Treasure Trove


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

Jim Langford

TVWBB Fan
Some old friends from my wife's village just stopped by loaded with gifts: chorizo, an Iberian pork butt, homemade olives, lemons and red and green peppers from the garden...But the best part was when they pulled out a little bag that their son, who lives in Memphis, brought for me the last time he came to visit, but which he'd forgotten to give me at the time. It contained a jar of Rendevous dry rub and a bottle of Corky's sauce! Man, that rub smells good! Can't wait to sprinkle some of it on that butt and maybe on a slab of ribs and pop them in the WSM. Their son is coming over again at the end of the month, and he wonders if there's anything else I'd like to have. Any recommendations on rubs and sauces from Memphis?

Regards,

J.L.
 
Jim,

If you just received a gift of Iberian pork butt from Spain, the kind that is made from the black footed pigs of Iberico, than I would suggest NOT rubbing, saucing and smoking such a beautiful hunk of pure piggy goodness.

I am assuming if the butt in question came from Spain it is cured not fresh and is sought after by Epicureans the world over for it’s subtle nutty flavor and delicate aroma as the Iberian pigs are fed a diet of acorns, which imparts a beautiful subtlety to the meat.

If the butt is fully cured, ready to eat, and I am assuming it is, slice it thin and enjoy on lightly buttered crusty bread, wrapped around a slice of melon or fig, or break out a bottle of Sherry and enjoy with the chorizo, peppers and olives as tapas.

Don’t get me wrong, I like BBQ as much, if not more, than the next guy, but not every hunk of pork is appropriate for the WSM.

Enjoy,
Gary
 
Gary,

No, this butt hasn't been cured; it's raw. There's no way I'd let a jam?n serrano, ca?a de lomo or any other cured Iberian pork get anywhere near my smoker! Whenever I'm lucky enough to get my hands on such delicacies (usually only around Christmas), I break out my trusty ham knife and slice the meat paper thin. As you say, there really is nothing like it.

I've only smoked an Iberian pork butt once before, and the results were excellent, but this meat is considerably fattier than meat taken from regular white pigs, and not as much of the fat rendered out as I should have liked. I took that last one to 190? internal. I think I'll let this one go to 200?. Sound like a plan?

Cheers,

J.L.
 
Jim,

Color me dumb, I didn’t notice that you were posting from Seville and assumed, always a mistake, that a pork butt brought to the States from Spain was cured.

200? sounds a wee bit high to me, but then again I am dealing with American pork.

Enjoy your dinner.

Regards

Smoking in Chicago,
Gary
 
Jim, congratulations on your taste of home! I use Rendevous rub all the time and find it works great on about anything I put it on, but particularly well on ribs and butts (with mustard). I thought I might pass along a trick that I have found works well with the rub. I add about 1/3 turbinado sugar to 2/3 rub. This gives a slightly sweet/smoky flavor to the meat. Be sure and get the turbinado sugar, as it doesn't break down as quicly as table sugar and is not apt to burn. Pat Donahue, who manages the restaurant's mail order business (1-800-hogsfly) passed this along to me and it works great, partcularly with the ribs. Good luck!!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top