B-Spot, Again?

Yes again.  Seriously, if you've been there you'd want to talk about how good it is too!  So let's just start at the beginning.  I had plans on that day to go to The Lockview in Akron with my friend Lynn, a pretty darn good place in it's own right.  But I also happen to have been sick for most of the week and when I called my doctor that day to get a prescription sent in, she wanted to see me in person.  So I called Lynn up with a proposal.... come with me to see my doctor in Beachwood and then we can go to Penzy's, Trader Joe's and B-Spot for lunch (Whole Foods if we have time).  The reply I got was "Sold!" 

Sitting and waiting in the doctors office was pure torture. I just couldn't wait to get to B-Spot and sink my teeth into one of Michael Symon's deliciously juicy burgers!  But we prevailed and as soon as we got out of there we headed straight for B-Spot!  For a Thursday afternoon around 3:45 pm, it was pretty crowded but we were able to get right in.  And the first thing I saw upon walking in the door was a blackboard with the daily special on it.  I took a photo of it, but unfortunately the photo doesn't want to come out of my phone.  So I will just tell you, it said, "The Muffaletta Burger:  Ham, Salami, Provolone Cheese, Mayo, Muffaletta."

Now it was my turn to say, "Sold!"  There was no way on earth I wasn't getting this.  I don't care that I have bronchitis and was just given a 10 day course of antibiotics.  I don't care that my cough is so bad that I have to drink some vile grapey cough medicine.  All I know is when I see the world Muffaletta, I'm in!  So that is what I ordered.  Lynn decided to give the Pulled Pork a try.  And really, can you go wrong with pulled pork?  I don't think so!  The menu described it as pulled pork with avocado, cheddar, Carolina style BBQ, grilled onion.  Lynn ordered it minus the avocado.  We also ordered the chips, which the menu describes as chips with Parmesan fondue and rosemary.  And this is what we got:

This is seriously a big mound of homemade chips, plenty for 2 or more, way too much for one.  The dip is warm and cheesy and with a nice hint of rosemary.  I could have made those chips my meal.  They were so good!

And then came my burger.  Oh yes, my Muffaletta burger!   I've had Muffaletta burgers before, at the Hamburger Festival and they've been pretty good.  But this, this is from a whole new stratosphere of burgers.  Feast your eyes on this thing of beauty....

 

Can you stand it!?  Nothing I can say can really describe how insanely good this is.  Everything was perfection.  The custom blended beef that B-Spot uses is just amazing.  The flavor, the seasoning, how it's cooked, it's all perfection.  And then to have it topped with ham, salami, provolone and olive salad?  Fuggedaboutit!   It's the single best burger experience ever.  And I don't say that lightly.  

But the pulled pork was certainly not to be overlooked here!   

It was piled super high and was tender, moist and delicious.  The onions added a nice sweetness and the array of sauces on the table were fun to try out.  I ended up taking half my burger home and Lynn bought a bratwurst to take home.  No matter how full you are when you leave B-Spot, you just want to keep eating, it's so good!  

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Vinegar Slaw the Perfect Companion to Pulled Pork

If you've ever been to the Carolina's, or if you watch a lot of BBQ shows on TV, then you know that with pulled pork comes a vinegar sauce or a vinegar slaw. It's truly the perfect companion to the deliciousness of pulled pork. I kind of improvised mine and was quite pleased with the result. In fact, my husband Nick went wild for it. He's not a creamy slaw kind of guy. He doesn't grove on mayo or sour cream. So this slaw was right up his alley.

I went for the convenience factor and bought a bag of pre-shredded green cabbage with carrots and pre-shredded red cabbage. I used the whole bag of green but only about half the bag of red and mixed them together.


To make the dressing I used:

3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 t. kosher salt
2 T. celery seed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup oil (canola or vegetable, but not olive)



Whisk together until all the sugar is melted and then pour over the cabbage. Mix well and then let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.



I had mine in the fridge overnight and as you can see, the purple cabbage turned the whole slaw a lovely shade of pink!



It's delish! The apple cider vinegar and celery seed give it that something a little extra. We loved it so much, I've made it again already, just to have, without more pork!

Porky Goodness

Ahhh it's that time again... time for smokin! I had planned on making a brisket for Memorial Day weekend, but those plans changed when I was shopping and BJ's (that's a wholesale club like Sam's or Costco, in case you didn't know that or don't have them in your area). They did not have any brisket at all the day I was there. So looking around I thought I'd go with ribs, but then like a light shining down from the heavens, the pork shoulder revealed itself to me. And at $1.59 a lb. it was meant to be!


Isn't that a thing of beauty! Oh yes. It was technically called a Pork Shoulder Butt Roast. Shoulder Butt... not sure how that works, but whatever.

So, the night before this baby is to go on the smoker, it needs to be rubbed. When I make a dry rub, I basically just look around at what I have in the house and toss it together. This was no exception.


3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1 T. dried oregano, 1 T. lemon pepper, 2 T. paprika and about 2 T. of Penzy's Northwoods seasoning (which contains salt, paprika, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic and chipotle).

Once it's all mixed together, the shoulder butt gets a massage and then gets put in the fridge overnight.


In the morning, and you better believe it needs to be early because this shoulder butt is going to take a LONG time to cook, get your fire going. I use regular charcoal and when it turns an ashy gray, it's ready. This should take about 20-30 minutes. And while the coals are getting ready, have your wood chips soaking. Generally I use hickory, but this time I tried apple wood. Make sure you have your water tray in place and with water in it (this fits in in the middle of the smoker).



As soon as you put your soaked wood chips on the hot coals, the smoke starts and you want to get the smoker closed and as sealed as you can, as fast as you can. Losing smoke is bad!


My smoker does not have as good a seal on it as I would like it to have so I usually end up needing foil to wrap around the lid and try and keep in as much smoke as possible. This time I got to thinking that if I make a foil lip and put it all around the lip of the smoker, then put the lid on, maybe it would fit more snugly. And it worked! It took a little longer than I would have liked, but it worked



Now, the shoulder butt is on and all we have to do is wait. This is where you have to learn to trust. Trust that the smoker is doing what it should be doing. And after 5-6 hours, add more coals to the bottom. But DO NOT open the lid, ever.

And unfortunately my friends, things did not work out well this time. After about 3 hours of smoking time, we got a huge downpour. I kept my trust in the smoker, that it was doing what it was supposed to, thinking it was pretty sealed up and therefore, still cooking. I added more coals (I used a charcoal chimney to get them ready) and I thought all was well. It wasn't. It was a very very sad day when, after 10 hours, I opened that lid.



Looks nice and all, but it was not even close to being done. So at 7:00 pm on Memorial Day, we had no pulled pork :(

The next day, the shoulder butt went into a 300 degree oven for 6 hours. And then, the heavens parted!! The angels sang!!! Harps were played!!! Porky goodness was achieved!!!


Oh yeah, that is a thing of beauty! It didn't work out exactly how I planned, but the end result was damn tasty. Take a look at this bark!



I served it on some nice Kaiser rolls, with vinegar slaw.


And we lived in porky heaven for close to a week! Yeah that was one big shoulder butt!