Roast Beef on a Wednesday, yes, it Can Be Done!

Not as tough as it looks

Roast beef if one of those things people remember their Mom making, but they don’t often make it themselves. It brings back memories of relaxing Sundays with the family, the whole house smelling succulent enough to want to lick the walls.  You can have that good ‘ol down home feeling any night of the week – with minimal expensive and effort.

The prices of meat have gone through the roof the last year or so. What I find in my local grocery store labeled as an “Oven Roast” is like $8.99 a pound. That’s just ridiculous, that’s what I would pay for a standing Rib Roast for the holidays – way too much for your standard mid-week dinner in a hurry.

Enter Sam’s Club. They sell Round Roasts for $1.99/lb – and they’re HUGE. Round roasts are notoriously DRY and TOUGH and will break your jaw if they’re not cooked right. They’re so lean, it’s difficult to make them juicy and savory. But, low and behold the high heat method. Works great for cheap roasts – and those expensive rib roasts too.

I typically buy an 8 lb. roast and cut it into 3 or 4 smaller roasts, wrap them good and freeze what I’m not cooking.  They’re cylindrical-shaped, so it’s easy to cut and store.

Here’s what I have:

• 1 2.5 lb. Eye of Round beef roast
• 1 garlic clove, smooshed into a paste
• 2 TBS olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Here’s what you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 500. Or as high as it will go without being in broil mode.
2. Mix the garlic paste with the oil, sat and pepper and whatever else you fancy. (I like to make a paste, as it doesn’t burn like chopped garlic pieces do.)
3. Slather it all over your roast. (Best if you start with a defrosted piece of meat. I’ve tried it from frozen, and it just doesn’t work. Let the unfrozen meat come up to room temperature before you put it in the oven.)
4. Once the oven comes up to 500, put in your roast. Then immediately turn the oven down to 475 degrees.
5. Roast at 475 for 14-15 minutes (or 7 minutes per pound)
6. Once that time has elapsed, turn OFF the oven and leave it in there. Keep the door closed,  so NO PEEKING!
7. Leave the roast in for 2.5 hours – or as long as you need to run every errand you forgot to do last week.
8. If it’s still hot, take it out of the oven and let sit for 10 minutes, and then slice thin, against the grain.

It’s a perfect med / med rare every time. And did I mention tender? A cheap old round roast can be tender! Rejoice!

Anyone got some horseradish?

Kefta: The Best Thing to do with Ground Beef

Where's the Beef? Right here, duh.

Kefta is a common Middle Eastern sausage or meatball. It’s the perfect “I’m too tired to cook” lazy food, but it’s really delicious and way more interesting than burgers or tacos. I always have a few pounds of ground beef in the freezer, and with a couple inexpensive and readily available ingredients, it’s a great penny-stretching meal.  As a common street food all over the Middle East, I can only imagine it’s intended flavor and aroma. I would never claim this recipe to be “authentic”, as it’s derived from a number that I’ve used over the years. But it does have authentic ingredients, and it tastes delish.

Here’s what I use:

• 1.5-2lbs of ground beef (or lamb) – I buy the cheapest grind available, but purists like it lean
• 1 medium onion
• 1/2 c. chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 c. chopped cilantro (I’ve made this without parsley and only cilantro, and it’s works too)
• At least a good TBS of finely chopped garlic
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 TBS cumin
• 1 TBS garam masala (this makes it)
• 1 tsp sweet paprika (not smoked)
• a good bit of salt and pepper

What I do:

1. Grate the onion on the finest side of the grater. Be sure to pour any and all onion juice into the meat. You can chop the onion, but you’d lack the juice. The juice is key.
2. Add in all your spices and herbs, mix by hand until combined and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Let the meat come up to room temperature if it’s been in the fridge. Cold meat in a hot pan never works out well.
3. When it’s nice outside, I like to shape the mixture around pre-soaked, wooden skewers and grill them.. But when it’ chilly out like it is today, I just shape them into sausage shapes and saute in a bit of olive oil, until cooked through. About 5-8 minutes, depending on the size.

Shape them however you want, balls, squares, bells, stars – doesn’t much matter. You could even put them in the oven if you’re really tired.

Serve ‘em up hot – maybe over some Jasmine rice and a bit of salad. Maybe on a Cuban roll. Maybe you want to stand over the sink and shove ‘em in your face. However you decide, just enjoy.

Oh, and the leftovers rock. So make extra!

Brine it, Baby!

I’m pretty famous for roasting fowl, but I’m obviously behind the times when it comes to brining. I’ve heard of it, I’ve considered it, but for one reason or another, I’ve never DONE it.

Space is an issue: A 20 lb. turkey is a bitch to brine. I have nothing laying around the house that will fit a bird that big and brine safely. So, my first brining adventure begins with a hen. A chicken. She’s pretty, maybe 4.5 lbs., perfect to fit into one of those XL plastic food bags. Only I don’t have any of those. But I DO have a 2 gallon plastic pitcher that I use for Kool-Aide and Iced Tea that fits my bird just fine, and my fridge even better.

Brining is an art form, so I’ve come to learn. It’s a marinade, and yet, it’s not. It’s intention is to impart the bird with flavor and tenderize it, but it’s NOT a marinade, or so they tell me. You marinate boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces, but you BRINE the whole chicken. Also, a marinade is typically a short-term operation, say, 2-12 hours, a brine is 24 hours, and sometimes more.

Brining mostly consists of salt, good quality kosher salt in most cases. There are umpteen recipes for fowl brines out there, but I began mine simply.

This is what I have:

• 1 whole 4.5-5lb. chicken, cleaned
• 1 gallon of hot tap water
• 3/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 TBS whole peppercorns
• 2 TBS dried rosemary
• 1/3 cup good olive oil

Simple really. I just filled my pitcher with a good amount of hot tap water, dissolved in the salt, sugar, oil and spices, stirred and let cool. Then, I  submerged the bird in the brine, cover, and set it in the back of the fridge for 24 hours.

When ready to cook, pour away the solution and rinse the chicken and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. I let mine sit for about an hour to come back to room temperature and further dry out. You’ll notice the chicken may look a little “bloated”.

She may be bloated, but in this case, bloat is good.

Then, brush with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle on a new coating of spices (go easy on any salt).

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about an hour – or until juices from the thigh run clear.

You can’t mess this up. Infact, I’ve learned that brined birds are way more forgiving, so if you spend an extra 20 minutes in the bubble bath, the chicken is still tender and juicy and perfectly seasoned.

The camera didn't come out quick enough. Warning: awesome brined chicken causes feeding frenzies.

Quick Crustless Quiche

 

Hot out of the oven. This reheats and travels really well.

 

My Mom always made Quiche on Christmas morning, stuffed full of cheese and bacon and broccoli – all in a homemade crust. It was divine to say the least. But I don’t have the time or her skill to make my own pie crust – so I’ve improvised with the use of bulk breakfast sausage. It works great, is super fast and easy and tastes almost as good as Mom’s. I bet you’ll like it too.

Simple Ingredients = easy meal

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 oven safe pan – I use a 9 x 12 x 3 glass Pyrex baking pan
• 10-12 eggs
• 1 roll of ground breakfast sausage – I prefer the Sage Sausage, the flavor rocks
• 1 package of shredded cheese – I use cheddar. Use whatever you have on hand (but avoid the mozz) and the amount is to your discretion. I like cheese, so I can easily use the whole bag.
• Veggies – whatever you have laying around works. I used some leftover fresh baby spinach and frozen chopped onion in this version. But it works just as well with chopped broccoli, frozen (defrosted and well drained) spinach, mushrooms, green peppers, whatever you like.
• A pat of butter to grease the pan
• 1 TBS of Mayo – trust me on this.

Here’s what you do:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• Rub the pat of butter all over the inside of the pan, including the sides
• Whisk all your eggs into a bowl, and plop in your TBS of Mayo. Mix well – you may get some little lumps of mayo that won’t totally combine, but that’s ok. The Mayo flavors the eggs and makes them wonderfully fluffy. You can do without this, but once you’ve done it this way, you’ll never go back.
• Take the sausage out of the roll and press it firmly into the bottom of the pan. Make sure it’s even 

• The sausage becomes the “crust”
• Place your veggies ontop of the raw sausage
• Add a layer of shredded cheese
• Pour in your egg mixture. You want there to be enough room, at least an inch or so, as the eggs will rise.
• Pop it in the oven for about 45 minutes.
• After that, everything should be 95% cooked, the edges will be golden and the center will not jiggle when shaken. Top the eggs with the remaining cheese and finish baking 10-15 minutes.
• Let it cool for about 5 minutes, cut and serve and enjoy!

 

Meat, eggs, cheese and veggies. What else could you want?

Crockpot and Microwave: A lesson in playing well with others.

There are days that I bow down to whomever created the Crock Pot.  I typically eat late, and when I know I have dinner waiting for me at home, I eat very light during the day (out of necessity and lack of funds) – but it’s a great thing to come home, hungry and knowing that dinner is ready and waiting and oh, so delicious. 

This time, it was Pork butt. Yes, again. They sell these suckers for like 69 cents a pound, and I take them home and cut them in half – freeze ‘em until I’m ready. Besides, a huge old hunk of meat won’t fit into my crock pot, so makes sense. 

This is by god, the easiest and tastiest thing you can do on a busy weeknight:

Here’s what I got:

• 1 frozen pork butt, but in half, about 4 lbs. (b0ne in, or out, depending which side you cut off)

• 1 bottle of Mojo from the dollar store. Don’t know what it is? Oh… just you wait. It’s a fantastic combo of lemon and other juices, garlic, spice, and glorious goodness that I have no words for. Homer Simpson would drink this stuff straight from the bottle (and if I see him doing it, I’ll sue, cause it was my idea.)

Here’s what I do:

• Before I go to bed, I stick said frozen pork butt into the crock pot liner, cover it in mojo, anywhere from 1/2 to the whole bottle, depending on it’s size. And I leave in the fridge covered overnight.
• When I wake up, it’s still frozen solid, but that’s a good thing. Before I leave for work, I stick the whole cooled and marinated crock pot into the base, throw in a couple handfuls of ice cube (to keep it from cooking too fast), turn it on low and leave for 9 hours.

And when I come home, it’s like my kitty has been slaving away all day. Wow. 

Talk about fall apart, juicy, tasty goodness. I could eat it right out of the cooker. But I don’t, since I’m civilized and all…

Want a quick a delicious side to go with it? Ha! Me too!

Got some frozen broccoli or cauliflower? Perfect.

• Stick in it a glass (or microwave safe) bowl and heat it up for 5 mins. 
• Add a couple bats o’ butter and a few cubes of cream cheese, a sprinkling of shredded cheddar and some garlic, salt and pepper. Stick it back in for about 3 minutes, stir it around and say “god bless microwaves.”

It’s rich and it’s fatty, but it’s omg good and it makes for killer leftovers. But, there’s veggies in there somplace, right? Can’t be THAT bad

Whole Wheat Penne with Broccoli

 

It's looks like regular pasta, but it'll keep you regular!

Super quick, uber-healthy and delicious, this is way better and cheaper than any takeout. 

 

I don’t eat pasta very often, but when I do, I prefer the whole wheat variety. Fiber is good. But there is the texture thing that I couldn’t get over at first, despite it’s obvious health benefits. My solution? Cook the hell out of it. Al dente doesn’t apply to whole wheat pasta. Not in my world anyway. 

This is what I have:

• 1/2 box of Whole Wheat Penne
• 1 small broccoli crown
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
• 1 can of chicken stock, homemade works best – but I was out
• a tad of olive oil
• 1/2 lemon – for juice and zest
• 1/4 cup of parmesean cheese
• Some hot red pepper flakes
• black pepper
• salt, to taste

Here’s what I do:

1. Cook your pasta. Give it lots of water, the bigger the pot, the more water, the better. I like to season my cooking water with plenty of salt and garlic powder. And then I let it boil for double the amount of time it says on the package. Probably 20 mins or so. (overkill? nah.)
2. While the pasta is cooking, clean and chop your broccoli to whatever size you like. Mince that garlic if you haven’t yet. (choppin’ broccoli!)
3. Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain in a colander and leave it alone for a bit. Put the empty pot back on the stove. 
4. Add about 2 tbs of olive oil and saute the garlic, throw in your broccoli, add your red pepper flake, the zest of 1/2 a lemon and the squeeze all the juice out of that bad boy. Keep it relatively low heat, and give it a stir or three.
5. Once the broccoli just starts to cook, dump in your chicken stock, throw in your cooked pasta, add your cheese. Taste, add your salt and or pepper and/or more whatever it may need. I like garlic.
6. Cover, set on low and let the broccoli cook until tender but still crisp.

About 7 mins later you’ve got dinner. Mmmm… dinnnner.

Something Saucy: Vegetarian Lasagna sans Pasta

 

Sure, it looks a mess, but it tastes like yum.

 

 

I love pasta, but it does not like me. So, I’m always looking for creative ways to make my favorite Italian meals without it.

Enter the Great Zucchini. It works really well as a substitute. I slice mine thin and layer it long-ways, but feel free to chop everything and pile in into a baking dish and just scoop it out. It all tastes the same: yummy.

I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to sauce (or gravy). I really, really hate pre-bottled tomato sauce. It’s either too acidic, too sweet or just full of oddly spelled ingredients. All you need is a can of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and whatever goodies you want to add.

 

Pretty simple stuff, just use what you've got. Takes all of 5 minutes and a can opener.

 

 

Here’s what I have:

• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic
• some pre-chopped, frozen onions and peppers
• Olive oil, crushed red pepper flake, oregano, etc, etc.

Here’s what I do:

Cook up a bit of onion, pepper, garlic and spices on med-low in some oil til they’re nice and soft. Got a nice dry red laying around? Add a few splashes and cook it down for a minute. Stir in the tomato paste and fill the can back up with water, scraping out every little bit. Stir. Add in the crushed tomatoes. Let simmer on low until all the flavors have blended. Maybe 10 minutes. There. Sauce. Done.

No Lasagna is complete without some cheese (or lots o’cheese)

Here’s what I got:

• 5 good sized zucchinis, sliced thin
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1 small tub of ricotta cheese
• 1 bag of mozzarella cheese
• more garlic, more oregano, if only I had fresh basil (use it if you do)

Here’s what I do:

1. First, you have to spice up that ricotta. I mean, it’s good as is, but you want to add some flavor to it. parmesan cheese works well – a bit of garlic powder – oregano – salt – pepper. Yay. Stir it up, set it aside.
2. Layer (or not) your zucchini slices on the bottom of a well-oiled deep-dish lasagna pan (pyrex works too).
3. Slap on a layer of your homemade sauce. Cover with a layer of ricotta cheese, mushrooms, and a nice sprinkling of mozzarella. Now, repeat. And repeat. And repeat. Until you’ve got a full to the brim pan of goodness. Sprinkle the top with the last of the sauce and mozz. and you’re good to go.
4. Pop that bad boy into the oven for an hour at 350. I recommend a baking sheet underneath, as it will bubble over a bit, and the tray will keep you from scrubbing your oven.
5. Let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting in. And then, go for it. 

Total No Brainer: Chili Express

It’s that time of year again, it’s getting darker earlier and darn right cold at night. Nothing better than a quick, warm meal. Homemade and healthy in no time at all.

There are so many great variations of chili out there, but this one is super fast and tasty, the only thing you gotta do is brown up some ground meat. It’s made simpler by spending a whole dollar on precut frozen onions and peppers. These are a godsend, especially midweek, when the last thing I want to do is concentrate. (My mind turns to mush by the end of the week) Anyhoo….

What I’ve got:

• 1 lb. ground turkey (you got beef? use that. Ground Chicken is good too. I’ve done it with vegetarian crumbles and even they’re passable.)
• 1/2 cup of frozen chopped onions
• 1/2 cup of frozen chopped green pepers
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (or crushed or some paste, heck, ketchup if you’re in a real pinch)
• 1 packet of chili seasoning (yeah, why not? You can go the spice snob route and dump in some chili powder and Cumin, Pepper, etc. But sometimes, shortcuts work.)
• A can of beans if you want – black beans, kidney beans, etc… I’m a chili purist and only use beans when I want to impress the neighbors.

Here’s what I do:

1. Fry up the onion, peppers and garlic in a bit of olive oil til nice and golden.
2. Dump in your meat and brown completely. Drain off any fat.
3. Add in your tomatoes, spices, beans, etc.
4. Cover and cook on med low for 10 mins or so, if that. Or until your blood sugar levels are in serious crisis. 

Done. 

The leftovers are better and make an enviable lunch – I’ve seen the looks I get from coworkers. Some shredded cheddar and sour cream, a bit of sliced green onion on top and it’s a feast.

And if you’re really smart, you’d have plunked all those ingredients into your slow cooker at 7am and set it on low. Then it’d be waiting for you when you got home. That’s even nicer.  Just remember to spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray before you put everything in, so then cleanup is a breeze. And we all know how much I hate the cleanup…. Echo will have to start learning to do dishes. Seriously, that cat is such a slacker.

White Bread of Life

 

Sugar, yeast, flour, egg or two, warm water and of course, love.

 

 

There is nothing so delectable as the smell of fresh baking bread. I defy any candle company to recreate that scent. I love making bread – it’s so alive. I’m not a big baker, in fact, I’m not even a big bread eater, but oh, how I love to make it!

And it’s so easy. All it takes is time and the willingness to make a good sized mess. I’m good at making a mess. Flour everywhere. But hey, I’m washable.

I use a very basic, easy recipe. It’s a coagulation of a few recipes, and this one works the best from my experience. Feel free to substitute whole wheat flour, honey/maple syrup for the sugar… it’s fun to mix it up.

Here’s what I have:

• 2 pkgs of active (very active) yeast
• 2 cups of warm water – I think it’s supposed to be about 115 degrees, but I just run the tap until it’s warm enough for a shower.
• 1/2 cup of sugar (or honey or anything the yeast can feed off of)
• 1 tbs salt – I use a little more than this
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup veggie oil – careful of heavy olive oils, it will affect the flavor, but if you like it, go for it.
• 5-7 cups of flour … it’s tough to measure.

Here’s what I do:

In a large bowl, pour in the warm water and dissolve both packets of yeast in the water. Use a fork or a whisk to get it all frothy and bubbly. Add in your sugar, salt, oil, eggs and about 2 or 3 cups of the flour. Mix until you’ve got a saucy mess. Looks kinda like pancake batter. Just make it nice and smooth. I used to use a hand mixer to do this, but it’s not really necessary. A whisk or fork will do the trick. 

 

It will begin kinda like pancake batter

 

 

Now that everything is smooth, start dumping in more flour, about a cup or so at a time and mix it in until you start seeing it start to take shape.

 

Keep adding flour until it starts to firm up into a ball

 

 

You’ll be surprised just how much flour this goopy mess will consume – just keep adding it little by little until you have a ball-like shape.

Grease another large bowl (I prefer glass, but plastic is fine) and dump your ball of almost dough into it. Turn it around in the bowl to coat it with the grease (oil, butter, lard, etc.)

 

Once it all comes together, throw it into a greased bowl, cover and let it sit to rise in a warm place.

 

 

Now, put a kitchen towel over the bowl and set it someplace warm. I like to turn on my oven and set it ontop (this is why I like glass) Some people like to put it in the oven at a super low temp, but that never works well for me. Just leave it be for at least an hour, turn out the lights, light a candle, turn on some Beethoven and have a glass of wine.

After an hour, you’ll see your dough is nice and puffy, yay! The magic of yeast! Now it’s time to punch it down, and plop in onto a large flour-covered work surface. And knead baby, knead!

 

After about an hour, it will almost double. Ohhh, the magic!

 

 

Push and pull (don’t break!), just move it around, adding more flour if needed. It will want to stick to the surface and to your hands, so keep lots of flour around, sprinkle the top of the dough, keep your hands covered with flour and keep sprinkling till you’ve got a fully formed dough ball. Nice and warm and soft and lovely.

 

Get in there and knead it, both hands. Don't be shy, just don't tear it apart. Give it a massage.

 

 

 

 

This recipe will make 2 very large loaves. So, feel free to cut it in half and do whatever you want with it or you could cut it in 4s and do lots of different things…

I cut mine in half (I actually only made Half of this recipe, so my pics will result in less dough than you’ll have) and make a loaf  with one half – and cinnamon rolls with the other.

Stick your happy, kneaded dough in whatever container you want to bake it in. Just be sure to grease the containers with oil or shortening or butter….I put half in a bread tin, and rolled up little cinnamon and sugar balls on a baking sheet.

 

Set the dough in whatever form you want, here are my rolls and my loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm place for another hour. I don't have an after picture I was too busy eating it and forgot to shoot pics.

 

 

Now, let it sit and rise again. One more hour, more romance. Cover it, set it some where warm and let it work it’s wonders.

An hour later, voila! You’ve got fully-risen bread. 

Now you’re oven should already be preheated to 375. If it’s not – do that, it’s important.

And stick your buns in the oven. Or loaves or whatever.

Bake for about 25-30 mins. You’ll nose will tell you when it’s done. Just keep an eye on the tops, you want them to be golden. 

You’ll know when they’re done when you tap the top and it sounds hollow. It’ll be firm. Nice and golden and delicious, and just begging for a slather of butter.

Be sure to turn your loafs out of the pans while it still warm, or it will stick, just turn it over and it will pop right out. You don’t have to do this if you’re making rolls, as you’d cut them apart anyway. I suggest cutting into it right away and consuming quickly. Hot bread is like heaven defined.

Got too much? Wrap a loaf tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil – and freeze it. Freezes beautifully… then when you want a fresh loaf of bread to impress company, or nosh when you’re PMSing, just defrost on the counter for about a half hour or so.

Oh bread. I love you, even though you go right to my ass.

Boston Butt Pulled Pork (oh, glorious pork!)

 

Mmmmeaty

 

 

This is one of those cuts of meat that I didn’t understand until I moved to the South. Pork BBQ is everywhere around these parts, and I like it!

I never shopped for a pork butt before, pork loin was about as daring as I got.

But I’m a convert. Go, run now to your grocery store and get one! These babies are the MOST forgiving cuts of meat in the world. Ignore them, abuse them, and they will still result in the most tender, juicy, pulled pork ever. Simply melt in your mouth…

Here’s what I got:

• 1 very large (6 lb) Pork Butt (bone in)
• A few cups of Apple Cider Vinegar 
• Fresh Garlic, slivered
• Worstershire sauce
• Salt & Pepper

Typically, purists would marinate the pork overnight, covered in the cider vinegar, spices, etc. But I don’t always have time to do this. If you do – go for it. Don’t worry about having pickled pork, something about the vinegar just add this amazing flavor and breaks down some of the fat. 

Here’s what I do:

1. Set the oven low, about 300. Low and slow is the name of this game.
2. I trim off most of the obvious fat from the roast – and there’s typically alot of it. You want some, but not all those big, white hunks.
3. Stick the roast on a rack (fattiest side up) in a large foil-covered roasting pan (it’s just makes for easier cleanup).
4. When I don’t have time to marinate, I pour about 2 cups of cider vinegar over the roast, it will settle in the bottom of the pan.
5. I add about 2 tbs. of worstershire and/or hot sauce if I have it around. Some people like to sprinkle on some brown sugar to balance it out. Me, I’m not a sugar lover.. so I skip it. But go ahead, it’s good too.
6. I like to cut the garlic into slivers, and make tiny slices in the meat with a small, sharp knife, then shove those spears of garlic in… all over the roast. They’ll kinda melt into the meat as it cooks. 
7. Then I’ll sprinkle the top with some fresh pepper, salt, maybe some more garlic powder, onion powerder.
8. Make sure you have a good amount of liquid in the bottom of the pan, you can add some chicken or beef stock or water. When it cooks, that liquid will keep everything nice and moist.
9. Cover the whole giant mess with foil. Stick it in the oven and ignore it for at least 5-6 hours, depending on the size of your roast. 

You could probably cook it for 10 hours and it would still be good. 

You’ll know it’s done when you stick a fork in it and the meat pulls away easily into lovely ribbons of juiciness. If it still seems tough, cover it back up and give it another hour. It should pull without any effort.

Now, you can pull the bone out very easily. Careful, it’s hot!  Then shred the meat with forks to your hearts content, add your favorite sauce, slap it all on a bun and call it bbq. Or you can eat it just like it is, like I do, with a little drizzle of cider vinegar and hot pepper flake.  

And the leftovers…if there are any, make really good soups, great on a salad, in a taco, stir fry, etc.

 

From here you can sauce it, dress it or eat it just as is!

Hot out of the oven