Oven-roasted Boston Butt

Too beautiful to pull apart. It took 7 hours to roast but it was worth the wait. This is a perfect rainy day dish. I prepared the pork day before and then roasted it pretty much all day. It was worth it.

Oven-roasted Boston Butt (recipe from Bobby Flay)
Dry Rub:

* 3 tablespoons paprika
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon dry mustard
* 3 tablespoons coarse salt
* 1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.

After baking...
Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl.

Note: don't add the BBQ sauce if you are not eating everything. Package using freezer bags and save it for another day.

Homemade Cider Vinegar Barbecue Sauce (from Bobby Flay)
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup yellow or brown mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

I didn't like breaking the meat. It took me a while but it was so worth it. The whole Boston butt made so much pulled pork I actually froze three bags.

1st bag - made some pulled pork sandwich
2nd bag - made some pulled pork quesadillas
3rd bag - still in my freeze and ready for me when I need a quick meal

Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Chorizo con Huevos

Mark's Cinco de Mayo dinner

Inspired by our favorite Mexican restaurant Las Palmas. I recreated this dish and added my own style.

2 Mexican chorizos (removed from casing)
1/2 onion diced
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 eggs (beaten)

Brown diced onion and add chorizo using medium heat. Cook until the chorizo is well done and slighty crispy. Push meat to the side of the pan and add beaten eggs. Let it sit in the heat and then stir eggs with the meat. Remove from the pan and plate.

In a flat grill pan warm flour tortillas for a few minutes. Add warmed tortillas to your plate and garnish with sour cream. Top with fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!

Chicken & Pork Adobo

Twice-cooked chicken and pork adobo with tomatoes and cilantro garnish

2 lbs. chicken (I used drumsticks)
1 lb. pork loin (cubed)
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Mr. Yoshida Sauce (you can get this at BJ's or Costco)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
4 -5 bay leaves

1. Use one big crock pot. Add all the meat and all the other ingredients. I cooked my dish while my kids were napping in the afternoon. I think cooked it till after dinner. About 4 - 5 hours on high. Stirring occasionally. I left my pot on top of the counter top overnight. When it's cold you can leave it until you are ready to bake the dish before dinner.

2. Next day use a rectangular baking dish. Transfer everything and bake at 375 for 1 1/2hrs. Totally worth baking makes it extra brown and the sauce thickens a little bit.

3. The meat falls of the chicken bone. It's amazingly soft and flavorful. Serve with steamed rice and cubed tomatoes. I added cilantro with a dash of fish sauce. I added pork to this dish because I like pork and Mark prefers chicken. :)

This dish can feed about 5 to 6 people or more. We always have leftovers. The more the meat sits in the sauce the tastier it gets.

Enjoy!