As many of you may know, I often pull recipe ideas out of thin air and simply put them to paper w/o testing, retesting, dissecting and testing again.  This is one of those times.  Let’s focus on the technique of the thing…coffee marinated wood chips on the grill and a big ole’ pork butt!!  How hard can it be??? 

 

  • 1 Pork Butt (they generally run between 5-8 pounds)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Wood Chips
  • Water to cover

 

OK – so this is how I envision it, because I’ve never smoked anything…

In a large roasting pan, lay down your wood chips, sprinkle liberally with coffee and add just enough water to cover.  Mix well and let stand for few hours.  You don’t want them completely dry, but not sopping whet either.  If you’re in a time crunch, put them in your oven at a very low temp (150-175) to partially dry out.  The wet wood is your smoking element. 

Remove chips and line the roasting pan with aluminum foil and put a single layer of the chips down, place roasting rack over the chips.

Remove the pork butt from the frig and let stand for about 20 minutes to come up to room temperature.  Peel and halve garlic cloves and make little insertions in the pork with a pairing knife and stuff the garlic in.  Salt and Pepper the meat.

Preheat your grill to 225 degrees, leaving the center unit off.  If you are using charcoal, push the fire to one side.  Basically, you are eliminating direct heat.  If you’re using a smoker, you’re on your own here.

Put the Pork on the grill and close the lid.  Conventional wisdom suggests 1.5 hours of cooking time per pound when done in a smoker.  With a propane grill, I’m guessing about 4-6 hours.  KEY:  remove from smoker when internal temperature reaches 140 degrees.

Remove pork butt from grill and wrap in several layers of aluminum foil.  Let stand in your kitchen for 45 minutes to an hour.  Unwrap and pull the pork, placing meat in a bowl. 

Brandy Sauce:

  • 1 T. Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Cup Pork Shavings (preferably from the exterior of the meat – finely chopped)
  • 1/4 Cup Shallot – minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 Cups Quality Beef Stock
  • 2 T. Dijon Mustard
  • 1 Cup Brandy
  • Slurry of water and cornstarch

In a large saute pan, heat vegetable oil over medium high and add the pork shavings, shallot and garlic.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes until shallot gets soft.  Increase heat to high and add the Beef Stock.  Cook until reduced by 1/2.  Add the mustard and Brandy and cook again, until the smell of alcohol dissipates entirely.

Whisk in the slurry of water and cornstarch, or you could go completely off the charts and add heavy cream as your thickener.

You could serve this up as the main event on your plate accompanied with some serious potatoes, sweet potato fries, or slap it on a bun with a big piece of Havarti.  YUM!

I’m going to give this recipe a whirl over the weekend…will keep you posted.  If you have any suggestions or simply think I’m a complete LOON, do let us know:)