Scalloped Potatoes and Smoked Pork Loin
Scalloped Potatoes and Smoked Pork Loin
Scalloped Potatoes and Smoked Pork Loin - Do you love potatoes as much as I do? I can honestly say that in my youth there were times when we only had a potato or two to eat the entire day. Yes, like many coal mining families in Northern France we had some extreme hard times. But as the old saying goes, all's well that ends well. Those hard times helped mold the person I am today. As such, to this day I simply adore potatoes in any form: scalloped, Au Gratin, baked, mashed, fried ... just to name a few.
Do a search on scalloped potatoes and you'll only get about 1,770,000 results. What's a man to do? So many recipes and so little time. When we were married, 44 plus years ago, we bought a Betty Crockett Cookbook which had a simple scalloped potato recipe. After all these years I still use that easy recipe. I only deviate from the recipe when I want to make potatoes au gratin which merely requires the addition of a nice sharp cheddar cheese.
For the scalloped potato recipe see my post called "Scalloped Potatoes with SPAM". It's actually an Au Gratin recipe with diced SPAM in it topped with Italian style Panko crispy bread crumbs. Just omit the SPAM and Panko crumb ingredients - or not!
Trimmed a 3 pound Swift pork loin roast of excess fat and silver skin. Rubbed the pork loin on all sides with roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil and Jan's Original Dry Rub. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight. Preheated my MAK 2 Star to 200ºF with hickory wood pellets. Smoked the seasoned pork loin for an hour at 200ºF for an hour before increasing the pit temperature to 350ºF until the internal temperature of the loin reaches 145ºF. For planning purposes only, it took approximately 2 hours to smoke/cook the pork loin. Rest the pork loin loosely under a foil tent before slicing against the grain.
Bodacious Sliced Smoked New York Strip
Broke out the Chef's Choice food slicer and sliced the rest of the hickory smoked 8 pound New York strip roast we had for Christmas. I don't get to use the slicer often enough but when I do it does a great job of providing thin slices. They will soon be enhancing many a sammich ... I look forward to dipping a sammich or two in a nice Au Jus sauce! Vacuum sealed and frozen for future use.
Smoked New York Top Loin Roast
Smoked New York Top Loin Roast
Smoked New York Top Loin Roast - Our Christmas dinner tradition is to have a nice roast with all the trimmings. This year we smoked a New York Strip at my Son's house using his MAK 2 Star. The 8 pound NY top loin was hickory smoked at 240ºF until the internal temperature reached 135ºF. Rested under a foil tent for 15 minutes before carving. Served with baked potatoes and a nice green salad. Course we had munchies up the wazoo during the day - deviled eggs, stuffed mushrooms, guacamole dip, spinach dip, crab mold ... Let me just say that it was scrumptious and enjoyed by all!!!
Are there better cuts of beef than a NY strip? Yes there are - like Prime Rib/Rib Roast or Ribeyes which are essentially the same except the bones have been removed. But for the price of $4.99/lb you can't go wrong with a New York Top Loin when properly smoked. It came out so tender and juicy!
Started with a 16 lb Choice grade New York strip at Costco and trimmed the fat cap and silver skin off. Cut the roast in half for our Christmas feast and cut the other half into eight 1 inch thick steaks. Vacuum sealed the steaks into packages of 2 for grilling later.
Rubbed on all sides of the trimmed New York strip with Roasted Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and applied a liberal amount of Fagundes Prime Rib Roast Seasoning. Wrapped the seasoned roast in plastic and refrigerated overnight. Preheated the wood pellet smoker-grill to 240ºF using hickory wood pellets. Smoked at 240ºF for approximately 3 hours until the internal temperature reached 135ºF. Times are for estimates only - always cook to internal temperatures.
Sauerkraut and Pork Shoulder Butt
Sauerkraut and Pork Shoulder Butt
Sauerkraut and Pork Shoulder Butt - I can't believe that it's been over 3 years since I made a big ole batch of Latvian Sauerkraut and Pork Shoulder Butt. I double checked and sure enough, November 2013 was the last time we enjoyed this traditional delicious family meal. It's a recipe my Mother cooked often when I was growing up here in the United States since my family and I immigrated here in 1959.
You say you're not a big fan of sauerkraut? Well, this isn't your pappy's run of the mill sauerkraut condiment where you open a jar and toss some on a hot dog. Rather this is an entrée that's sure to please anyone who loves pork butt and is willing to expose their palate to a succulent tasty Latvian recipe of sauerkraut with a side of steamed red potatoes.
Actually, the word Sauerkraut is not a good label for this recipe cause there is nothing sour about this kraut! The rinsing of the sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, seasonings, and the pork butt simmering for hours gives you succulent results. Even if you're in the camp that says they hate sauerkraut you'll positively fall in love with this recipe cause it doesn't taste like sauerkraut as you know it.
Ingredients:
- 1 gallon sauerkraut
- 4 pound pork shoulder butt roast
- 20 cups of water
- Large yellow onion, diced
- Large head of cabbage, shredded
- Celery bunch, diced
- 3 to 5 carrots, diced
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 teaspoons crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 7 tablespoons Knorr chicken bouillon
Directions:
- Using a cullender, rinse the sauerkraut thoroughly with water
- In your largest pot combine all ingredients and bring to a boil
- Turn the sauerkraut and pork butt down to a hard simmer
- Simmer 4 to 5 hours until the pork butt shreds easily
Serve with a side of steamed buttered red potatoes
Pulled Hickory Smoked Turkey
Pulled Hickory Smoked Turkey
Pulled Hickory Smoked Turkey - We've all heard of pulled pork, beef, and/or chicken so why not pulled turkey? On Wednesday my local Grocery store's weekly ads came out and they advertised 49¢/lb frozen turkeys. I like to stock my freezer with 3 to 4 14 to 17 pound birds to smoke every couple of months during the year. It's hard to beat the deals you can get during the holidays on turkeys.
I got there around 9 AM and just like Old Mother Hubbard - I found the cupboard to be bare!! Not a single gobbler was available. I had a few words with the person behind the counter about the situation and he told me that they should be getting a shipment on Saturday. Needless to say, myself and another shopper were not happy customers. As I was leaving a woman in the meat department offered to sell me a fresh Foster Farms Young Turkey which was priced at $2.49/lb for the advertised 49¢/lb. I took her up on her offer and selected a 14½ lb bird. She let the cashiers know and also took my phone number so she could contact me on Saturday when the turkeys come in. She offered to set aside 4 turkeys for me. Now, that's what I call 'customer service'!!
Enjoyed a delicious plate with all the fixings (more gravy was added after the photo) ... pulled the remaining turkey off the carcass ... set aside an ample portion to graze on for the next couple of days and vacuum sealed the rest for future use in casseroles and/or soups, etc.
Yesterday we received some much needed rain here in Northern California. My MAK 2 Star is under a covered patio so it's not a big deal and the ambient temperature was around 60ºF. Rubbed roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil on and under the skin before rubbing Jan's Original Dry Rub. Wrapped in plastic and refrigerated overnight.
Smoked the 14½ lb turkey at 200ºF with Hickory for 2½ hours before bumping the pit temperature to 350ºF. Cooked at 350ºF until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the breast reached 170ºF. Rested the smoked turkey for 20 minutes under a foil tent while fixing the sides. For planning purposes only: The entire cook took 5 hours - 30 minutes preheat/smoke for 2½ hours/1¾ hours at 350ºF/15 minutes rest. Always cook to internal temperatures.
