Wednesday, April 06, 2011

On your mark. . .

Owen, waffle.
I started today by making waffles. Recipe is polished. Language is precise. Yield is correct. My work is done -- on waffles. I have to cook nonstop today and every day until Sunday, when I send the manuscript of my book back to the publisher,  the goat sitter arrives, and we leave on our spring break vacation. I'm going to take pictures of everything I cook from now until then and post them. It will motivate me and help me feel amused by the effort, rather than gloomy and overwhelmed.

Pork shoulder after 10 hours in the kettle grill.
To backtrack a bit, I made pulled pork again on Saturday and managed to take some pictures this time. The meat was better -- juicier and less overwhelmingly smoky and spicy -- than the first time because I used natural charcoal and omitted chile powder. Guys, even if you're not Southern, you can totally do this! And if you're Southern, why would you need to? If I could buy South Carolina pulled pork, I wouldn't go to the trouble of making it.

Pulled pork sandwich, baked beans, slaw. 
I was thinking it would be fun this spring and summer to have a barbecue party every Saturday. I could move on to ribs and brisket and mutton. . . .

But never goat.
Pregnant?
Never!

That is a hen.

7 comments:

  1. The hen looks like a poodle!!
    My goodness how can that be!!

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  2. couple of things:
    speaking as a southerner, i can tell you the bbq looks absolutely perfect. even the way it's served on the plate.
    but we need to know more about your saucing here. as i'm sure you know, saucing is as important an issue in bbq as it is in haute cuisine.
    so tell us more. vinegar based? if so, what kind?
    etc.
    secondly, that goat sure is cute, but i must tell you that bbq goat, which i ate once a week in college, is fantastic. sorry to bring that up.
    as for the hen, i wonder what it feels like to look like that? cute!

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  3. My husband's family comes from SC, and that sauce def. looks more NC, i.e., ketchup based, than SC, i.e., mustard based. But I am a lover of both kinds, so it looks divine to me.

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  4. I assume you have tasted goat in the past . . . regardless, I can understand why it might be harder to eat goat than sheep, because sheep are not cute and petlike. They are idiots. But I can still eat goat, and it is delectable. We can have a discussion of the comparative ethics of consuming goat vs. adding another animal to the population, which must be done if one wants milk. It is a difficult decision.

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  5. Anonymous 9:41 -- I doused the barbecue in a vinegar sauce and then served Dr. Pepper/ketchup sauce on the side.
    Girl Detective - I think you are probably right, it is probably North Carolina style. The only place I've eaten pulled pork was in South Carolina, so I always associate the two.
    Layne -- Yes, I've eaten goat and probably will again. I believe goat should be eaten, I just don't have a great craving to eat it myself these days.

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  6. that chicken looks like a pomeranian...I have a great kalua pig (hawaiian pulled pork) recipe that is crazy easy--boston blade--rub with liquid smoke/hawaiian salt. Put in pan with 2"water, cover with foil and roast forever at 325...it is almost impossible to tell the difference from imu-baked pig and you don't need to dig a hole in your backyard.

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  7. I love your goat picture. I reminds me of the papparazzi "womb watch" and speculation on which celebrities may be pregnant, or may just be getting fat. I can hear your goat's publicist now...

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