Kalua Pua'a - Hawaiian Pulled Pork

Kalua Pua'a means Pig in a Pit. I typically never have a whole pig (Ok I've really NEVER had a whole pig!)... so I use a Boston Butt (why do they call it a butt anyway? It's a shoulder!!) And since my house is entirely surrounded by concrete... the 'pit' is my oven!

I made this for the first time several years ago when I had a luau New Year's Eve Party. It was a huge hit and I usually make it a couple times a year.

I was trying to think of things besides spicy things and dippy things to make for the SuperBowl. Also, it had to be easy, because I wanted to be able to watch the game too!

Kalua Pua'a! Perfect... toss that baby into the oven, and it will just need shredding later. Then a little while before the game, I just put it into a crock pot to keep warm. The only hard part would be finding King's Hawaiian Rolls to serve it on! (none of my local stores consistently have them)



3 lb Pork Butt Roast
2 C water
1/4 C liquid smoke
1/4 Kosher salt (or Hawaiian sea salt)

Put roast fat side up in a baking pan or Dutch oven.
Mix water and liquid smoke pour over roast and rub in.
Cover roast with salt.
Cover pan with a tight fitting lid or tightly sealed foil.
Bake at 350 for 3.5 hours.
Remove from oven.
Shred meat with forks, pour liquid back into meat.
We made sandwiches on Kings Hawaiian Sweet bread... Portuguese bread would be really good too... or Filipino Pan de Sal.

How easy is that??!!

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I like to use my cast iron dutch oven for this.


Put your pork butt into the pot, fat side up.


Now you need to mix the liquid smoke with the water. I like hickory for this. You could try mesquite... or whatever flavor smoke you like. (those are the only two flavors I've ever seen)




Pour it over the pork and rub it in.


Now for the salt. I try to keep all of the salt right on top of the meat. I know it sounds like a TON of salt... but it makes a crust that you will just pull off. I promise... the meat isn't wicked salty when you're done!




Cover it up... I also like to seal the top with foil.




Now into the oven for 3.5 hours.

Ok... this is the side view of pork when it comes out. You can see the salt crust at the top edge.


The salt lifts right off.




That fat cap also peels right off.


That fat seems to surround lobes of meat and is really easy to separate. Fat freaks me out... so I really go through and pull it out and toss it into a garbage bowl as I go.

Now just shred it with forks.






Now even though I covered my pan with foil, most of the liquid cooked out of it. So I just added some water and whisked it to get some of the yummy pan juices to add to my shredded meat. (again.. promise it's not salty)








Ok... time to eat! (yeah... these are slider sized... so you'll want to eat a lot of them!!)




I hope you like them as much as we do!

Honey Curry Wings & Win a KitchenAid

So it's been a crazy week. Getting ready for the Super Bowl (and winning!) and trying (and succeeding) to win a KitchenAid Food Processor from BakeSpace!

So really quick... I just wanted to put up last night's dinner.

Honey Curry Wings ~ YUM!

Jon (aka Hector) makes all the wing sauce in our house. Last night I realized that they all start with Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce and get tweaked from there.

When he was making his Curry Habanero Sauce for the SuperBowl (SIX-PACK BABY!!!) I was taking a shower. He tasted the sauce before he added all the peppers and thought I'd really like it. So he brought me a chip dipped in the habanero-less sauce. I LOVED it! But of course, the SuperBowl calls for HOT wings... and at my house, the hotter the better.

Anyway.... I had about 3 lbs of unfried wings, due to a lower guest count than anticipated, so I fried them up last night.

I asked Jon how he'd like them and told him that I didn't really want to do hot wings this time.

He suggested the sauce that I loved in the shower! Yay!! Great idea!!

Soooo... I just named it Honey Curry Sauce. Sticky things usually freak me out, but I love lots of honey in the wing sauce.

Jon cut the recipe in half, which ended up perfect for my 3.19lbs of wings.



Honey Curry Sauce (this is the 1/2 recipe)
1/2 C Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
1/2 C butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 C honey
1/4 C Dijon mustard
1 Tbls sweet curry
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
big splash of tequila

Mince garlic. Saute garlic in a sauce pan with a bit of oil. Deglaze pan with a big splash of tequila.
Add Frank's and butter and whisk. Add mustard and honey and whisk some more.
Now add the curry, cumin, chili powder and salt.
Simmer for 10 minutes and toss with wings!

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Ok... so saute your garlic


I must have missed the tequila.... but that goes in next...

Then add butter & Franks...


Next up... mustard and honey...




And your spices...


Whisk... whisk... whisk...


Then just let it simmer for about 10 minutes. You can set it to low while you fry up your wings.

I like to use fresh, never frozen chicken wings. I think they come out crispier.

I dump them into a bowl and pat them dry with a kitchen towel (make sure that towel goes directly into the laundry!)

Then I season them with seasoned salt & freshly ground black pepper.


Get your oil heated up to 350F - 375F. I like to start at 375F, because adding the wings instantly drops the temperature. Then I try to keep it around 350F.

Gently add your wings to the oil.. be careful... it could really splash and bubble up.


Fry until golden brown... usually around 10 minutes.


Gently remove them from the oil.


I usually just put them on a wire rack, or a rack covered with one of my cloth kitchen napkins. I had paper napkins left over from the SuperBowl, so I covered my wire rack with those.


Don't those look good??


Ok... now for the sauce.

I like to use a plastic bowl with a cover.

I put a little sauce in the bottom.


Then add some wings.




And some more sauce. (this batch of sauce is perfect for around 3lbs of wings)


Cover it up tightly (you definitely don't want the lid to come off while you're shaking it!)


Shake it baby!


All sauced up and ready to eat!!


Yeah... I didn't make anything to go with it... just wings!


Jon and I are the perfect wing eating couple. He likes the drummettes and I like the flat part.

He's a much neater wing eater than I am. Bones all stacked neatly as he moves on to the next.


Mine... haphazardly tossed away as a grab for another one!


They were sooooo good!!!!


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Did she say KitchenAid?



So about now you're thinking, "the wings look good" (or not!) But she mentioned WINNING a KitchenAid Food Processor... how'd she do that??? And can I win one????

Well... The answer is YES YOU CAN!!! BakeSpace and KitchenAid are giving away a KitchenAid Appliance A Day for the month of February. You can win by joining BakeSpace, entering your recipes and getting other people to join. They are also giving away TWO... yes, I said TWO, Grand Prize KitchenAid Stand Mixers on March 1st.

Not a BakeSpace member yet?

Doncha think it's time you joined??

DDpie's Slice !

My friend DD's blog, DDpie's Slice is now up!

Check it out! She's putting up lots of stuff she has saved up! She's incredibly creative!

When you get there, click on her slide show for a sneak preview of some of her beautiful work!

Follow her blog... you won't be disappointed!
DDpie's Slice

(You're thinkging, "all exclamation points?" right? That's because I'm so excited to see what she puts up next!)

Omnivore's 100

I thought this looked cool... so here goes!

How the Omnivore's 100 Works:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional: Post a comment at Very Good Taste, linking to your results.


(47/100) My Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - does alligator count?
6. Black Pudding
7. Cheese Fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho - I want to try this!
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns - YUM
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese - I'd try to try this
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - not with a fat cigar or any cigar
37. Clotted Cream Tea
38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O - Oh yeah!
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - I guess the worm in tequila isn't an insect
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin - I want to try this!
51. Prickly pear - I want to try this too!
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (does a sip of my hubby's count?)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine - YUM
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict - YUM
83. Pocky
84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Only 47... looks like I have some food to try!

Lambic ~ Cantillion Iris

We tried this just before we started Wine Tasting. Since neither of us drink wine, we thought we'd practice on beer. Something Jon knows very well and I've been getting more experienced with.

I don't really like beer. I do like the fruity lambics... Lindemans Framboise is my favorite. It's completely unbeer-like.

Since in PA there are so many rules & regulations regarding alcohol sales, when you do find cool beers, they cost a fortune. At least WAY more than in MA, which is how I view them. So every time I go visit my family in MA, I come back with few single beers, that I think Jon will like. Even though I don't like beer, I'm pretty good at picking them out, just from hanging out with him.

Jon pulled out a Lambic that I picked up for him last time I was in MA. It was a 2005 Cantillon Iris. It was just a straight up lambic. I had never tried one before. (How different can it be from Framboise?) But the shelf tag went on and on about it being an award winning Lambic... so into the cart it went.

This is from the importer:
Iris is made in the style of lambic – fermented by wild yeasts and aged in oak wine casks at the brewery – but with a couple of big differences. First, it is made entirely from malted barley, whereas traditional lambic uses one third unmalted wheat. In addition, the brewery has used fresh Hallertau hops in the boil and for dry-hopping the Iris. (Traditional lambic calls for hops that have been aged for several years, which impart virtually no hop flavor to the finished product.)

Iris is a rare and unusual treat to thrill the connoisseur of traditional Belgian beers – absolutely, utterly unique.


From the brewer:
The Cantillon brewery is closely linked to Brussels, a city which has the iris as its symbol. As the name indicates, the "marsh iris" is a plant growing in humid areas. The historical center of Brussels is built on swamps where this flower used to grow abundantly.
Iris

Artist : Julie Van Roy, 1998

In 1998, the Brussels Museum of the Gueuze celebrated its 20th anniversary. The Cantillon brewery decided to make a new spontaneous fermentation beer for this occasion, named after this symbolic flower.

It is a completely original beer which, contrary to the other products of the Brewery, is not brewed with 35% of wheat. The Iris, which is only made with malt of the pale ale type (giving a more amber colour to the beer) conserves the typical flavour of the spontaneous fermentation, the complex aromas and the vinous taste.

The hopping is different too. Lambic is made with 100% dried hops, for the Iris we use 50% of dried hops and 50% of fresh hops. The latter cause a superb acidity, the former, due to their tannins, enable to conserve the beer while preserving all its qualities.

After two years in the barrel, the Iris undergoes a second fresh hopping two weeks before the bottling. A linen bag, filled with hops, is soaked in the beer for two weeks. This technique, called "cold hopping", gives the beer a more intense savour and makes the smell and the taste more bitter.

Iris is brewed only once every season and all the beers come from the same brewing. This is why the beer is dated. The second fermentation is obtained by adding liquor.

Although it is a spontaneous fermentation beer, the Iris is very different from the Lambic. The amber colour and the bitter and slightly caramelized taste make it a complex beer.

Sounds good doesn't it?







My review:
Color ~ Dark amber/orangy color - pretty =)
Head ~ small nice light head
Lacing ~ a bit of lacing on the glass
Smell ~ ummm smells like beer (I say that to Jon all the time!) Ok... but after really smelling it... it's pretty funky... and a little citrusy and maybe a little spicy...
Flavor ~ Usually I say, tastes like beer... but not this time. I have to say, this lambic instantly and completely assaulted my mouth. The first flavors/tastes were overwhelmingly sour vinegary bitter orange. I couldn't get past that. I swallowed it and it immediately felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Also, my tongue felt very pruned.

I thought, crap... I got a bad bottle... we went upstairs to read reviews online....

You can read reviews here.

I guess it's supposed to be funky... stinky cheese rind, wet dog, funky barnyard, dirty socks... those are actual (good??) reviews! (why do people really want to drink this???)

So Jon & I were busy trying to name all of the funky flavors in this bitter nasty brew. The next day, I realized that he'd never actually said if liked it. He likes things that I find completely revolting, so I really had no idea.

He said that he didn't like it. It was a challenge to drink or to find any redeeming qualities about it.

So there you have it! If you like SOUR, bitter, funky barnyard in your brew, this Lambic is for you!

And while I'm sending Thank Yous...

Thank you Melissa from Of Soup & Love for your cool FoodNetwork Magazine giveaway!!

I'm excited! I can't wait to receive my first issue!

A Big Thank You!!

I just wanted to say a big public THANK YOU to DD!!!

DD helped (ummmm did all the work) to expand by blog to three columns!

I tried (and failed miserably) to do this myself.

DD doesn't have a blog yet... but you can check out her profile over at BakeSpace.

She has cool recipes & GORGEOUS cakes!

Thank you DD!!!!

Birmingham Bridge Tavern & Beer Reviews

So Saturday morning Jon woke up wanting Fish & Chips from the Birmingham Bridge Tavern. I LOVE LOVE LOVE their Jerk Chicken Wings, so I was more than happy to head over there for a late lunch. We invited Ericka & Drew (you might remember them from most of the gatherings at my house!) As it turned out, they had car trouble and couldn't make it.

Jon & I walked about 8 or 10 blocks from our house to the BBT (Birmingham Bridge Tavern) and took seats at the bar.

Kristin was are bartender. She's the owner's girlfriend and totally cool!

While Jon was perusing the beer selections, I asked if they had any brewed iced tea. She said that it would be a couple of minutes, but she'd make me some and disappeared off to the kitchen! What a sweetie!

By the time she returned, Jon had decided on a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout.



It was a very dark brown with a slight reddish tinge that you could only see if you held it up to the light.

The darkish foamy head dissipated pretty fast.

Let me start by saying, I'm not a beer drinker. I took a sip... and I've actually progressed a little past my standard answer of "it tastes like beer".

Ok, to me it did smell like beer. My first sip tasted sweet and almost mapley. Jon said, it's not maple, it's sweet from the malt. It had a bit of a bite but from the roasted roasted barley, not hops. Even though it wasn't a 'thick' beer, it had a lot of mouth feel.

Jon really liked it. Ummm... it's beer, so I'll definitely pass.

Then onto the next beer!
Jon decided he'd like to try a Baltika 8 Wheat Beer



Big fluffy head, that didn't last very long. Jon said it smells like the floor of a beer cooler... but said that's not a bad thing (really? doesn't sound so good to me!)

Jon took a sip and said, "mmmmmm" "It's interesting"

Ok... it kinda smelled & tasted like beer to me.

Jon: you can tell it's a wheat beer, but not German yeast, it's like an American wheat.

I thought it was a little citrusy. We both noted the lack of banana flavor you usually get in a wheat beer.

Would he have this one again? Probably not. It was ok. But not a winner.

And for his next beer! (hey we walked... plus I was only drinking iced tea... plus there is food coming up)

He chose a Barley Wine. I have NEVER tried a Barley Wine that I like. I take a sip and usually make a squinchy face that feels like I'm turning my face inside out. This was no different.

He picked Heavy Seas Below Decks Barley Wine



You can't really tell from the picture, but it's a nice dark copper color.

Jon didn't really have anything good to say about this Barley Wine.

He's made better Barley Wine. It's weak for Barley Wine. No mouth feel. Malt flavor doesn't last. It tastes watered down. It has a yucky aftertaste.

He definitely won't be having this again.

Ok... those are the beer reviews... although Kristin did create a beer drink for us that I'll add to the end.

On to the food!

Unfortunately for Jon, they were out fish. He usually gets the fish & chips when he goes. (he goes more often than I do, with his band)

He decided to get a burger with onion rings. One of the things he likes best about the BBT is that the food is always very hot. Lots of time pub/bar food could be hotter. But at the BBT, everything is piping hot! His burger was great. He usually gets a side of Thousand Island dressing, which you can see dripping down his hand. Also, all of these pictures were taken with Jon's phone and don't begin to illustrate how good everything is!



The onion rings were so crispy and delicious! It's a huge serving and even when we were full, we kept eating them! We did bring the left overs home and later on, a couple minutes in the toaster oven and they were still perfect!


I love their House Saland & French Onion Soup. I get it every time I go. At most places I try to try something different every time. Not here. I have my favorites and stick to them!

Yum! Hot melty cheesy French Onion Soup!


And my favorite favorite favorite... Jerk Wings!!! Every single time I drive by, I say, "I want some Jerk Wings" They come in as the #7 wings on their scale of 1 - 10. I think Erik the Red is #10... the hottest. But the Jerk Wings are so deliciously different, I always get them! They're not really 'saucy' like other hot wings. They are always piping hot and crispy!


And because I LOVE their Jerk stuff so much!! I got an order of Fried Pierogies w/Jerk Sauce to go! Into the toaster oven with the onion rings... Snack Time is ON!


We were talking to Kristin about drinks made with beer and she was wondering how a Hoegaarden would taste in a glass that had been swirled with Raspberry Schnapps. So she pulled out 3 glasses and poured some Raspberry Schnapps into each one. She swirled it around, dumped it and poured in the Hoegaarden. Wow! They were tasty! Even a non-beer drinker like me liked it!

So my last pic of the day... from the kinda blurry camera phone is ummmmm... I don't think we named it! But you can see the slight tinge of pink from the Raspberry Schnapps.


Their website is currently down... but you should definitely stop by for wings & beer! You won't be disappointed!

Birmingham Bridge Tavern
2901 Sarah Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
412-381-2739

Found it! (Choco-chip cookie brownies)

I didn't find 'the' blog that I saw originally. But I found it on Bakerella's Blog. It's a Betty Crocker recipe!

Bakerella is up for a Weblog Award!

Check out her cool blog... she has awesome pics and cool stuff!

Chocolate Chip Cookie on the Bottom - Brownie on Top??

Ugh!! I need to get better at bookmarking things!!

I can picture the brownies... yes... there was a bite gone! They might have been on a green plate.

I commented that they'd probably be in my Super Bowl spread.

Can I find the blog now? NO

They are certainly easy enough to make... but I really want to link back.

Can you help me find these decadent treats?

She used Ghirardelli Caramel Turtle Brownie Mix.

Again... thank you!!!