Let’s see a lot of people.  Need good food.  Drink Cigars.  What should I make?

AHA…..yes!!!!!!!!  Need to get to Fairway Market.  38 degrees a little breezy, grab my Liga Privada.. Flying Pig… Take a walk to Fairway.  60 blocks, just enough to finish the cigar (with my coffee in the thermos of course)

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

-       2 Pork Butts about 10lbs each.

-       BRINE / MARINADE

• Garlic (A lot)
• 2 liters Black Currant Soda.
• Kaffir Lime Leaves
• 2 Apples
• Serrano Peppers
• Red Onion
• Cilantro
• Green Peppers
• Dry Chiles (I Anjo)
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper
• Herbs de Provence
• Sugar
• 1 Liter Apple Cider Vinegar
• Juniper Berries
• 2 Limes

-       Poke slots in the Butts.  Slide in garlic cloves (as much as you want). I did about 5 cloves each piece.

-       I use a deep Tupperware to marinate the meat.  Place the meat inside. Skin side up.  Cover (I mean cover) with Kosher Salt.  Now you can add Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste.  Next Herbs de Provence, Juniper Berries, Sugar.

-       After that everything else goes in. Be sure that you have enough liquid to cover the meat. I use water after the soda and vinegar.

-       The most important thing is that you place it in a cold spot (refrigerator). It is wintertime here. I am using the terrace.

-       I like to leave it in for at least 24 hours.  If longer, add Ice to keep the temperature down.  But it is 38 degrees cloudy going down to low 20s.  Better than my fridge that is packed (LOL)!!!!!!

-       NOTE- PREHEAT THE OVEN AT 225 15 minutes prior to cooking

-       24 HOURS LATER – TIME TO COOK

-       Pull the pieces out of the marinade. In a pan, no oil needed.

-       Distribute all of the solid items from the marinade / brine into the pan.

-       DATS IT!!!!!!!!!!

-       I play it safe and add two cups of the marinade into the pan.  It helps to keep the butt moist until the fat starts to melt.

-       Remember this is going to take a while. I do one hour per pound.  10 lbs. = 10 hours.

-       TURN THE MARINADE TO SOME BBQ SAUCE

• Place in a separate pan.
• Let simmer low and concentrate.
• I add two cans of diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of Hoisin and Oyster Sauce
• Lemon Soda
• Two table spoons of brown sugar.
• Honey
• Cumin
• It is going to cook on low eat for at least two hours.  Stir constantly. Check for taste. Adjust to your liking.   When its done, strain and cool. Use it to coat the meat when it is done.
  • I use a blender some time to smooth out the sauce. Also does not hurt to add a little butter for texture.

-       TO SERVE:

-       Separate the skin from the meat. Pull it off. Should fall off the bone.

-       Grab some Bread.  I am using Challah Buns (lightly toasted)

-       Also have some coleslaw (yeah I made it)!

HOPE YOU ENJOY

Everyone was asking for the recipe for the Tamarind & Guave Glaze Ribs and Bonatio Puree.
Since this is the Everydayguy style of cooking I have no true recipe. I have guild lines.

Ribs
These are call St.Louis Style which are bigger than baby back and contain the ribblet meat. Season with salt and pepper ( please stay away from Adabo). First remove the connective tissue of the back of the rib. Place in a roasting pan in a preheated 300 degree oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours,covered with foil. You should be able to put a fork between the ribs and feel just a slight resistance, over cooking in the oven will cause them to full apart on the grill. One they are fork tender, they are ready for the grill.
Grill should be med heat, start with meat side down to caramilze ( add color) then to same for other side. Once you have desired color start basting with BBQ Sauce. Bast on both sides two or three times.
DO NOT walk away from grill while basting, the sugars in the BBQ sauce will burn the ribs.

Sauce
Start with a store bought, your favorite I used KC Masterpiece. Pour BBQ into sauce pot, bring to a simmer and tamarind pulp (Publix frozen section) and guave jelly or jam. You are looking for a balance between the sour tamarind and sweet guave. Only you will know when it’s on point. Once all ingredients are well combined, it’s time for the grill.

Bonatio Puree
Peel and dice to exact size to promote even cooking. Stream in a steam basket or any other way you can steam, until tender. Drain water and hot milk or cream, butter,salt and pepper. Bon Appetite

A Brief Statement

One of the more fascinating things about cigar manufacturing is that its basic art of construction has not changed in well over two hundred years. That is why a hand-rolled cigar is the perfect complement for those of us who appreciate the artistry of hand craftsmanship. Each geographic area in which tobacco seeds are planted and grown will give the resulting leaf a very unique and distinct characteristic. Very few areas in the world have the perfect combination of soil, temperature and rainfall to produce a tobacco crop worthy of making a high-grade cigar. Most of the prime growing regions are located in the Caribbean or in the nearly identical latitudinal regions of Dominican Republic, Mexico and Central America. In Central America, which produces the majority of the world’s best premium cigars today, there are just two fertile valleys for tobacco, These valleys which posses a variety of dark and rich soil textures are Jalapa v alley in Nicaragua, Esteli and Jamastran valley in Honduras, Dandi. Both of the most luxurious long leaf filler tobaccos ever rolled into a cigar. A strain that originated with precious Cuban seed that were transported or either smuggled to the Central America by cigar makers fleeing during the rise of Castro in Cuba.

Components of a Cigar

Filler – This is the very heart of the cigar. The Filler is made of long leaf, that is, strips of tobacco that travel the length of the cigar in one piece. A fine cigar usually contains between two and five different types of long-filler tobacco.

Binder – This is the blanket that holds the filler in place. It is a specialized leaf, for it must be strong enough to do the job. Yet it has to impart a complimentary flavor to the filler and wrapper. The Binder is consider one of three main components in a cigar.

Wrapper – In many ways, the wrapper is the most important part of a cigar, not just because it provides 30% to 60% of the flavor, but also because it is the embodiment of the cigar’s total character. A few of the most popular wrappers include: Habano 2000, Maduro, Cameroon, Corojo, Sumatra and Connecticut.

Cigar Fundamentals

Cutting a cigar:
An easy way to get a perfect cut from most double-bladed guillotine cutters is to lay it flat on a table, place the cigar in it straight up, and snip. This method makes it easy to not only get a straight cut, but with most cutters it nips just the right amount of the head off your cigar.

Getting the best burn from a cigar:
A great way to keep your cigar burning evenly is to rotate the slow-burning side to the bottom. I know this seems odd, but the bottom side will burn faster because the oxygen needed to feed the flame isn’t being displaced by the smoke. Try it and see!

Getting the best draw on a tight cigar:
Your cigar a little tight? First thing to try is to gently squeeze and massage it; many times this will loosen the bunch enough to fix the problem. But if that doesn’t work, go for the gusto and use a skewer or ice pick to just poke a hole through its
length. Do this before you light it and be very careful!

Keeping a cigar going:
To prevent your cigar from going out between puffs, give it a couple of extra quick, short draws coupled with quick exhales before you take a long draw of smoke to savor against you palate each time. You will be amazed at how this simple practice helps to improve any difficult burning cigar.

Storing a cigar:
Ignore what everyone keeps telling you about 70% being the ideal relative humidity for cigar storage. Many cigars are too wet at this level and draw poorly and taste sour. You will enjoy a much better smoking experience keeping your stogies closer to 65% RH. Don’t become anal about relative humidity. Cigar smoking is meant to be relaxing; stressing over your humidor humidity level is a waste of time! The goal is to keep it stable… your cigars will be just fine anywhere between 62% and 74%. In my opinion, they smoke best around 65-72%, but they are not going be harmed at a few points higher or lower. The goal is to find what you like and to maintain that level.

Relighting a cigar:
Want to relight a cigar that you left sitting for awhile? The best way to do this is tap off any remaining ash, then gently blow through the cigar to clear any stale air or cut the end to start it clean again. Then, as you light it, continue to blow gently through the cigar with the flame at the foot for about three seconds before you take your first draw. Doing this simple set of actions will greatly reduce any initial sour flavor from a relit cigar.