Rested And Ready

Whew, took a few weeks off from updates there, save my rather lame attempt at vacation photo updates below.  We’re just coming off a nice (if a bit short) vacation, so I’m all rested up and ready for action now.  (Should be burned out again by about noon.)

So, our trip was the reschedule of our ill-fated Spring Break trip, which we missed out on due to some logistical snafus.  We flew to West Palm Beach, Fla last Saturday, spent the night, then got on a cruise ship Sunday afternoon.  It was sort of a “cruise-lite,” which is to say we just sailed overnight to the Bahamas and then got off the boat and spent a few nights on the island.  We selected this trip to kind of get a feel for cruises, which neither of us have ever been too excited about.  I think we both agreed the verdict was “good trip but check cruises off the list of things to do.”  On the positive side, the food really was very good on the boat;  Better than on the island as a matter of fact.  (With the exception of one delicious, if a bit pricey, evening.)  And, I have to admit I sort of enjoyed the shows, which surprised me.  On the downside I couldn’t sleep for anything with all the pitching around, and the cabins, while comfortable enough, were a bit cramped.  As for the island…   Well, let’s just say we didn’t get mixed up and think we were on one of our Hawaii trips.  The ocean was very rough and stirred up so we didn’t get to do any snorkeling, which is my favorite beach pastime.  And, while the resort was quite nice, suffice to say you didn’t want to wander too far off the grounds.  While probably safe enough, there just wasn’t anything to go to.  And, judging from our trip to and from the boat, that wasn’t limited to the area we were staying in either.  All that said, the locals were very nice, the beaches were beautiful, and the costs seemed reasonable.  I just think maybe we prefer Mexico, or ideally Hawaii.

We got back to our house Thursday night.  While it might sound like I didn’t have the best time ever from the comments above, I was actually quite rested and feeling pretty good.  So much so that I ended up cancelling my day off Friday and heading on into work.  That paid off quite nicely;  It was a decent day at work and then I went right into the weekend fun.  As far as the weekend I quickly fell right back into the same ol’ rut;  Baseball games at the Brooksider and some tasty meals.  Saturday (late) morning we headed down to Eggct for some food, but it was far too crowded.  We opted instead for Spin Pizza, which for whatever reason we’ve never been to.  It worked out great, we had an awesome lunch.  Definitely be working that one into the regular rotation.  After that meal, and a subsequent afternoon on the patio of the ‘Sider, we headed down to Manny’s, which remarkably I’ve never been to either.  We were on a roll picking food that day, it was awesome too.  I had a relleno burrito, which might be one of my favorite meals to order when I see it.  It was a beaut too;  Top notch.  Sunday we tried Eggct again, with much more success.  Had a tasty omelet, then spent my afternoon doing chores that had built up while we were gone.  After that, we had dinner at good ol’ Jalapenos, which is a common enough occurrence that it doesn’t bear comment.

Smoked Carnitas

Insanely Great Smoked Carnitas

1 Boston Butt (pork shoulder roast), bone-in, about 5-6 lbs.

2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
8 cloves garlic

mesquite & pecan wood chips (soaked and drained)

Spice Rub: 
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander
2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon White Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

For The Mop and Sauce:
1 12 oz bottle of dark Mexican beer like Negra Modelo
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons of the Rub

1. Pierce the roast all over to let the marinade work its way in. Place roast in a foil pan with the orange juice and garlic cloves to soak overnight, turning once or twice so the roast marinates evenly.
2. Discard OJ and garlic and rinse the roast off and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Make the rub by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside 2 tablespoons for the mop sauce. Pat the rub all over the roast and let sit to cure for a few hours if you have the time.
4. Make the mop sauce – mix all ingredients together and set aside about 3/4 – 1 cup for later when the meat is done to use as a finishing sauce.
5. Set up a charcoal grill for indirect grilling, medium hot (300° max), and use mesquite/pecan chips for smoke.
6. Smoke the roast for about 4-5 hours or as long as it takes to get to 195°, add coals every hour and a handful or two of wood chips. Liberally mop the roast with the mop sauce about every 45 minutes to an hour.
7. Cook until it’s well done (195°) in the center – this will help it shred easier.
8. When it’s done, let sit for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, then tear it apart into shreds.
9. Ladle the remaining mop sauce over the shredded pork.

Serve with flour and/or corn tortillas, sour cream, and guacamole.