Chet's Pork & Chicken Magic & Wonderful Rub

This is a good all-purpose rub, good on pulled pork, ribs, and chicken.  It consist of two well known rubs combined (Mike Mills – Magic Dust &  Wild Willie’s Number One-derful, found in Smoke n Spice).  I never use it for Beef and prefer a simple mixture of fine ground black pepper, fine ground kosher or sea salt, and granulated garlic.   

·         1 1/4 cup paprika

·         1/4 cup + 2 tbs fine ground black pepper

·         1/2 cup fine ground kosher or sea salt

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons chili powder

·         1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated garlic

·         2 tablespoons onion powder

·         3 tablespoons cayenne

·         1/4 cup ground cumin

·         2 tablespoons mustard powder

Mix the spices thoroughly in a bowl. Store covered in a cool, dark pantry. Makes about 4 cups which will cover a lot of meat and you can pack it on heavy.

Apple Brined Pork Loin Chops

Do you brine Pork Loin Chops - you should!  It makes a big difference and only takes a few minutes to make the brine and some planning to allow them to be in the brine 4 to 24 hrs before your cook. My brine suggestion for these chops is:

1 cup hot water
2 cups cold Martinelles Apple Juice (better quality)
1/4 cup salt
1/4 light brown sugar
1 tbs red pepper flakes

Dissolve the salt, sugar, pepper in the cup of hot water.  In a bowl or zip lock bag add the cold apple juice, the hot water mixture, and the chops.  A longer brine is better.  After the brine rinse the chops and dry with paper towels and rub with olive oil, sprinkle with bbq rub and grill about 5 min per side till the internal temp of the chops reaches 145 and let rest at least 15 min covered lightly with foil.  For the best pork loin, the internal temp of 145 is at least as important as the brine step.

Beans and Taters Tostadas

I grew up on Beans and Taters and would have gone without many times if it had not been for Beans and Taters and Cornbread.  The same could be said for the old breakfast standby that we survived on (Biscuits and Gravy) and you never heard a complaint.  Back in the Carter years when work was so bad that hardly anyone worked a full week it was hard to pay the bills, so I learned to do as my Mom did and buy the basics, dried beans, taters, cornmeal, flour and milk and got by the same way we had when I was a kid.  Having said that it is to my own shock and dismay that I say serving them on Tostadas Shells is even better than cornbread.  I want to call it Rednecked Mexican Beans and Taters.

Easy and Cheap and as you can see in the picture, there is really nothing to it.  I went with 3 layers, beans on all 3 layers and the fried taters on top of the last layer of beans (I added onions with the potatoes after they started browning).  The only advise to making this the best it can be is about the beans...canned will work but cooked from scratch will be better.  They need to have some broth or water added and before serving use the back of a spoon to mash about half of them and continue cooking till the broth is absorbed.

On a side note: have you ever looked up the definition in websters for a redneck?  I take offense at that entry in websters.  

Creamed Corn Hoe Cakes

With too much Creamed Corned (last summers garden corn) left from Easter dinner, I started out to make some Fritters but they seemed to end up being more of a Deluxe version of Hoe Cakes since I didn't want to deep fry them.  

1/2 C Yellow Corn Meal

1/2 C Flour

1 C Creamed corn

2 Tbs finely chopped onion

1 egg

Mix up the batter and fry in lightly oiled pan, add more oil and butter when turning to cook the other side.  Top with more Creamed Corn and serve.  Makes 4 Cakes.

Reuben Tater Skins

This is one of the 3 things we did with our Corned Beef.  How could you go wrong with a Tater Skin Reuben - you can't! Bake small potatoes - hollow them out - season inside and out and bake again till crisp - stuff a layer of Corned Beef, kraut, and cheese - run under broiler till cheese melts and serve.  

Corned Beef Hash

This is why I love to make my own Corned Beef using a whole Packer Brisket.  Not only will you have a much improved Corned Beef, you will also have much more of it to use in some fabulous recipes like this one.  Corned Beef Hash is so easy to make you shouldn't even need a recipe.  I started by cubing my potatoes and frying in oil and butter with a cover on the pan to steam the potatoes a little and after they started browning remove the cover and raise the heat to let brown the way you like them then add the onions and continue to cook till potatoes are browned and onions translucent and remove to a plate. Add more butter and oil to the same pan and 1/4 cup of seasoned flour to make your gravy using  a cup of beef broth.  Add the potatoes and onions, chopped Corned Beef back to the pan stirring till heated through and serve.  I suggest Catherine's Pork n Bean Salad for a side as they really go well with this dish.

Catherine's Pork n Bean Salad

My wife just remembered this recipe from her Mom and it is sooo good. She says they literally used to have it about every week. I like pork and beans just O.K. but these are absolutely incredible.

1 can Pork & Beans (drained)
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup dill pickle relish
1/3 cup mayonnaise (or to taste)
1 - 2 boiled eggs (chopped)
salt & pepper to taste

Just mix it up and enjoy.