BBQ Sauce

Okay, I'll admit it, I was lazy on that last post.  I didn't link the bbq sauce recipe for the pulled pork.  Probably because I knew it was part of another post from a couple years ago.  But my mom mentioned it this morning when I dropped off some of the pulled pork for her and Dad to enjoy.  So, here is the BBQ sauce recipe all by itself.  I created it when I received a bottle of sorgham from the CSA in Cleveland (FreshForkMarket.com) and it has become my favorite bbq sauce for pork (I've used it for both ribs and pulled pork).  You could easily adapt it for a light molasses and I think it would taste very similar.  Not sure where you could get sorghum around here.

Sorghum Honey BBQ Sauce

• 3 C ketchup
• 1 C sorghum*
• 1/2 C cider vinegar
• 1/2 C honey (this is the raw honey from Bob's hive)
• 6 sprigs fresh lemon thyme

Wash the thyme and then gently pull the leaves from the stems; discard stems.  Place all ingredients in small saucepan.  Heat until boiling; reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.  Adjust flavors as needed (I did add a bit more honey because this seemed a bit tart).

I prefer this sauce on pulled pork and believe it would be good on beef brisket, but not sure how it would be on chicken. 

 *CSA ingredients

Baby Back Ribs

For the 4th, I decided to make baby back ribs.  My thought was that I would pre-roast them in the oven and then finish them on the grill with the grill.  To make them even more compelling, I made my own bbq sauce because for some reason, I can never find a premade sauce I like.  I am still using up some sorgham "molasses" that I have left from Fresh Fork Market (freshforkmarket.com), my CSA in Cleveland. I also had honey from my brother's hive, which I thought would be very nice to use in the BBQ sauce, as well as fresh thyme.

But as things go, we ended up with other plans.  My Department Chair, Mark McCartney called me up and asked if we would like to join him on the lake (Sanford Lake) for the fireworks.  As I was trying to figure out what to do about dinner before we headed out, I chose to cut the ribs to see how much they needed to be cooked.  It turned out that they were perfect and lovely!  We enjoyed some ribs on the way out to Mark's along with some of the beans I had cooked earlier.  Lovely dinner.  On the 5th, I took the remaining 1/2 rack, basted it with the bbq sauce and cooked them off to enjoy for dinner.  As you can see, we must have liked them as only 1 lone rib remains.  I am sure I will enjoy that for lunch tomorrow!

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

•  1 rack baby back ribs
• cumin
• paprika
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• tumeric
• BBQ sauce (see below)

Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place a loose sheet of foil on top of the pan.  Sprinkle ribs liberally with dry spices and pat in to flesh.  Place rib rack onto loose foil, cover with another sheet of foil and seal around ribs.  Bake at 300F for 2 hours.  To finish, raise temperature to 425F.  Brush ribs with BBQ sauce and bake, on top rack for 10 minutes.  Turn ribs and baste again, bake for 15 minutes longer or until the bbq sauce starts to caramelize. Allow to settle for 5 minutes before serving.

BBQ Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup sorghum "molasses"*
• 1/4 cup fresh local honey
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 6 sprigs lemon thyme, leaves removed

   Mix all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Heat to boiling and then simmer for about 1 minute.  Cool and store in the refrigerator until use. 

 
 *CSA Ingredients

Beans and Ham

Happy July 4th, our nation's birthday!  And it is so beautiful outside today!  Currently 75 and sunny, a perfect day for a picnic!  So, today's menu includes ribs with my homemade bbq sauce and and new try at beans.  I was looking for a baked bean recipe, but the one I came across that gave me a start was a stovetop version.  I, of course, had to improvise with ingredients, but they turned out quite yummy.  This is a spicy version of Navy Beans with Ham.

Spicy Beans with Ham

• 2 small candy cane onions, chopped**
• 2 green garlic, minced**
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups Michigan ham, chopped
• 1 (14.5 oz) can Original Rotel tomatoes, with juice
• 2 (15-oz) cans Navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup sorghum*
• 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1/8 tsp fresh-ground pepper

Heat oil over medium heat.  Add chopped onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and ham and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes more.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half. 

*CSA ingredients
**Farmers market ingredients

Pork Shoulder

One of the best parts of these CSA packages are the meats we receive.  However, I have a small freezer, so I do have to be fairly consistant about making the larger pieces.  This weekend, it is a pork shoulder roast.  I have gotten 3 of these this winter and it's kind of funny because I buy shoulder roasts once every couple years normally.  The first, I slow roasted in the oven.  The second, I cooked in my crockpot.  Today, I braised my pork roast, and it turned out beautiful!  Since we had gotten a very nice brussels sprouts relish a couple weeks ago and I had just gotten some swiss cheese and turkey breast, I decided to make a variation on a Cuban sandwich for lunch.  It was so good, I cut a few slices to make sandwiches for tomorrow.  The rest, I pulled and put in a homemade BBQ sauce.  Here are the recipes:

Braised Pork Shoulder

• 1 5-lb pork shoulder roast*
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• cayenne pepper
• 5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 med red onion, thinly sliced
• water

Rince roast and dry with paper towels.  Season with sea salt, pepper and cayenne.  Place in a large Dutch oven.  Add thyme, jalapeno and onion slices.  Fill the Dutch oven halfway with water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 3-4 hours or until thermometer inserted into the center reads 160-180F.  Remove roast to plate; cover and allow roast to sit at room tempurature for 10 minutes.  Drain onions and peppers and place in a large bowl.  For Cuban sandwiches, slice a few thin slices.  For pulled pork sandwiches, pull meat, removing fat, and mix with your favorite BBQ sauce.


Betsy's Cuban Sandwich

• 1 thin slice pork roast* (see above)
• 2 thin slices roasted turkey breast
• 2 thin slices Swiss cheese*
• 1 tsp brown mustard
• 2 tsp Ann's Raspberry Farm Brussels Sprout Relish*
• bagel thin

Split bagel thin and spread one side with brown mustard.  Spread the other side with relish.  Layer pork roast, turkey breast and Swiss.  Close sandwich and either heat for 40 seconds in microwave on HIGH or grill.  Serve with chips or fruit (this is served with Heirloom Corn Chips*).

Sorghum Honey BBQ Sauce

Note: I was distressed to find out that I had not published this recipe when I made it for the last pork roast, nor did I save it.  This is what I remember from making the sauce.

• 3 C ketchup
• 1 C sorghum*
• 1/2 C cider vinegar
• 1/2 C honey*
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme (I would use fresh the next time I make this)

Place all ingredients in small saucepan.  Heat until boiling; reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.  Adjust flavors as needed (I did add a bit more honey because this seemed a bit tart).  For 2/3 of a 5lb pork roast, use about 2 cups of sauce.  Pull the pork, removing the fat, and then mix with BBQ sauce.  Serve on a roll or bagel thin.

Oh one more thing:  I wanted to show you the beautiful head of butterleaf lettuce I received in my CSA package.  I just wish it would stay looking like that.  I am going to try to talk my husband into using it tonight in place of rolls for the pulled pork.  We can have baguette for starch on the side.

Here is one of the lettuce rolls before rolling.  They were so good!!!!!  The bread is what's left of a baguette I purchased earlier in the week from Murray Hill Market.



*CSA package ingredients