The Angry Jew

The rantings of an Angry Jew in The Pacific Northwest

Over the recent holiday weekend, I decided to try something new.

Every region of the country has it’s own take on BBQ.  One of the tastes I have never explored is the slight sweet and sour flavor of Carolina style BBQ.  I decided to give it a try with the pulled pork I smoked on Sunday.

It got its usual rubdown with yellow mustard and then my own spice rub.  After six hours over hickory and another two in the oven, wrapped in foil, my Boston Butt was fall apart tender with a great black crust.  Rather then shred it, I decided to chop it to retain more substance.  It took about five minutes work with a cleaver to reduce the roast to small juicy morsels.

Now at this point I would have doused the pork in a sweet tomato based sauce and this is where i took a turn to the left.

South Carolina is known for it’s mustard based BBQ sauces.

After a little hunting around, I found the following recipe for “Big Daddy’s Carolina BBQ Sauce.”

• 1 cup prepared yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter

Combine all ingredients except butter and soy sauce in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the butter and soy and simmer for ten more minutes.

Now I have tweaked it just a little bit as the product I got was just a little thicker then I would have liked, so I upped the water from 1/4 cup to 1/2 and I have omitted an ingredient, 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke, as it was redundant given the pork was smoked.

It might be nice to include it if you were to use this sauce as a pour over for grilled meats of chicken.

If you are hankering for something different this grilling season, I strongly recommend you give this sauce a try.

Let me know what you think

I Love Pastrami.

I always have.  Since I was a kid.  Maybe it resonates with my Jewish DNA somehow.

A few weeks back I had some time to think about the coming decent weather we are supposed to have here in Oregon, any day now, so they have been telling us since April.  As my patio has no cover, the summer months are prime smoking months.

So, the question before me was, what to smoke this summer.

My ribs are perfected.  I can hold my own on salmon.  My pulled pork gets raves.  The brisket still needs work, but it’s an ordeal in a water smoker.  So, I thought what else is there?

And then it hit me.

Pastrami!!!

A pastrami is just a smoked corned beef brisket, I can do this.

As with all new projects, it took a bit of research before i felt comfortable actually contemplating a cook.

OK, lets start with the basics.

A corned beef brisket is a beef brisket that has been corned or cured using a brine.  The brisket soaks in a salt solution flavored with Bay Leaf, Coriander, Black Pepper, Juniper Berries and Mustard Seed.  Sodium Nitrate is added to give the meat its distinctive pink color.

After it has soaked for a week to ten days, what you have now is a corned beef.

To turn this into a pastrami, one merely coats it with a pepper based rub and smokes it.  Now, commercially produced pastrami is cold smoked, that is, smoked at around 68 degrees.  However, during my research, I found several hot smoke recipes, so I condensed them down into a very basic process so that I could tweek it as I went.

I purchased a 3 pound commercial corned beef and the local grocery and rinsed it off and discarded the enclosed spice packet.  No need for it here.

Next, I placed it to soak in a pan of water for two hours.  This was to remove some of the salt that the meat had picked up when it was cured.

While i was waiting I prepared my rub.

There was a plethora of rub recipes to choose from so I decided that for the first time out, I would use the KISS principal.  All together, Keep It Simple Stupid.

I combined 3 tablespoons of black peppercorns, I teaspoon of whole coriander seeds , 1 teaspoon of whole mustard seed and 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic.  I ground it up in my trusty coffee grinder and once the meet was done soaking I covered it in the rub and it was off to the smoker.

Rubbed and Ready

I used hickory, most of the recipes called for lighter woods such as maple and alder, but it was what i had on hand so I decided to go for it.  I have been playing around with a new innovation that sadly I can not take credit for.  I have replaced the chip box in my smoker with a cast iron frying pan.  DUHHH!!!

Chip Pan 2.0

It holds the heat beautifully and can accommodate a full bag of soaked chips.  The down side is that it will take longer to start smoking but then it will last for 3 1/2 to four hours.  Just be sure to cover the pan with foil and poke three or four good sized holes in it.

Ready To Go

Once everything was ready it was off to the races.

Most of the experts agreed that the optimum temperature was in the 225-235 range, so that is what I used.

I was shooting for an internal temp of 160 degrees, but after four hours of smoking, my chips were exhausted and I had still only reached 140, so I decided to move my little science project to the oven.  It went into a 300 degree oven for another hour until I got to 160.

It looked great, but the truth is in the tasting.

Finished Product

To be honest, I was surprised.  It was pretty darned tasty.  The smoke flavor was very prominent without being overpowering.  There was a lot of heat from the pepper rub and there was noticeable saltiness from the brineing process.  I will have to wait and see what some of my official tasters have to say before I call this one a win.

I have all ready figured out a few tweeks for my next attempt.

1. They rub needs to be a ground a little coarser and I am going to increase the mustard and coriander to thin the pepper a bit.
2. If I am going to continue to use store bought corned beef, it is going to have to soak longer, I am thinking 4 hours.
3. As much as I love the hickory flavor, next time I am going to try two parts hickory to 1 part alder and 1 part cherry.

Stay tuned as I am going to stay at this until I get it right.

Now, as regular readers know, I don’t usually promote products, but I have come across something pretty special that I thought I would share with you all.

I was at Portland’s Saturday Market last month and picked up a jar of Kens King Of The Cajun Louisiana Mix Seasoning and finally had a chance to use it.

I smoked some baby back ribs on Sunday and used Kens Seasoning as my rub.

Yes, I know, Brandon of bbqPDX.com advocates making rubs from only the freshest ingredients, I was feeling lazy and I was out of a few ingredients I needed to make my own.

Well Brandon, I have to tell you, as a bottled rub, Kens blew me away.  The mix of spicy and savory was right on the mark and made a perfect compliment to the awesome sweet sauce I was using, courtesy of Kevin, owner of Carbonis Wood Fired Pizza and BBQ.

You can find Kens King Of The Cajun Brand Spices at The Portland Saturday Market or through their website.

Portland was been blessed with a fine spring day Sunday, and you know the saying, in spring a young mans fancy turns to…Ribs. OK, OK, I know it is supposed to be love, but The Angry Jew is still single, so I do what I can.

I had a hard time trying to decide whether or not to share this one, as ribs are my specialty, but hell, this is My Legacy, so all of you get to benefit from the fact I opted not to reproduce.

Like all of my recipes, it is up to you to tweak it to your own tastes. Like all BBQ, almost every cooker will tell you that THEIR way is best. I know what I like and what works for me.

THE MEAT

Quality is key. Stay away from the grocery store. You are going to pay to much and the quality is just not going to be there. Butcher shops or restaurant supply stores, such as Costco and United Grocery is THE way to go. For the package of St Louis Ribs pictured here, I paid $28 for three full racks. A SINGLE rack of baby backs in a grocery store will run you between $13 and $15.

But before you buy, you have to decide what kind of pork ribs you are going to cook. The three different cuts are:

• SPARERIBS- Cut from the belly ribs of our friend the swine, spareribs are usually the cheapest and fattiest cut. That is not to say they do not have their place. I have heard some cooks advocate boiling them prior to grilling to get a tender product. I must confess I have not done much work with them and I don’t really feel I am knowledgeable enough recommend them either pro or con.
• BABYBACKS- These ribs are cut from near the spine of the hog and they are the ones you will most likely be served in restaurants. They have a decent amount of meat on them, and just enough fat, however, I have found they can have a tendency to dry out and be a little tough if not marinated prior to cooking. For those times that I choose to cook babybacks, I will usually soak them in beer overnight to tenderize them and add a little flavor. For some odd reason, cheap beer seems to work best. My current favorite beer to use is Pabst Blue Ribbon.
• St Louis Ribs- In my humble, oh hell, who ever said I was humble, opinion St Louis cut ribs are the only way to go. These are cut from the side of the hog and have what I feel to have the best balance of meat to fat. I have not had to soak them to get good results and they are now my first choice for the smoker. You will pay a premium for them, if you can find them at all, at a grocery store.

PREPERATION

Since I have started to work with St Louis cut ribs, my prep time has been cut to almost nothing. Once you have removed the ribs from their packaging, rinse them off in cool water and blot them dry with paper towels. If you flip them over you will notice that a part of the underside of the ribs is covered by a clear/whitish membrane. This has got to go.

I find a pair of pliers and a paring knife are great tools for removing this membrane. If you skip this step, the membrane will prevent your rub from getting into the meat on the back of the ribs. Massage your favorite rub into the meat on both sides. For todays cook, I used a pork rub given to my by Brandon at BBQpdx.com. Feel free to experiment.

Once the ribs are coated, I cut my racks into half slabs. I do this so they will fit better in my smoker and so that they are already portioned for serving. If you are smoking on a grill, DO NOT STACK THE SLABS while cooking. This will prevent the smoke from penetrating the ribs. If you are pressed for space, try purchasing a rib rack

which will allow you to cook with the slabs on their sides, and you still get full penetration by the smoke.

If you are not going to cook right away, place your seasoned ribs in a baking dish and cover with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge. Remember to take them out when you are getting your smoker or grill ready, so they meat can come to room temperature before you put them on.

THE WOOD

For ribs, I prefer hickory, but I have had some great ribs done over fruit woods such as apple and cherry. Again, the wood you use is up to you.

Cook Time

Generally speaking, St Louis pork ribs should take between four to five hours to smoke.  You will know they are done when the meat pulls back past the edge of the bones.

To Sauce or Not to Sauce

That is up to you.  I prefer to serve my ribs with sauce on the side so folks can enjoy the true flavor of the meat.  If you wish to sauce before serving, keep in mind that sugary, tomato based sauces can burn easily, even in a smoker.  Your best bet will be to wait until the ribs are done, then baste with sauce and allow to cook thirty minutes more.

Spring has started to sprung here in The Rose City, and with all this BBQ I have been sampling lately, I have been dying to make some of my own. I broke in my cooker a few weeks back on a rosemary/lemon chicken, but I wanted to do something more advanced for the last day of my vacation. I headed over to the cash and carry and picked up a 11 pound brisket for around $20.00.

Now, lets talk a bit about brisket. Brisket comes from the belly of the steer and is in many ways like bacon. In fact, you can find Beef Bacon in many of your high end stores and better meat markets. It is cured and smoked in the same manner as pork bacon. Many of you may be familiar with brisket in another common form. Corned Beef is simply brisket that has been brined in a salt solution and spices. Nitrates are often added to give it that distinctive pink color.

When cooking brisket it is important to to remember that it is made up of long muscle fibers. Long fiber cuts, such as brisket and chuck have to be cooked low and slow, preferably braised in some type of liquid. The low temperature of smoking and the long cooking time make this cut an excellent choice for the smoker. The other contributing factor is the high fat content.

When you buy a brisket, expect about 1/3 to 1/2 to be fat. It is the high fat content that gives the meat the moisture it will need to survive a 12 hour plus smoke. Now, next time you are in a grocery store, take a look at their fine selection of closely trimmed brisket. Now, if you want to simmer it for 45 minutes per pound in a savory liquid, you are going to have a melt in your mouth meat experience. Throw one of these into your smoker, and your going to be dining on shoe leather. Go to Costco or your local restaurant supply to get a whole brisket untrimmed. You will thank me for it. You can figure on losing about half your weight when you trim off the fat after it is cooked. Yes, I know, life isn’t fair.

For my smoke today, I purchased a whole brisket and cut it in half. Last night I seasoned one half with a dry rub mixture that Brandon of bbqPDX gave me. The other I coated with peppercorns, that I cracked in my coffee grinder, and garlic powder. I covered both with plastic and let them sit in the fridge overnight.

4 AM comes awful early. If you have made the investment in an electric smoker with automatic pellet feed, you are one up on me for brisket. You can throw it on and start it at midnight and it will feed itself until noon. Same for a real wood smoker if you know what you are doing. With a water smoker, you have to change out the chips about every ninety minutes or so, so if you want to smoke a brisket, your looking at starting by 5am to have it ready by 5pm.

I had loaded my chip box and water bowl the night before so when I woke up all I had to do is light it off and wait for it to get to temperature. By 4:45, I was all systems go with the meat in the box. It wasn’t long before I realized that something was wrong. I could not get the temp down into the 200-220 degree range that I like for brisket. I grabbed my remote probe thermometer and dangled the probe through the top vent of my cooker. 210 degrees, perfect. Then it dawned on me, the thermometer on the front of my cooker must have gone tits up over the winter, because it was registering 265. I rigged my probe so that is was hanging as close to the center of the box as I could, and used it for the rest of the day.

I used a mixture of Mesquite and Hickory. I tend to stick with chunks as opposed to shreds for long smokes. I soak them for twenty minutes in tap water, and then drain. It gets them just moist enough to give a really great smoke. The other thing I discovered today is an accessory that I will no longer be able to live without, but I am hesitant to share it with you, as I feel pretty stupid for not figuring it out sooner. It is that simple.

Work gloves. Plain old, heavy duty, $8.00 a pair, thick canvas work gloves. They are perfect for dumping my cast iron chip box. Took me two years to figure out there had to be a better way to go then folded up dishtowels. Geez, what a putz.

When doing brisket, make sure you have everything you need before hand, because you are not going anywhere for ten to twelve hours once the meat hits the cooker depending on the thickness of the piece you are cooking.

Honestly, I don’t even bother checking the thermometer until I have eight hours in. You are going to be looking for an internal temperature of around 160. It will finish cooking as it rests.

Here is another tip for those of you using water smokers. The moisture from the gas and water bowl makes it hard to get a real good crust (bark) on your brisket. You can help mother nature along by filling a spray bottle with apple cider and spritzing down your brisket every time you change out chips. The sugars in the cider will caramelize and add a nice black crust to your meat.

Once your meat has rested for 10 to twenty minutes, slice against the grain and enjoy. Serve on a good crusty roll with your favorite sauce for a brisket sandwich or plated with sauce on the side.

Well, I hope this will be some help to those of you trying out brisket for the first time. Its a bit more work then most, but the results are well worth it.

This Wednesday, the 3 “Brisketeers” set off on another BBQ adventure. Contractor Dave was between projects, so he joined Brandon of bbqPDX and myself on our latest foray in to the world of all things smoked.

For our first stop of the day, we headed up to Camus, Washington, about 30 minutes NE of Portland, to what we had been told was some of the finest BBQ in the area, Big Lou’s.

Big Lou’s has been open for about 5 years and has become a fixture in the local BBQ scene, and it was easy to see why. There is no indoor seating at Lou’s, just picnic tables under a clear tent attached to the small building that houses the kitchen.

Lou’s cooker is right out front, and you can smell the place from a block down the street. Lou, in keeping with his Texas roots, only uses pure mesquite for his BBQ.

Seeing as how it was lunch time, we decided to dive right in. We ordered the Big Lou’s Sampler Platter.

A 1/4 chicken, Brisket, Pulled Pork& Pork Ribs and smoked Sausage. For sides we ordered the Mac and Cheese and Fried Okra. Brandon and I, being the adventurous ones, ordered Big Red Soda, which is apparently a purely Texas Taste while Dave got a cola. While we were waiting, the debate ensued over what exactly the Big Red tasted like. I thought it was a cream soda, while Brandon insisted it tasted more like Juicy Fruit gum. I am sure it is an acquired taste.

When our food arrived, we were blown away. Not only was there enough for all three of us to taste, it was pretty much a meal for us. Brandon left Dave and I speechless when he announced that he had never tried Fried Okra. For a guy who loves food as much as he does, his education in the southern delicacies is sorely lacking. Needless to say, he was quickly hooked. The mac and cheese was the best I had tasted as a BBQ side. I know, I know, you aren’t reading this for the side dishes, you want to hear about the Q.

Well in a word, it was phenomenal. The Brisket was hand sliced thin, our guess was it was done on a Hobart, but Lou informed us otherwise. It was juicy, and the rub was subtle so as not to distract from the meat. The pork was firm, not mushy and lightly seasoned. The ribs were tender, but had texture and great bark. Like most good BBQ, Lou never sauces the meat, he serves it on the side. The Texas Smokey was a great middle of the road sauce and went well with the ribs. The Russler Hot was perfect for the Brisket. It started out warm, and then just built and built with layers of flavor and heat. Mr’s BL’s Virginia sauce was a vinegar sauce that was made for the pulled pork. Now you will notice I didn’t say anything yet about the chicken. Well, to my mind, I am saving the best for last.

I do a lot of smoked chicken, I enjoy it, but I rarely eat it when I am out. Smoked chicken is wonderful, but it doesn’t keep well, and if it is not served right away, it tends to be dry. Well I don’t know how Lou did it, but the breast and wing portion we were served was juicy and falling off the bone. The skin was tasty, not bitter as some mesquite smoked chicken can get.

As we were finishing our meal, the big man, Lou himself joined us and we got to talking. Lou is a transplanted Texan who spent has spent the last 35 years cooking for friends and family. Spending time at Lou’s is like being invited to a Texas Backyard BBQ. Lou has that way of making everyone feel like family. He even went as far to offer us a sample of Mrs. Lou’s no bean chili, made with the burnt ends of the brisket. If you don’t know what the burnt ends are, you have not eaten enough BBQ. Thick with tons of tomatoes and onions with just the right amount of spice.

If you stop by Lou’s take a minute and look out back. There you will see the evolution of Lou’s cookers. He still has the little barrel smokers he started with, lined up next to his last trailer mounted rig. As we left, we all agreed that for food, value and atmosphere, Lou’s was the best we had sampled so far.

We had to make it a short day because, well, we were all stuffed from Lou’s, but there was one more place we had to try.

We returned to Beaverton to check out the latest BBQ to hit the scene. Delicious Texas Pit BBQ. Now Charles,

the owner, has been doing BBQ for his catering business for years and just recently decided to open full time to the public. Located just east of Scholls Ferry Road on Beaverton Hillsdale highway, it’s not hard to miss. Just look for the big cooker in the parking lot of Club 503. It is from this location that Charles works his magic.

Charles uses a mixture of apple and cherry wood to smoke his meats, the only local BBQ that we have found that does so. According to Charles, good BBQ is all about knowing how to control the fire. It has to be done just right and Charles is a master. he has got it down to the point where he can stoke up his fire, then just leave it to cook overnight. “I’m not going to sit up all night and babysit no meat, I need my sleep.”

Well, I was the only one hungry, so I ordered his pulled pork sandwich. It came on a good roll, chucks of juicy pork slathered in his own sauce. Charles believes in keeping things simple. He only has the one sauce for everything, and it sure did the job on the pork. We ended up passing the sandwich around so that we could all enjoy it, along with the greens that Brandon had ordered. Everything was superb.

Like Lou, Charles offers his smoked meats by the pound, or on sandwiches, and as meals.

Honestly, I have the feeling we have hit the best of the best of Portland, but we are going to keep on looking. Keep checking back for more local BBQ tips.

…Or Three Guys In Search Of a Protein High.

RUSSELL STREET BBQ

We headed back across town to Russell Street BBQ, another place that came to us highly recommended.   It was certainly the largest and most mainstream appearing returaunts of our tour so far.  The thing I love most about BBQ is the smoke smell that hits you when you walk in the boor.  You almost have to pause and take a deep breath.

We were seated immediately and started to peruse the menu.  We decided on the Meatapaloza platter, Pulled Pork, BBQ Pork Ribs, and Brisket.  We added some of their Louisiana smoked sausage as well as sides of mac and cheese, greens and cornbread all around.

Now, before I have to go any further, I have to praise Russell Street for one item on the menu that we did not encounter anywhere else that day.  Sweet Tea.  WHAT?  OH come on, you expect me to believe you have never heard of sweet tea.  It is simply iced tea pre- sweetened with a simple sugar syrup.  It allows you to enjoy your tea sweet without the half inch of sugar in the bottom of your glass.  I almost always have a jug of it in my fridge during the summer and it  goes perfectly with BBQ.

While we were waiting for our order, we decided to sample the different sauces that graced our table.  First I grabbed the Mustard Vinegar sauce, after multiple warnings to not point it at anyone, and found it to be more robust and substantial then other similar sauces I had tried.  Brandon was sniffing away at their Killer Sauce, smiled and told us he smelled Scotch Bonnet chillies.  When you put a drop of this sauce on your tongue, it starts out sweet and then the heat begins to slowly build.  It never gets outrageously hot and you can detect layer after layer of flavor.

When our food arrived, we dug right in.  The pulled park was simply the best I had ever tasted.  It was substantial and had smoke flavor and spice through and through.  I could not even begin to imagine how they did that.  The sausage was divided up and had just enough spice to make my mouth a very happy place.  I am going to go back and pick up a few pounds for the next time I make jambalaya.  The ribs were incredible.  Nice smoke ring, excellent bark and they just fell off the bone.  The only disappointment was the brisket, which we all felt was too dry.  The sides were good and Brandon hoarded the greens, he amazed Dave and I by telling us it was the first time he had ever had them.  Poor sheltered Brandon.

Our meal concluded, I asked to speak with the owner.  I have to find a better way to do this as every time I do, a look of gloom and doom comes over the servers face.

We were joined by Sharon, co owner of Russell Street.  Sharon is the business end of the place, her partner handles all the cooking.  They opened the restaurant 4 years ago after making a BBQ road trip from Kansas City all the way to Virginia.  You have to love these women.  They have taken the best of what they found in BBQ and added their own personal twist to it.  The result is incredible.

I had to ask about the Pulled Pork.  Sharon explained they butterflied it before seasoning and smoking allowing more surface area to come in contact with the smoke and spices.  Brandon begged for the greens recipe, but what he got back was geared more to a restaurant kitchen then his own.  If I know Brandon, about ten seconds after hearing how Sharon did it, he was working on his own version.  I then had to ask about the brisket.  She explained it was a nose end cut and did not have as much fat as a normal flat cut.  It’s not the cut I would have chosen, but it is her place and the universally excellent service and the quality of the other dishes more then made up for it.

As we left it was standing room only, we had timed our visit perfectly to beat the dinner rush.  I guess that in itself speaks more eloquently about Russell Street BBQ then anything I can say.

THE CHEERFUL PIT STOP

I have to tell you friends, as we waddled out of Russell Street, I was done.  I felt like I had meat coming out of my ears and Dave appeared to be in the same shape.  Brandon, however, was still raring to go.  “One more place, guys.”  Dave and I groaned, but agreed.

The Cheerful Pit Stop is part of the Cheerful chain here in Portland and has a custom wood smoker out front.  Brandon ordered the house sample platter of Brisket, Smoked Turkey, Pulled Pork and Pork Ribs.  Dave ordered a beer and me, well, I ordered a salad.  I needed to get some roughage in me before my digestive tract shut down for good.

Friends, I wish I could find something good to say about the food we were brought, but alas, that is not the case.  I have said I will never write a bad review, so all I can say is I wont be going back.

The three of us tossed back a shot of tequila and toasted our first adventure into the world of BBQ.  While we are all three accomplished cookers, there is always so much more to learn, and while the BBQ “I” make is always going to be the best, it is always fun to see what the other guy is doing.

To Be Continued?

Wildfire Wood Fired Pizza and BBQ

When Brandon told me this was our next destination, my first thought was that he was suffering from a protein high.  Pizza and BBQ?  I mean, how good could it be?

We ventured onto Martin Luther King Blvd in NE Portland in search of this elusive combination.  Brandon’s GPS kept saying we had arrived but there was no plume of smoke, no scent of BBQ and no Wildfire to be seen.  As we cruised the block a second time, I caught sight of Carbonis Wood Fired Pizza on a sign across the street.  Brandon made a screeching turn into the parking lot and we bailed out in search of BBQ.

Alas, there was no BBQ to be found.  Several unused smokers sat out in front of the establishment.  There was on open hearth brick pizza oven and a lone gentleman behind the counter.  His name was Kevin and he had quit a story to tell.

He was the owner of the late Wildfire now turned Carbonis.  He had to drop the name Wildfire after being served by a company in Chicago that had national copyright to the name back in January.  He also had to make a decision.

He told us that his Q was popular in the neighborhood, so much so that he still had people dropping in and asking for it every day.  He told us one story about a preacher, well known in the neighborhood for his own Q, came in to try “The 2nd Best BBQ in town.”  After their meal, the preachers wife, much to the chagrin of the preacher, announced Kevin was “#1″.

Kevin had to decide to either devote himself to his love of BBQ, he is a competitive cooker who travels at least 12 times a year to match his meat against the best of the best, or to his love of Pizza.  Kevin told us he had six years invested in his yeast free dough.  He knew he could not do both, as one would suffer.  So he decided to go with the pizza and open a BBQ joint down the street in about six months or so.

We decided to have a beer and talk with Kevin.  I was tempted to try a slice of his Pizza, it smelled that good, but I steeled myself.  We still had a lot of BBQ to eat.  Kevin shared with us some tips for rubs, like how to make smoked salt, and his pizza specialty when he was doing the BBQ, a pulled pork and pineapple pizza.  Then he asked, “Do you guys like sweet sauces?”  Three heads bobbed in unison.

He brought out a small bowl and by the time he started to hand us spoons, three fingers were already knuckle deep.  It was superb.  Truly one of the best sweet sauces I had ever tasted.  Brandon reached for his wallet and asked Kevin if he would sell him some.  Kevin just smiled and went back into the kitchen and emerged a few seconds later with at least three quarts of sauce in a plastic jug.  “No charge” he said.  At that moment I felt like we had joined the brotherhood of the smoke.  It was an awesome moment.

He asked us where we were headed and then told us that if we were looking for great BBQ, we had to try Lou’s up in Camus.  OK, when two different BBQ owners tell you that you have to try something, then you know it is something worth trying.  Sadly, after tracking down the number, we found out they are closed on Sunday.

We finished our beers and headed out for our next stop.  I know I will be back to try that pizza.

Penzeys Spice Market

Brandon and I have both harped on the fact that the best BBQ rub can be ruined by bad spices.  I bet if you go right now and look in your spice cabinet, you will find little bottles that are at least a year old.  You might as well toss them.  By this time they will only have one tenth the flavor. Now Brandon is a little more fanatical then I am.  He will buy whole spices and grind them himself.  Now, that is fine if you don’t mind giving yourself carpal tunnel syndrome trying to crack enough peppercorns to make a peppered brisket.  Me, I tend to take the easy way out.  I will go to the local market and bulk buy just enough to make the rub I am going to be working with.  Or at least I used to.

When we walked into Penzys Spice Market, we just stopped in the doorway and breathed.  Spicy, earthy, peppery smells went up my nose, grabbed my brain and gave it a little shake.   Our Spice maven, she asked that I not use her name, greeted us and asked us if she could help.  We figured we would go it alone and spent ten minutes wandering the aisles of fresh spices, sniffing jars and calling to each other to try this or that.  Dave, a dammed fine cook in his own right and the proud owner of a yet to be assembled smoker, seemed dazed by the possibilities.  Brandon had already corralled our Spice maven and had her helping him find this spice and that.  Apparently Brandon’s excitement over rode his common sense.  As Dave would tell me later, he had over a hundred dollars worth of spices in his basket.  So, as Dave and Brandon attempted to lighten Brandon’s load, The Spice maven and I chatted between customers.

It turned out we were both from the same town and our high schools had been cross town rivals.  I explained to her what we were doing and where we had been. Then we started talking deli food.  She told me that a new deli had opened up in Oregon City.  A deli?  A REAL deli?  In Oregon City?  She confirmed it was a real Jewish deli, down to the crock of half sour pickles on the table.  She told me they made a great BBQ Brisket sandwich.  Hmmm, maybe I could sell this to the boys.  We talked about it and it was decided that we would take a small detour to sample some Jewish Style Brisket.

BRODSKI’S NEW YORK DELI

It was about 15 minutes out of our way, but it was worth it to me.  I was a little hesitant about a Jewish Deli in Oregon City, but a sister wouldn’t steer me wrong.  On the way over, we talked about what we might try.  Brandon wanted to try the brisket naked, no sauce, Dave was agreeable to anything and me, I was dreaming of a Hot Tongue sandwich.  Yes, I said Tongue, Beef Tongue.  Simmered, sliced thin, and piled high on rye bread with some good spicy mustard.  Brandon looked at me in disbelief.  I had tried to get Dave to try it some months back, but the deli we were at was sold out that night.  He had since tried it at another place, and joined me in singing it’s praises.

There were only a few other customers when we walked into the place.  I ordered a hot tongue sandwich, Brandon ordered the brisket and Dave was content to nosh on the pickles.  A few minutes later, our waiter returned and told me they were out of tongue.  I tell you folks, it is a conspiracy.  I fought the temptation to order a corned beef sandwich and joined Dave in emptying the pickle crock.  When Brandon’s sandwich arrived, he divvied it up and we all had a little nosh.

The Brisket was moist, tender and tasty.  Oven roasted.  We agreed it would have probably been better with the sauce, but hey, they all can’t be winners.  We paid our check and headed out for a pre-drive smoke.  It was then that I saw perhaps the oddest thing of the entire day.

Now, I don’t know many officers the Oregon City Police Department has on watch on a Sunday afternoon, but six of them were gathered at the Meglocoffee across the parking lot.  We joked that now would be the perfect time to pull a bank job.  We lost it when one of the officers pulled out of the parking lot in his cruiser, with what appeared to be his girlfriend in the front seat.  I know I felt safer.

I have waxed poetic about my love of good BBQ before on this site. You can even find some of my BBQ tips and tricks in the “My Legacy” section of this blog, and yes, I am a Jew who knows and loves swine flesh. There, I said it.

Now, my buddy Brandon is a fellow fanatic, but he has taken it to the next level by creating his own web site, bbqPDX.com, a site devoted to outdoor cooking in all its many wondrous incarnations. I am good with a smoker, but he is a master. So when Brandon said to me, “You want to go try some BBQ?”, I was all for it.

Now normally, I would want to review the places we visited for my blog, but this time, I just wanted to chronicle the adventure, and leave the reviewing to Brandon. I left it to him to decide where were going, as a matter of fact, when I tried to interject a few ideas, he told me to”Shut up, nod your head and smile. This is going to be great.”

So, that exactly was what I did. He had the intensity of a General planning a major invasion and the excitement of a child who still believes in Santa, counting the days till Christmas. When he finally asked if there were any places I wanted to hit, I found one, but just as quickly found out it had closed in January.

When Sunday dawned foggy and chilled in Portland, my cell phone started ringing at 9am. “Are you up? Are you ready to go?”. Yes Brandon, calm down, I will make it at 10 sharp.

At 955 am I arrived at Brandon’s townhouse in Beaverton. Contractor Dave, the third Amigo for our adventure, had beaten me there by minutes. We exchanged some gossip and were joined a few minutes later by Baron Von BBQ himself, Brandon. He was positively vibrating with excitement. He announced he had the whole day planned out on his TomTom GPS unit, but we would have to wait until 1030 or so to get started, because our first stop would not have BBQ available until 1100. Why did he tell us to show up at 10? He said he didn’t expect us to actually show up until 1030, the bastard. We killed the time by running across the street to hit up the ATM and just generally bullshitting and sniping at each other.

The appointed hour arrived and we set off on our BBQ Adventure.

Podnah’s Pit BBQ

This was to be our first stop. Brandon’s TomTom led us right to the place, well almost. It took my cell phone GPS to guide us to the right corner. We opened the door and were greeted by that wonderful wood smell. We grabbed a table nearest to the kitchen and looked over the menu on the table. Breakfast, they were still serving breakfast. All eyes swiveled to Brandon, who shrunk back in his chair. A cheerful waitress advised us that they wouldn’t be serving BBQ for an hour.

Great.

Well, we headed down the block to a coffee shop we had passed, Bean, and had a cup of joe and a bagel. Very good on both accounts by the way. We still had a half hour to go by the time we finished, so we took over a small outside table. As we were talking, we heard the screech of locked brakes followed by that loud bang of two cars colliding. I was on feet before thinking, the sound having put me in First Responder mode. A vehicle had run the red and t boned a vehicle entering the intersection. We rendered assistance until the police arrived. I felt kind of bad for Tim, the driver who ran the red, no insurance, but hey, if you gamble, sometimes your going to lose.

We patted ourselves on the back, checked our watches, and headed off for lunch.

Once again seated at our table, we decided to order the Holy Trinity of BBQ, pulled pork, brisket and pork ribs and then pass plates around. Sides of cole slaw, cornbread and pinto beans were also ordered.

The food came within minutes and we set in to sample all of it. The pulled pork was great, with just a hint of a vinegary sauce, and none of that mushy consistency you find in a lot of attempts at it. I grabbed the squeeze bottle of the same sauce and while adding some more I had a little whoops a doodle and proceeded to marinate Brandon. I would be hearing about that one for the rest of the day.

The Brisket was incredible, juicy and flavorful with a great smoke ring, and the ribs were awesome, tender, good bark, great flavor. Despite Brandon ducking behind a napkin and yelling “Don’t sauce me bro” every time I reached for a squeeze bottle, lunch was fantastic. After the meal was consumed, it was time for me to do what what Brandon had brought me along for. See, Brandon looks up to me for one thing, my people skills. It was my job to talk to to the owners or managers and get the inside scoop on their BBQ. I really did not expect to speak to many owners, it being Sunday and all, but sometimes you get lucky.

In this case we got lucky indeed and got to spend some time with Rodney, the owner. Rodney has been a major force in the Portland BBQ scene for many years. He and a partner, who had both been laid off, founded LOW (Laid Off Worker) BBQ. Podnahs is just the latest incantation of his great BBQ. He showed us his “rig”, a huge wood smoker, that gets fired up with a mixture of mesquite and oak at 5 AM every morning. By 6AM the meat is on and the fun begins. We talked about different techniques, starting a brisket fat side down, different woods, he imports his mesquite in from Texas by the truckload, and the Oregon BBQ scene. He told us if we wanted to taste one of the greats, we had to head up to Camus, Washington to Lou’s BBQ.

We thanked him for his time and the advice and headed out to our next stop.

Gartner’s Meat Market

Great BBQ starts with great meat. There is just no way around it. The best sauce and the most tantalizing rub are not going to do much for a bad cut of meat. When I started out, I was getting my meat from either Costco or from Supermarkets. Now don’t get me wrong, I got good results, and if that is all you have to work from, you can usually ask your supermarket butcher to leave some fat on a brisket, the ones you see in the meat case are going to be trimmed way too much to make decent BBQ.

Your next choice is to go to a restaurant supply market, I live right near one and it is open to the public. Restaurant quality meat, bulk prices, just trim it your self and save a buck or two per pound.

Now if you are in Portland, and want honest to god, hand trimmed, high quality meat, the only place to go is Gartner’s. Be warned, the place is almost always packed, but the meat you get there is going to be first rate every time. When we got there, we just wandered the L shaped cases, drooling over hard to find items. Beef bacon, huge smoked hamhocks, not this little baby ones you see in the grocery stores, fresh looking chicken, smoked meats and sausages, all done right on the premises. Even after our feast, I was starting to get hungry.

Brandon had taken a number, he was saddened by the fact there was not a brisket to be found in the case. He asked one of the harried girls behind the counter and she said they were in the back. A few minutes later Brandon’s number was called and we were being served by that same harried woman, and that is how we became acquainted with Sheryl, The Meat Goddess.

Sheryl promptly fetched Brandon a beautiful six pound brisket with a perfect fat cap. She took the time to explain to him what he should look for in a brisket and how to tell a good one from a low quality one. I, of course, had some questions and asked this Goddess of all things non vegetarian is she could spare me some time.

I asked how she got into the meat business and she said she was born into it, her father was a meat cutter for 20 years and she had managed a grocery store meat department for a while before coming to Gartner’s. I asked about the beef bacon and she explained it was their brisket, cured and smoked in the same manner as their pork bacon. Now, as an Angry Jew, I had to ask about their Pastrami and Corned Beef. Beef Bottom Round, seasoned and smoked. She led the three of us over to the smoked meat counter and offered us a taste. Yummmm.

We bid Sheryl the Meat Goddess farewell and headed out with Brandon’s Brisket in search of our next adventure.

I know its getting toward the end of the smoker season here in my neck of the woods, but I had so much success with this one I just had to share it.  Besides, it has been ages since I wrote one of these.

A Boston Butt is the shoulder section of your friendly neighborhood swine.  When done right, it the most tender piece of meat you will ever eat.  Before embarking on this one keep in mind that this cut LOVES time.  The longer it cooks, the better it is going to be.  This recipe will take 8 to 9 hours, but the result will be enough pulled pork for about a dozen healthy sandwiches.

ANGRY JEW PULLED PORK

7-8 POUND BONELESS BOSTON BUTT

YELLOW MUSTARD

SPICE RUB

BBQ SAUCE

COLE SLAW

GOOD QUALITY HAMBURGER BUNS

ENOUGH HICKORY AND MESQUITE FOR 5 HOURS OF SMOKING

• When purchasing your meat, just ask your butcher for a boneless 7-8 pound Boston Butt.  It goes by various names, but he will know what you want.

• The day before cooking, cover the entire piece of meat in yellow mustard.  Be sure to rub it in good.  Then rub in your spice mixture, being sure to get a good even coating.

• The day of cooking, soak enough hickory and mesquite for 5 hours of smoking.  I used a mixture of 2/3 hickory and 1/3 mesquite.

• On your smoker or grill set up for indirect grilling, get a temperature of 220-225 degrees.  If your using a water smoker, try adding 2 quartered onions and two heads of garlic to your water bowl.

• Smoke the meat for five hours and then remove.  Wrap the meat in two layers of heavy duty foil.  Place the wrapped meat in a shallow baking dish.  Insert a remote probe thermometer into the center of the meat and set the alarm for 200 degrees.

• Place the meat in a 225 degree oven until the internal temperature reads 200.  This should take about 4-4 1/2 hours.

• Remove the meat from the oven when done and let stand, wrapped, for 20 minutes.

• Carefully remove the meat from the foil and place in the baking dish.  This going to be tricky as it should be falling apart tender.

• Shred the meat with a couple of forks, and pour a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce over the meat.  I used Stubbs Original when I made this, but I think the spicy would have been a better choice.  Mix the meat and sauce together.  Use more of less sauce to your taste.

• Tightly cover the pan with foil and return to the oven for thirty minutes.

• Remove and enjoy

To serve I like to place the meat on good hamburger buns then top it with some coleslaw and  yellow mustard.  I know it sounds weird, but trust me, its fantastic.

It is as simple as that.  Drop me a note if you enjoy this recipe.  I am going to try to add about one a week.