Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (239 page)
SERVES 8
Pulled pork can be made with a fresh ham or picnic roast, although our preference is for Boston butt. If using a fresh ham or picnic roast, remove the skin by cutting through it with the tip of a chef’s knife; slide the blade just under the skin and work around to loosen it while pulling it off with your other hand. Four medium wood chunks, soaked in water for 1 hour, can be substituted for the wood chip packet on a charcoal grill. Serve on plain white bread or warmed rolls with dill pickle chips and coleslaw.
³⁄ | cup |
1 | (6- to 8-pound) bone-in Boston butt roast |
4 | cups wood chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained |
1 | (13 by 9-inch) disposable aluminum roasting pan |
2 | cups barbecue sauce (recipes follow) |
1.
Pat pork dry with paper towels, then massage dry rub into meat. Wrap meat in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.
2.
At least 1 hour prior to cooking, remove roast from refrigerator, unwrap, and let sit at room temperature. Using 2 large pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in 2 foil packets and cut several vent holes in tops.
3A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4¹⁄
2
quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.
3B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium-high and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature around 325 degrees.)
4.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Set roast in disposable pan, place on cool side of grill, and cook for 3 hours. During final 20 minutes of cooking, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
5.
Wrap disposable pan with heavy-duty foil and cook in oven until meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours.
6.
Carefully slide foil-wrapped pan with roast into brown paper bag. Crimp end shut and let rest for 1 hour.
7.
Transfer roast to carving board and unwrap. Separate roast into muscle sections, removing fat, if desired, and tearing meat into shreds with your fingers. Place shredded meat in large bowl and toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
You can adjust the proportions of spices in this all-purpose rub or add or subtract a spice, as you wish.
¹⁄ | cup paprika |
2 | tablespoons chili powder |
2 | tablespoons ground cumin |
2 | tablespoons packed dark brown sugar |
2 | tablespoons salt |
1 | tablespoon dried oregano |
1 | tablespoon granulated sugar |
1 | tablespoon black pepper |
1 | tablespoon white pepper |
1–2 | teaspoons cayenne pepper |
Combine all ingredients in small bowl.
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS
This sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
1 | cup distilled white vinegar |
1 | cup cider vinegar |
1 | tablespoon sugar |
1 | tablespoon red pepper flakes |
1 | tablespoon hot sauce |
Salt and pepper |
Mix all ingredients except salt and pepper together in bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
MAKES 2 CUPS
This sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
1 | tablespoon vegetable oil |
¹⁄ | cup finely chopped onion |
2 | garlic cloves, minced |
¹⁄ | cup cider vinegar |
¹⁄ | cup Worcestershire sauce |
1 | tablespoon dry mustard |
1 | tablespoon packed dark brown sugar |
1 | tablespoon paprika |
1 | teaspoon salt |
1 | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
1 | cup ketchup |
Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, sugar, paprika, salt, and cayenne, bring to simmer, and stir in ketchup. Cook over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes.
MAKES ABOUT
2¹⁄
2
CUPS
This sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
1 | cup cider vinegar |
1 | cup vegetable oil |
6 | tablespoons Dijon mustard |
2 | tablespoons maple syrup or honey |
4 | teaspoons Worcestershire sauce |
1 | teaspoon hot sauce |
Salt and pepper |
Mix all ingredients except salt and pepper together in bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
FIGHTING FLARE-UPS
Flare-ups from the grill are a not-so-rare occurrence, caused primarily by fats melting into the fire. They are much more problematic with charcoal grills since the burners on gas grills often have covers to protect them. Regardless, sometimes there’s just no avoiding them, so it’s important to make sure a little flare-up doesn’t turn into an out-of-control grease fire that ruins your meal. We recommend keeping a squirt bottle filled with water near the grill. At the first sign of flames, pull foods to a cool part of the grill and douse the flames with water.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Authentic ribs, like
BARBECUED PULLED PORK
, can take a full day in the barbecue pit to develop deep, smoky flavor. For our ribs, we applied a spice rub and let the ribs sit at room temperature for 1 hour so the spices could penetrate. Then, as with our pulled pork, we cooked the ribs on the grill to absorb smoky flavor (from wood chips—no smoker required), then transferred them to the oven and continued to cook them until they were tender. Barbecued ribs need barbecue sauce, which we applied to the ribs before they went into the oven, reserving a portion to serve alongside the ribs.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Two medium wood chunks, soaked in water for 1 hour, can be substituted for the wood chip packet on a charcoal grill. To remove the membrane (the thin white sheath that lines the concave side of the rack), insert a spoon handle between the membrane and the ribs of one rack to loosen slightly. Using a paper towel, grasp the loosened membrane and pull away gently to remove.
2 | (2¹⁄ |
³⁄ | cup |
1 | recipe barbecue sauce (recipes follow) |
2 | cups woods chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained |
1.
Rub 3 tablespoons dry rub on each side of racks of ribs. Let ribs sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
2.
Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in foil packet and cut several vent holes in top.
3A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4¹⁄
2
quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.
3B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium-high and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed during cooking to maintain grill temperature between 300 and 325 degrees.)
4.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place ribs meat side down on cool side of grill. Cover (position lid vent over meat if using charcoal) and cook until ribs are deep red and smoky, about 2 hours, flipping and rotating racks halfway through cooking. During final 20 minutes of cooking, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
5.
Transfer ribs to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and brush evenly with ¹⁄
2
cup sauce. Cover tightly with foil and cook in oven until tender, 1 to 2 hours.
6.
Remove ribs from oven and let rest, still covered, for 30 minutes. Unwrap ribs, slice between bones, and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
MAKES ABOUT
1¹⁄
3
CUPS
Store leftover spice rub in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
¹⁄ | cup paprika |
3 | tablespoons celery salt |
3 | tablespoons garlic powder |
2 | tablespoons salt |
2 | tablespoons chili powder |
2 | tablespoons ground cumin |
2 | tablespoons packed dark brown sugar |
1 | tablespoon granulated sugar |
1 | tablespoon dried oregano |
1 | tablespoon white pepper |
1 | tablespoon black pepper |
2 | teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional) |
Combine all ingredients in bowl.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
This sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1 | small onion, chopped fine |
2 | garlic cloves, minced |
2 | tablespoons lemon juice |
1 | tablespoon pepper |
1 | teaspoon paprika |
1 | teaspoon dry mustard |
¹⁄ | teaspoon hot sauce |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
1 | (15-ounce) can tomato sauce |
¹⁄ | cup cider vinegar |
Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice, pepper, paprika, mustard, hot sauce, and salt, bring to simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and vinegar and continue to simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes longer.
Increase lemon juice to ¹⁄
4
cup (2 lemons) and paprika to 2 teaspoons. Add ¹⁄
2
teaspoon liquid smoke and 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar with lemon juice.
Increase vinegar to 6 tablespoons. Add ¹⁄
4
cup molasses, 2 tablespoons sweet sherry, and 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar with tomato sauce.
For an even hotter sauce, add ¹⁄
8
to ¹⁄
4
teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Increase garlic to 4 cloves, lemon juice to ¹⁄
4
cup (2 lemons), and hot sauce to 1 teaspoon. Add one 7-ounce can diced mild green chiles with lemon juice.
