Barbecue is NOT a verb

I'm having a very relaxing weekend. I don't have anything to grade and I cancelled my class on Tuesday. The little darlins have a paper due on Thursday and I figured I could use a break before I have to grade their masterpieces. As a result, I'm kicking back and taking it easy this weekend. I've done some thinking about next semester, finished a book, and burned through 2 Netflix movies. Today, I moved on to one of my favorite activities: cooking something that takes a really, really long time. Barbecue from scratch.

I shopped for the ingredients yesterday. Boston butt was on sale at the P-store - a sign from God that it was bbq time. I chose this one, a nice 5.5 pound butt. I also picked up some buns, chips, pork and beans, and cole slaw. As I checked out, the cashier said, "Looks like you're going to barbecue." I didn't correct her, but everyone knows that "barbecue" is not a verb.

Making bbq is a 4-hour process. I started at 3:15PM. I took the butt out of the package and put it in a pot with water to cover. I added sliced onions, bay leaves, and whole cloves. Then, I turned on the heat and waited for the boil. Once I achieved boil, I put on the lid, and let it go for three hours. It smelled amazing! Spicy cloves and bay leaves permeated the house. I turned my attention to my syllabus for next semester and waited.

At 5:45, it was time for the beans. Yes, anyone who knows me knows that I believe that beans are the work of the devil. But, you can't have bbq without baked beans. So, I emptied the can of pork and beans and gathered the necessary ingredients.

Enough of this stuff and you can't taste the beans anymore. The cinnamon is the secret ingredient. Ssshh.

After adding the right amount of each of these wonderful transformative taste sensations, I popped the beans in the oven and turned my attention to the sauce. Can't have bbq without sauce. Without sauce, it's just shredded butt and no one wants that.

I like this sauce. It's spicy but not so hot that you want to die. It's got onion, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, water, brown sugar, chili powder, pepper, and salt. You know it's good when there's twice as much pepper as salt. It simmers for 30 minutes and gets good and thick.

With the sauce bubbling away, I turned to the meat. Armed with two forks, I opened the pot and said, "I'm goin' shred your ass!" I do like to crack myself up while I cook. Then, I set to work. I have to admit that this is the part that I'm not so fond of. Shredding an entire Boston butt with two forks is hard work. After about 20 minutes of shredding, I had reduced the butt to this:

Back into the pot with the shredded meat, add some sauce and simmer for 20 minutes. Finally, at 7:15PM, I sat down to this:
I went with the open face option, with extra sauce. And, yes, those are potato chips. Can't have bbq without chips. In case you're wondering, it was really, really good.