Hand Pulled Pork Barbecue

Updated May 2021

This is perfect for any large gathering; summertime, large parties, or New Year's Eve!  We've been making this hand-pulled pork barbecue for many years.

It's easy to do, always comes super-tender and delicious. No need to sweat over a hot stove, or grill, we cook this overnight in a large stock pot in our oven, but you can also make it in a slow cooker.

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 large Boston Butt Pork Roast 
1 large jar of Homemade Barbecue Sauce (or barbecue sauce of your choice)
2 cups white vinegar
Additional Barbecue Sauce for serving

Method
Place roast in a large stock pot, sprayed with cooking spray (or alternately a large slow cooker). 

Cover with sauce and add 2 cups white vinegar (this will make the sauce very thin, but helps break down the meat so it's nice and tender).  Stir to combine, spooning some over the top of the roast.

Cover and cook in a 200 degree oven for 10-12 hours or until a fork easily pulls meat apart (we found it's easier to do this overnight, and pull the pork when it cools down the next morning).  

Alternately place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low 10-12 hours, or until meat shreds apart easily.

Remove pork from oven or slow cooker and discard all the liquid it cooked in.

In a large pan, break the pork apart some, allowing it to cool down, making it easier to handle (this may take 30 minutes to one hour).

Now, you can begin to hand-pull the pork, shredding it into small pieces.  Feeling the pork with your hands, allows you to feel the fat and other non-desirable parts, so you can discard them. Once all the pork is pulled, it's ready to serve. Simply pile it up on large buns and add additional barbecue sauce on top!

Note - freezes very well. We make 2 batches at a time and store in zip-top bags in our freezer, so we can have some whenever we want it.

Also seen on Meal Plan Monday

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Fried Potatoes and Onions with Smoked Sausage

This has been a staple in our house forever! The big kids like it, the grandsons like it, guests like it, everyone likes it.  Simple to do, which is sometimes best. Over the years we've added the Honey-Mustard Sauce, but you can certainly leave that out and just serve plain or with ketchup since most all kids love ketchup!  Big people like the Honey-Mustard Sauce!

Ingredients
4-6 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (Yukon Gold or reds are best; Russets are too soft)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced into 1" thick slices
2-3 Tbls. oil (of your choice)
2-3 tsp. seasoned salt
2 tsp. course-ground black pepper

Honey-Mustard Sauce
1/4 cup grainy mustard
1/4 cup organic honey(whisk together and microwave 2 minutes or until bubbly; stir to blend)

Method
Place oil in electric fry pan or skillet; bring up to heat (350).  Add sliced smoked sausage and saute' until browned; remove sausage from pan and set aside. 

Immediately add sliced potatoes and onions and dust with seasoned salt and pepper. Cover pan and cook, removing cover from time to time and stirring around until potatoes are cooked through and browned. 

Add sliced, cooked smoked sausage pieces back to pan, cover and continue to cook 5 minutes, or until heated through. 

Serve immediately with Honey-Mustard Sauce.

Enjoy,
Mary

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Experimenting with a recipe sometimes works, and is sometimes a disaster.  Thankfully this Strawberry Shortcake Cake came out just like I wanted it to!

Ingredients

1-1/2 cup Flour
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened (1/2 cup + 1 Tbls)
1-1/2 cup Sugar
3 whole Large Eggs
1/2 cup Sour Cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups fresh strawberries, lightly sugared and mashed (I used fresh strawberries I had previously frozen)
1 cup Strawberry Glaze
Whipped Cream

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.


Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. 

Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour 1/2 the batter into greased and floured 9-inch square (2" deep) cake pan. Top with mashed strawberries then carefully top the berries with the remaining batter.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until cooked through (toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Remove from oven and allow it to rest.  

While warm, poke holes in the cake with a large fork and spoon 1/2 cup Strawberry Glaze over cake, reserving remaining 1/2 cup glaze to serve with the cake.  Cool completely.

Cut cake into serving pieces, drizzle more Strawberry Glaze over each piece and top with a large dollop of whipped cream.

Enjoy,
Mary

Homemade Strawberry Glaze

I love Strawberry Glaze, but I like to make my own with fresh strawberries I get from my local farm. So good and super-easy to do!

RECIPE
Ingredients

2 pounds (4 cups) fresh strawberries, stems removed

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup water

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon ClearJel (if not canning, you can substitute cornstarch)

Method

Combine the water, strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a large saucepan on high heat. Stir thoroughly while bringing it up to a boil.

After the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to low, and allow to cook for up to ten minutes, occasionally stirring throughout. As the strawberries soften, use a wooden spoon to break them in pieces to release the flavors from the strawberries.

Remove from heat. Using a strainer, pour liquid into a bowl ensuring to press as much juices through strainer with wooden spoon. Dispose any of the solid strawberries leftover from mixture, and return liquid to pan on low heat.

Meanwhile, whisk the ClearJel with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Then, pour into the simmering pan of strawberry juice.

Increase heat to high, and continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens into a glaze (approximately 3-5 minutes).

Remove glaze from heat, and pour into canning jars. Cover jars with lids and rings and process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat, remove jars and allow to cool on a kitchen towel on your counter-top 24 hours.

Store in pantry. If not canning, store in refrigerator.

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Orange Marmalade Barbecue Sauce

Ever since my husband saw a recipe using an Orange Marmalade Barbecue Sauce, he's been on a mission to make his own. It started with me making some Orange Marmalade, and ended with him developing his own "take" on the sauce! Sticky, sweet, tangy and so good!


RECIPE

Ingredients
64 oz. Ketchup
2 cups Orange Marmalade
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup Spicy Brown Mustard
1/2 cup Vinegar
1 cup Molasses

Method
Mix all together in a large stock pot and simmer to desired thickness (this may take several hours). Taste and adjust seasonings to taste. Ladle into pint canning jars and process in a boiling water bath or steam canner 20 minutes. Remove and allow jars to cool on a towel on your kitchen countertop 24 hours undisturbed.

Store in pantry up to one year. Opened jars must be refrigerated.

Yield:  4 pint jars

Enjoy,
Mary

Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling for Canning

Upated and republished July 2020

I love blueberries so I always buy some when they are fresh at my local farm or Farmer's Market. They can be used fresh, frozen or canned as pie filling or jam!  Lovely little blueberries are just so tasty. Here's how I make homemade blueberry pie filling for canning.

RECIPE
Ingredients
15 cups blueberries
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 cups water
3/4 cup ClearJel®
3 Tbls. lemon juice
1tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp. salt (optional)

Method
Wash and sort blueberries. Blanch blueberries in boiling water 1 minute. Drain berries and let strainer sit over a bowl to collect any juices; put to the side.

Combine water, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and ClearJel® in a large, heavy pan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring continuously until it begins to thicken.

Add lemon juice, fold in blueberries with juice and bring up to simmer. Simmer for one minute. Remove from heat and ladle hot pie filling into prepared jars leaving 1-inch head-space. Wipe rims of jars with a moistened paper towel,  cover with lids and rings and process in boiling water bath 30 minutes.

Remove jars and let sit undisturbed on your kitchen counter-top 24 hours undisturbed. Store in pantry up to 1 year. Opened jars must be refrigerated. (Adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving.)

Yield:   6 pints or 3 quarts

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Orange Marmalade

Updated February 2021

Marmalade is a fruit preserve often made from citrus fruit like oranges. The modern definition of marmalade is a transparent fruit spread made by boiling citrus, water, and sugar together, including the peel. 

Marmalade is typically used as a sweet condiment for toast, biscuits, scones, croissants, and other baked goods. It can also be used as a sweet, fruity addition to cakes or in savory applications as a glaze for meats or vegetables.

I personally love that citrus fruit is in season during the winter months, when everything else is rather gray and dreary; it's a nice little "pick me up."

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 bag oranges (10 medium size or one-5 lb. bag Cuties or Halo mandarin oranges)
6 cups sugar
Thinly cut reserved rind from oranges to equal 2 cups
1 tbsp. butter (to prevent foaming)

Method
Peel oranges (reserving rind), and remove any seeds if necessary. Place peeled oranges in a large stock pot with a small amount of water (approx. 2 cups - you may need to add more as they cook). Cover pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently, until oranges are soft and fall apart.

While the oranges are cooking, place the 2 cups of thinly cut rind into a small saucepan; add water and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes or until rinds are soft. Turn off heat and let sit while you finish the oranges.

Once the oranges are soft, remove from heat and mash (in the same pan) just a bit, removing any tough pieces remaining.

Return stock pot with mashed oranges to your stove top and add 1 cup of sugar for every cup of mashed oranges (I used 6 cups of sugar). Add 1 tbsp. butter to mixture, drained rind pieces, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Cook, stirring frequently, until digital thermometer reads 220 degrees (approx. 30 minutes). Remove from heat, ladle marmalade into canning jars, cover with seals and rings and process in boiling water bath or steam canner 15 minutes.

Remove jars from water bath or steam canner and let cool on a kitchen towel on your counter-top 24 hours undisturbed. Marmalade will thicken as it cools. Store in pantry up to one year. Opened jars must be refrigerated.

Yield:  4 pint jars

Tip: grind the remaining orange rinds in a food processor, place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and place in a 170 degree oven for approx. 2 hours, stirring from time to time. Allow to cool and store in small mason jars. Use zest as you would with any recipe calling for citrus zest. The shelf life is approx. one year stored in a cool dark place. 1 tsp. dried zest = t tsp. store-bought zest.

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Barbecue Potato Salad w/ Feiny's Barbecue Rub

So the other night the hubs was talking about creating a Barbecue Potato Salad using one of Fein Tasting Foods rubs ... namely the Original Barbecue Rub.  He set out on his mission to develop this potato salad, and with a little help from me (and just a few suggestions), I think he did it!  Creamy, tasty, just a bit of a bite, yummy!  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

 

 

Ingredients

6 medium size red potatoes, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
approx. 1/2 cup mayonnaise
approx. 1/2 cup sour cream
4 tsp. or to taste Fein Tasting Foods Original Barbecue Rub
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
1.5 tsp. course-ground black pepper
Salt to taste
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Method
In a large saucepan, add potatoes to salted water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook until potatoes are just al dente, and not mushy.  Immediately drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, barbecue rub, white wine vinegar and course-ground black pepper, stirring to thoroughly combine.  Add salt to taste. Toss in the diced celery, onion and potatoes and mix until well combined.  Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours before serving.  Top with crumbled bacon just before serving, or let each person add their own.

Please note - Chef Feiny is a foodie friend who graciously sent me samples of his rubs. He and I have no financial arrangement ... I just enjoy using them, and, yes, they are that good!


Enjoy,
Mary