The South’s Best Butts by Matt Moore

May 31, 2017 by
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The South’s Best Butts: Pitmaster Secrets for Southern Barbecue Perfection by Matt Moore is a barbecue lover’s dream cookbook with over 150 tried and true recipes from the best of best pitmasters of Southern barbecue.

Moore has gathered the best ‘cue secrets to be had from all parts with recipes for the five mother sauces, sides, mains and even desserts. Rice Wine Vinegar and Miso Braised Collard Green, Root Beer Baked Beans and Fried Banana Pudding are just a few examples of what you will find here and I haven’t even touched on the pork.

This book is an exciting look at the barbecue scene centered around the South’s holy grail of cuts – the pork butt. Every rub, sauce and grilling technique is examined. Moore manages to find some room to squeeze in some recipes for other proteins as well and this week I made the Wonder Wings with Vietnamese Peanut Sauce – these wings are so good – slap your husband good. (I just hate to slap anyone’s mama.)

Special thanks to Oxmoor House for sharing the Spicy Korean Pork with KB Sauce. I hope to get the smoker out and try this. Who wants to come over? Be sure to head over to our contest page to enter our giveaway for a copy of this fascinating book that brings the best of barbecue to your table.

Spicy Korean Pork 

 Cody uses a mix of Georgia oak and hickory to slowly smoke all of his meats in-house-no gas or anything else, just wood. In the early days, he experimented with many types of wood, finally settling on a mix of the two. Gochujang – used in the KB Sauce – is a red chili paste that serves as a Korean condiment of sorts. It’s both spicy and savory, and it’s something you can find fairly easily at most specialty markets.

Cutting up the pork butt allows the maximum surface area to marinate overnight in the gochujang. From there, it’s low and slow for a few hours until it reaches tender perfection. The finishing sauce adds the last and final complement to this unique-styled butt. Enjoy this pork on its own or on a potato bun with kimchi slaw, kimchi pickles, and KB Sauce. Trust me, the taste is truly worth the effort.

Serves 14  •  Hands-on: 45 minutes  •  Total: 13 hours, including chilling time

2 cups gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
1 cup sweet chili sauce (such as Mae Ploy)
1 cup Sriracha chili sauce
3⁄4 cup KB Sauce plus more for serving
1 (8-pound) boneless pork butt (Boston butt), excess fat removed, cut into 1-inch-thick pieces
Wood chips 
1⁄2 cup sliced scallions
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1. Stir together the gochugaru, sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, and KB Sauce in a large bowl. Add the pork; toss to coat. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. Remove the pork from marinade; discard marinade. Pat pork dry.

2. Prepare smoker according to manufacturer’s instructions with an area cleared of coals to create an indirect heat area, bringing internal temperature to 225°F; maintain temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Place wood chips on coals. Arrange the marinated pork in a single layer on grill rack over indirect heat. Cover with smoker lid. Smoke the pork, maintaining temperature inside smoker at 225°F, until pork is tender and a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers at least 145°F, about 4 hours.

3. Remove the pork from smoker; let stand 10 minutes. Cut into small cubes. Drizzle with additional KB Sauce. Sprinkle with the scallions and sesame seeds.
KB Sauce

Though the folks at Heirloom pride themselves on the quality of their smoked meat, they also offer up five sauces: Table (classic, mild), Kitchen (spicy, fresh), Hotlanta (mustard, hot), Settler (peppery vinegar), and the overwhelming favorite, KB Sauce, known as Korean BBQ sauce, which has a sweet heat. It’s super unique and super addictive. So, fair warning.

Makes 2 1⁄4 cups  •  Hands-on: 5 minutes  • Total: 25 minutes

1 cup (8 ounces) water
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1⁄3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3⁄4 cup lemon-lime soft drink (such as Sprite)
2 teaspoons gochujang (Korean red chile paste)
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Combine the water, sugars, and soy sauce in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Stir in the soft drink, gochujang, and sesame oil. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Excerpted from The South’s Best Butts by Matt Moore. Copyright © 2017 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Time Inc. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

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Category: Book News, Recipes

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23 Comments

  • nmouncey  on  May 31, 2017

    The KB Sauce is a new one to me, so that might be the first thing I try. But I'm also a huge fan of mustard sauces. BBQ and Smoking are my great loves in cookbooks. So likely I would read this book cover to cover the day I receive it and then that weekend make several things out of it. This looks like a fantastic book. I'm very intrigued as the author uses my preferred wood combination of Oak and Hickory. Really hoping they go into some stories about the history of BBQ, as everyone seems to have their own take on it. Looking forward to this book a lot!

  • rchesser  on  May 31, 2017

    Pimiento cheese-stuffed pickled okra!

  • annmartina  on  May 31, 2017

    A few years ago after seeing a spot on TV about a Korean BBQ spot in Atlanta, I added gochujang paste to my pork butt rub. Absolutely delicious!

  • lhudson  on  June 1, 2017

    BBQ chicken with the White BBQ Sauce

  • sgump  on  June 1, 2017

    My favorite recipe using pork? I love a good Cubano sandwich.

  • FireRunner2379  on  June 1, 2017

    My favorite recipe using pork is carnitas burritos!

  • annieski  on  June 2, 2017

    I'd try the KB sauce on tofu, too. Sounds yummy.

  • Siegal  on  June 2, 2017

    I
    Love pulled pork

  • lebarron2001  on  June 2, 2017

    My favorite recipe using pork is a pork shoulder slow cooked in beer, broth, garlic, hot sauce. Cooked til falling apart tender and then shredded for pulled pork sandwiches with slaw.

  • PennyG  on  June 3, 2017

    Pulled Pork with Pickled Red Onions – awesome combo!

  • lgroom  on  June 5, 2017

    I grew up on a hog farm. I love pork roast with fennel.

  • mph993  on  June 8, 2017

    B-Daddy's pulled pork tacos – always looking for another way to eat a taco!

  • kitchenclimbers  on  June 8, 2017

    carnitas

  • Nasus  on  June 9, 2017

    Will try KB sauce and BBQ tots sound intriguing.

  • t.t  on  June 10, 2017

    Does prosciutto count?

  • tarae1204  on  June 16, 2017

    I like pork as a flavor — bacon, prosciutto, pancetta added to pasta.

  • nomadchowwoman  on  June 17, 2017

    I love pork shoulder braised in milk with lemon peel, bay leaves, garlic, and lots of black peppercorns.

  • cocecitycook  on  June 23, 2017

    I have been wanting to try white bbq sauce. Now is the time, yum!

  • mrmoas  on  June 24, 2017

    bbq pork tamales

  • RSW  on  June 25, 2017

    pulled pork sandwiches

  • Whyvette  on  June 26, 2017

    I'm going to try the Spicy Korean Pork recipe this week! I love Heirloom BBQ!

  • abihamm  on  June 27, 2017

    I'm German so it have to be Pork with Sauerkraut and Dumplings. A close second is Pork Pho

  • Mrs.Soule  on  July 1, 2017

    Anything combining pork with fruit – like pork chops and apples

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