I Went Kitchensurfing

My apartment smells like pork and smoke. It’s pretty great.

You see, I have a new friend named Chris. Chris is good at getting himself involved with exciting projects. One project Chris has been working at is Kitchensurfing, and I’m pretty stoked about it.

Someday in the future, Kitchensurfing.com will launch as a sort of Airbnb meets Meetup for food enthusiasts. The platform will connect cooks with kitchens, and hungry bellies with tasty vittles. I think it’s going to be great, and I’ll keep you posted on it’s launch.

While the site is being developed, Chris & his team have been building the Kitchensurfing community through frequent eat-up’s at their stunning Manhattan office. They’ve been using Meetup.com to rally the troops, and successfully hosting supper-club style lunches and dinners.

What’s this got to do with me?

Well just a few days ago Chris asked me to jump in and cooked up a lunch. I made Pulled Pork Sandwiches with an Asian Slaw and Lime Cilantro Mayo. Here’s how it went down:

First I trimmed four pork shoulders and rubbed them down with some coarse Kosher salt. Then right into the smoker they went, kickin’ it with the hickory. Meanwhile, I shaved some brussels and red cabbage, and folded that together with mint, cilantro, and basil leaves. The greens then got topped with a ginger & fish-sauce based dressing to produce a light, sweet, and all together refreshing South East Asian slaw. Yum.

I also zested a boatload of limes, juiced a few, and added it all to some mayo. A few secret spices, a bit of heat, and about an lb of pureed cilantro, and boom!, you’ve got yourself a bright, refreshing, mayo.

A few [many] hours later the shoulders were done. Go time.

I hit up Amy’s for some of their challah rolls, butter grilled them, and started to assemble.

Each sandwich got a nice helping of slaw, a generous meat mound, and a drizzle of mayo. I also tossed some chips in togarashi and popped them on the plates. The eating began!

On the whole it seems folks liked it food. Nearly all the plates came back clean. Yay!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Fully Dressed

Cooking Notes
The biggest take away from the cooking experience for me was, and has been for a while now, how great salt is as a rub. I used to use a ton of shit on pulled pork. I’d basically lather the butts in yellow mustard, make a 7+ ingredient Memphis style dry rub, and cake that on. It’s tasty, but so little smoke gets through all that gunk. These days I let the smoke do the talking. On pork, it’s salt. On brisket it’s salt and coarse pepper. That’s it. And you know, sticking to that simple regiment has produced better ‘cue than any rub I’ve ever used. Plus, it makes a pretty neutral product. Want to go to The Carolinas, make a mustard sauce for it. Prefer something sticky and sweet, through your favorite KC style sauce on. Or in my case, you produce the perfect canvas for something completely unusual.

Salted & Smoked Pork

Thanks Chris & the whole Kitchensurfing team for having me. It was a blast. And of course, thanks to Miko for helping me, as always! <3