Episode VI.c - Saturday morning, party day

First my wireless thermometer quit working, maybe because of the rain. Was reading huge numbers then just went dead. Stupid @## thermometer. So I set the alarm for 7:00 AM to check. But temps were way to low after 8 hours of cooking. The Komodo was down to 190. Since I had just cooked the shoulder I knew exactly where I had set the vents, but maybe the air in the rain has changed. I can imagine some interesting physics or thermodynamics, but none of that is helping me now. Guests are due at 4:00, so I open up the vents some more and go back to bed. It is still raining.

About 1:00 and things are looking better. Rain stopped about 11:00, got the yard mowed and then pulled the brisket after 14 hours. Looks pretty good.











And check the beans down below. Good first impression.













However, all is not well. They're edible, but not the right texture. Suffering from not soaking I presume. So I scraped off the top layer and then set them at a slow boil on the stove.











Meanwhile, the brisket has turned out wonderful. Full of flavor and very tender. I cut off the point and I put it back on the cooker for another hour and a half. I'm going to split it between the beans and a retry of the burnt ends.










While the point was back on the cooker "burning", it was time to finish the pulled pork. I had enough that I decided to split it and prepare two ways. The first is kind of a Mexican-style Verde Pulled Pork that I've made before. I mix the pork with green salsa, some green chilies, a little BBQ sauce and some Rotel. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer an hour or so. (I forgot to take a picture). Then I took the rest of the pork and fixed it what I call cabrito style, though I am not sure that makes sense here. Anyway.... I popped it in a skillet with some of the vinegar sop mop that I had basted the outside with previously. It had become more flavorful after sitting around for a day. I just let the pork simmer 5 minutes till the mop evaporated and then put in a big pot to say warm. The mop really added a little zing and moisture and came out wonderful.





The mojo sauce is still pretty disappointing though. After rereading the recipe it seems to imply that maybe it was a cooking baste, not a dip. Bummer. But it also mentions that it is good with butter, so after a little experimentation it seems that a ration of about 2/3 butter to 1/3 mojo yielded something pretty tasty. Also interesting that all of a sudden you can really taste the lime.

After all that I grabbed the brisket point and cut it up. About half going in the beans and half I mixed with some KC Masterpiece and put back on the cooker yet another hour and half at about 350 degrees. More of a KC style burnt end than what is in the Big Bob Gibson book.


The burnt ends came out fantastic. Thank goodness I sampled heavily otherwise these guys were gone before we even really starting serving!



And thank goodness, the beans were rescued and came out very good too. About 17 hours of cooking, but really tasty and finally soft!












Conclusions:

1) This 2nd brisket was better than the first. Maybe you can attribute some of it to my growing mastery of the Komodo, but even so I think the paste gave it a better flavor & bark, and it is clear that you don't need to wrap it in foil to get a tender meal

2) The pulled pork was the best yet, and the mop sauce ended up quite flavorful. Very pleasant surprise.

3) I am a big fan of the crunchier style of burnt ends, and that seemed to be consistent with the guests

4) I really liked my modified pig dip. The vinegar and the Tabasco gave it a very nice zing. I could find myself making this one again.

5) Although I wasn't real big on the mustard sauce, it seemed quite popular.

6) Won't be making the mojo sauce again

7) Soak your beans! But even so, the beans came out with super flavor. The smoke and meat really made them almost a meal of their own.

8) Finally: Despite a little stress, I had a great time. Should've taken more pictures, but was too busy eating & drinking. Tull next time....