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Monday, February 11, 2013

BBQ For Our Guests - Good Tomatoes


Madison’s visiting grandparents requested BBQ during their visit with us, so after the breakfast frittata, we served pulled pork and ribs for supper along with slaw and Potato Casserole Yum Yum from Drick’s Rambling CafĂ©.  Check out Drick’s site for the recipe which I followed and used Benton’s bacon.

The BBQ came from the freezer and had to be thawed and reheated prior to serving.  The pork butt was actually still in one piece so I slowly heated it in a 205* oven (the original final cooking temp) to an internal temp of 170* then we pulled it. 

For the ribs, I let them come to room temperature, added a little liquid to the foil wrapping and cooked them in a 250* oven for about an hour.  When they came out of the oven, I brushed on some Cranberry Delight BBQ sauce from Tennessee River, and sliced them into individual ribs.  We served the meat on a platter along with some buns and variety of sauces.

Bev made up a batch of her delicious slaw and along with Drick's yummy potatoes, I believe our guests walked away with a pretty good BBQ experience - I sure enjoyed everything, and I believe we’re turning Madison into a BBQ lover.

This was our first time to freeze the pork butt without pulling and I thought it was just a bit drier than when we pull it first, then freeze and reheat.

Good Wintertime Tomatoes - Finally
As you know, I grow tomatoes but what you may not know is that Bev is a raw tomato-o-holic and knows what good ones taste like.  She brought home some maters from the new Publix in Knoxville and has raved about how good they are for this time of year, so I did a little research. 

They came from Red Diamond Tomatoes in Wimauma, FL and are a new variety called Tasti-Lee.  Per the Tasti-Lee website "Tasti-Lee brand tomatoes have been bred to stay on the vine until fully ripened by Mother Nature, yet remain firm all the way to the store shelf and your kitchen counter!" 

Being able to ripen on the vine and still be shipped is, of course, the key to their better flavor as most tomatoes are picked and shipped while still mostly green.  Keep a look out and give them a try if you find them.  They make a great BLT with a little crispy Benton's bacon.

I'm now responding to your comments and hoping you will stop back by - photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

1/30/13 meal date

22 comments:

  1. No doubt about it, you eat well at your house! Wanted to let you know that our order of Benton's bacon arrived on Friday. WOW. That is really different and very, very good. I immediately said I wanted a BLT with this tasty bacon.

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    1. Susan - Glad you like the bacon - it's the way old fsshioned home cured used to taste.

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  2. I'll have to keep an eye out of those tomatoes... we very rarely get good winter tomatoes out here.
    Oh.. and the bbq... YUM!!!!!

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    1. Thanks Jenn - I would have guessed your part of the world grew tomatoes year round.

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  3. I think each and every meal is a good one at your house so I'm sure your guests left happy and full. Thanks for the tip about the tomatoes...if I see them I will give them a try.

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    1. Thanks Karen - these tomatoes were a real a surprise.

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  4. I'm surprised the pork was dryer being frozen whole. Of course, I would have been gobbling it so fast I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference anyway. Interesting about that tomato. I'm posting a chicken burger recipe today. On that burger is a tomato! In February! And it was good! I'll have to check the source next time I'm in Whole Foods.

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    1. I was a little suprised as well but I doubt anyone, but me, could tell the difference. When I pull it then freeze, I mix all of the juices back in right then and it also doesn't require as much heating to get it warmed thru as it does to get the middle of the big piece warm enough to pull.

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  5. Larry, Thanks for the tomato tip! We love fresh tomatoes and most of what you can buy in a store lacks any flavor. We do like that new Publix Store! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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    1. Dave - get you a couple of these maters, some Benton's bacon and you'll think it's summertime.

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  6. What a wonderful BBQ experience! I've seen the Tasti-Lee tomatoes at our grocery store but not recently. I could really go for an excellent tomato at this time of year!

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    1. Thanks Susan - The maters are worth looking for - or in our case driving 25 miles to Knoxville for.

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  7. Whew that's a long drive for a mater Larry!! I've heard of these tomatoes - haven't seen them but had forgotten about them. We have a fella that sells homegrown hothouse tomatoes roadside & he's already out. His are pretty good and the bonus is he's got them green too. Looks like an excellent meal, as always!

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    1. Thanks Mary - It's good to have access to vine ripened tomatoes.

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  8. I'd like to try those tomatoes! It's great that you can grow them year round. We all just adore tomatoes hereabouts!

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  9. What a tasty meal... everything sounds so good. I'll be keeping an eye out for those tomatoes. I love a good, flavorful, and firm tomato, especially on a BLT.

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    1. Pam - Thanks Pam. They are by far the best mater we've bought in the store after our growing season ends.

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  10. I'm yearning for some "Q" now Larry! But the name alone "Potato Casserole YUM YUM! is tempting by itself. I love Publix and will def'ly check out the 'mater' varieties available down here. They sometimes also carry a variety called "Big Mama" that hasn't been too bad for the winter months too. As far as those blue cheese grits, I've been all over google to try and locate a good recipe. If you guys find one too, please clue me in . . . they were crazy delicious!

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    1. Glad I've inspired you Roz. We usually shop at Publix when in FL but this is the first store in our area. Will do on the grits.

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  11. I prefer my pork pulled prior to freezing too. Seems like it would work better reheated whole but I had the same experience as you, drier and tough to pull.

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  12. So glad I have time to go back and catch up on past posts, thanks so much Larry for the shout-out.
    Good tip on freezing pulled pork, but then, I rarely have much left...
    The only tomato I will eat during the winter is cluster, on-the-vine dark red ones, I do not know the name but now will be on the look out for this one. If Bev sez so, then I am gonna go lookin'... take care and have a wonderful rest of the week....

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