camp cookery - whiskey braised pork
in Camp Cookery
- pork loin
- root beer
- whiskey (thanks to tincup for this)
- liquid smoke
- salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper
- onion
- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- bbq sauce
- pickles
- coleslaw
- buns
i actually did some prep work at home for this recipe, the night before i combined a twenty ounce bottle of root beer, a shot or two of whiskey, some liquid smoke and the salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper mix in a container with the pork. i let that sit in the fridge overnight and threw it in the cooler when it was time to head out.
at the campsite i started by chopping the onion, half went in the dutch oven, half was saved for the finished product. along with the onion; twenty more ounces of root beer, a few more shots of whiskey, the pork and the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce went into the dutch oven.
admittedly this was supposed to be pulled pork, it did not turn into anything resembling that in the least bit. i thought by buying thinner cuts of meat i could pull off a meal that usually needs ten hours to cook in one or two.
with the charcoal going i placed the dutch oven directly on the coals and put a few briquettes on top for some extra heat. now i've never cooked with charcoal, ever, i just put the cast iron oven on and walked away for twenty minutes. i'm not quite sure what i was thinking, but upon lifting the cover i saw that the liquid was boiling. after a few minutes of self loathing, cursing, and murmuring to myself, "jeremy you're an idiot of course fire is hot, you just ruined dinner for everyone.", i decided to just pull the oven out.
i cut a slice of the meat, pulled pork; definitely not, still good; yup.
taking the meat, onions and peppers out of the dutch oven we all just began cutting away. what i ended up with was closer to chopped pork, which i'm not even sure is a real thing.
but nonetheless, we piled our sandwiches high with the pork, onions, pickles, coleslaw and bbq sauce.
lessons learned: slow and low forever. trying to rush a recipe never ends well, thankful that i decided to check on it after twenty minutes rather than the full hour. whiskey braised rubber sandwiches would not have been a hit.
pace bend park. Spicewood, texas
field trip - austin texas greenbelt
in Field Trips
for only a couple of weeks, a month if we're lucky, there is an oasis just a mile down the road from all the hustle and bustle of austin.
sitting in the cool, flowing water you can't help but look around at the trees and the towering limestone cliffs and feel like you are worlds away from the city that surrounds this temporary little creek.
the greenbelt is full of good people and good dogs, lots of sunshine and a ton of laughs, but again it's only around for a short time. soon it will dry up in the searing texas summer sun, but maybe it's better that way, it makes you that much more thankful for it while it's here.
wildflowers
in Field Trips
almost a year ago i received a message from a follower online, he spoke to me about sorrow and continuing to pursue your passions even in the midst of turmoil. "grieve appropriately, your art (your eye) is excellent and shouldn’t be derailed." he closed his message to me with these words, "there will be a better muse in your future."
"there will be a better muse in your future."
i try my hardest to respond to messages right away with real and honest answers, but this one struck a chord with me. i had no words to send back to this person, i revisited his message quite often, typing something back to him, only to shake my head and delete what i had just written. his closing quote was so raw and full of truth that it deserved a proper response and i just didn't have one.
i sat on those words for months and months, repeating them in my head at various points during this past year. there was just something about how simple, eloquent and powerful they were that resonated with me.
every so often a friend will come to me and ask for advice, be it about a relationship, about a job, about a city; the answer i keep giving, "is it making you a better version of yourself?" truth be told this wasn't even a question i was asking myself until quite recently, but it all tied back to that statement on muses. a muse; beyond art, something or someone that inspires you to be a better version of yourself.
a few weeks ago i finally felt ready, i messaged this person back. i let him know how much his message meant to me, how his words had stuck with me all year, and more importantly; that better muses had been found. these friends. this city. this girl.
field trip - pedernales falls state park, texas
in Field Trips
Developed - Big Bend National Park
Shot on : Kodak Ektar 100
Camp Cookery - Pesto Fettuccine
in Camp Cookery
- fettuccine
- parmesan cheese
- garlic
- fresh basil
- pine nuts
- olive oil
- tomatoes
- chicken
this is one of the more involved recipes i've undertaken as it has a lot of different things going into the end dish. it was definitely a huge help to have a couple of people there to help with the cutting, chopping, fire building, and cooking.
the first step should have been to get the fire started, but sometimes beer makes you do things out of order.
we made the pesto by hand and started by chopping a whole bunch of basil and garlic as finely as we could.
next up grind down the pine nuts with a pestle. once those are done add in the chopped basil and garlic. slowly add in olive oil while grinding away.
keep grinding.
realized we needed more basil. continue to add olive oil until the pest is the consistency that you'd like. when the pest is where you'd like it stir in the chopped parmesan.
the chicken was simple in this recipe, just salt and pepper and then into a pan and onto the fire.
tomatoes directly onto the fire.
when the water in the cast iron dutch oven was finally to a boil we put the fettuccine into a strainer and then into the dutch oven. rather than trying to strain the pasta after it was cooked this allowed us to just pull it right out.
finishing touches: cut the chicken into cubes (throw the extra to your dog because she's been watching you cook intently for the last hour), cut the tomatoes in half, add it all to a bowl with the fettuccine and pesto.
lessons learned: as always, start your fire EARLY. we ran out of daylight while waiting to get our water to a boil for the fettuccine.
Huntsville State Park, Texas
rollin' three deep in the front seat of my truck that just hit the two hundred thousand mile mark, "this stretch of road is one of my favorites." my friend says; i can see why. small towns, old barns and cattle all sparsely placed, a small corner store with a sign on the side that says "keep calm and love". i'm tempted to stop and snap a photo, but i decide to just let the phrase play in my head. windows all the way down, it smells like new hampshire, a smell i haven't encountered in quite sometime. a wave of nostalgia from my teenage years cruisin' all over my small home state but this is better because i have more to talk about than taco bell and skating.
a weekend with just the boys, honestly something that hasn't been in my life since i was in high school, but at this point it's a very welcome addition.
we're checking out the park, we're hiking a bit, we're failing miserably at fishing, we're drinking beers and cooking dinner and we're singing simple man by skynyrd way to loud with our camp neighbors.
but more importantly we're sharing thoughts on life. i'm doing my best to act like i know what i'm talking about but i don't think any of us, or anyone, really does. we are all just trying our hardest to learn from ourselves and learn from those around us who are willing to speak, to find something or someone to make our future better, happier, and more meaningful. i'm finding that more and more everyday and this trip was no exception.