browned on the first side, turn and brown on the other.  Test for doneness before removing from pan. 
 
Pour 1/2 cup of the beer into the skillet and stir until the sauce thickens slightly and all the browned bits from the bottom are incorporated.
 
Plate the chops and pour the sauce over top.
 
      

Spiced Apple Balsamic Smoked Pork Loin

Apples and pork go together like...well, apples and pork!  Here it is October already and as the days grow shorter and darkness falls earlier, so are the prime days of smoking coming to a close.  Well, here in the north anyway...you fortunate warm-weather-all-year peeps can luckily smoke all year.  A word of advice to those who are not so warm-weather-advantaged: Smoke while the days are still warm enough to easily maintain the temperature in your smoker...strike while the smoker stays hot!

Not familiar with smoking?  Then let me explain that the meat in the picture above is not burned.  Nope, that's the beautiful bark that develops over low and slow smoking.  It is prized!  It is flavorful!  It is heaven.  You probably can't tell from the picture, but the pork roast is a bone-in center cut loin.  Bone-in equals flavor.  Bone-in equals juiciness and tenderness.  Do you get the idea that I only recommend a bone-in roast for smoking?  Yes, you do.  

Another tip to smoke the best doggone pork every time...be SURE the roast is well marbled with fat to keep it moist.  The fat will melt and as it melts, will infuse the pork with flavor while keeping it from drying out.  Of course, keeping it juicy is also the reason for the marinade.  Therefore, marinade + fat = an extra tender and succulent cut of smoked meat.  MmmmMmmm.

The roast was marinated overnight in a brew of farm-fresh apple cider, mustard, garlic, balsamic vinegar and some lovely fall spices.  Before smoking, I slathered the roast with an apple butter glaze that echoed the mood of the marinade.  Did you notice I said "farm-fresh cider" and  not cider-from-the-grocery-store-shelf?  Cider from the farm is less filtered and has more apple-y flavor, body, color and character...the same for the apple butter.  It makes a difference, believe me.  Love my local farms!  (That means YOU Shenot's, Soergel's and Kaelin's!)

While it's sad to see the waning days of warmth, there ARE advantages to the days of fall.  Let me list a few:

#1.  While tending the smoker, your beer stays colder longer and the ice in your cocktail doesn't melt as quickly.

#2.  Crisp, cool nights make for wonderful sleeping with the windows open.

#3.  Hay rides!

#4.  It's not long until little ghoulies and goblins knock at the front door for tricks and treats.

#5.  Shopping at favorite local farm markets for apples, pears, pumpkins, winter squash, beets, cabbages...the bounty of the field, fresh and fabulous.

What?  You don't have a favorite farm store?  Check the newspapers and the internet and FIND A FARM STORE NEAR YOU!  

Spiced Apple Balsamic Smoked Pork Loin

• 3 1/2 pound center cut pork loin roast, bone-in

• 1 pint apple cider
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 2 tablespoons stoneground mustard
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

• 3/4 cup apple butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard, Colman's
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The day before you intend to smoke the roast, mix the apple cider, balsamic vinegar and 2 T EACH of granulated garlic, stoneground mustard and Kosher salt in a STURDY zip lock plastic bag.  Once the marinade is mixed completely, put the roast carefully into the marinade, squeeze out all the air and seal.  Place the bagged roast into a deep bowl and refrigerate. (The bowl is to keep any leaking marinade from making a mess in your fridge.)
 
Early the next day start your smoker using soaked applewood chips. 
 
Once you've started the smoker, make the glaze mixing the apple butter, Colman's mustard, granulated garlic, balsamic vinegar 1/2 t. each of cinnamon, ginger and cayenne, the salt & pepper.  Mix well.  Slather the glaze all over the roast thickly.  You'll have some glaze left - save that to apply part way through the smoking if you wish.
 
Smoke, replenishing charcoal and soaked wood chips as necessary until done.  The roast took about 6 hours for ours to smoke - yours may take more or less time depending on the temp of your smoker, the size of your roast, etc.- so plan accordingly to get the meat on the table in time for dinner!  Remove the roast to a platter and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
 
NOTE:  If you don't own a smoker or just don't feel like doing it outside, you can roast this in the oven as you would normally - no smoke flavor, but still delish.  

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and roast the pork for 30 minutes.  Reduce the temp to 350 degrees and continue roasting until tender and cooked through the way you like your pork.

Spicy & Crispy Balsamic, Maple & Stoneground Mustard Wings

Game day!  And yes, that's exactly what's going on the coffee table in front of the TV in just a few minutes...just as soon as I get this posted for you.  

The wings are baked in the oven to eliminate all that extra fat from frying....baking makes them healthy, yes?  And maple is natural, so that must be good for you, too.  Mustard has almost no calories...same for balsamic vinegar and cayenne pepper.  

That means....WINGS ARE HEALTH FOOD!  If only in my demented, delusional little mind. Okay, even if they aren't actually healthy, they are JUST the thing for game day.  Enjoy.  (Responsibly.)

    Spicy & Crispy 

Balsamic, Maple & Stoneground Mustard Wings

• 12 chicken wings, that's 6 drummies and 6 flats

• 1/4 cup stoneground mustard
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, the REAL stuff!  Grade B - has deeper, richer flavor
• 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a preheated 450 degree oven, bake wings on a large rimmed cookie sheet - about 20-25 minutes.  Turn over & bake another 20 minutes or so until the wings are browned and crispy, but not dried out.  Remove.
 
While the wings are baking, mix all the sauce ingredients well in a large heat-proof bowl.  Set aside.
 
When the wings are done, stir the sauce again and put the wings into the bowl.  Stir well until the wings are coated completely.  Move the wings to a serving plate and pour the sauce left in the bowl over top.

Old Fashioned Picnic Potato Salad - Like My Mom's Used to Be

Moms ALWAYS make the best potato salad, don't they?  In my Mom's case it was absolutely true.  Nobody could make potato salad they way she did - just the right balance of tart and sweet, salty and sour, smooth and tangy and creamy, not too much egg or mustard.  Balanced.  Every single picnic we went to her potato salad was the hit.  It was requested, demanded even! A picnic wasn't complete without Helen's potato salad!


The only one who sometimes had an issue with Mom's potato salad was Aunt Anna, who did NOT like onions!  And so every batch of potato salad had some taken out BEFORE the onions went in...just for Aunt Anna.  Well...except for this one time when we forgot and put the onions in first...oooops!  Knowing how disappointed Aunt Anna would be not to have her very own dish of that beautiful salad, we simply took of a little of the onion-laden potato salad into a small separate bowl.  We held our collective breath and waited.  

Aunt Anna proclaimed the potato salad delicious!  She never knew the difference.  Perhaps the years had dulled her sensitivity to the power of onion, perhaps it was the treat of her very own, very special bowl...we'll never know.  All we knew was she was delighted.  And so were we.

Old Fashioned Picnic Potato Salad - 

Like My Mom's Used to Be

Serves 8

• 8 baking potatoes
• 4 eggs

• 3/4 green pepper, diced
• 2 sticks celery, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced fine

• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise, Hellmans!
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
• Jane's Crazy Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon celery seed (optional) - depends upon your crowd

Place potatoes into a pot big enough to hold them AND the eggs.  Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat a little so it doesn't boil over, but keep it at a low boil.  Cook until potatoes can JUST be pierced easily with a knife.  Don't overcook!  Remove from heat and pour into a colander to cool slightly.
 

While the potatoes & eggs are cooling, Mix the diced veggies with about a teaspoon of the Crazy Salt and let sit to draw out the excess moisture for about 15 minutes.  Drain WELL.
 

While you're waiting for the moisture to come out of the veggies, mix the mayo, sugar, vinegar and mustard together well.  Set aside.
 

Peel and slice the potatoes into a large mixing bowl.  Peel the eggs.   Dice the eggs into the same mixing bowl.  Add the DRAINED veggies.  Pour most, not all, of the dressing over and mix lightly.  Taste, adjust seasoning with Crazy Salt and mix well again.  Add the rest of the dressing if it needs it....but you DON'T want a soupy potato salad.  

NOTE:  The hint above about salting and draining your veggies ahead of time?  Helps keep the potato salad from getting soupy...AGAIN with the soupy!

Easy, Delicious, Slow-Roasted Pulled Pork

In our house, the aroma of BBQ spice-encrusted pork roasting in the oven is better than potpourri. In fact, why hasn't Yankee Candle come up with that candle scent yet?!  Pumpkin pie - check.  Apple pie - check.  Cinnamon buns - check.  Surely there's a market for the savory scents of roasting pork or chicken...hey, remember when you see those candles on the shelves that you saw the idea here first!

This is so blasted easy it's almost criminal to call it cooking.  Too busy to cook while you're shopping, wrapping, baking cookies, running the kids to their holiday activities?  Yup, throw this in the oven and forget it for 6-8 hours.  Have company coming over and you STILL HAVE TO CLEAN?!  Yup, let this baby roast away and there's nothing else you have to do.  Really, you rub the spice mixture into the meat, slow roast it ALL day long, and many hours later....it's dinner, hon.

Make the BBQ sauce a day or two - or more - ahead of time and sauce it at the last minute.  Or make the pulled pork several days ahead, mix the sauce into it and refrigerate it until you need it...or freeze it.  It freezes perfectly!  There aren't many recipes as easy and forgiving as this one.  

When the family's ready to eat or company's almost coming through the door, mix up some coleslaw - pre-shredded stuff is just fine (use  Marzetti's slaw dressing for simple and delicious slaw), put out the buns, some nice dill or bread and butter pickle slices, extra sauce if anyone likes a little extra, maybe some good store bought potato salad and dinner is ready!

Pulled Pork

Rub:

• 3 tablespoons paprika

• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon dry mustard

• 3 tablespoons kosher salt

• 6 pounds pork roast, Boston butt or shoulder

Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup yellow mustard

• 1/2 cup brown mustard

• 3/4 cup ketchup

• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cayenne

• at least a teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - more is better!

Mix dry rub ingredients.  Rub all over the pork and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  If you don't have time to start it the night before, go ahead and put it right in the oven.  Like I said above, this is a forgiving recipe!
 
Preheat oven to 300.
 
Put the pork in a roasting pan fat cap up and bake 6-8 hours or until it falls apart easily.  Pour off any fat in the bottom of the pan, but be sure to use all the pieces of the crusty brown crispy, crunchy fat on top when you pull the pork apart with two forks.
 
Sauce:   Do this while the pork is roasting or ahead of time.  Combine vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne & pepper in a saucepan.  Simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
 
Pour 1/2 the sauce (or just enough to moisten the meat) over pork and mix gently, but well.  Serve rest of sauce on side.


Gluten-Free Note:  The pulled pork is naturally gluten-free.  Look for Udi's gluten-free hamburger buns - wonderful!  Hallelujah, its fantastic to enjoy this on a bun they way God intended!