The Butt

Last weekend I made some pulled pork. My favorite cut to use is the picnic roast, another part of the shoulder. Unfortunately, the only thing I could get was a 6.2 lb butt roast (bone-in of course). The first time I learned what a butt roast (or boston butt or blade roast) was, an energetic butcher placed both hands on my latissimus dorsi to describe exactly where the butt and picnic roast were. I was quite happy the butt roast was a misnomer.

I used the same rub I use for ribs and smoked this using Royal Oak lump for 10 hours running at about 225F +/- 25F. I did one mop with cider vinegar and unlike past times, I smeared a bit of bbq sauce (just commercial stuff) over the exterior one hour prior to taking the roast off to rest an hour before pulling. I then mixed the meat with a bit of my own sauce composed of ketchup, cider vinegar and smokey rendered pork fat (5:1:1). It was quite a meal. We made sandwiches with pulled pork, colelsaw, pickles and sauce.

I posted this to remind me a 6.2 pound butt roast produced an adequate yield for 8 hungry adults with a bit leftover. Happy 'qing this weekend.

Vesuvius

I used to strive for bubbles on my pizzas and, more the better. The other night, I stretched a 500 gram ball of dough to about 14-15" diamater, covered it with a dish towel and played with Frankie a while before topping it. Then I topped it with a simple tomato sauce, mozzarella and a bit of reggiano (kid special) and popped it in the oven. It practically exploded with bubbles. I think it was the long rest that did it. It was pretty cool looking. Just thought I'd share.

food pizza method

Frankie's First Pizza

Friday nights are becoming pizza night in our house. It's the end of the week, we're a bit tired and need a fix for dinner. I prepped the dough Thursday night and tossed it in the fridge. I took it out about an hour before dinner while I preheated the oven (to 550F). I plopped the dough out of the rising container and start pressing it into a 15" round (500 grams dough).

Frankie got into pressing out the dough into a circle and flapping it over and over. Great technique. She did pretty good. We had a nice round pie with her help. And that thing on her wrist is a compass she got from some happy meal (but we won't admit we got it at Wendy's the night before).

Bees and Salad Dressing

I think Alton Brown's Honey Mustard dressing is the best ever. It's a simple mixture of honey, Dijon Mustard and rice vinegar. I can make it on my electronic balance in a minute. It's calorically dense but the amount needed to bring a salad to life is scant. As good as it is, I couldn't help tampering.

Here in Columbus, we have The Bee Lab cranking out honey in different types and textures (you can mail order it on their site, check out the creamed honey!). So, using Sunflower honey, and, because I was in a rush the other night for dinner, I used yellow mustard because it was faster to squeeze into my salad dressing bottle, and the usual rice vinegar to make an outstanding variant on Alton's recipe. Give it a shot. Or try any substitution to the general recipe of honey, mustard & vinegar and see what you get.

Honey Mustard Dressing
Honey, 5T (100 grams)
Mustard, 3T (45 grams)
Rice Vinegar, 2T (30 grams)
Shake until uniform. Use sparingly.