Dead of Winter Blues: Local Food BBQ cure-all

There is still hope in the dead of winter for tasty, local foods. I am heading into Cambridge tonight to spend the evening with the Boston Localvores. Indulging in local foods and good company. There are still plenty root vegetables around, and if the farm have a good greenhouse, some nice surprises (the Natick Community Organic Farm has organic salad greens year-round). As an active, and avid meat-eater, I usually opt for bringing meat to these events since most people go for vegetarian choices. My family has been blessed with an epic smoker/cooker called The Orion, which gave me the idea to make BBQ pulled turkey. I got my turkey from Verrill Farms in Concord, which has a really nice year-round farm stand, and their own turkey (Warning: Their smallest Turkey was 20lbs! And it's not cheap, at 2.75 a lb. We are using the meat for multiple events/meals/freezing for later meals, so think of it as an investment for future lunches). To accompany the pulled turkey, I am making BBQ sauce and a coleslaw with local cabbage, also from Verrill Farms, and picking up some rolls at my local grocery store bakery. Pickles are also recommended for accompaniments to pulled meat. I rubbed the turkey with orange, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, and maple syrup, stuck it in the Orion, and three hours later there was a plethora of tender, juicy, local meat.

Pulled turkey, or pork, or chicken, is not an easy task without a smoker or Orion, and it takes a long time to make. Let me know if you want to know the basics and I can send you in the right direction. Any sort of meat, especially chicken, with BBQ sauce is delicious, and accompanied by a good slaw, creates the perfect combo of sweet and salty.



Here is the coleslaw recipe I used:

Local Coleslaw

1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon celery seed

salt and pepper to taste

1 head (local) green cabbage

2 (local) carrots, finely grated

In a bowl, blend mayo vinegar, sugar, celery seed, and salt and pepper. Mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and carrots. pour the dressing over the mix.


Easy!

Pick up a good BBQ sauce, or check out the Food Network's site for a ton of variations of the classic sauce. There is something to be said for eating traditionally summer food in the dead of Winter, I think it warms the soul a little.