Strawberry Lemonade

A few days ago I polled some Facebook friends for ideas of what to do with an excess of strawberries. One of my friends, Robin, suggested strawberry lemonade. In this heat, can there be anything better? Now, you can make this with frozen berries, but fresh is best.

I'm going to tell you the recipe I envisioned, and then the recipe I actually used, to help use up what I had. Both will be tasty, I promise.

First, the all-from-scratch strawberry lemonade:

You will need:
The juice of 6 lemons
water
1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced
sugar (you can substitute Splenda in this recipe!)

Lemonade is very subjective. Some love it tart, some can't get enough sweet. I err on the side of tart.
Remember, the strawberries will add some sweetness, and again, how much sweetness they bring is dependent on the berry.

Place your hulled berries into a saucepan with 1/3 cup sugar and a few TBS of water. Melt sugar over medium heat, and cook berries down into sugar. When your berries look like melted jam, they are done.

If you want your lemonade to be pulp-free, put a fine meshed strainer over the mouth of your pitcher.

Pour in your lemon juice. Next, pour in your strawberry. If using a strainer, you will want to pour your water over the top of the berries while mashing every last bit of juice out of them!

Add water, stir, and taste. If it is too tart, add more sugar. If it is too sugary, add more water and lemon.



Now, the "cheater" version I made:

I had a whole container of Simply Made Lemonade in my refrigerator. Although I don't think it possible to have too much lemonade, my refrigerator is limited on space, and making more wasn't an option.

You will need:
A gallon of Simply Made Lemonade
A pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced


I should start with saying that I was specific with the lemonade brand for a reason. I don't generally push one brand over another, but this line of juices I feel are closest to homemade. Many manufactured lemonades are overly sweet (I even think this one is a bit sweet... but I eat lemons, so it might just be me), and if you add strawberries to the mix, you will have a sugar headache in no time. If you love overly sweet, go for it. Just don't lose the fact that you should taste lemons!

Cook the strawberries in a sauce pan over medium heat with a several (5ish) tablespoons of lemonade and a tablespoon of sugar. When the strawberries have broken down and the juices are flowing, they are ready.

Like in the above, if you want a pulp-free lemonade, run everything through a strainer. Put the berries in first, then add the lemonade to taste.


Chill and serve. This drink tastes especially delicious on the back porch or at picnics.

Smoking a Boston butt...

I have several recipes in draft form, waiting for me to put pictures with them and post them for your cooking pleasure.

For now, I bring you a tasty dry rub.

Today, we are using this rub on the outside of a Boston butt, to make pulled pork. I would recommend using this rub on any pork - ribs, chops, shoulder - and then wrapping the meat in plastic wrap (twice wrapped, tightly) and letting it marinate at least 4 hours... over night or all day is even better.

Dry rub for pork:
This makes a lot, more than enough for our 5.6 lb butt, so combine ingredients in an air-tight container, and don't cross contaminate when marinating.

6 TBS dark brown sugar
4 TBS salt
3-4 TBS smoked paprika (depending on how much you like)
1.5 TBS white pepper
1/2 TBS black pepper
5 TBS chili powder
2.5 TBS garlic powder
2 TBS onion powder
1 TBS dried mustard
1 TBS dried thyme
1 TBS lemon pepper
1/2 TBS cumin

For heat: add ground Cayenne (red) pepper I put a teaspoon (?) into ours.

Blend well and rub on to the next piece of pork you will smoke or grill!

Enjoy!



PART 2: The Finishing Sauce

One of the most debatable topics in the culinary world is whether true BBQ sauce is better with a tomato base or a vinegar base.
For my own reasons, I chose to side with the vinegar camp when it comes to pulled pork. I'm in the right place here in North Carolina.

After using the above rub (which was delectable) and smoking our pork shoulder for 8 hours (reaching the internal temp of 195), I needed a finishing sauce that would compliment the pork, not overpower it, and that my North Carolina family would like. (The bar is set high!)

First, I should state that pulling pork is nothing like pulling chicken. It takes a lot more than a few forks to get a pork shoulder apart! I did it once, and likely will not do it again. Since then, I have relied on the magic of Cuisinart to chop my pork for me. Chopped is traditional (as my Mother in Law taught me today), and so this is an acceptable method. That, and I feel that the meat better absorbs the sauce when fine chopped.

As I chop, I mix a little finishing sauce in with the pork... about 3/4 - 1 cup total. Just enough to give it a little flavor. The rest of the finishing sauce is served on the side, for each person to add on their own.

I tinkered around with this a bit, and finally got it right. If you don't have all of the vinegars, just use half cider and half white vinegar. Rice vinegar is traditionally used in sushi rice. It is known for being milder and sweeter than other vinegars. In a dish where vinegar can quickly take over, it is nice to have an option that is less acidic, but maintains flavor.

Ideally, you should make the sauce a few hours (or up to a day) ahead. It can remain at room temperature. If you make it when you throw your pork in the smoker, you will be in great shape.

Finishing Sauce:

1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2.5 TBS kosher fine ground salt
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper (ground red)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

This makes a mild/medium spiced sauce, depending on the strength of your peppers. Taste it. If it is too hot, add more vinegar (in equal parts, if possible) and if there is not enough heat, by all means, add some more!

Put all these ingredients in a container and shake it up!

Enjoy!