A Tale of Pork Ribs - From the Freezer Abyss

After mixing batch after batch of caramel and chocolate in our test kitchen, well....we got a little sugared out. Just a little. So we took a break from the sweets and decided to play around with dinner. I've been craving a good pulled pork sandwich ever since I went to Roy's BBQ the other day. First things first - the bun. I love good barbecue flavors soaked in a soft squishy bun. I made some tweaks to an already good bun recipe and thought it would be the perfect companion to the pork filling. These buns can really stand on their own. So buttery, so good. Sorry, I can't give you the recipe. These may be going on the menu.

Mmmmm....Butter!

I couldn't wait to eat one before the picture

I love grilling, but I didn't feel like hanging out it in the rain tending the coals. I wanted to do a little experimenting. I salt and peppered both sides of the pork spare ribs, rubbing in some ground cumin as well. I baked them for 20 minutes at 400, drained off the fat then put them in the slow cooker, with 1/2 cup lime juice and adding enough water to cover the meat. I cooked them on high for 5 hours and when they were done, the meat was tender but a little disappointing - not a whole lot of flavor. I mixed up some cilantro lime butter to mix into the meat which made the mediocre pork taste delicious. Next time I'll work on the pork recipe, and if that turns out great this sandwich will be fantastic.

Cilantro Lime Butter

4T butter
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 c lime juice
1/4 c cilantro (chopped)
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
zest of 1 lime

• Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the garlic and cook until it browns. Pull off the heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients. Combine with the pork.
• With this sandwich I made up a very simple cabbage slaw, tossing shredded cabbage with just oil, vinegar and a little salt and pepper.

The Jucy Lucy Burger

Ever since I heard of the Jucy Lucy (when "Man vs Food" visited the Twin Cities) I've needed to try my own version. Stuffing the cheese inside of the burger, keeping it warm and gooey with every bite, makes the Jucy Lucy unbeatable. When you buy the meat, splurge for the more expensive, higher quality ground beef. It makes a huge difference. You can use any cheese inside with a perfect friend on top. The combinations are endless; blue cheese & bacon, swiss & mushrooms, pepperjack & roasted peppers...all inside of these homemade hamburger buns. Here's the first couple attempts at my version. I'll definitely be trying more.

Jucy Lucy Burger
(Big thanks to WasabiBratwurst for the perfect seasoning ratio)
For the Classic Cheddar Lucy...
1-1/2 lbs ground beef
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
4 thick slices cheddar

For the Feta Lucy...
1-1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 t dried oregano
1/2 t garlic granules
4 T feta

Mix the meat and spices with your hands. Divide the meat mixture into 3 oz balls, two balls per burger. Each recipe makes about 4 burgers. If you don't have a scale, eyeball to the size of a large meatball.

Flatten each ball into thin patties that are a little larger than the bun. Sandwich the cheese in the middle of the patty and seal by pinching the edge with your fingers making a meat flying saucer. Make sure to seal it well. The last thing you want is all your cheese goodness to leak out all over your grill. You'll get a better seal by using a piece of wax paper to finish this step.

Rub each side of the patty with a dab of vegetable oil to prevent it from sticking to the grill and barbecue the burgers over medium high direct heat for about 7 minutes. Flip and grill for an additional 5 minutes.

Put them on your hamburger bun with all the fixins you like. I enjoy burgers with minimal toppings, so I had my cheddar Lucy with mayo & avocado and the feta Lucy with sliced tomatoes. Delicious!

Hamburger Buns

When I eat a burger, I like the bun to be able to stand on it's own next to the meat. I don't enjoy biting into a tasteless, squishy pillow, which unfortunately includes most burger buns in the grocery isle, so I've been making my own at home. I've tried out a couple recipes lately and I'm really happy with this one. It's not too crusty, like an artisan style roll, and not too soft. It's just right.

Hamburger Buns

4 cups bread flour

2 T Sugar

3 T powdered milk

2 t salt

1 t instant dry yeast

1 cup water

1 egg

3 T softened butter

• Place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand up mixer and mix with the dough hook attachment for 2 minutes.
• Add the egg and half of the water. Mix until the dry ingredients start to incorporate into the wet. Add the rest of the water and softened butter and mix on low speed until the wet ingredients pick up all the dry bits on the bottom of the bowl, about 3 more minutes.
• Turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes (the gluten is now moderately developed).
• Put a towel over the bowl and let it sit in a warm room (70) for an hour for the dough to rest.
• Divide the dough into 3.5 ounce portions. If you don't have a scale, eyeball a size larger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball.
• Form the dough into balls then flatten into 4 inch discs with the heel of your hand. It's okay to lightly flour your work surface, but avoid incorporating additional flour into the dough.
• Place the flattened dough balls on a lined sheetpan. Cover loosely with plastic to avoid a skin to form and put in a warm place (80 - 85) to rise for an hour.
• Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes. When done baking, immediately brush tops of the hot rolls with melted butter.
• When cool, slice in half and eat. Store the extra in the freezer.