Beer Braised BBQ Pork Butt

Beer Braised BBQ Pork Butt

I usually use a crock pot recipe with root beer but decided to try out beer braising. This recipe turned out wonderful. I served this with slaw and small slider buns. 

Ingredients
For the dry rub:

• 2 tablespoons salt
• About 40 grinds black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard seed
• 12 ounces good ale or dark beer, such as Bass
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 pound pork butt 

Directions

Combine rub ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Rub all over pork. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and as long as overnight.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Unwrap pork and place in a roasting pan with sides about 2 inches high. Cook 45 minutes until dark browned and even blackening in places. Remove from oven. Lower oven to 325 degrees. Pour beer over the top and add chopped garlic around the pork. Cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil or twice with regular foil. Poke about 10 holes all over the top of the foil. Cook pork butt 2 1/2 hours longer until so tender that it comes away very easily from center bone.

Place the meat on a plate and pour the pan juice (there will be plenty) into a saucepan. To the pan juices add:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar

Bring to a simmer until reduced by half and thick, about 20 minutes.

While the sauce is boiling down, pull apart the pork with 2 forks. Pour the sauce over the pulled pork and work through until fully absorbed.

Apple Pie

The most amazing compliment I've received for this pie... "This is better than my mothers apple pie" from Carl!!! Who's mom is famous for her cooking. 

Cutting apples can get tedious. Using an apple slicer is a game changer. It makes it fun and easy to whip up an apple pie for a weeknight dinner. 

In this case I gave the job to my husband. Since there is a clamp and a crank involved he likes it.  

Minutes later apples are peeled and sliced. 

I use my salad tongs to toss the apples with spices and juice.

Time:1 hr 0 min
Prep Time:45 minInactive 
Prep Time:30 minCook 

Ingredients
4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Perfect Pie Crust, recipe follows
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Roll out half the pie dough and drape it over a 9- or 10-inch pie pan to extend about 1/2-inch over the rim. Don't stretch the dough; if it's too small, just put it back on the board and re-roll it.

Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.

Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Serve warm.

Perfect Pie Crust:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

Yield: 2 (10-inch) crusts

Homemade Blueberry Syrup

• 10 cups blueberries, washed
• 2  cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 lemons

1. Using a sharp paring knife, peel three or four strips of lemon peel from the lemon. Skin should be about 1/2 inch wide and not have too much of the bitter pith or white part on it. Then juice the lemon, and set both zest and juice aside.

2. Place blueberries and  water in a medium pot. Don’t worry about stems or leaves; they will be strained out later. Using a potato masher, crush the berries.

3. Over medium-high heat, bring the berries and water to a boil, then lower the temperature to medium-low. Simmer berries for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. They will darken considerably.

4. Remove pot from heat and ladle berries into a fine sieve set over a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup. Using the back of a smaller ladle, press on the berry solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard solids. (Update: or save them if you like. This part is apparently alarming to quite a few commenters! But my solids are full of stems, not worthy of a smoothie.)

5. Return the blueberry juices to the pot, then add the lemon peel(not juice yet) and the sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly. (Optional: Add a stick of cinnamon here, if you like).

6. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and stir to combine. Boil another minute or two. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove lemon zest.

7. Using a funnel, pour syrup into clean jars. Top with lid and store in the refrigerator for up to three months, or the freezer for up to nine.

Makes about 3 cups.