Cooking

Colorado Crawfish Boil

April 13, 2014 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

Crawfish boils are a staple of the south, particularly Louisiana where some of the best crawfish come from. They are interesting little critters that require only boiling water and spices to prepare. Be sure to sort them before you boil them though. Dead crawfish are thrown away, you only want to cook the live ones.

60 pounds requires multiple batches, with each batch getting a little spicier as you reuse the water. Get the water to a boil with your spices and then put the crawfish into the tank. Let it boil for about 3 minutes and then turn off your heat. Let the crawfish simmer in the tank for about 15 minutes and you’re done.

A Single Batch

We ordered the “select” assortment but I was pretty sure this guy came out of the premium bin. We had 20 people and 60 pounds of crawfish, that was plenty to get everyone sick and still have leftovers.

Premium Craw in a Select Box

The “feeding trough” consisted of potatoes and corn boiled along with the crawfish. We threw everything into an old cooler and added a few more spices for good measure. If you want to really get people excited however, alligator boudin will do the trick.

A Square Meal

Flush it down with nothing but the best…

The best part might be the leftover crawfish you have at the end of the day. Gumbo, étouffée, pie, bisque, and bread are just a few options.

Green Chili Pulled Pork

March 29, 2014 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

Green Chili Pork Rub

(Mostly stolen from The Arcadian Experience)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3 T black pepper

4 T kosher salt

3 T Coffee

1/4 cup Ground Green Chilis

2 T garlic powder

1 T cayenne powder

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

Washed, dried, and covered in mustard the shoulder is ready to receive the dry rub. I like to let it sit overnight with the rub but often times forget, it doesn’t make a huge difference.

Mustard Pork

Once you put on your rub it should look something like this. I put the shoulder on the smoker at about 180 degrees for a few hours, directly on the grate. After a few hours I’ll turn it up to 225 and let it cook for awhile. I won’t put it in a pan until its been on for about 5 hours, I’ve never had a problem of it drying out.

4 Hours In

Pull it off the smoker when the internal temp gets between 180-190. I usually aim for the middle and call it good. Wrap it in foil and let it rest for awhile. If you put some towels around the foil you can let it sit for hours before your party and it will still be too hot to touch.

Finished Product

The Evolution of Sausage

March 24, 2014 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

I’ll admit, its not as interesting as the guy in the Orange Crush t-shirt, but it sure does taste better.

3 pounds of pork butt or just ground pork, depending on your enthusiasm.

I went ahead and stole a simple recipe from the interwebs, the ingredients are as follows…

3 lbs pork butt
2 t Paprika
3/4 t Fennel Seeds
1 T Salt
1 T Black Pepper
1 1/4 T Parsley Leaves
3 T Dry Red Wine
1 T Garlic Powder
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Dried Basil
2 t Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 t Brown Sugar
1/8 t Dried Oregano
1/8 t Dried Thyme

Since you’ve come this far don’t cheat by buying some of that collagen casing stuff, just get the real deal. If you don’t like animal products, just stick to your tofu.

So the spices turned out alright. I’d prefer them to be much spicier. If you like that kind of thing I’d consider adding a little more red chili flakes, ancho chili, cayenne powder, whatever gets your mouth moving.

Boil those sausages for a few minutes and let them cool. Legitimately cook them whenever you decide to eat them (don’t get yourself sick). Remember they will go bad quickly without all the salts and preservatives that Johnsonville has so kindly put in your grocer sausages.

Now crank up the smoker, heat the pizza stone and enjoy.