I actually don’t like the flavor cedar imparts on my meats and other grilled foods.  It would never occur to me to use cedar in my normal low & slow BBQ smoking so I figure why use it for planking.  Instead I use the same woods I use to smoke with, alder, maple, cherry, apple and oak

Today’s entry for my week-long series on “plank” grilling is pork loin on alder planks.  The alder planks are “Chef Locke Interlocking Planks” from TailgatingPlanks.  The nice thing about these planks is because they are interlocking you have a choice with what size you use.  I really liked these planks.  Unlike some planks these did not have a tendency to curl or bend in the middle part way through the cooking process.  My only caution is to make sure they have the locked together when you soak them.

The process for pork loin is the same as yesterday’s post on cooking chicken on wine vines.  Soak, soak, soak the plank.  Some instructions for planks recommend soaking anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.  I always soak for a minimum of one hour.  I don’t think you can soak a plank too long.

I took each pork loin and trimmed off any excess pieces of dangling fat and any silver skin that was still attached.   Some people recommend leaving the silver skin on because they feel it adds a layer of fat, but I never see any fat with the silver skin and in my experience leaving it on can lead to a tougher piece of meat when the silver skin starts to shrink.

Once the loins are nicely trimmed rub them with just a little olive oil.  You don’t want them dripping with oil but instead a nice even coating that makes the meat glisten.  Season the loin with your spice/rub mixture of choice and set it aside for a couple of minutes.  I seasoned my loins with Instant Gourmet “Rustic Italiano.”

I like to have my pork loins as close to room temperature as possible so I’m not putting ice-cold mean on the planks.  So, while the meat is sitting remove the planks from the water and towel dry them.

Put your planks in the center of your pre-heated grates and allow the wood to heat up.  When the planks start to smolder slightly and burn on the edges, turn the heat down to medium and quickly put a light layer of oil on the planks.  Put your loins on the planks and close the lid.

Give the pork loins about 20 minutes on the planks and check the temperature.  Have a small water bottle handy to spritz any flare-ups while the lid is open.

Cook the pork loins until they reach an internal temperature of 130 degrees.  DO NOT take the pork loins above 130 degrees or you will end up with shoe leather.

Trust me on this, please.  If you follow these instructions you will end up with moist pork that is properly cooked, not the dried out pieces of pork you get if you cook it to 165 degrees.

When the pork reaches 130 degrees turn you grill up to high and remove the planks.  Quickly sear the pork loins on all sides.  Do this on a grill that’s as hot as you can get it.  Do it quick!  Once you have all sides seared remove the loins to a plate and loosely cover the them with foil.  Let them rest for 20 minutes.

The Cola Balsamic reduction when well with the Italian seasoning I used on the pork loin.  I recommend cooking up the reduction before you even start the pork loin cooking process.  The pork loin cooks fast and it’s easier to keep an eye on the pork loin when you don’t have to worry about stirring the reduction.

The reduction is simple to make.  Pour a bottle of GUS (Grown Up Soda) Dry Cola into a small saucepan.  Using medium heat reduce the cola by one half.  The reason I like to use GUS soda is they are low in sugar.  There are lots of sauces and reductions that use sodas but they are often just to sweet.  By using a low sugar soda you can add sugar and get just the right amount of sweetness.

Once the cola has reduced add the balsamic vinegar to taste.  I added 2 tablespoons.  You want the bite of the vinegar but don’t want it to overpower the cola flavor.  Now add enough palm sugar so that it’s barely sweet.  I use palm sugar in this type of reduction because it melts like brown sugar but gives you a nice caramel flavor profile that compliments the cola and balsamic vinegar.

If the reduction was made the day before, heat it up while your pork loin is resting.  Slice the pork loin, plate it and spoon a little of the reduction over the top.  Serve immediately so it doesn’t cool too much.

Later in the week there you’ll get a couple of recipes for potatoes that will pair very nicely with this dish.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Here’s my entry for this months “challenge.”  Pork Chops with Cola Raspberry Balsamic Reduction and grilled zucchini…

Cola Raspberry Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz bottle GuS Dry Cola*
• 1 6 0z container Fresh Raspberries
• 2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• Sugar, to taste

Directions:

Pour soda and raspberries into a medium sauce pan and bring to small boil.  Cook until raspberries are soft.  With a mixer, blender or other appliance puree the ingredients.  Strain the liquid, to remove all seeds and any remain pulp.  Return to saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced to almost a syrup consistency.  Add the Balsamic vinegar and whatever sugar you need to take any tartness away.

*I used the GuS Dry Cola (Grown up Soda) because it is lightly sweetened with cane sugar.  This lightly sweetened cola allowed me to have more control over the sweetness than if I’d used a more readily available cola.

The reduction reduced from all the liquid you see down to about 5 ounces of great tasting sauce.  I think if I were to do it again I would cut the amount of raspberries in half so more of the cola flavor came out.

A few weeks ago I received some amazing products from Bushelle Seasonings.  These all natural seasonings are made from fresh herbs and seasonings.  When I first opened the box and looked at the jars I realized it wasn’t anything like what I was expecting.  When I opened the jars I was greeted with a fantastic aroma.  But what to do with them…

I decided to make a basic brine for the pork chops and add some Bushelle Garlic Seasoning.

BBQ Grail’s Bushelle Seasoning Brine

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon Bushelle Seasoning

Directions:

Heat water, salt and brown sugar to a boil.  When all the ingredients are dissolved remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  Add Bushelle Seasoning to brine.  Place pork chops and brine in a plastic bag and brine the chops for four to five hours.

Remove the chops from the brine, rinse off the salt and let air dry.

Grill!

I also grilled the zucchini using a little olive oil and “Butter Blast” from Instant Gourmet.  As usual the GrillGrates gave me great grill marks and some fantastic chops and veggies.

The brine for the pork chops was incredible.  The Bushelle Seasonings added a robust herbal flavor.  I’m not sure exactly what is in the there, but it’s also got just a little bite.

Celeste also used the Bushelle Seasoning Original in her rice pilaf.  This is a great product and I can’t wait to come up with other ways to incorporate it into my BBQ dishes.

Besides the rice pilaf Celeste helped with a dessert that fit right in with our ingredient theme.  She used the Dark Chocolate Linguine, we purchased in Seattle on our recent trip, along with a raspberry sauce.  Topped with ice cream and/or whipped cream it made for a good dessert.

The linguine didn’t have nearly enough chocolate flavor but vanilla ice cream and whipped cream more than made up for it.

All and all it was a great meal.  Fantastic, juicy pork chops along with a nice rice side dish and grilled veggies made for a great end for the day.

Additional participants in this month’s Ingredient Challenge include:

Ingredients:

• 2 baby eggplants
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your grill to high.

With a potato peel remove strips of skin off the eggplant.  Slice the eggplant, long ways, into 1/2 inch slices.  Arrange the eggplant slices on sheets of paper towels.

Season the the eggplant slices with a generous amount of salt on both sides.  This will cause the eggplant to release most of the liquid they contain, removing the bitterness of the eggplant while causing it to be less watery during grilling.  Let the salted eggplant set for about 15 minutes, then pat dry with additional paper towels.

In a bowl mix honey, olive oil, garlic Sriracha, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Dip both sides of each eggplant slice into mixture.  Oil grilled.  Place eggplant slices on the grill, cover.  Grill for about 3 minutes, rotate 90 degrees and grill for an additional 3 minutes.  Brush  remaining sauce on the slices, flip and repeat process.  Adjust heat through the grilling to insure eggplant is not burning.

Serve immediately.

Zucchini Fries

Ingredients:

• 4 zucchini
• 1 1/2 Tbsp “The Rub Co. Santa Maria Style Rub”
• 1/4 cup Canola oil
• 1/8 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp Black pepper, ground fresh
• Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions:

Wash the zucchini under cold water and drain well.

Trim about 1/8″ from the stem of each squash.

Square each zucchini by removing a sliver from each side and

Quarter each zucchini.

Combine the seasoning, oil, vinegar and pepper in a large zip-top bag.

Seal the bag and shake to combine the marinade ingredients.

Add the zucchini to the bag, seal, and set aside for one to two hours.

Prepare your grill for direct cooking at medium heat (about 350º).

Oil the cooking grate lightly with canola oil.

Remove each zucchini from the bag, shake off the excess marinade, and lay them on the grill at a 45º angle. Reserve the marinade left in the bag.

Grill each side until they are nicely browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Lightly brush the zucchini with a small amount of the marinade each time you turn them.

Remove the zucchini to a platter in a single layer and immediately shave the cheese over them to taste.

Serve and enjoy!