Wine In My Kitchen: Cooking and Reading Everyday

By Karen Tripson

BBQ: Everyone's Favorite and the Great Equalizer

Recipes for: Carolina, Chinese and Southwest styles

BBQ is one of my top ten favorite foods and my favorite kind of party. Road-trips through the south to go to camp or visit grandparents acquainted me with the thrill of ordering BBQ. You never know for sure when the sign says Q, if they mean grilled or smoked; chicken, pork or beef; pieces, slices, pulled or ribs; sweet and salty with red sauce or salty and tangy with vinegar. Whereas the server of the BBQ thinks that anyone who expects any thing different than what they're being served is a brick short of a full stack.

Driving myself across the USA eating BBQ broadened my provincial horizons to a fundamental human rights philosophy that has kept me out of trouble after the first few missteps. I absolutely respect that no matter what part of world you're from, you know the right way to make BBQ. Challenging the meat, the method or the seasoning is anti-social behavior and almost as dangerous as questioning a spouse's technique while they are standing in front of a grill.

Recently with company coming for a BBQ on the 4th of July and houseguests arriving soon after, I chose a Chipotle Pork Roast to be the centerpiece of my week of entertaining. With a six-pound boneless pork loin I fed six people at dinner twice, made four sandwiches for a hiking picnic and a stir fry for two. Everyone thought it was great BBQ.

Mixing orange juice with the chipotle chilies is a quick way to add sugar and acid for the marinade and balance the flavors. The orange juice is also a good medium to dilute the intensity of this smoked jalapeno, where a little flavor goes a long way. With my six pound roast I did not double the spices for the marinade in consideration of non-spice loving teenagers, but I did double the orange juice.

Another thrill about BBQ is being adventurous with the wine to drink with it. Think international, think big and fruity, and think spicy. Consider zinfandel, Lemburger, Syrah, or Sangiovese. White wine choices might be vinho verde, pinot gris, or Semillon. Let me know what your favorite BBQ wine is.

Here is the recipe I used plus two others for BBQ that sounded good to me from July food and wine magazines that are available on the Internet.

Chipotle Pork Roast
Sunset Magazine July 1999
www.sunset.com

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 2 hours, plus at least 4 hours to marinate
NOTES: Up to 1 day ahead, marinate pork.
MAKES: 8 to 10 servings

1 boned center-cut pork loin (3 lb.), fat-trimmed
10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups orange juice
1/3 cup canned chipotle chilies, including sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or dried oregano
1 tablespoon salad oil
Oregano sprigs (optional)
Orange wedges
Salt and pepper

1. Rinse pork; pat dry. Cut garlic into 1/2-inch slices. Cut 1/2-inch slits all over meat; insert garlic in them. Place meat in a 1-gallon heavy plastic food bag.

2. In a blender, whirl orange juice, chilies with sauce, chopped oregano, and oil until smooth. Pour over pork, seal bag, and turn to coat. Set bag in a bowl. Chill at least 4 hours or up to 1 day, turning occasionally.

3. Prepare barbecue. If using charcoal briquets, mound and ignite 60 briquets on the firegrate of a barbecue with a lid. When briquets are dotted with gray ash, in 15 to 20 minutes, push equal amounts to opposite sides of firegrate. Add 5 more briquets now, and every 30 minutes of cooking, to each mound of coals.

If using a gas barbecue, turn heat to high and close lid for 10 minutes. Adjust burners for indirect cooking (no heat down center) and keep on high.

Set a drip pan on firegrate between coals or burners. Set barbecue grill in place.

4. Lift pork from marinade and lay on grill, not over heat. Cover barbecue; open vents for charcoal. During the first hour, baste meat with marinade occasionally. Cook pork until a thermometer reaches 155° in center of thickest part, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours. Discard remaining marinade.

5. Transfer pork to a platter, keep warm, and let rest about 10 minutes. Garnish with oregano sprigs and orange wedges. Cut meat into thin slices, squeeze juice from orange wedges over slices, and add salt and pepper to taste.

CHINESE BARBECUED PORK
Gourmet Magazine July 1999
www.epicurious.com

three 3/4-pound pork tenderloins
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons dry Sherry or white wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce (preferably Kikkoman)
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey

Trim any fat and membrane from pork and transfer pork to a large heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. In a bowl whisk together all remaining ingredients except honey and add to pork. Seal bag, pressing out excess air, and turn it to coat pork well. Chill pork, turning bag once or twice, at least 2 hours and up to 12.

Prepare grill.

Remove pork from marinade and reserve 2 tablespoons marinade. In a small bowl whisk together honey and reserved 2 tablespoons marinade. Grill pork on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals, turning it over every 2 minutes, 6 minutes total. Baste pork with honey mixture and cook pork, turning and basting it every 2 minutes, 10 minutes more. Discard any remaining honey mixture.

Continue to cook pork, turning it every 2 minutes, until a thermometer diagonally inserted 2 inches into center of pork registers 155°F, about 6 minutes. Let pork stand 5 minutes before slicing on the diagonal.

Serves 4.

CAROLINA PULLED-PORK SANDWICHES
Bon Appetit Magazine July 1999
www.epicurious.com

In this recipe, a "dry rub" of brown sugar, pepper, paprika and salt flavors the meat before it is cooked, and a vinegary "mop" is brushed onto the pork to add more taste as it is smoked. Once cooked, the meat is "pulled," that is, shredded into slivers that are just the right size for piling onto a bun. The sandwich -drizzled with a bit of the vinegary sauce, which cuts the richness of the meat - is the ultimate in Carolina barbecue. Cook this in a smoker or a barbecue that has been converted to a smoker.

For dry rub
3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 untrimmed boneless pork shoulder halves (also known as Boston butt; about 6 pounds total)

For mop
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
8 pounds (about) 100% natural lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes
6 cups (about) hickory wood smoke chips, soaked in cold water at least 30 minutes
12 soft hamburger buns with seeds, split
Carolina Red Barbecue Sauce
Tangy Coleslaw

Make dry rub:

Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend.

Place pork, fat side up, on work surface. Cut each piece lengthwise in half. Place on large baking sheet. Sprinkle dry rub all over pork; press into pork. Cover with plastic; refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Make mop:

Mix first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Following manufacturer's instructions and using lump charcoal and 1/2 cup drained wood chips for smoker or 1 cup for barbecue, start fire and bring temperature of smoker or barbecue to 225°F. to 250°F. Place pork on rack in smoker or barbecue. Cover; cook until meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 165°F., turning pork and brushing with cold mop every 45 minutes, about 6 hours total. Add more charcoal as needed to maintain 225°F. to 250°F. temperature and more drained wood chips (1/2 cup for smoker or 1 cup for barbecue with each addition) to maintain smoke level.

Transfer pork to clean rimmed baking sheet. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred into bite-size pieces. Mound on platter. Pour any juices from sheet over pork. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer pork and any juices to baking dish. Cover with foil; chill. Before continuing, rewarm pork, covered, in 350°°F. oven about 30 minutes.)

Divide pork among bottoms of buns. Drizzle lightly with barbecue sauce. Top with coleslaw. Cover with tops of buns.

Serves 12