Four Hundred Year Old Virginia Barbecue Recipe

Virginians have been cooking southern style barbecued pork longer than people in any other state. The oldest recorded recipes used in Virginia barbecue call for hickory wood for fuel and a seasoning made of vinegar, butter, salt, and cayenne pepper. Here is how it's done in a modern, upright barbecue smoker such as the Chargriller Akorn or the Weber Bullet.

Ingredients

1 pork butt approximately 8 pounds

1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar

2 pats of butter, softened

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

Mix the vinegar, butter, salt, and peppers and apply the mixture all over the pork. Barbecue at 275 to 300 degrees for 3 hours. Wrap the pork in foil and continue to cook until the meat is pull tender which should be about 3 to 4 more hours of cook time. When done, remove the meat from the smoker and let it rest for 1 hour. Pull the meat and serve. It can also be chopped.

What about the sauce recipe? Try this old Virginia sauce named in honor of a great Virginia barbecue cook named Shack - http://ocbarbecue.blogspot.com/2013/04/old-virginia-barbecue-sauce-recipe.html.

The recipes for the Tangy Virginia Brown and Sweet Virginia Red sauces will be in my upcoming book. Stay tuned for details.

Virginia Smoked Ham - "A la Old Dominion"

P.D. Gwaltney Jr. in 1902 with the world's oldest country ham.
Photo courtesy of the Isle of Wight County Museum.

In a 1688 letter to the Royal Society of London, John Clayton declared that Virginia pork is "as good as any Westphalia (considered the finest hams in Europe at the time), certainly far exceeding our English [pork]." Clayton went on to explain that the secret of this superlative flavor was not due to just the pigs' unique diet but also the unique Virginia curing and smoking process of salting, smoking, and aging the meat.

Virginia smoked ham is a delicacy famous the world over. It has been rightly observed that “No self-respecting Southern pig can imagine a higher distinction than becoming, in due course, a Virginia ham – spicy as a woman’s tongue, sweet as her kiss, as tender as her love.” Even in early colonial times tons of Virginia hams were exported all over the world in order to meet demand. First in Virginia, then spreading throughout the world and other colonies, pork preserved by smoking it in the Virginia manner was uniquely Virginian as well as uniquely American.

An 1841 Pennsylvania newspaper writer wrote "smack their lips as heartily as I do over a good old Virginia ham, that fairly melts in your mouth". A writer for the Daily Dispatch of Richmond, Virginia wrote in 1858 "A delicious Virginia ham on its bed of greens, engirdled by its rim of eggs (a la Old Dominion), and a slice of chicken or turkey, might do very well for a plain country gentleman's dinner for two or three times a week, and these could be had for the asking on every Virginia farm."

No wonder George W. Bagby, with his tongue in his cheek, wrote in his famous 1877 essay The Old Virginia Gentleman “a Virginian could not be a Virginian without bacon and greens” which struck an amusing note of truth in me the first time I read it and thought of the many meals of smoked pork, greens and deviled eggs prepared for my family by my Mother when I was growing up in central Virginia.

An eyewitness account of how colonial Virginians preserved pork was recorded by Nicholas Cresswell in The Journal of Nicholas Cresswell. Nicholas Cresswell (1751-1804), of Derbyshire, England, came to America hoping to acquire land and settle permanently, but personal difficulties, the uncertain state of affairs, and the Revolutionary War, caused him to return to England. His journal was written from rough notes taken during his trip to America between the years 1774-1777. While traveling, he visited or lived in Barbados, Maryland, Virginia, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Philadelphia, and New York. He often includes lengthy observations on the towns he visited, frontier techniques and customs, and the social customs of both Indians and Europeans. His entry about Virginia for Tuesday July 26, 1774 is as follows:

"The bacon cured here is not to be equaled in any part of the world, their hams in particular. They first rub them over with brown sugar and let them lie all night. This extracts the watery particles. They let them lie in salt for 10 days or a fortnight. Some rub them with hickory ashes instead of saltpeter, it makes them red as saltpeter and gives them a pleasant taste.

Then they are hung up in the smoke-house and a slow smoky fire kept under them for three or four weeks, nothing but hickory wood is burnt in these smoke-houses. This gives them an agreeable flavor, far preferable to the Westphalia hams, not only that, but it prevents them from going rancid and will preserve them for several years by giving them a fresh smoking now and then."

In 1902, a smoked ham was overlooked and hung in one of P. D. Gwaltney Jr.'s packing houses for 20 years. Advertised as the world’s oldest Smithfield ham, Gwaltney fashioned a brass collar for the ham and took it to shows and expos to exhibit the preservative powers of his smoking method. The ham has also been featured in Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” in 1929, 1932 and 2003. Today, the ham resides in the Isle of Wight Museum and, we are told, it is still edible.

 During your summer travels, take the image of P.D. Gwaltney Jr. and his ham with you and document a great vacation moment with a photo of the image! Post your photo on the Isle of Wight County Museum and Historic Sites Facebook site or email it to them at jwilliams@isleofwightus.net. The contest runs through Sept. 4, and we’ll announce the winner on Sept. 10. All entrants will be entered into a random drawing for a prize. Whatever your plans are – the beach, the mountains, the south of France or a staycation in your own backyard – be sure to pack the world’s oldest ham. He is ready for an adventure! The link to the "Pan Ham" site is http://www.historicisleofwight.com/pan-ham.html.

So, after all that you still want to know how to prepare a smoked Virginia ham? My Dad used to raise his own hogs, slaughter them, butcher them, and cure and smoke the meat. Here is how my parents have prepared smoked ham for as long as I can remember.

Step 1 - Soak the ham in cool water for about 36 hours changing the water about every 4 hours. This is to remove excess salt. You will need a large food safe bucket in a cool area below 40 degrees.

Step 2 - Remove the ham from the water and rinse it. Brush or trim off any parts that you don't want to eat. Sometimes there is discoloration or mold on the outside that doesn't look appetizing. Mold is a common and natural occurrence on aged hams much like aged cheeses. It signifies proper curing and does not affect the taste or quality.

Step 3 - Slowly simmer the ham in enough water to cover it until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. My Dad used to boil his in a pot sitting on the wood stove he keeps in the basement. You will have to add water throughout the cook to keep the ham submerged.

Step 4 - Remove the skin and excess fat from the outside of the ham. Rub the ham liberally with brown sugar and black pepper.

Step 5 - Bake the ham in a 400 degree oven until the brown sugar melts and forms a glaze. It will take no longer than about 15 minutes.

Step 6 - Remove the ham from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes and then enjoy. My parents used to let the ham cool and they served it chilled with hot biscuits. So tasty!

The Virginian!

Melissa Cookston's Barbecued Baby Back Ribs Recipe

Melissa Cookston - Three Time World BBQ Champion

So, have you been wanting to learn how to cook barbecue like Melissa Cookston? Who wouldn't? She is a three time world champion barbecue cook. Fortunately for us, she has also shown the world a glimpse into how she cooks baby back ribs. Here is what she has generously shared about her process and my comments.

Here is Melissa's Quick and Easy rub recipe she shared at this link - Click Here.

1 cup granulated raw sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp black pepper (coarse ground if available)
2 tsp ground mustard
4 tbsp light chili powder
4 tbsp paprika

In the How to BBQ like a World Champion interview, Cookston explains the process.

“We’re going to show you exactly what we do to our ribs for competition to make your ribs world champion ribs too,” Cookston begins.

First, you want to remove the membrane that is on the back of the ribs. “You can’t chew through that. So we want to remove that, so that all of our flavors can get in the back of the rib as well as the top of the rib, and it’ll make it much more tender.  You just slide your fingers underneath the membrane, pull up, and bam it’s gone.”

After that, liberally coat both sides of your ribs with rub, and be sure to rub it all in so the meat gets lots of good flavor.

Then spread on a coat of secret ingredient #1, mustard.

“The mustard acts as a sealant on top of the rub, which will help force that rub down into the pores; as well as it contains Vinegar, so it will help these ribs tenderize,” she explains. “You will never taste the mustard in these ribs, I promise.”


"Now your ribs are ready for the smoker at 225 degrees for two hours."


OCBBQ NOTE - I seriously doubt that she cooks ribs at 225 degrees. Bump your smoker temperature up to 275 degrees F and you will be closer to the actual cooking temperature.

“After two hours, these ribs will be a nice, red color and they almost look like they’re done.  But guess what?  They’re still tough.  So what I’m going to do is, I’m going to wrap this up in some foil,” she says.

While appearing on BBQ Pitmasters, Cookston added some further details -

Cookston described the color of her ribs before wrapping them in foil as a really dark red color on the ribs so that when she glazes them they will have a nice pretty mahogany shine.

"Wrapping your ribs in foil will help them tenderize and keep them from over-smoking. Before you wrap them up, shake some more rub on both sides and cover it with another thin layer of mustard.

Then comes secret ingredient #2, apple juice. Add a cup or two of apple juice to your foil-wrapped ribs to ensure your ribs are cooking with moist heat and not a dry-heat.  The juice will also keep your ribs tender, and add a little bit of sweetness."

OCBBQ NOTE - I think that is too much AJ. Too much liquid in the foil can cause the ribs to lose flavor. At the link with the rub recipe (above) she specified 1 tablespoon of apple or orange juice. And if you watch the video of her at the How to BBQ like a World Champion link you can see that she used a very little bit of apple juice. Looked like about 2 tablespoons to me.

"Before you wrap them up, shake some more rub on both sides and cover it with another thin layer of mustard."

"Make sure the ribs are wrapped tightly, and put them back in the smoker for another two hours.

When your ribs are done cooking is when you add your barbecue sauce, not earlier."

OCBBQ NOTE - Start checking baby back ribs after about 1.5 hours of cook time after being wrapped. They are done when you can easily twist the bones or when they bend at a 90 degree angle when being picked up from the middle with a pair of tongs.

“BBQ sauces all contain some sort of sugars which will caramelize and actually burn through the cooking process, so you only want to put the sauce on at the very end of the cooking process,” Cookston says.

After you've sauced your ribs you’ll add the final touch of Cookston’s last secret ingredient, honey.

“It’ll give your ribs a great shine, and it’ll give them just that sweet taste, which is really good if you like sweet BBQ.”  Plus, “If it looks good, it tastes good.  So shiny ribs are better than dull ribs.”

"Put your ribs back in the smoker for 10-15 minutes to let the barbecue sauce soak in, and then your ribs are ready to enjoy."

OCBBQ NOTE - If your sauce has a lot of sugar in it, 10 minutes is the maximum time that you will need, especially at 275 degrees.

Now, if you want to make even more authentic Cookston style baby back ribs, order some of her barbecue sauce and rub from her online store. Click here for the link.

Is Your Smoker Big Enough to Smoke a Whole Hog?

Barbecued Pig Picking in Virginia

So, you want to cook a whole hog and don't know if your smoker is big enough? Well, here are some guidelines to estimate the size of a roasting hog based on its carcass weight.

A 10-24 lb hog is 23-30 inches long.

A 25-40 lb hog is 30-36 inches long.

A 41-60 lb hog is 36-44 inches long.

A 61-85 lb hog is 44-48 inches long.

Now, get the right sized hog and start cooking!

Bacon Powder!

If you are a bacon fan, I'm sure you've had those times when you were eating something and thought that it would be better with bacon. Actually, as a bacon fan, you have probably thought that when eating just about everything. But, how do you wrap bacon around popcorn? How about corn on the cob? What if you wanted bacon on your potato chips? Well, to provide that kind of flexibility with the delicious flavor of bacon, you need bacon powder. Here is how to make it.

According the molecular gastronomy experts, to turn a fat into a powder you need a stabilizer with a very low bulk density that will completely dissolve when added to any aqueous medium. Sounds like a job for N-ZORBIT M (a.k.a. Tapioca Maltodextrin or TM).

According to the manufacturer's directions for turning a fat into a powder using TM, fats should be liquefied, chilled, and mixed with a starting ratio of 60 percent fat to 40 percent TM. Puree together in a Robot Coupe and pass through a tamis for a fluffier powder. OK, I get the idea. I don't have a "Robot Coupe" or a tamis. So, here is what I did to make bacon powder with the tools I have on hand.


1.) First, the 60/40 ratio of TM and fat is a weight ratio not a volume ratio. So, you will need a kitchen scale. It turns out that I needed about 3/4 cup of TM and about 1.5 ounces of bacon fat.


2.) I used a fork to mix the bacon fat into 1/2 cup of TM. I added additional TM as needed until I got a mixture that was about the consistency of a thick biscuit dough. Once well incorporated together, I put the mixture in the refrigerator and let it chill.


3.) Once the mixture was chilled, I pressed it through a fine strainer and, voilà, I had bacon powder!

I tried it first on some melon. It tasted like melon with bacon on it. The TM doesn't alter the flavor of the bacon fat. I then tried a little on a toasted tomato sandwich.

The applications for this powder are only limited by your imagination.

Backyard Rib Fest, July 4, 2012!

Smoked some ribs and pork shoulder in the Jambo for July 4!

Competition Style Barbecued Pork from the Backyard

Competition Style Barbecued Pork

Barbecuing a pork shoulder or butt (the top portion of the shoulder) is really one of the easiest things to do. Pork butt is a very forgiving cut of meat with plenty of fat that helps to maintain moisture during the cooking process. If you are just beginning to cook barbecue, barbecue a pork butt. It's almost impossible to mess one up.

While cooking a delicious barbecued pork butt is easy it takes a lot of skill to take it up to the next level and turn it into something special. KCBS competition cooks do just that. The time, effort, skill, and expense that competition cooks put into pork butt is extensive and the barbecued pork they cook shows it.

Part of cooking a competition pork butt is knowing the muscles in the pork shoulder. Each muscle in the butt has its own unique qualities. The competition cook takes all of that into consideration when preparing, barbecuing, and pulling/slicing pork for turn in to the judges.

One muscle on a pork butt is particularly delicious. It's actually a part of the neck muscle. Competition cooks call it the "money muscle" because they feel they will win competitions when they turn it in.

The "Money Muscle" on a Pork Butt

The money muscle is a well marbled and very flavorful cut of meat. It really is one of the best parts of the pork butt that you can eat. The problem is, it cooks much quicker than the rest of the pork butt. That's the challenge for a KCBS cook. How do you cook delicious, mouth watering, tender barbecue using a pork butt without overcooking the money muscle and having it fall apart? KCBS rules do not allow the cook to separate the money muscle from the rest of the shoulder. So, the whole pork butt must be cooked to perfection in one piece.

One great thing about cooking barbecue in your backyard is, there are no rules. You can cook barbecue the way you like it. So, without going into all of the meticulous processes that competition cooks go through to cook a competition pork butt, here is how a backyard barbecue cook can easily cook competition quality barbecued pork.

1.) You need one 8 pound pork butt. Look for one with a large money muscle.

Money Muscle Removed from the Butt

2.) Trim off the excess fat. Then, cut the money muscle off as show in the photo.

3.) Apply your favorite barbecue rub.





4.) Fire up your barbecue smoker to about 290 to 300 degrees F. Make sure you are using indirect heat.

5.) Place the meat in the smoker and let it cook for 3 hours. Spritz it every half hour with water or a 50/50 mix of apple juice and water.

6.) After 3 hours of cooking, check the internal temperature of the money muscle. It should be around 170 degrees F. Double wrap both portions of the butt in foil and put them back in the smoker.

Money Muscle Ready for Slicing

7.) After about another hour of cooking, check the internal temperature of the money muscle. It should be getting close to 198 degrees F. If it hasn't reached that temperature, wrap it back up and put it back in the smoker. Check it every 15 minutes.


8.) When the money muscle has reached an internal temperature of 198 degrees F, remove it from the smoker, wrap it in foil then wrap it in a blanket and let it rest for 2 hours.

9.) After cooking in the foil for 2 hours, it's time to check the internal temperature of the large portion of the pork butt. When it has reached an internal temperature of 203 to 205 degrees, remove it from the smoker, wrap it in foil and wrap it in a blanket and let it rest for at least 1 hour.

10.) After the rest, pull the meat from the large portion of shoulder. Remove excess fat and other things you don't want to eat. Get a sharp knife and safely slice the money muscle into medallions.

11.) It's time to eat! Arrange the meat on a serving tray in a way that highlights those beautiful, moist, tender, flavorful money muscle medallions, serve (with or without sauce) and enjoy!

Barbecue Competition Practice - Spare Ribs!

This is a photo of some spare ribs I cooked during one of my competition practice cooks. Here is pretty much how I barbecued them.

1.) Trim the spare ribs St. Louis style. If you are not sure how to perform this step, click here to take a look at how Chef David Payne does it.

2.) Apply a generous coating of your favorite rub to the back and front of the ribs. I like to use Plowboy's Yardbird or 3Eyz BBQ Rub, or Williams Rib Tickler rub. Sometimes I make my own rub by just applying brown sugar, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, chili powder and cayenne pepper.

3.) Let the ribs sit for about 30 minutes. You want the rub to begin to liquefy on the outside of the ribs. I usually trim and rub the ribs and let them sit while I am starting the fire in my smoker.

4.) Bring your smoker to 275 degrees F and use indirect heat. I like to use a little white oak or hickory for smoke. Cherry wood is good too. But, don't over do it. When I am cooking ribs on my drum or keg smokers, I use 1 or 2 golf ball sized chunks of wood.

5.) Put the ribs on the smoker and let them cook for 2.5 hours. Make sure you maintain as constant a temperature in your smoker as possible.

6.) Every half hour, spritz the ribs with a little water mixed 50/50 with apple juice.

7.) After 2.5 hours, put a little squeeze Parkay in a sheet of foil large enough to wrap the ribs in. Add about a handful of brown sugar and a little honey to the Parkay. Place the ribs in the foil on top of the Parkay/sugar mixture meat side down. Put the same combination of ingredients on the top of the ribs. Wrap them tightly in the foil and then wrap another sheet of foil around them just to make sure they are well sealed.

8.) Put the wrapped ribs back in the smoker meat side down. Let them cook for another 1.5 hours.

9.) After 1.5 hours, unwrap the ribs and check the tenderness. If you can twist a couple of bones easily, they are done. If you can't twist a bone, wrap them back up and continue to cook them for another 15 minutes. Check them every 15 or 20 minutes until they pass the bone twist test.

10.) When the ribs are done, remove them from the foil and apply a coat of your favorite barbecue sauce. Blues Hog sauce is a good choice too. I like to use a silicon brush to apply the sauce.

11.) Put the ribs back in the smoker for about 10 minutes. You just need them in the smoker long enough for the sauce to "set."

12.) Remove from the smoker and enjoy!

Barbecue Competition Practice - Pork!

Here are the results of a practice cook I did today of a pork butt. It wasn't my best effort but it turned out fair to middlin'.

I'll be competing in the KCBS sanctioned BBQ Jamboree in Fredericksburg, VA this coming May (link in the link section of my blog). I'll be competing with the Man vs. Pig Competition BBQ Team. There will be some stiff competition there so wish me luck!

Texas Style Barbecued Sausage - Speechlessly Good

Spamosaurus Rex

Spamosaurus Rex

Spam! Some people love it. Some people hate it. And some people think it's just OK. Personally, I'm in the "it's just OK" camp. When I was a kid, my parents kept it in the pantry. My older brothers would eat it most of the time. In those days each can came with a "key" that was used to open it. There was a little tab on the end of a metal "band" made into the can. The "key" had a slot on the end. You had to put the metal tab in the slot of the key and start winding the metal "band" around the "key" until you removed the entire band from all around the can. I remember one time the band broke after only a few twists of the "key." No small panic broke out among my brothers. Then one blamed the other for breaking the band. Then they started pushing each other. It was like the legendary battles I imagined that were fought by tyrannosaurs and triceratopses. Then my Mother stepped in to stop a fight. My oldest brother started thinking the problem over to find a solution to free the trapped Spam from its prison. He tried a can opener but it didn't work. He tried a screw driver to pry the metal band away from the can. That didn't work. Next, he pulled out a butcher knife. Fortunately he didn't cut off any fingers. But the Spam was still trapped. The final solution to release the succulent salty loaf of ground pork was to use some tin snips to cut through the can. Personally, I would have just ate an apple. It was bad enough to have to eat Spam but to work that hard to eat Spam was going a bit extreme, in my opinion.

Looking over the canned meats at a local supermarket I noticed cans of Spam on the shelves. I picked up a can and noticed that they no longer have that infernal "tab and key" can opening mechanism. They have put pull rings on the cans. Nice update. I also noticed that they now have a lower fat and low sodium option. That can't hurt. Holding the can of reduced sodium Spam I thought back to the great Spam jail break episode. Then I wondered if there was anything I could do with the can of reduced sodium pork fragments. Once I got home, I made a list of Spam possibilities. That's where I got the idea for Spamosaurus Rex.

First, I drew some dinosaur patterns on paper and cut them out. Then, I used the paper patterns as guides to cut the shapes out of a sheet of aluminum foil. I sliced the Spam into "sheets." I put one of the foil patterns on a sheet of Spam and used an impeccably clean X-acto knife to follow the outline of each foil pattern as I cut the shape out of the Spam.

I made up some gluten free macaroni and cheese (recipe to come in a later post), fired up the grill and grilled the Spam. I dished up the mac & cheese, placed the Spamosaurs on top and Spamosaurus Rex was done.

I suppose you are wondering how it tasted? It tasted like grilled Spam with mac & cheese. The mac & cheese was delicious.