Pork

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Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 lbs center-cut pork loin roast
• 4 to 6 lbs pork belly (skin on)
• 3 tbsps fennel seeds crushed in a mortar and pestle or buzzed in a spice grinder (or use 2 tbsps of seeds and 1tbsp. of fennel pollen)
• 2 tbsps fresh sage (finely chopped/minced)
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (finely chopped/minced)
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 garlic cloves crushed or finely chopped (Use only 3 if they are big)
• Kosher or sea salt for seasoning
• 1 orange seeded and thinly sliced (leave the peel on)
   

Grill Setup:

• Indirect heat.
• Use one small chunk of “mild” soaked fruitwood (apple or cherry). No oak or hickory here, they are too strong. You want this to be “kissed with smoke” and NOT SMOKED.
• Get the grill hot to start (425-450 degrees F)
• Prepare to drop the temperature down to 300 degrees F after the first 40 minutes and then maintain 300 degrees F for another 1-1/2 to 2 hours. 

Chef’s Prep instructions:

• Combine the fennel seeds, sage, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and Garlic in a bowl and set aside.
• Place Pork Belly skin side down on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife cut a checkerboard pattern in the meat side of the belly halfway down to the skin (You’ll have 1-2-inch squares all over when done).
• Turn Pork Belly meat side down and with the tip of a sharp knife poke the skin all over making little holes. Do this until the skin is pocked all over. This will help ensure that the skin renders properly and crisps-up during cooking.
• With skin side up, now pound the pork belly with the rough side of a meat mallet for 2 or 3 minutes to further prepare the skin for its crispy debut.
• Rub the spice mixture all over the pork loin roast and the meat side of the pork belly.
• Salt both generously.
• Arrange/Layer the orange slices on top of the pork loin.
• Carefully place the pork belly around the loin (meat side down against the loin)
• Tie tightly at 1-2 inch intervals with butcher’s twine.
• Refrigerate “uncovered” for 4-6 hours to dry the skin out a bit and flavors to marry.
• Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.

Meat/Other: 

• 4 racks of baby back pork ribs (trimmed of any excess fat and membrane)
• ½ cup of chopped green onions for garnish (white and green parts)

Marinade/Glaze:

• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 cup plum sauce
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup light soy sauce 
• ¼ cup dry sherry 
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons - Chinese or Thai fish  sauce 
• 1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes      
• 6-8 cloves of garlic smashed and finely minced or put through a garlic press
• Mix all marinade ingredients in a nonreactive glass bowl and let sit for 15 minutes or so before using for flavors to meld. 

Grill/Smoker Setup:

Set your grill or smoker up for indirect heat cooking. After coals are hot and begin to get ashen, add 3-4 fist-sized chunks of soaked fruitwood. I recommend appl wood for this. Hickory is too strong, and you want only a medium smoky flavor. Nothing overwhelming. You need to achieve a consistent temperature of 250 degrees for 3-4 hours.

Chef’s Directions:

• Reserve about ½ cup of the marinade/glaze for brushing on to glaze the ribs after they are fully cooked. 
• In a large baking dish or sheet pan, slather both sides of the ribs with some marinade (get a good coating on them). Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before grilling. 
• Remove the ribs from refrigeration and place them on the grill in a single layer (bone side down) or in a rib rack (bone side back). 
• Close the grill and cook for 3 hours at 250 degrees (or until the meat starts to shrink away from the bones). 
• Re-brush the ribs generously with more marinade/glaze every 30 minutes. 
• After 3 hours, quickly remove the ribs to the sheet pan or baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and put the whole thing back on the grill for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes has elapsed, remove from the grill, set the whole thing on a countertop, and rest covered for another 20 minutes. 
• At this point, the ribs are ready for the final glaze and ready to serve BUT you can hold the ribs for an hour or so until your guests arrive. Any longer than that, refrigerate them until ready for use that day. 
• 15 minutes before you are ready to serve them, reglaze with a clean brush using reserved ½ cup of marinade, put them back on the grill, and heat through to tighten up the glaze.
• Serve whole racks on a platter or cut individual ribs and pile them up on plates. Garnish with the chopped green onions. The meat should be fall-off-the-bone tender. 

Meat:

• 1 boneless pork loin roast - min. 4 lbs. (Note: The one in the picture is 7 lbs, serves probably 8 people)

Marinade:

Mix the following ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.

• 1 cup – Dijon mustard 
• ¼ cup – extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon – fresh thyme removed from stems and rough chopped 
• 2 tablespoons – fresh flat-leaf parsley rough chopped
• 10 – cloves of garlic smashed with the outer skin removed

Prep:

Place pork loin in a shallow baking dish and slather the marinade heavily all over. Pour all excess marinade into the baking dish. You will need the extra. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (overnight is better if you have the time).

Grill Setup:

Prepare your grill for direct heat cooking (so you can sear first) and then be ready to convert to indirect heat cooking to achieve and sustain a temperature of 325 degrees for several hours. Have ready one or two chunks of soaked fruitwood (you don’t want this too smoky, so use either one medium-sized chunk or 2 smaller chunks).

Chef’s Directions:

• Remove to the baking dish and slather all of the remaining marinade all over the pork again, garlic and all. Top with 3-4 sprigs of rosemary. Pour ½ cup of chicken broth into the bottom of the baking dish.
• Remove some of the excess marinade so you have a nice uniform coating for searing. Save the rest. You will need it again.
• Sear the pork roast on every side over direct heat. Look for it to be dark brown all over.
• Place the baking dish with pork fat side up into your smoker over indirect heat set at 325 degrees. Close lid on smoker.
• Cook until the internal temperature of the pork reads 120 degrees with an instant-read thermometer (take the temperature from the center of the thickest part of the meat).
• Remove from the BBQ, put on your cutting board, and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for 20 minutes to allow the internal temperature to rise to about 130 degrees.
• Slice into ¼ to ½ inch slices and serve immediately with pan drippings or pan gravy poured over the top.
• While the pork is resting, you can make a pan gravy in the baking dish over your stove burner if you want.
• Remove pork from the refrigerator 20 minutes ahead of time to take the chill off.

Ingredients:

• 4 racks of your favorite baby back pork ribs 
• 4 tbsps BBQ Fool Original Southwestern Rub (per rack) 
• Your favorite "regular" BBQ sauce (Avoid the kind with extra flavorings.)  
• Soaked fruitwood chips—pecan, applewood, or cherry work well (Soak the chips for at least 2 hours in water, beer, wine, or your favorite liquid.)

Grill/Smoker Setup:

Set your grill or smoker up for indirect heat cooking. After coals are hot and begin to get ashen, add 3-4 fist-sized chunks of soaked fruitwood. I recommend applewood for this. Hickory is too strong, and you only want a medium smoky flavor. Nothing overwhelming. You need to achieve a consistent temperature of 250 degrees for 3-4 hours. 

Resting Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• Heavy-duty tin foil (2 sheets per rack of ribs cut to leave 4-5 inches overlap on long ends) 

Chef's Directions:

Start either a gas, coal-fired, or offset firebox grill and prepare for indirect cooking (as discussed above). Use fruitwood chips or chunks in the setup depending on the smoke that you want. Adjust the dampers on the bottom and the top to achieve the desired temperature.
 

Generously dry rub the ribs (on both sides) according to package directions with “Harry's Original Southwestern Style Rub” or use your favorite dry spice rub. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before grilling.
 

When the grill is ready and to temperature, place the ribs directly on the grill and slow-smoke or cook the ribs with the grill closed over indirect low n’ slow heat (250 degrees) turning now and then until each side is a deep mahogany color. This should take about 2 hours.
 

Remove from the heat and place each rack on 2 large pieces of the tin foil (large enough to wrap and close around the ribs). Slather and drizzle with 1/4 of the resting mixture. Wrap tightly into a packet. Return all 4 packets to the grill and cook with low 'n slow heat (still 250 degrees) for another hour turning each of them over halfway through. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes inside the packets. Carefully remove the ribs from the packets (they may be falling off the bone a bit so be careful not to let them separate). Brush a thin layer of BBQ sauce on both sides of the ribs and return them to the grill for another 15 minutes or so to let the sauce thicken a bit and get stickier. Serve tableside with extra sauce and plenty of napkins and wet wipes!!!