Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [66]
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the brine and pork in a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Press out the air, seal the bag, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or as long as overnight.
Light a grill for indirect medium heat, about 325°F.
Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Coat with the oil and season on both sides with the poultry rub. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Mix up a mop of the cider vinegar, sugar, mustard, and Tabasco.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Put the pork on the grill away from the heat, cover the grill, and cook for about 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes and basting liberally with mop after each turn, until the pork is very tender, about 190°F (make sure the thermometer is not touching bone).
SPARERIBS/BELLY
Coriander Spareribs with Lime Brine
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
Spareribs, which are cut from the belly, come in a slab of at least eleven bones. The slab tapers at one end and has a flap of tough brisket meat attached along the edge of the wide end. St. Louis ribs are trimmed into a rough rectangle, with the brisket and shorter ribs removed, to make the ribs more uniform. It is the cut we prefer because it grills more evenly, and it is easier to separate into individual ribs. These ribs are brined with a lot of cilantro (coriander leaf) and basted with a composed butter flavored with coriander seeds and more fresh cilantro. The result is lean and fragrant, quite different from a traditional sweetsour-spicy ketchup-sauced BBQ rib rack.
INGREDIENTS:
2 slabs St. Louis–cut spareribs (about 4 pounds total)
2¼ cups Lime-Cilantro Brine
⅓ cup Coriander Butter Sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Cut the racks in half, put in a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, and add the brine. Press out the air, seal, and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours.
Light a grill for indirect medium heat, about 325°F.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Remove the ribs from the brine and discard the brine. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels and put on the grill away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ribs registers about 155°F (make sure the thermometer is not touching bone), about 1 hour.
Brush the ribs with half of the butter sauce, turn, and brush with the rest of the butter sauce.
Remove the ribs to a large serving platter and cut into 1- or 2-rib sections.
PORK BELLY/BELLY
Pig Candy
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
A pig’s belly is striated with fat and thick slabs of lean meat, which run in ragged, parallel stripes. Think bacon and then think again. The layering is not unlike petit four pastry or ribbon candy—the perfect image for conjuring up this dementedly delicious piggy sweet meat. A slab of pork belly with its rind removed is soaked in a pineapple brine. (The rind is a layer of skin that helps the belly hold its shape for butchering, but becomes as tough as tanned leather during cooking.) Bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme in fresh pineapple juice, helps to tenderize the lean meat of the belly. The brined belly is then grilled slowly with smoke over an indirect fire until it just about melts. Then it is cut into small squares, rolled in habanero-tinged cinnamon sugar, and quickly grilled to caramelize its surface. The result is a meaty, fatty, sugary, spicy mouth explosion. Garnish with curls of cooked onion, if desired.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups hardwood chips, such as hickory or fruitwood, soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 cups Pineapple Brine
1½ pounds pork belly with rind removed, about 2 inches thick
1 large onion, sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground habanero or another chile pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the brine and pork in a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Press out the air, seal the bag, and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight.
Light a grill for indirect medium heat, about 325°F, with smoke. Because the pork belly will need to cook for about 2 hours, if you are using charcoal or wood, you might need to light additional coals or add more wood to replenish the fire.
Layer the