I have been experimenting lately with burnt ends- Pork belly works really well, is versatile and relatively easy.  You will need the following, besides a charcoal grill.  If you don’t have a Kamado style smoker then a Weber Kettle will work.  Just arrange the  charcoal in a daisy chain on the outer portion of the grill with a drip pan in the middle, starting the charcoal at one end so it burns slowly.  Adding wood every so often in your chain will allow for a nice smokiness.

• Charcoal
• 6 Lbs Pork belly, cut into roughly 1 inch cubes
• dry rub
• aluminum pans (at least 3)
• foil
• Honey
• Brown Sugar
• Stick of butter
• BBQ sauce

The following video will show you how to make delicious Pork Belly burnt ends!  Enjoy

Daisy Chain the charcoal for an even slow cook

I have had much success cooking various meats on the Big Green Egg including Leg of Lamb, Chicken, Turkey, Brisket, Pulled Pork and Ribs but this is my first foray into Tri-Tip.  The cut is very popular in California, rarely seen in Virginia but I figured out that my local Wegman’s stocks some.  The first one I made was on the Weber gas grill.  It was awesome.  Once I got the courage up I was ready to try it on the BGE.

First try- on the Weber

Perfection on the gas

It was Moxie’s birthday yesterday so I got the biggest slab of tri-tip I could find.  It’s not expensive per pound and it serves up well on day two as a sandwich filler so I was inclined to go big rather than risk running out.

I started with a rubbing of olive oil to help coat the meat with a dry rub- onion powder, garlic, salt, white pepper.  The meat was left out to normalize while I lit the charcoal.  Searing at full heat for 2 minutes per side plus another 2 minutes per side to get the cross hatch patterns.  I removed the meat from the grill, put the heat diffuser in and placed the roast back in the center, adjusting the vents for 325F indirect heat.  I cooked until internal temps hit 140F.  Once done the meat was tented under foil for 20 minutes then cut across the grain.  It was amazing.  I highly recommend looking for this cut.  If using a gas grill, sear on high heat, then turn a burner off.  Place the meat over that burner and adjust the others to maintain the 325F or so temp that will slowly cook this tasty cut into perfection. I paired it with salad and sautéed mushrooms.  For wine- a Cosentino Cabernet Franc did the trick.  Salut….

The slab, slathered in Olive oil

Covered in onion, garlic, salt and pepper rub

Crispy perfection

Just right inside

I smoke a Pork Butt on the Big Green Egg at least once a month.  All my boys love it and my youngest son will fry up leftovers in the mornings with some Taco seasoning sprinkled for an added twist.  It’s delicious with eggs and salsa too!

I started this cook with two 6 pound Boston Butts, they were on sale for $0.99 per pound- literally a steal.  The Egg was preheated to about 250F and the Pork was prepared with a slathering of plain old yellow mustard and liberally coated with BBQ Bros Carolina rub.  This is the second style of their rub that I have used.

A liberal coating of Carolina style BBQ Bros rub

Pork is so easy, it doesn’t really care about the temperature that much and is pretty much ready when the internal temp is between 195-205F.  I like to let mine go to the 205 mark as the meat, fat and tendons are fully rendered at that point.  It makes the meat literally fall apart.  I use meat shredders now as I cook this cut so often, but if you are just getting started you can cheat and use two spaghetti spoons, or two large forks.  You will eventually buy the shredders.

Shredders, you will thank me later

My two hunks took 12 hours with the average temperature at 250F.  The outside was dark in color, the smoke ring evident and the internal meat was succulent with a hint of smoke.  The tasty rub added a nice zing. Bang for the buck this is the best way to get to know your Big Green Egg or other Kamado style smoker.  Try different rubs, different mustards, different hardwood chunks ( I do not soak mine BTW).  I tend to buy a big bag of Mesquite chunks for my smoker and the flavors I get from 4-5 chunks per cook are exactly the level of smoke I like.  I ended up drinking red wine with my dinner, but beer works great too.  Some people get all fancy with foil baths, injections of spice-  the simpler the better in this case.  Salut….

Ready to go!

Some of you may know that my youngest son is a competitive Ice Dancer, as in he trains 6 hours per day right now.  This makes him a very hungry boy, so he asked for and got a smoked Turkey, albeit just the breast as June is not really Turkey season.

I looked up some recipes and thought about how I did them at Thanksgiving time.  Opting for a more smoked dish, I did somethings different this time.  The breast was basically the whole bird, minus the drums and wings, but was pretty hefty at 9 pounds.  The directions on the package said to roast at 350F for 3 1/2 hours.  I covered the bird in a light coating of avocado oil so the skin would crisp, then I rubbed some BBQ Bros California rub that I just got onto the bird.  The Egg had been preheating to 350F and I made sure to add lots of wood chunks before placing the heat diffuser in.

After barely 2 hours, the internal temps indicated the bird was cooked at 180 degrees, which surprised me somewhat.  Next time, I will go for a lower internal temp of 170 at the most.  I removed it from the grill, tented it and left it in the cool oven.  At dinner time, I split the breasts off the carcass and sliced the meat across the grain.  This method makes sure each piece has a section of skin, which was delicious, smoky and crisp all at the same time.  I recommend this technique and will be doing it that way from now on.  Overall a very satisfying dinner that had my older kids clamoring for leftovers in the middle of the night!

Covered in rub, 350 degrees

California Rub

The finished bird

Across the grain!

I know, this is a wine blog.  But I also love cooking on the Big Green Egg ceramic grill. I have done chicken, turkey, steaks, legs of lamb, brisket but never ribs.  Today is the trial.  I am using a slow cook of 5 hours with a portion of that time spent in a tin foil bath of apple juice.

I started off with two racks of baby back ribs, to which I slathered a thin coating of mustard.  I do this with all my slow cooks as it gives the meat a moist base for the rub to stick to without overpowering the flavors.  For the actual rub, I bought some Pork Barrel BBQ rub from Costco to try out.  I normally mix my own, but rubs are generally pretty standard and this brand happens to have some good sauces:

• Salt
• Garlic powder
• Onion Powder
• Chili
• Paprika
• Cilantro
• Pepper
• Anything else in the cupboard

Once the meat was rubbed and the coals set to about 230F I put the diffuser in the Egg, placed a water bath on top of it and laid the meat on to the grate so there was no direct heating.

Mustard and Dry Rub

Indirect 230F heat/smoke

The meat was cooked for 2 hours of indirect heat followed by two hours wrapped up in foil with some apple juice. The juice adds moisture and allows the meat to fall off the bone. The final hour of the 5 hour cook will be spent without the foil, ensuring the crust gets a little crispy.  I really enjoyed these ribs and will tinker some more with rubs, cooking times and sauces.  All you need is some cold beer or perhaps a glass of Shiraz!  Salut….

The ribs, in all their glory.