The orchard may be angry, but the drinkers are happy

The growth of cider sales in the US has been exponential and the leader of the pack continues to be Angry Orchard.  Not wanting to rest on the laurels of their success, Angry Orchard has pushed the cider envelope again and just this month launched The Cider House Collection.  

Both ciders pack a higher ABV and are packed in 750ml corked bottles. Angry Orchard Strawman is based on old European farmhouse techniques.

Iceman is inspired by traditional Quebec ciders, where the apples are frozen prior to fermentation to release richer flavors.

While both Strawman and Iceman stem from the same Italian heirloom apples and are both fermented on wood, they are two very different drinks.

These full-bodied ciders are a great substitute for wine and were fun to experiment with when we recently had friends over for dinner.  Oddly enough, the ciders also drew a gender difference.

I tend to gravitate away from sweeter drinks, but Gary and I favored the sweeter Strawman, while Zoë and Terri favored the more crisp & subtle Iceman.  If I had to wager those results before we tried them, I would have lost big time.  The lesson here, like with anything else, is to not judge a bottle by its label.

Cider has a lot of complexity and although some if its flavors are similar to beer, it's still quite different.  With the Cider House Collection, I've got another excuse to "think" while I drink.  I've got some exploring to do.

 Note: Angry Orchard provided me with the two bottles and as you can see from above, I'm out and need to go buy more.

Memorial Day 2013

For many, Memorial Day in the US marks the beginning of grilling season.  For those of us in the midwest who grill all year, it signifies no longer having to grill with a coat and hat on.  It's a very special holiday.

Whether you grill for only a few months out of the year, or all twelve, spring means getting your grill in tip top shape for a summer of abuse.  Before you plan your Memorial Day meal, make sure your grill is ready for the "weight".

Now with the grill spring clean out of the way, the only left is to figure the menu.
Purists may gravitate towards burgers...



and hot dogs.



I get excited about ribs...



and pulled pork.



Needless to say, sometimes I will go all out with brisket...



or up a notch with a steak.



For even more ideas, check out the Pinterest board started by John from Grilling 24x7.  He's pulled in a great group of grill bloggers who have posted some fabulous creations.

At the end of the day, and no matter the meal, don't forget the real reason for the holiday.



Happy Memorial Day everyone.  Grill on!

Relatively Wordless Wednesday

The hot weather meant one thing last night: burgers.

But, not just any burger.  Oh no, these were pork/beef burgers with roquefort cheese, grilled portabella, grilled pepper, and…a fried egg.

Killer.

What's on the Grill #272: Pulled Pork on the Kettle

One of my favorite things about the Weber kettle is its versatility.  Direct or indirect, the meal possibilities are endless.  

By far one of the more pivotal moments in my Weber upbringing was my first Boston Butt Roast.  (Why the strikethrough?  See here.)  Growing up, grilling was synomous with steaks, burgers, and badly burnt chicken.  True BBQ cooking was completely foreign.

By the mid nineties, the mystery was gone and I was slowly indoctrinated into low and slow.  I've never looked back.

Lately, Sundays have been BBQ days.  With all of the work it takes getting the house in shape for spring, dinner tends to be overlooked as the chores and tasks pile up.  However, by starting dinner before breakfast, I have the comfort of knowing dinner is on target and as an added benefit, I can take in its smells all day long.

If you have never smoked pork or brisket on a kettle, I urge you to give it a shot.  I've covered it before on these pages and a few years ago, posted a step by step tutorial to Instructables.  Amazingly enough, it's been viewed over 75,000 times and in so doing, hopefully helped some people step up their grilling game.

Even though I've been down this road before, I always like to tweak the process.  Here are some added tips:

While wood chips are nice, I prefer chunks.

Yeah, soaked wood chips work great, but I prefer the staying power of chunks.  They tend to burn, burn, burn.  Plus, there is something more primal about using actual pieces of wood versus machined chips.

Grind your spices

Purists suggest the shelf life of ground spices is only a few months.  I don't know about you, but I've got spices in the cupboard that remember doing the Macarena.  

In order to reduce my spice hoarding, I've taken to grinding whole spices.

Using a coffee grinder dedicated to spices, I can mix and match the exact amount of what I need.  Even if I add in some pre-ground spice, I'm ensured a great consistency of the freshest spice mix possible.

Use mustard to help bind your rub to the meat.

By slathering good old yellow ballpark mustard all over the pork, the rub has something to stick to, meaning more rub on the meat and less on the counter.

There is no flavor impact from the mustard, it's really just yellow "glue".

Check for "doneness" with the bone pull

There is nothing more beautiful and drool inducing than a cooked pork shoulder.

Even though it may look "cooked" over the course of the last few hours on the grill, the best way to ensure doneness is with a thermometer.  Don't take it off the grill before it has an internal temperature of 190 F.  

Don't have a  thermometer? In that case, find the bone and wiggle.  

If you can cleanly pull the bone from the meat, your can count on your pork being perfectly done.

Mark the bottom vents

Air flow is the key to regulating temperature on the kettle.  Unless you want to hang out on your knees trying to figure out what position the ash catcher's vents are in, I suggest pre-marking them.

C for Closed, H for Half, O for Open.  No dirty knees and no guessing.

Pulled pork is a delicious treat that can last for several days.

I'm almost always guaranteed leftovers, which is great, because not only is pork great right off the plate, there are so many other things you can do with it.  Stuffed Peppers or pizza anyone?

Next time you have a long day of work planned, be prepared to start dinner before you crack your morning eggs.  Use these tips, fire up the kettle, and be prepared for a lot of awesome pork.

How do you use your kettle for BBQ?  Let me know in the comments!