Sun Ripened Tomato Gazpacho

Here is another summer time recipe that I was asked for so I am posting it for people to use next summer.

Sun Ripened Tomato Gazpacho (serves 8)

6 – 8 Medium Sized Sun Ripen Tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped

2 cups V-8 Tomato Juice

1 Cucumber, seeded and diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

2 Jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

4 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

½ cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

2 limes, juiced

4 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar

3 tbls. Worchestershire Sauce

2 tsp. Ground Cumin

2 tsp. Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Fill a 4 -6 quart pot will water, and bring to a boil. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 – 30 seconds, until the skin starts to crack. Remove the tomatoes, transfer to an ice bath, and let them cool for a couple of minutes. After cooled; peel, core and seed the tomatoes. When seeding the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl to catch the juice.

Place the tomatoes, collected juice, and V-8 into a large mixing bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, until the desired consistency. I prefer mine slightly chunky.

Virginia Summer-Time Bacon Burger

Here is my entry into the Chapel Hill Court Labor Day Grill Off competition.  This entry was my third winning entry in a row and will mark my retirement from the competition.  I was inspired by trying trying to come up with a better way to create a bacon burger than wrapping bacon around the burger.

Virginia Bacon Burger (makes 16 – 18 burgers)

4 lbs. 90% Lean Ground Beef

1 ½ lbs. Hickory Smoked Bacon – finely chopped

2 Sweet Onions – finely chopped

2 tbls. of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasonings

8 oz. Goat Cheese – sliced into rounds

Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce

Good Hamburger Buns

Mango and Peach Salsa (recipe below)

Mix the ground beef, bacon, onions and steak seasonings together with your fingers.  Take a hand size ball of the ground beef mix and flatten it out. Lay a goat cheese round in the center.  Take another ball of the ground beef mix, flatten it out, place it on top of the other patty, and seal it together.  Repeat until all the patties are made. Grill to perfection. Brush both halves of the buns with the BBQ sauce and top the burger with the salsa.

Mango and Peach Salsa

4 peaches, diced

2 Mangos, peeled and diced

1 Red Onion, diced

2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

2 limes, juiced

2 tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ cup of cilantro, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate.

Ray's Carolina Pulled Pork

For our Scrabble Night last Friday I made Carolina Pulled Pork from an amalgam of several recipes and scaled up for 10 to 12 people. The pulled pork was a big hit and several folks wanted me to give them the recipe so here it is.

Ray’s Carolina Pulled Pork

6 to 8 lb. Pork Shoulder

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Southern Dry Rub (recipe below)

Carolina Wash (recipe below)

1.       Make the Southern Dry Rub and the Carolina Wash. Coat the pork shoulder with the dry rub.

2.       Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Get out your heavy 8 qt. Dutch oven. Heat it on high on the stove top. Add the oil and brown the pork shoulder on all sides.

3.       Remove from the heat and add half of the Carolina Wash to the pot. Put the lid on tight and place it into the oven for at least 4 hours, until it is falling apart.  Turn the pork shoulder over after 2 hours.

4.       Remove the pork from the pot and shred it into a serving bowl.  Pour ¼ of the Carolina Wash into the bowl and mix it well.  Reserving the remaining ¼ for folks to add to their pork if they want extra.

5.       Serve it with buns and several different type of BBQ sauce.  I like Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet and Spicy BBQ sauce.  I also try and have a mustard based sauce.

Southern Dry Rub (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

¼ cup of ground cumin

¼ cup of dark brown sugar

½ cup of sweet paprika

¼ cup of chili powder

2 tablespoons of ground red pepper

1 teaspoon of ground mace

¼ cup of kosher salt

¼ of ground black pepper

Stir well together.  The rub will stay fresh for 6 to 8 week is a tight container.

Carolina Wash

2 ¼ cups of apple cider vinegar

¾ cups of Worcestershire sauce

5 teaspoons of crushed red pepper

5 teaspoons of sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients and mix well.  The wash can stored for several weeks in the refrigerator.