Linda picked up the Smoke in the Mountains Cookbook by Kent Whitaker for me as a Christamas gift. I haven't cooked anything from it yet, but it looks interesting. Anyone else have one?
I like the format of the book. Some of the chapters have a feature write-up about a bbq restaurant on the left hand pages and the right hand pages provide a recipe. There are a lot of grilling recipes and tailgate items too. Mr. Whitaker was also a winner of the Emeril Live Food Network barbecue contest a few years ago.
I'll try some the grilling recipes and share the results here, but I have to admit that I'm kind of set in my ways for some of the traditional big cuts better suited to low and slow.
One of the pork butt recipes in the book references cooking pork butts to 190 degree internal temperature. I've not had good luck with 190 degree pork butts. I'd recommend wrapping them in foil at 170 degrees or so and cooking them to 198 - 200 degrees. Then they will basically fall apart when you pick them up. It'll save you some chewing and work pulling apart the meat with your hands too. Closer to 190 is a little too "chewy" for me.
4 comments:
have never read the book, but I have never cooked pulled pork that hot before. I agree about wrapping
I am guessing the 190 degree temp is without wrapping in foil. I don't think you could "pull" pork cooked to 190 in foil. It would still be pretty chewy.
I don't have that book. Doesn't he also have a recurring column in the National BBQ News as the Backyard or Deck Chef or something like that? I think it's the same guy.
190 is perfect....if you want an arm workout from pulling tough pork :) I am like you and shoot for 200.
Hey guys, thanks for the comments on my book Smoke in the Mountains. I had a great time working on that title and those that followed, the tailgating NASCAR and racing book was pretty fun!
There are several changes that I have planned when the publisher does another reprint. The temp is one of them and a few other recipes have weird measurements that somehow made it through the edit process. Plus, many of the restaurants I featured have new owners, burned down, closed etc.
Thanks for the suggestion and feel free to yell at me with any others. thedeckchef@hotmail.com
Have a great day! - Kent Whitaker
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