Arthur is back for more grillin, chillin and thrillin. This time he’s all about the sausage. Arthur’s the only guy I know that looks forward to a sausage fest after work. But after reading these two recipes, you may be up for one yourself. I’ll hand it over to him for the rest of the write up…

If you’re a typical guy, a sausage fest isn’t something you want to see when you’re out on a Saturday night. However, it has a whole other meaning to a BBQ enthusiast. Sausages are amongst my favorite meats to grill at any time of the year. When it comes to the staple sausage of backyard grilling, bratwurst is king. Fatties are another excellent use of sausage. As for the other types of sausages, I’ll do these recipes with hot links, ground pork and smoked sausage.

This is one of those meals that I thought up only after I got home from work and nothing was defrosted. It was such a nice day out too, I would hate to waste it being indoors and ordering pizza. So, I’m making sausage kabobs. They’re easy and I don’t have to marinate as they are ready to grill. Along with kabobs, I made yellow squash stuffed with sausage.

***Editor’s Note ~ Arthur, your cardiologist called.  I couldn’t tell what he was saying through the sobbing.  You may want to give him a call***

Sausage kabob ingredients:

1 14 Ounce pkg smoked sausage
2 Hot links
1 Green pepper
½ Large white onion
BBQ rub
BBQ sauce

This makes 4 skewers, but you will have left over smoked sausage. Grill them up for some tasty snacking treats. This is how my sons like them.

Don’t mind the extra veggies in the bowl, my wife wanted zucchini with her veggie kabobs. That’s for the next post…yeah right!

Here are the headliners of this grilling session (I forgot to take the ground pork out of the butcher paper):

The first task to do is dice up the peppers and onions into one inch chunks:

Then, slice the sausages into 1 inch cuts:

The hot links are actually not that hot. If you can tolerate mild buffalo wing sauce, you would like hot links. Brats would be a great substitute. You could also venture outside the ordinary with apple brats, chorizo, bockwurst, andouille, knockwurst, kielbasa, weisswurst, etc.

***Editor’s Note ~ You might want to pre cook some of the sausages mentioned above if they are raw.  The recipe calls for already cured or smoked sausages which really only need to be warmed up rather than cooked for hours***

Once that is done, I threaded the peppers, onions and sausage onto the skewers. I do this by alternating the meats and veggies, you know how it goes.

Next, liberally sprinkle your favorite rub on the kabobs. Set them aside for now:

Now for the sausage stuffed squash.

Ingredients:

Yellow summer squash
1 Cup ground pork
BBQ rub
BBQ sauce

First cut the stem and base off the squash. Then slice the squash in half lengthwise:

Take a spoon and core out the seeds from the squash. Discard the seeds, stems and bases:

Stuff half of the ground pork into one of the squash boats. Use the rest of the ground pork for the other boat:

Sprinkle the rub on the stuffed squash:

During this process, the kettle was set up for indirect grilling. This means that the hot coals are banked to one side of the grill and the food will be on the opposite side of the heat source:

Now I place all the kabobs and stuffed squash on the grill. I also place the lid on the kettle. The vents on the kettle are wide open and opposite the hot coals:

After about 10-15 minutes I check on the food. When the onions and peppers are starting to look tender, but still firm, it’s time to move them over to the hot side:

Also, at this point the ground pork is not done yet. Keep these on the cool side:

Cook the kabobs directly over the coals until the skewers start to char a little around the edges. Start applying the BBQ sauce to the kabobs with a brush.

After the sauce is applied, put the kabobs back on the cool side and close the lid. The kabobs are done when the veggie’s on the kabobs look tender.  The stuffed squash is done when the ground pork is firm and sits loose in the boat. Brush some BBQ sauce on the stuffed squash.

Give the kabobs another coat of sauce as they come off the grill:

These are waiting on the table as we are setting up to eat on the patio on this lovely late afternoon.

Here is my plate. I got my kabobs, stuffed sausage and a side of Pit Boys potatoes with grilled bacon on top. As if I need more pork to clog my arteries.

I really like the sausage kabobs. I’m going to try different combinations of meats and veggies next time I do them. The sausage stuffed squash was just OK for me. Honestly, I just like the squash grilled straight up, nothing to it. To sum it up, this impromptu outdoor meal was just the thing to help us unwind after work on a beautiful evening.

***Editor’s Note ~ Not every recipe is a home run.  I did sausage stuffed yellow peppers last year.  Added garlic, asiago, shallots, and black pepper to the sausage and put it inside a sweet yellow pepper.  Pretty much the same result.  I loved the pepper, but the sausage was meh***

If you have any questions about Arthur’s sausage fest (or feast), feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email and I will get it to Arthur.

If you are interested in other pork recipes, click here.

Also, you can follow us on our Grillin Fools Facebook page and post your own grillin pictures as well as discuss what you’re cooking with us which is how we found Arthur here.

Arthur is at it again.  This time with a bacon explosion stuffed with beef rather than the typical pork.  And he used Andria’s in the recipe, which some of you already know – meat loaf isn’t meat loaf without the Andria’s.  I’ll hand it over to him for the rest of the write up.  Oh, and this recipe is not approved by any cardiologists!?!

My two sons are picky eaters. But they both agree that they love it when Daddy makes meatloaf. It’s a homerun every time. Unfortunately, this is about the only thing my boys like off the grill. I can’t really blame them, this is one of my favorite meals off the grill and this is the only way I make meatloaf. The process is very similar to making a bacon explosion fatty.

I used the meatloaf recipe off a can of Progresso bread crumbs. I’ve made some tweaks to the recipe to make it better. And for the first time, I’ll be using Andria’s steak sauce in this recipe. When I decided on making smoked meatloaf, Andria’s seemed like an obvious choice to add some great flavor.

Maybe I should mention that I bought my own bottle of Andria’s because I’m just a fan of the GrillinFools. I didn’t receive anything in return except some great flavor in the meatloaf.

With that said, here is the recipe for my Andria’s style meatloaf:

Ingredients:

2lb ground beef
1 cup milk
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground mustard
¼ tsp pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 egg
¾ cup of crushed saltine crackers
¼ cup diced onion
½ cup diced green pepper
¼ cup Andria’s steak sauce
14 slices of bacon
BBQ sauce

Here are the diced peppers, onions and chopped basil:

And to make this meatloaf even better…I smoked it wrapped in a bacon weave. You know how it goes, everything is better with bacon.

Now, the first task is to mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl except for the bacon and BBQ sauce.

Place the raw meatloaf in the refrigerator and get out the bacon. The next step is making the bacon weave. If you have never done this before, you will only need these steps to get the idea:

First, lay down 7 strips of bacon vertically, side by side.

Second, fold every other bacon strip in half (it does not matter where you begin).

Third, take the 8^th strip of bacon and lay it across the middle, horizontally over the vertical strips of bacon and just below the bacon folded in half. Make sure the horizontal bacon is real close to the folded strips of bacon.

Fourth, unfold the bacon so all vertical strips are in their side by side position.

Fifth, fold the opposite strips of bacon up over the horizontal strip of bacon.

Sixth, place another horizontal strip of bacon and repeat the process until complete.

Now, take the meatloaf and pour it in the center of the bacon weave. Form the “loaf” on top of the bacon.

Carefully roll the bacon weave over the meatloaf.

While the weave did not come apart during this task, it may have been easier if I would have used saran wrap underneath the bacon weave to roll the bacon over the meatloaf.

Make sure the bacon overlaps each other and the ends are rounded off too.

***Editor’s note ~ While that doesn’t look all that cool considering it’s in a bacon weave, realize that the loaf is actually upside down at this point.  The underside of what you see here will be the top of what you cook***

I found that thin slices of bacon work better for this because a thicker cut of bacon would result in a loose weave, which tends to come apart on the grill.

Speaking of the grill, I set up my smoker at 230 degrees with cherry and hickory wood chunks. This recipe also works for indirect grilling too. Another thing, I would usually add rub, but I wanted to try without it first to get a taste for the meat and the effect the Andria’s.

When the grill is up to temp, I gingerly place the loaf on the grill, opposite of the charcoal.

As always, the vents are all the way open on the lid. In addition, the vents are placed directly over the meat to let the smoke pass over the meat and escape out the vents. I do this because trapped smoke can make meat taste bitter. So now it’s time to cover the lid and check on it in an hour.

After an hour in the smoker, the bacon has turned a light brown and it has taken the shape of the meatloaf.

The bacon weave looks really good right here. I check the water level and add more wood chunks before I put the lid on. I tend to use Scott’s advice to do as much as I can while I have the lid open, so I don’t have open it often and lengthen the cooking process. In another hour the meatloaf will be done.

An hour passes and the internal temp of the meatloaf is 173 degrees. Anything over 170 degrees is well done for beef. However, before I plate it, I fire up my gas grill to high heat. For just a few minutes I grill the meatloaf over the hot grill to crisp up the bacon. Otherwise, it comes out of the smoker soft and slightly chewy. In the last minute on the grill, I brush on some BBQ sauce. Now it’s time to plate it.

Total cook time was about 2-1/2 hours. This turned out to be my best looking meatloaf. It’s done to perfection and I can’t wait to dig in.

Even with the crappy knives I have, the bacon holds intact with a clean slice. It doesn’t tear or pull the rest of the bacon when I cut into the meatloaf. And look at that smoke ring!

This was some great BBQ and it was every bit as good the next day when I made a meatloaf sandwich. The Andria’s definitely added some unique flavors. When making your next meatloaf, try it instead of ketchup or BBQ sauce. You may get the pickiest of eaters to actually like something you grilled.

If you have any questions about the meat loaf above, feel free to leave a comment below, or shoot me an email and I will forward it to Arthur.

If you are interested in other meat dishes on the grill, click here.

Also, you can follow us on our Grillin Fools Facebook page and post your own grillin pictures, just like Arthur did and look at him now?  Showing off some major grillin skills on GrillinFools.com.

I had my dad and my Father in Law over for a guy night recently and I made four pork tenderloins.  I realize that sounds like a lot for three people, but I wanted plenty for leftovers because tenderloin makes a fantastic sammich that I will document as well.  This is a monster post, with more than 30 pictures, but I wanted to make sure I documented the process really well…

First thing I did was create a brine.  I took two cups of apple cider, mixed in a quarter cup of salt, quarter cup of garlic and ten turns of black pepper in a pot on the stove.  A little heat helps the salt dissolve quickly:

Once the salt is dissolved throw in a few ice cubes to cool it off so it can go into the plastic bag with the meat:

Then pour the brine into the bag with the four pork tenderloins:

Itopped it off with some more cider to make sure it covered the meat, mixed it around in the bag and put it into the fridge overnight.

Brining does a number of wonderful things.  First, the salt breaks down connective tissue so it tenderizes.  Second, the solution forces moisture away from the salt and into the meat so it makes the meat juicier.  And third, that moisture that’s going into the meat is full of flavor from the cider, garlic and black pepper, so the meat will be tastier.

You can use apple juice, cranberry, grape, whatever.  I would avoid orange juice as it is too acidic and will start cooking the meat.  I know a guy that uses Mountain Dew to brine.  You’re looking for something sugary and then add the salt.

I brined it overnight, but you can get the benefits of the brine in a couple of hours if that’s all you have.  I highly recommend it with all pork and poultry.  Particularly with the tenderloin as it has very little fat content and can dry out very quickly. The extra juice will give you a much larger margin of error.

The next day I rinsed the meat off under cold water to get rid of all the salt.  Then I placed them on paper towels and patted them off with more paper towels to make sure I got all the salt off:

Position the loins  so the fat end of one tenderloin  is next to the skinny end of the other loin:

I’ll explain why you want them positioned like this in just a second.

After they were dried off and laid out I slathered two of the loins with Spice Islands Brazilian Beef Rub.

The other two I drizzled with Tobago Keys Burgundy Wine Marinade and Grilling Sauce:

I love Tobago Keys products.  I’ve used the their Steakman Marinade on the site before.  You can see that recipe here.

I’m such a big fan their stuff that I own four of their products:

Here are the other two that I will try soon:

You can buy all of these varieties and a couple more I don’t have yet at Saucehut.com.

Here are two of the loins slathered in the Burgundy Wine Sauce:

Another way to keep the tenderloins from drying out is to tie them together with cooking or baking twine with the fat end of one end to the skinny end of the other to ensure that it cooks evenly.  Stack the two on top of each other and have a length of cooking/baking twine ready to tie them together:

Now tie them together at one end:

You can use four or five short lengths of twine or you can do it with one length by looping it over the meat multiple times:

Then I tied the other end of the loins:

I rolled the meat through the excess grilling sauce on the cutting board to get it good and coated.  Now time to go get the grill ready.

I prepared a quarter of a chimney of coals and put them on the right side of the Chargriller since the chimney is on the left so the smoke will travel over the meat on its way out of the grill.  I put a few fresh coals on the pile to act as insulation between the raging hot coals and the chunk of apricot wood:

If you don’t have apricot, then you can check this link for more than 50 different smoke woods and what they pair well with.

I went with a small fire because I want to keep the temps low in order to impart some smoke flavor to the meat without drying it out.  Pork tenderloin can dry out very quickly so I kept the temperature at just under 200.

I put the two trussed loins away from the fire underneath the chimney so the smoke will travel over it.  I put the thickest of the four loins closest to the heat.  I slathered some more Burgundy Wine Sauce on two of them and then placed slices of Genova salami and coppa on top of the meat:

The slices of salame and coppa will baste the meat as it cooks and provide a great snack (or as we like to call it – Chef’s Prerogative) later on:

At 30 minutes the salami and coppa are starting to curl around the edges as they fat renders out of the slices:

I rotated the meat so it will cook evenly and flipped over the chunk of apricot so it would keep smoking. I always try to do as much as possible each time I open the lid so I don’t have to keep opening it and losing heat thus extending grilling times.  Try to mop, rub, sauce, add fuel or smoke wood, etc. all at once so you don’t have to repeatedly open the grill to perform these tasks.

Here we are at 50 minutes and browning nicely:

At this point I started another chimney of charcoal to get ready to sear sear the meat:

At 70 minutes it’s time to sear the meat:

But not before Dad and I sample that salami and coppa.  My Father in Law was running late so we got all of it, and I must say, he really missed out.  Dad got the first slice:

My turn:

The salami was excellent but the coppa was even better.  Some are going to ask why I didn’t use bacon here.  We use bacon for everything now, right?  Bacon vodka, bacon salt and even bacon water.  If you just want to baste the meat, bacon is great for that.  Probably better than the salami or coppa.  But if you also want a snack, then the bacon won’t do because it won’t fully cook before the tenderloin will be dried out.  Trust me on this, I have learned this lesson the hard way. The coppa and salami are the best of both worlds.

I spread the coals from the chimney to have more hot surface area to cook.  That small fire I started at the beginning wasn’t big enough to sear the loins.  If this all sounds familiar, it is indeed the reverse sear process I do with my pork steaks applied to pork steaks. And while the reverse sear process makes a great smoke ring for pork steaks, you can’t do that with tenderloin.  If you have a smoke ring on the tenderloin you probably have dry tenderloin.

Here’s the meat over the high heat searing:

Now don’t walk away from the grill now.  You need to stand right on top of it and keep rotating the meat to keep it from burning.  A little blackening is fine, but you don’t want to come this far and then burn the meat:

Don’t forget the sides:

Now off the heat while dad gets the platter to let the meat rest.  Total searing time was less than 15 minutes. The internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat is 140 degrees which will leave it a little pink but that’s perfect for pork tenderloin:

Resting is a vital step for cooking.  When the meat comes off the grill the juices are in an excited state because of the heat.  Slice into it right away and the juices will run all over the cutting board.  If you let the meat rest, the juices will calm down and remain in the meat.  A steak may only need a couple minutes to rest, a brisket needs an hour, but these I let rest for 15 minutes on the platter under some foil.

Here are they ready for slicing:

Dad poured up his contribution to the evening and what a fine contribution it was – Noble Estate Pinot Noir 2008 from the Willamette Valley:

This pinot was fantastic young and runs only $17 locally in St. Louis.  Can’t wait to taste this after a few years in the bottle.

Here is the meat plated with some grilled corn and shrimp:

I realize that the pork looks really pink there.  I took the final pictures with two different settings.  This one washed the pink out more than the actual color of the meat:

You can see how juicy it is in this picture but the color isn’t representative of the actual color of the meat.  Here’s a closeup with the other setting in which it’s too pink than the actual color:

Try to imagine it somewhere in between.

All in all the pork loins were outstanding.  The Burgundy Wine Glaze added a wonderful sweetness to the meat, particularly where it caramelized on the meat over the high heat as it seared. It contrasted well with the Brazilian rubbed tenderloin which was pretty spicy.

I’ve never had such a tender and juicy tenderloin as this one.  I implore you to try brining one time.  You will be a believer after one try.

If you’re wondering about the corn, well, that’s corn that, for the first time, I grilled naked.  The corn was naked, not me.  You can find the write up on the corn here. Did I mention that it was bathed in a tarragon/oregano/garlic butter?

Now to the reason why I made so much extra.  I love making tenderloin sammiches.  First I take a foot long sub bun, or mini baguette.  My local grocer calls them sweet mini loafs.  I spread a compound butter on each piece of bread:

Then slice the tenderloin and place it on one side of the bun.  You won;t cook it yet. Just slice it until you know you have enough for the length of bread:

Now, take the meat off and put the bread onto a baking sheet and put it under the broiler until browned.  Then put the meat on one side (removing the other side and setting aside) and put under the broiler for a few minutes to warm the meat and then put some slices of cheese on top.  In this case provelone.  Put back  in the oven to melt the cheese:

Slap those to together and I’m in sammich heaven!!!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave it below or shoot me an email.

If you are interested in other grilled pork recipes, click here.

And you can follow us on our Grillin Fools Facebook page and post your own grillin pictures.

Here’s another installment from Arthur Aguirre.  The guy has some serious BBQ (and photography) skills.  In this post Arthur attacks one of the rising phenomenons of BBQing – The MOINK ball.  Not only does he show you how to do it, but he also explains the origins of the mighty MOINK.  These little nuggets of deliciousness are always a huge hit.  From here, I’ll hand it over to Arthur to show you how they’re done…

If you love Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABT’s), you will love MOINK balls. A simple description of MOINK balls are BBQ bacon wrapped meatballs. Without a doubt these tiny tender treats are the biggest thing to hit the grilling scene since ABT’s. The world wide craze of the MOINK ball is credited to a Larry Gaian author of the BBQ Grail.

***Editor’s Note ~ BBQ Grail is an excellent blog/website very similar to what we do here at GrillinFools.com.  I highly recommend Larry’s site***

Since the MOINK balls introduction into the BBQ world, it has earned positive reviews from people all over the world fortunate enough to taste the mighty morsels of smokiness.

The name MOINK is not an acronym, it is the combination of the two main ingredients: beef and pork. When referencing these ingredients, we know they come respectively from a cow and a pig. Hence, the sounds they make are moo and oink. Therefore, the creation was aptly named MOINK ball.

To understand how the MOINK ball was conceived, we need to understand its purpose. First, it was designed to feed the masses. Second, it utilizes two ingredients used often by families – bacon and frozen meatballs. Third, it must be grilled or smoked outdoors. And finally, MOINK balls are aerodynamically shaped for fast consumption.

End of summary.

So, when the 4^th of July came charging upon us, the parties were a plenty. I made a batch of MOINK balls each for two different parties. Unquestionably, MOINK balls are a tasty and an inexpensive way to impress people.

There are five major items needed for MOINK balls:

1. Pre-made, all-beef meatballs
2. Bacon
3. Rub
4. BBQ sauce
5. Smoke wood

When I made a batch of MOINK balls for the first party, I took a conservative approach. This party always had a ton of food and there are plenty of leftovers. Also, early estimates were close to about 60 people attending the party. With that in mind, I bought just a bag of frozen meatballs because I didn’t want to take leftovers home with me, especially when they sit out too long. When I had an idea on how many MOINK balls I’ll be making, I drew up my game plan.

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen meatballs [approx. 50]
2lb of bacon (2 packages)
John Henry’s Pecan Rub
Blues Hog Tennessee Red Sauce
Hickory wood chunks
Toothpicks

Pre-made, all-beef meatballs are the official meatballs of MOINK balls. BBQ Grail set up guidelines which do not allow fresh meatballs. However, one can definitely make fresh meatballs, just call them meatballs wrapped in bacon. The only exceptions are for international grillers where fresh meatballs are perfectly acceptable.

***Editor’s Note ~ That’s right.  These things are so popular there are purists out there and guidelines that are different for international grillers***

Moving on with our MOINK balls, the first batch is being set up for indirect heat on the grill manufacturer that shall not be named. I’m going with lump charcoal here, so by the time it gets hot enough the MOINK balls will be ready.

First, I have to assemble the meats. The meatballs are thawed but still firm enough to handle without falling apart:

The bacon is a 1lb package of strips, 2 may be needed. Each strip is way too long for one meatball, so cut the bacon in half. It’s easier to cut the bacon when it is semi frozen. The bacon is too much like rubber at room temperature:

I suggest buying the thin cheap bacon rather than the thick cut bacon because it cooks faster and it’s crispier when it’s done.

Use one half piece of bacon and wrap it around the meatball, then stick it with a toothpick to keep it together:

Assembling the bacon and meatballs may take a while. This is a good opportunity to get the kids involved in some BBQ activity:

***Editor’s Note ~ Love the Abita Turbo Dog in the background!!***

Next, I poured the rub all over the meat:

At this point, the grill will be ready to go. I banked the charcoal to one side of the kettle. In addition, I placed the MOINK balls on the grill opposite of the coals so I could indirect grill the MOINKS and keep the temperatures down:

Then, I added some hickory wood chunks. Also, I made sure the lid was placed with the vent over the meat so the smoke would have to travel across the meat before leaving through the vent. I leave the bottom vents open all the way too. The temp range will be somewhere between 350 and 375. Cooking time will be about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

After an hour I check on the MOINK balls:

They look just about done so I brush some BBQ sauce over them. I leave them in a little longer, just enough to crisp up the bacon. As a result, the bacon turned out very dark, almost black:

It isn’t that they are burnt, it’s just the rub and BBQ sauce has lots of sugar in it. It’s almost like bark on a pork shoulder or brisket.

At the time, I thought I really screwed up. I ate a couple of them and they didn’t taste burnt. I put them in a foil pan, brushed more Tennessee Red on them and covered them until they got to the party. Meanwhile, I thought to myself, nobody is going to like these.

So we arrive at the party and I put the MOINK balls on the table and I jump in the pool for a swim. After a while of being in the pool, some brave soul must have tried a MOINK ball because I heard people talking about how others should try these little meatballs. They were a huge hit and the talk of the party. In fact, they were all gone before the main course was served!

The following week, I made a second batch for a family reunion party:

This time, I smoked them for 2 ½ hours at 225 degrees on the smoker with hickory wood:

For me, these were much better than the first batch. Although, the bacon could have been crispier, but I didn’t have time to do it. However, a few people at the reunion who were also at the pool party said they preferred the first batch of MOINK balls.

I used a different rub and sauce for the second batch and I made twice as many for roughly the same amount of people. They too went over really well, but they were not all gone. I love these little succulent samples, I look forward to making more. And so do a bunch of people who loved them at the party.

If you have any questions about the MOINK balls, feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email and I will forward it to Arthur.  Although, if he keeps kicking ass like this I might have to give him his own Grillin Fools email address!!

If you are interested in other appetizers and sides click here.

And you can follow the Grillin Fools on our Facebook page and post your own grillin pics just like Arthur did.

Recently, the good people at Char-Broil sent the Grillin Fools a couple grills to review.  The first to get a review was the Big Easy Smoker, Roaster and Grill (BESRG) that I used with this recipe and is getting more and more use as I find more and more ways to use it.  I wrote a full review of the BESRG that you can find here.

One of my criticisms was that the grill runs too hot with the low temp being 375 with the lid closed so the smoke would really envelope the meat.  That I wish it ran lower so I can set it and forget it for smoking say a pork butt or a brisket.  But then I started to think about it.  I don’t do much low and slow anymore.  I use what is now commonly called the high heat method rather than low and slow.  High heat method is somewhat of a misnomer since the high heat method is generally between 275-325 for ribs, brisket, and pulled pork.  That’s more medium.  But if I’m getting great results at 325, what’s another 50 degrees?  So I decided to see if I could pull off pulled pork at 375.  From the pics above I’m guessing you already know the results.  See below to see the pictures and instructions on how to do this every step of the way…

This was sort of a last minute idea so I went to my local grocer to get a pork shoulder/pork butt/Boston butt. All of these are the exact same thing.  The reason a cut of meat taken from the shoulder of a pig is called a pork butt or Boston butt is that back in the day of wooden ships this cut of meat was salted and packed into large barrels, known as butts, for the sailors on long voyages. The shipping barrel, or butt, was often to Boston since it was a major port, and eventually the container name, and sometimes the destination city, were adopted as the name of the cut of meat.  Pork shoulder, pork butt, and Boston butt are all the same thing.

The only variety the grocer had was the picnic butt which has a long bone going right through the middle.  I purchased an 8+ pounder and cut off a 3+ pound section, away from the thick bone, to do for the first time:

Not having any idea if this would work I didn’t want to use the whole thing and waste it if it sucked.  In the picture above you can see the smaller one on the right, that I cooked, and the larger half flipped over to see the fat cap.

I put the bigger piece in the freezer and slathered the smaller with a rub:

Since wet sauces and sugars tend to not do so well with infrared cooking, due to the high temps, my normally sweet rub was replaced by this:

1 TBSP granulated garlic
1 TBSP sweet paprika
1 TSP chili powder
1/4 TSP ground mustard
1 TSP fresh ground black pepper
1 TSP onion powder (I was out of granulated onion)
1/2 TSP celery seed
1/2 TSP cinnamon
1/4 TSP cumin
1 TSP Penzey’s smoke salt (course salt can be substituted as well)
1/2 TSP crushed red pepper (optional)

Use whatever rub you like but make sure it has no sugars in it.  I was worried I was pressing my luck with the cinnamon but it worked well.

I slathered it on all sides and put it in a ziplock for a few hours.  I had some rub left over so I put that on the pork after I placed it into the basket to go into the BESRG:

Then it was time to prep the grill.  Another criticism I had of the BESRG is that the smoker box isn’t all that well designed.  It’s small and not easy to change out the wood chips after they have smoked, so I went with a very easy fix.  Tin foil tray:

Filled with dry hickory chips:

Place the foil tray on the bottom of the grill:

I set the temp on high and cranked the BESRG on.  When I got some smoke out of the chips I dropped the temp to low (375) and got the meat ready to go in.

I inserted a thermometer probe into the thickest part of the meat:

And dropped the basket into the chamber.  After 90 minutes this is what it looked like.  I wasn’t getting any heavy smoke at this point but some was wafting up.  Everything was smelling and looking great:

The internal temperature was up to 139.  So far so good:

Please note, that I wasn’t going for a total temp of 160.  It was the default setting and I figured when I got to that point I could reset it.  The target here is 190-195.

At this point I gave the meat a mopping with apple cider:

I left the lid open at this point and the temp dropped down to about 250 inside the chamber. I mopped every 30 minutes from this point on.  It was taking much longer than I thought and after 2 hours I kicked the temp up to medium on the dial.  At the three hour mark I kicked it up to high.  You’re not reading that wrong.  I kicked the temp up to high for the last hour.  I hit it with 500 degrees for the last hour and because it’s infrared the end result was awesome.  If I had done that with convection (hot, drying air) I would’ve really dried it out at that temp. But I got away with it with infrared which heats the meat directly rather than heat the air to heat the meat.  And I had to kick it up or I was never going to eat.  It stalled at 160 just like most pork butts do in conventional grill.  See, the clock on that thermometer is an hour slow because I never adjusted it for day light savings time.  I didn’t wind up eating until 10:30 that night.

At at 3.5 hours (approximately 9:30) it looked like this:

It had a nice bark on the outside and smelled amazing. It still has a little ways to go though as the internal temperature is still only 181:

Finally, at just over four hours, the remote I had clipped to my pocket beeped at me.  It finally got to 190:

Here’s the meat at the four hour and 15 minute mark.

Now time for the foil and some resting:

Now wrap it in a towel:

And put it in something that is used to control temp like an empty cooler, an unlit oven or a microwave like I did here:

Why all the hassle of letting it rest?  Resting is very important to maintaining juicy meat.  See, when the meat comes out of a hot grill the juices inside are in an excited state.  The molecules are moving a million miles an hour but contained inside the meat.  Slice into it right away and all those juices are going to have an exit and will quickly run out of the meat all over the plate or cutting board.  Letting the meat rest inside foil and a towel will allow those juices to calm down without the meat getting cold.

After 30 minutes it was the moment of truth.  I easily forked away half of the cut as it fell apart easily thanks to my two forks:

It was completely forked in less than two minutes because it was so tender and juicy:

Normally when dealing with boneless pork butt I use the ziplock bag method of breaking the meat up.  Place the meat in a two gallon ziplock, place it on the counter and then smack the crap out of it a couple times with the back of a frying pan.  But since it was 10:45 when I was finally going to pull the meat I decided against the risk of waking up my 2 year old and 8 week old. But if you want to see how that’s done, check out this video:

The million dollar question – how was it?  It was really good.  The bark was great.  The meat was tender and juicy and pulled easily.  It didn’t have a ton of smoke flavor, but that’s not always a bad thing.  My wife and a coworker are people that don’t like a lot of smoke.  I didn’t think those people existed but there seems to be a lot of them out there.  The flavor was excellent and the maintenance of the cookout was pretty simple.  I put the meat in and mopped twice an hour for the last couple of hours.  That’s it.  I will be doing the other side of the pork shoulder soon enough because this was a home run.

So now I have to wonder if I need to go back and edit my review of the BESRG since it makes some really good pulled pork despite the fact that it can’t get down to 200.  This thing grows on me more and more every time I use it.

If you have any questions about pulled pork done infrared, feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email

For other pork recipes including reverse seared pork steaks click here.

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This is the craziest rib method I have ever tried.  I had some really low expectations but I tried it anyway. I was floored at how well they turned out.  For those of you not familiar with the method, let me explain so that you will understand why I was skeptical.  See, the Rendezvous method requires the ribs to be cooked over direct heat at 300-350 for one hour with repeated bastings.  1 hour?  Seems nuts.  Most people think I’m nuts when I say I can make great ribs in two hours, but one hour is nuts by my own standards.  I tried it anyway and the results were spectacular…

There are many different variations of this method developed by Charlie Vergos at Rendevous Ribs in Memphis but this is the one I used.  First make up the Rendezvous Rub.  There are many different recipes for this.  This is the one I used:

1/4 Cup salt
1/4 Cup pepper
1 Tbsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp celery salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp chili powder

This makes much more than you need but it can be saved.  And while it seems like there is a ton of salt in this recipe, it’s not as bad as it seems once you see the method.  The original recipe called for twice as much salt and celery seed.   I cut the salt in half and since I didn’t have any celery seed I substituted celery salt which I had in my my pantry.

Combine 1/4 cup of the rub with two cups of white vinegar and two cups water and set aside.  Do not put the rub on the meat.  The rub only goes into the mop sauce and then on the meat at the end.

I actually bought a can of the real rub sold by the Rendezvous company. When I get a chance to try it I will update this post.

Now let’s get to the ribs.  I brined ribs for the first time but you don’t have to do this.  For my first stab at this method I did half a slab that I brined and half that I did not.  The ones that I did not brine were really good.  The ones I brined were better.

The ingredients for the brine:

32 ounces of pomegranate juice
1/3 cup salt
1/2 loose packed brown sugar

I mixed up the juice, salt and sugar on the stove over medium heat for maybe two minutes stirring constantly until the sugar and salt was dissolved:

I turned off the burner and tossed in 4-5 ice cubes.  I stirred some more until the ice was gone and the brine was back to room temperature.  You don’t want to cook the ribs in the brine:

I skinned the ribs by pealing back the membrane on the bone side of the ribs.  Here is a quick video of how to skin ribs.  If you can’t get them barehanded like Tom does in the vid, paper towels are your friend.  They really help to grip the skin:

I placed the ribs in a ziplock bag with the brine 4 hours before they were to go on the grill:

You will notice that a full slab of ribs are in the ziplock, but I only did a half slab with this method and the other half went onto the smoker for my usual method.  I removed the ribs from the brine, rinsed them under cold water and patted then dry with paper towels.

I wanted to test the brined ribs with a couple different cooking styles and test the differences so I did one slab with no brine or marinade as a control for the experiment.  The other four half slabs got a rub and went onto the smoker.  The two on the right only got a little fresh cracked black pepper on each side:

Now this is where it gets interesting.  The Rendezvous Method requires the meat to be cooked over direct heat at 300-350 and the meat kept at 18-24 inches over the top of the heat.  I don’t have a bullet or vertical smoker so how can pull this off?  Enter in the new Char-Broil Big Easy Smoker, Roster, and Grill:

Char-Broil sent us this grill and the new CB940X to review. For full disclosure they didn’t pay us to review them but did not charge us for the grills either.  This is the first gas grill I’ve ever owned.

I’ve done a few things on it to give it a thorough review.  This is one of them.  It does some things well and some things not so well. I will give the full review after I do a couple more things on it.  In the mean time I will discuss using it for this recipe which it did very well.

***Update ~ Here is the review in all its glory***

Why did it work so well?  Because it’s got a deep cooking chamber which gives me the effect of a vertical or bullet smoker:

The grill has a fairly deep chamber running about 16 inches and worked perfectly for this:

But first I need to add some smoke flavor or I might as well cook these on my stove.  The Big Easy comes with a little smoker box that can be filled with chips or pellets but it doesn’t last long.  Maybe 15 minutes and then it’s a pain to change out the chips.  But that’s not all that hard to overcome. A little tin foil and I have all the smoke I want.  I made tin foil trays and filled them with apple wood chips and placed them on the bottom of the grill chamber:

The foil will keep me from having to clean up ash from the bottom of the chamber.  Here we have the foil trays the next day:

And viola, no ash at the bottom of the chamber after removing the trays:

I spark the grill up and put it on high to get the chips to smoke:

Once the chips  start to smoke I drop down to low:

According to my cheap oven thermometer the temp is 450 on the grill grate:

But once I open the lid the temp will drop faster than the cheap thermometer can keep up with.  Not to mention the aluminum grill grate will dissipate the heat well, so I put the ribs on bone side down and slathered with the mop sauce:

I left the lid up and slathered the ribs three times over the first 15 minutes.  Here are the ribs at 15 minutes:

Here they are on the bone side.  Our goal is to get this side golden brown and flip at 30 minutes.  At 15 minutes the bone side is goldening nicely, but not ready to flip:

And you can see that the temp is more in line with what we’re looking for at this point and stayed constant for the rest of the session:

I basted a total of maybe five times and then flipped at 30 minutes.  Here is what they looked like at 30 minutes on top:

Notice the pull back of the meat from the bones:

Here they are flipped:

One half  slab has some significant blackening.  That is the one that I brined.  That half slab is full of extra sugars that blackened more than the plain half slab.  Don’t be scared by the blackening.  The ribs were not burnt.

On a very positive note about the grill, as you can see, the smoke is rolling out very well from the foil trays.

After 45 minutes I checked the meat side of the non brined slab:

Here is the brined slab.  A little blacker, but not a problem, trust me:

I basted a 3-4 times after I flipped them.  The recipe called for the ribs to be on for 30 minutes on each side but the ribs told me they were done at 25 minutes based.  This picture tells it all.  You can see the unbrined slab looking golden and perfect and the brined slab you can see the meat pealing back from the bone which is what you are looking for with any ribs you do no matter what method you use:

Here are two of the ribs from the Rendezvous Method on a plate along on the left along side three other ribs that I did on the smoker as I played around with brining ribs.  You will notice that the smoked ribs have a smoke ring and the Rendezvous ribs do not:

The recipe called for the rub to be sprinkled over the ribs before serving but I wanted to get a taste for the ribs without it and frankly I was a little scared that the salt would overpower them.  After a couple bites of each I added a sprinkle of the rub:

The sprinkled rub really finished the ribs off perfectly.  The salt was not overpowering and they really were delicious.  They were meaty, tender and juicy with the brined ribs being extremely juicy.  They were not fall off the bone but they were excellent and since I feel that fall off the bone is overdone these came out beautifully.

I wasn’t the only one that tried these.  I used my FiL and MiL as taste testers yet again (God love them for putting up with so many of my grilling experiments) and they raved over the Rendezvous ribs.

Minimal prep, short cooking times, and incredible flavor.  This was a home run.  So much so that while I prep this write up for you, I have some spares in a cider brine that will be going on the Big Easy in about 20 minutes.  But as my satellite just went out, I’m guessing I’m going to get drenched in the process.  Ah well.  Wouldn’t be the first time I drug a grill down to the garage although it will be the first time I drug a gas grill though!?!?  Then again, wouldn’t be the first time I got soaked grilling either…

What I would do differently:

• Next time I plan on doing the brine with apple cider over pomegranate to see how that turns out as it’s my favorite marinade.  Also I plan on adding garlic to the brine.
• I plan on tweaking the Rendezvous rub.  Maybe use celery seed in the mop and possibly a little red pepper flake to add a little heat.
• I might change up the mop sauce and replace the water with beer.

***Update ~ Since doing these a couple times with the rub above I tried it with the real Rendezvous Rub:

The rub doesn’t have near the salt content as what mine does above and is really good although it has a great deal of cumin in it.  My only complaint is that I would prefer a little less cumin, but I know there are folks out there that love it.  My MiL is one of them.  I really enjoyed it but I couldn’t do this rub every time, but that’s just me.

I also tried to recreate this method on a standard charcoal grill and failed miserably.  I couldn’t keep the temps constant.  They fluctuated between 200-400 and I had frequent flareups.  The resulting ribs were much tougher than those on the Big Easy:

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

For other rib recipes click here.

Also, you can follow the Grillin Fools on Facebook and post your own grillin pictures.

With the success of the Reverse Seared Pork Steaks I decided to try the method with country style ribs.  These meaty hunks lend themselves nicely to this process as they are not as thin as pork steaks and can handle extensive periods of smoke without drying out.  The process is fairly simple but extremely satisfying…

I started with nine country style ribs that I marinaded overnight in Cherry Coke Zero.  It’s kind of a long story as to why I had Cherry Coke Zero and would’ve preferred just Cherry Coke for this but I was going for the cherry more than the coke.  And both are very acidic so they act as great tenderizers.  After an all night bath in the Coke I patted them dry with paper towels and placed them on a large cutting board:

I then applied some smoked salt and granulated garlic from Penzey’s before adding Dad’s go to rub which is essentially Raichken’s KC Sweet and Smoky Rub.  The reason for the salt is Dad told me he went light on the salt in the last batch he made for me.

Rub Ingredients:

2/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup paprika
¼ cup seasoned salt
¼ cup smoked salt or hickory-smoked salt
¼ cup onion salt
¼ cup celery salt
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cayenne pepper

This recipe makes enough rub for about 100 country style ribs.  We always make extra to keep it on hand.

Now with country style ribs you can’t just hit the top and the bottom with rub.  You have to hit it on all four sides:

What I recommend is hitting it on top and two sides on the cutting board and then putting it top side down on the grill and hitting the bottom.  You will save a ton of rub that way.  If you do all four sides on the cutting board the bottom side will leave a bunch of rub stuck to the board and you will have to reapply.

I set up the grill for indirect grilling.  Coals on the right, and ribs on the left underneath the chimney on my offset smoker.  Why put the ribs under the chimney?  Because of the coals and smoke wood are under the chimney the smoke will go straight out rather than across your meat and impart that amazing flavor and smoke ring:

Since I used the Cherry Coke Zero for the marinade, I went with that theme and used cherry wood chunks for my smoke.  If you don’t have access to cherry wood, check this extensive list of woods and what they are best with and find something you have locally and go with what you have available.

The grill was set at 250 for what I expected to be a two hour smoke before searing:

It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the flowers next to my grill were doing great:

I went inside and was talking to some people online about what a wonderful day to grill I was experiencing when I looked out the window and saw everything had changed in less than 20 minutes:

The sky was dark, the wind was howling and I had to scramble.  But all is good.  What’s a garage for other than storing cars and crap?  Why grilling of course:

At one hour I checked the ribs and added another chunk of cherry:

As you can see in the background on the left it was raining.  After sitting on the porch with my 2 year old for a little while watching it pour he started singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  I explained what a water spout was and pointed to one of ours.  So of course he wanted to go play with the spout.  His mom wasn’t home so I said, “go for it.”  For the first time in his life he played in the rain.  Do you think he enjoyed himself?

Back to the ribs.  One hour and 45 minutes total on the grill and they were close to being ready for the sear but not quite.  I used the thumb test to check for doneness which can be used on more than steaks.  They were still a little spongy, so I left them on, but they were looking good, and as you can see the sun was back out:

After two hours they were ready for a sear:

All I did was get a quick char directly over the flames on all sides to form a flavor crust.  But for some reason I didn’t get a pic of that.  Sorry.

After the quick sear they got a slathering of sauce by dunking them into a pot of sauce one at a time:

The sauce was what I had on hand, Sweet Baby Rays, doctored with some brown sugar, honey, minced garlic, chili powder and a little dried mustard.  Use whatever sauce you prefer.  I put the ribs back on the side with no heat and closed the lid to caramelize the sauce.  After 15 minutes I gave them another bath and another 15 minutes in the grill.  Here is the final product, what do you think?

Juicy with a nice smoke ring.  Layers of flavor from the marinade, to the smoke ring, to the flavor crust, to the sauce.  Awesome.

If you have any questions about the the country style ribs above, simply leave a comment below or email me.

Click here If you are interested in other pork recipes and here if you want other rib recipes.

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I’d like to introduce our first Guest Grillin Fool – Arthur Aguirre has been blowing up the Grillin Fools Facebook page lately with pictures of great stuff he has done on the grill, so I asked him if he would like to do a post for the site.  He agreed and offered to share his awesome tamale recipe made with pulled pork with us.  I’ll hand it off to Arthur so he can explain exactly how he did it…

So I finally did it, I made tamales. These tasty treats are filled with spicy shredded pork and wrapped in steamed corn dough called masa. Some people may be intimidated to make them, I was.  Others may have a neighborhood tamale vendor just around the corner. If you never had them or if you eat tamales out of a can, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ll show you how to make authentic Mexican tamales with a twist….using smoked pork. My Dad’s original recipe calls for boiling pork until tender, but I prefer to let the meats’ own juices cook itself by using the low and slow process. This way, the pork is smoky, tender and has plenty of flavor. The ingredients are a short list of pantry staples and specialty items

Ingredients

3lbs of cooked pork
2 bags of dried peppers
1 bag of corn husks
5lb of pre-made corn masa
2tsp cumin
1tsp minced garlic
1tsp salt
2tsp oil
2tsp flour
**Makes 50 tamales

The pork was easy for me, I used left over pork from previous meals. Two pounds came from a 10lb smoked picnic that was used to make pulled pork.

Another pound came from spare rib trimmings from a party I had.

They were stored in freezer bags and kept in the ice box until ready to use.  I thawed the meat in the refrigerator and chopped it into small pieces with a knife. This was quick and easy.

If I was making the pork for tamales, I would start with a 6lb Boston butt with the bone in. Add some BBQ rub or your favorite Mexican seasoning to the meat. Place the Boston butt on the smoker. If you don’t have a smoker, don’t worry because I don’t either. I have a versatile Webber 22.5” kettle grill. My kettle is set up with a smoking accessory.

There are various ways to duplicate this set up using different materials. This is just one way to achieve BBQ results on a kettle. The surface grill temp is set to reach 225 degrees. The pork is taken off at 190 internal temp and the bone can be cleanly pulled from the meat. Total cook time is around 8 hours. It is pulled after it sits for an hour under a loose sheet of foil.

Dried peppers, corn husks and masa are specialty ingredients that may be found at your typical grocery store. If they are not available there, try the Mexican grocery store. The various dried peppers such as New Mexico, ancho, but pasilla peppers are common in making tamales. One bag should yield 14 dried peppers. I used New Mexico peppers for this recipe, they are more spicy than pasillas, though still considered mild.

The masa can either be pre-made or in powdered form. It is easier to find the powder masa in the typical grocery market, the most popular brand is Maseca. Follow the instructions on the packaging to prepare it. However, try to find the pre-made masa, it can be found in the freezer box at the Mexican grocery store in a 5lb container. Thaw the masa in the refrigerator. This will save you a lot of time during this long process.

The corn husks should be soaked in water for 1 hour, the longer they soak the easier it is to fold them.

During this time, roast the peppers by holding them over a burner on high heat, don’t burn them. The heat releases the sweet aroma of the peppers. Next, cut the stems off all of the dried peppers and de-seed them. Soak them in a large pot of warm water for 30 minutes. After that, place the peppers in a blender along with 5 cups of the water the peppers were soaking in. In addition, add the cumin, garlic and salt. Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Then turn on the stove to med-high heat. Place a large pot on the stove, add the oil and flour in the pot and mix together. Set aside 1 cup of the pepper mixture for the masa. Add the rest of the pepper mixture into the pot. Let it heat up a little bit then add the pork to it. Simmer the pork until it has absorbed the peppers. Turn off heat, let it cool until it is warm enough to handle.

This next step would benefit greatly from some volunteers in assembling tamales. First you want to take the corn husks out of the water, make sure to rinse off any dirt on them and shake off excess water. Empty the container of masa into a large bowl. Next, mix the reserve peppers into the masa.

Take a spoonful of masa and spread it on the inside of the curved corn husk. Spread the masa all the way to the wide edge of the corn husk and leave about a half of a finger length at the narrow end of the husk.

The masa should be spread to the thickness of a tortilla. Add a spoon full of meat to the center of the masa. Roll up the tamale, the shape should result in a rectangle pocket.

Just before assembling all the tamales, fill the tamalera or tamale steam pot with water just below the rack. The tamale pot is a galvanized iron pot made to steam the tamales. It has a rack on the inside to keep the tamales above the water. My Dad gave this one to me because he bought a bigger one. It could hold about 70 tamales.

You can find a tamale pot at the Mexican grocery store too. Turn the stove on high heat and finish assembling the tamales.

Finally, load the tamales in the pot.

Put on the lid and let them steam for 1 hour or until the masa is no longer doughy.

Since you made a lot, you can store them in the freezer. Or, give some to your coworkers, neighbors and friends. You can reheat the tamales in the microwave by covering them with a damp paper towel. And if you want to serve your tamales the right way, top it off with a fried egg:

These turned out fantastic. Smoking the pork made a big difference. And the heat was just the right amount for me because it doesn’t overpower the sweetness of the pepper or the masa. If I had to change anything, I would lay the masa on a little thicker. Delicioso!

***Editor’s note ~ Delicioso indeed Arthur.  These look fantastic.  Thanks for sharing with the Grillin’ Fools.  We look forward to seeing your future grilling endeavors.  I think I heard mention of campfire fish tacos with chipotle slaw.  I can’t wait***

If you have any questions, leave a comment below or shoot me an email and I’ll pass it on to Arthur.

If you would like to see other pork recipes on the grill click here.

Also, follow the Grillin Fools and post your own grillin picture on Facebook like Arthur did.

My cousin Tom and his Wife are really bringing it on the grill lately.  The Pear and Goat Cheese Crostinis just recently and now this?  Wow!!  And for those of you that really enjoy fruit salsa I highly recommend grilling that fruit salsa.  The grill caramelizes the sugars in the fruits and vegetables and adds a slight smoky flavor that takes your fruit salsa to a whole other level.  I now pass it off to my cousin Tom, the Big Green Egg Head, to show you how he did this amazing dish…

Salsa
1/2 Fresh pineapple sliced with core removed
1 Fresh jalapeno, slice in half and remove seeds
1 – One inch thick slice of red onion
1/2 Red bell pepper
2 TBS Rice vinegar
Juice of one lime
1 TBS Honey
1 TBS Cilantro
1 TBS Olive oil
Red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Prepare grill to approx 350 degrees and grill pineapple rings, jalapeno, red onion and bell pepper for approximately 3 minutes per side (cook the onion slightly longer):

You want nice grill marks, but don’t overcook.  The fruit and veggies should still be slightly crisp:

Remove fruit and veggies from grill and allow to cool.  Chop cooled grilled fruit & veggies, then combine with all other ingredients:

Let stand at least 30 minutes prior to serving

Pork Chops
Center Cut Pork Chops approx 1 inch thick
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Drizzle both sides of the chops w/ olive oil
Sprinkle salt & pepper

Grill the chops at the same 350 for approx 5 – 7 minutes on each side for medium doneness or 160 degrees internal temp:

Remove the pork chops from the heat and allow to rest for a couple of minutes so the juices calm down from being in an excited state and won’t run all over the plate as soon as you slice into them.  Then top with grilled fruit salsa and serve:

Shown served with grilled asparagus.  Trim asparagus by breaking off the tough bases to each stalk, toss with olive, salt and pepper.  Grill over medium heat approx 6 minutes for slightly crisp vegetables:

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below or email Tom.

If you are interested in other grilled pork recipes click here.

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This will be my new method of making pork steaks from now on.  I had multiple people asking me for specifics on how to make them after dinner.  I’ll try to get the rest of the pictures and the write up done in the next couple of days…

***Now for the write up***

First, if you don’t know what a pork steak in, and if you aren’t from the heart of the Midwest, then you probably have never heard of them so click here to see exactly what they are and, more importantly, how to go to your local butcher or grocer and order them.  Now back to the write up.

So, I lost the chip that had the pics of the rest of the process of making reverse seared pork steaks.  In order to show you how this is done I had to bite the bullet and make pork steaks again.  The things I subject myself to in order to help my fellow grillin’ fools make great BBQ!!! Read on and find out if I recreated the magic from my first attempt at the reverse sear method.

I started with two fairly thick pork steaks.  I don’t recommend trying this method with thin pork steaks as you can dry them out.  I also don’t recommend using this method if you are cooking for a crowd as it takes about three hours. But, if you follow my instructions here you will make the best pork steaks you have ever made.

Here are the bad boys ready for the grill:

If you have no idea what pork steaks are, click here for an explanation.  And don’t worry, if you aren’t from the Midwest you probably have never heard of them.

I forgot a step above.  All I did was add coarse salt, black pepper and white pepper.  I forgot the granulated garlic in this second round so remember to dust with granulated garlic or garlic powder or use whatever rub you prefer here as it will make a great flavor crust later.

Then put them on the grill for an indirect smoke – coals and hickory on the right, pork steaks on the left.  I went with hickory over my usual favorites of pear, peach or apple as I will be saucing the pork steaks and going with a milder fruit wood would get overpowered by the sauce so I went with a more robust smoke wood.  Click here for a lengthy list of different things you can use to smoke  and what they pair the best with

While there are a million ways to make pork steaks, many people put them right over the coals and get a sear on them before they put them off to the side to smoke them.  The problem with that is that the once the outside of the meat reaches a certain temp it no longer takes on any smoke.  That’s why I am going with this method from now on.  I want that smoke flavor in the meat before I give it a sear and add a nice flavor crust.  So, put the meat off to the side and let it stay there between 200-225.  As you can see here, the temp is a little high, but once I lock down the vents the temp will get down to where I want it to be:

After just one hour look at how they are turning a nice golden color:

I realize that in this next pic you are seeing the pork steaks on a different grill.  I needed the grill space on the larger grill for some ribs so I transferred these guys to my grill manufacturer that shall not be named.  Here they are after 2 hours cooking indirect between 200-225:

And here they are after 2.5 hours.  Look at how golden brown they are from all the smoke they have taken on:

Now it’s time for that sear.  I added a few more coals to the small pile of coals in order to have enough heat to put a nice sear.  Put the pork steaks right over the hot coals and sear on each side for only a couple minutes on each side:

After you sear each side of the pork steaks slather with your favorite sauce.  This is a new sauce dad picked up in Dauphin Island called Richee’s which can be ordered here.  It’s a tweener between a tomato based and mustard based sauce.  It’s pretty original and really good:

Here are the pork steaks slathered on each side with Richee’s:

I slathered them a couple more times over the next 30 minutes and allowed the sauce to thicken up and caramelize before I plated one of them:

Let’s see if I recreated the magic of the first time I tried this method:

Smoke ring?  Check.
Juicy?  Check.
Tender?  Check.
Multiple levels of flavor from the seared flavor crust, the penetrated smoke flavor and the barbecue sauce?  Check.

As a coworker said who tried the first batch said, “the flavors just keep going and going.”

This is now my go to method for making pork steaks.  Try it and I bet it becomes yours too.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to shoot me an email or simply leave a comment below.

If you like this dish, click here for other pork done on the grill.

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