Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash

This Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash recipe is low carb comfort food that is easy to make. Your family won't even miss the pasta!

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken alfredo spaghetti squash, spaghetti squash

Servings: 4

Calories: 299 kcal

Author: The Gunny Sack

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp garlic minced (2 cloves)
• 1 tsp sage
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup half and half also known as half cream
• 4 oz cream cheese cubed
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
• 1/2 cup chicken cooked and shredded
• 2 1/2 cups spaghetti squash cooked
• salt, pepper, and parsley, to taste

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and sage and cook for about one minute.
3. Stir in the flour and cook for about one minute, stirring constantly.
4. Whisk in the chicken broth and then the half and half.
5. Stir in the cream cheese and Parmesan cheese until smooth.
6. Add the cooked spaghetti squash and the cooked, shredded chicken. Cook until heated through.
7. Taste the chicken alfredo spaghetti squash. Then, season with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Source:https://www.thegunnysack.com/chicken-alfredo-spaghetti-squash/

COMPETITION PULLED PORK RECIPE

Pulled Pork Recipe Injection (for two 8-10 lb butts):

• 1 cup Apple Juice
• 1 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Salt
• 1 TBS Soy Sauce
• 1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

Trim the pork butt so that you have a nice money muscle, tubes and horn sections.

Place the meat in an aluminum pan and begin injecting. Insert the injection needle into the meat and press down on the plunger. Don’t pull the needle all of the way out of the injection site. Instead, go in at a different angle and inject again.

I do this 3 times at each injection site and move it around the entire butt. There will be some injection that seeps out. This is normal.

Once you get the butts injected, place them in a large zip-lock bag, pour any injection that seeped out over the butt, and place in a refrigerator or on ice. You want the butt to marinate for at least 4 hours.

Take the butt out of the zip-lock bag and place on a working surface. Drain it completely and pat dry with paper towel and let it come up to room temp for about 30 – 45 minutes.

The next step is to apply a good quality dry rub. You can use any dry rub that you like. But we always use our own recipe, Killer Hog’s The BBQ Rub.

First, coat the butt with a couple of tablespoons of plain ole yellow mustard/mayonnaise. This will create a means for the rub to stick to the meat. Then liberally sprinkle the dry rub over the meat and gently massage it into the meat.

Proper Smoking Technique for Pulled Pork Recipe

Get your smoker up to proper temperature. I cook butts at 225 degrees and use seasoned Cherry Wood chunks for the smoke.

The length of cooking can be a little tricky to figure out, but a good rule of thumb is 1 to 1 (hours of smoke per lb of meat). But I like to always have a meat thermometer handy and strictly go by internal temperature. You are shooting for an internal temperature of 195 degrees for perfect pulled pork.

Once you have your butt on the smoker, its time to make your mop.

Pulled Pork Mop Recipe:

• 16 oz Vegetable Oil
• 16 oz Cider Vinegar
• 32 oz water (hot to dissolve the dry rub)
• 1 cup of dry rub
• 2 TBS Worcestershire
• 2 TBS Soy Sauce

Whisk all of these ingredients together. 

Mop this baste on the butts after 2 hours of smoking. Then mop again after every 2 hours.

After 6 hours of smoke and basting, check the internal temperature. It should be around 165 degrees. At this point you have enough smoke now its time to get them tender.

The Tenderization Process for Pulled Pork Recipe

You want to remove the butts from the smoker and wrap them in aluminum foil. Place the aluminum foil on the work surface, sit the butt on the aluminum foil, mop the butt with baste and reapply a light dusting of the dry rub. Wrap the butt up tight in the aluminum foil and place it back on the smoker.

It is helpful to use a digital meat thermometer with a probe to monitor your internal temperature the entire cooking time. This is one piece of equipment that is extremely useful, and it keeps you from having to constantly open up the door to check with a manual thermometer.

And if you are constantly opening the door, then your meat will not achieve the proper tenderness. Every time the temperature in your smoker drops, your meat begins to lock back up resulting in a product that is tough. You have to keep the temperature steady to keep the meat cooking. This is exactly why they say, If you’re looking, you’re not cooking.

The butt needs to go to 195 degrees internal and this will take some time.

Typically, it will hit a plateau or stall at about 175 and will sit there for what feels like an eternity. It is important to keep a constant pit temperature during this process. Don’t open the smoker door and don’t unwrap the butt – not for any reason – no exceptions! This is the method will produce the best BBQ you’ve ever cooked and it is what wins contest.

The Final Steps for Pulled Pork Recipe

Once the butt has climbed to an internal temperature of 195 degrees you are ready to pull it off the smoker.

BUT BE CAREFUL. it will be extremely hot and there will be a lot of au just that has cooked out of the meat. Transferring the butt to an aluminum pan will make this process easier and allows you to catch the liquid.

Open the aluminum foil very carefully and allow some of the steam to escape. Drain off as much liquid as possible from the butt, re-rap it in aluminum foil and place it in a dry cooler for resting. It will keep hot for up to 4 hours.

Appearance Is Everything with this Pulled Pork Recipe!

To create a beautiful Mahogany look on the outside of the butt, I use a final glaze. This process takes about 30-45 minutes, and I do it just before building the blind box. Remove the butt from the holding cooler and unwrap as much foil as you can. It will tear away easy but you’ll want to use gloves because it will still be hot to the touch.

For the glaze I use my Killer Hogs The BBQ Sauce. You can use whatever sauce that you like, but from my experience, Sweet with a little heat brings home the hardware. I also mix some of the warm pan drippings with the sauce usually just 2 to 3 tablespoons. This will thin the glaze down just a little and give it an extra punch of flavor.

Brush the glaze over the butt and return it to the smoker at 245 for hour. This bump in heat will caramelize the bark just right.

If you follow this procedure, then you will have a Pulled Pork Recipe you can brag about. It will blow any other BBQ out of the water, bar none.

Source: https://howtobbqright.com/2018/01/08/pulled-pork-recipe/

Sweet & Spicy Pork Rub

Ingredients:

2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup smoked paprika
1/2 cup fine sea salt
4 Tbl fresh cracked peppercorns
2 Tbl cayenne pepper
2 Tbl dry mustard
4 Tbl garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together, combine well.

Source: https://flouronmyface.com/sweet-and-spicy-pork-rub/

AWARD WINNING COMPETITION RIBS

Ingredients
· 1 rack St. Louis spare ribs
· ¼ cup yellow mustard
· 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ dry rub
· 4 tablespoons “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” (cut into eighths)
· 2 tablespoons honey
· ¼ cup brown sugar
· 2 tablespoons apple juice
· ¼ cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Instructions
Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs and coat both sides with a layer of yellow mustard. Season well with dry rub then allow the ribs to rest while you prepare the smoker or grill.

Prepare grill* for indirect cooking, placing a water filled disposable aluminum half pan in the center of the grill’s charcoal grate and piling pre-heated Kingsford® charcoal briquets on either side of the pan. Add 3–4 chunks of your favorite smoking wood to the charcoal then replace the main cooking grate and adjust the bottom grill vents to bring the temperature to 250°F.

Place the ribs on the grill directly above the aluminum pan. Cover the grill and allow the ribs to smoke for approximately 3-3.5 hours until the meat begins to pull away from the bone.

Lay out a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and top with four ½ tbsp. pieces of butter laid side-to-side and roughly the same length as the rack of ribs, followed by 1 tbsp. honey drizzled over the butter, and 2 tbsp. brown sugar sprinkled over the top. Lay the ribs meat side down on the butter, honey and brown sugar mixture. Place remaining sections of butter, the second tbsp. of honey, and 2 tbsp. brown sugar evenly on top of the bone-side of the ribs. Fold the sides of the foil up and add the apple juice before loosely sealing the foil.

Place the foil wrapped ribs back on the grill directly above the water pan, cover the grill, and allow the ribs to cook for approximately another 1 hour (the ribs should have pulled away from the bone by approximately 3/4-inch and have a nice flex to them). Remove the ribs from the grill and gently open the foil packet to allow the steam to escape. Remove the ribs from the foil and set them back on the grill, cover the grill, and allow them to cook for approximately 20 minutes until tender but not “fall-off-the-bone” (note: ribs should bend at a 45 degree angle when held on one end with tongs). Sauce both sides of the ribs then cover the grill and allow them to cook for another 3–4 minutes to allow the sauce to set and become tacky. Remove the ribs from the grill, slice and serve or, if preparing for a BBQ contest, set 4-5 ribs side-by side in the turn-in box and top with another 4 ribs.

AWARD WINNING SMOKED BBQ RIBS TIPS & HINTS

1)    Stockpile charcoal.  Home Depot and  Lowe’s have AMAZING deals on Kingsford charcoal during Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day weekends and without the charcoal and/or wood at most sanctioned contests, you’re guaranteed a DAL (aka Dead A$$ Last) finish.
2)    Select your favorite smoking wood (I prefer 4-6 small chunks of cherry wood)
3)    Selecting ribs.  I love cooking and eating baby back ribs, but unless it is a grilling contest in which cooking time can be short, I tend to stick to spare ribs as they more often than not keep me in the top 10.
4)     Prepping the ribs.  Doing your first contest is stressful enough so why add additional pressure by trimming your meats on-site?  Note that your meat will be inspected before you can do anything so bring proof that the ribs haven’t been enhanced for juiciness and that any additional rubs, injections (yes, there are plenty of folks that inject butter and other flavor enhancers in to ribs and God bless ‘em as long as it continues to do right by them!) are left for after you get the “all clear.”
5)    K.I.S.S.  How much equipment do you really need to cook a couple (or four in my case) racks of ribs?  In addition to the basics like a canopy and racket straps and plastic water jugs (to weight down the canopy if and when the rain and winds starts picking up), I use:

• A single bullet style smoker
• A single kettle grill for finishing/saucing the ribs
• Two six foot tables with adjustable legs for my 6’3” frame and a smaller table for a wash and rinse station (required by the Board of Health)
• A meat thermometer (required by the Board of Health)
• A fire extinguisher (required)
• A couple pairs of tongs in case one pair is missing or is dirty
• A very sharp boning knife
• Two cutting boards or disposable cutting boards to avoid cross contamination
• Some food safe gloves (required by the Board of Health and available at any restaurant supply store or from a friend in the professional, competition, or farmer’s market cooking game)
• 4 “bus tubs” (black or grey tubs with optional lids used by busboys to bus tables at a restaurant), 3 for the wash-bleach rinse-wash station and one for seasoning the ribs (note, I often use the lids to move ribs to and from the smoker grill)
• A sauce brush (if you opt to use brushes with natural bristles, be VERY aware of stay strands which can end up in the sauce and result in a 1 in appearance as it is a foreign object.  Same goes for small pieces of foil, toothpicks or a thermometer)
• Scissors for trimming the green leaf lettuce or parsley garnish (more on that below)
• A single long wooden skewer (used to push stray lettuce in to the turn-in clamshell once it is closed)
• A clock or watch that has a working battery so that you can ensure your time is on par with when they say your food needs to be turned in.

6)    Shop smart.  As with equipment, you don’t need more than what you will actually use at the contest.  One cooler for non-meat essentials like garnish (if required) and beverages and a second one for raw meat.

• Ribs (I always cook 4 racks so that I have options when it comes time to select the best 8 or so ribs for the turn-in box)2.     Foil (!!!) for wrapping midway through the cook
• A binding agent (mustard in the case of the recipe below but I now prefer mayonnaise as it's basically nothing but fat and fat is good!)
• 1 or two dry rubs to create multiple layers of flavor (I used a pre-seasoning base of Butcher BBQ Honey Rub followed by a layer of Head Country barbecue dry rub seasoning for this batch)
• a butter substitute that comes in stick form or in a squeeze bottle
• a sweetener like honey or Agave syrup plus brown sugar
• Barbecue sauce.  I use KC Masterpiece original that has been modified by adding natural cherry juice, chipotle powder and one or two other ingredients.
• Lettuce or parsley.  I have done exactly one parsley box in my life and I intend to keep it that way for the foreseeable future.  (There are masters out there with some great tips for doing them faster but I’m determined to keep the dying art form of lettuce boxes alive for as long as possible)
• Two extra cans of adult or non-adult beverages for your turn-in box (I learned somewhere early on that the two cans create a perfect indention in the garnish in which the meat can rest comfortably.  Simply prepare your garnish then set the cans side-by-side in the center to create the indention)

7)    Arrive early and ask plenty of questions.  Organizers and teams are always willing to help out new teams so take advantage of their knowledge and guidance.
8)    Rub down the ribs and start the fire.  I use the Minion method for starting and maintaining a 225-250 degree fire for the entire cook time. Start with the much recommended 3-2-1 method of cooking (3 hours of smoking, 2 hours wrapped, 1 hour rest in an empty cooler or other container) and adjust as needed once you get a better feel for how your ribs cook in a competition setting.  These days I tend to cook my ribs the same way the are outlined in the recipe below with 3.5 hours on the smoker; 1.5 hours wrapped with butter and sweeteners (this addition of flavor helps to create the "perfect bite" for judges who are using only taking one or two tastes of your finished product); and 20 minutes back on the smoker unwrapped.  Keep in mind that despite the common misconception that ribs should be "fall-off-the-bone," judges are actually looking for ones that provide a clean bit without all of the meat coming off.
9)    Attend the cook’s meeting, at least the first time.  This will insure you have all of the turn-in times and rules down pat and you will also receive your 10x10 Styrofoam box (double check your team number and the one on the top of the box otherwise you’ll be cooking some amazing ribs for some other team.  Also keep track of the top and bottom as it is easy to “build a box” upside down and find yourself re-building it at the turn-in table)
10)  Get cooking and get ‘em turned in on time!  I have had way too many issues with the 10 minute turn-in window (five minutes before the 12:30pm turn-in time until five minutes after), but that, as well as my second adventure judging a contest, is a tale for another day!

With the tips out of the way, here's a complete recipe that has been modified for those without access to a smoker so that they can create the same award winning ribs on a kettle style grill like a Weber.

Source: https://www.grillocracy.com/blog/2015/4/12/award-winning-smoked-ribs?rq=ribs

ROASTED GARLIC AND CRACKED BLACK PEPPER PORK TENDERLOIN LOLLIPOPS

YIELD: 12-14 lollipops

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME: 6-8 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoon minced ginger

1 ½ tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 (18.4 oz) Smithfield Roasted Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper Fresh Pork Tenderloin

Additional Tools

5-inch bamboo lollipop sticks (available at Walmart and at craft stores such as Michael’s)

Instructions

Combine soy sauce, lime juice, minced ginger, honey, and sesame oil in a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine the ingredients.  Set the sauce aside until ready to use.

Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the tenderloin into ½-inch medallions (you should end up with 12-14 medallions).  Skewer each medallion with a bamboo lollipop stick by inserting the pointed end completely through the pork.

Prepare the grill for direct cooking, adjusting the vents to bring the temperature to approximately 400 degrees.  Once the grill comes to temperature, grill each side of the tenderloin lollipops for 3-4 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the lollipops from the grill and serve immediately with the soy-ginger dipping sauce.

 * Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Smithfield as part of their 2017 Marinated Bloggers 

Source: https://www.grillocracy.com/blog/pork-tenderloin-lollipops

IQUE BBQ SAUCE

Ingredients

• 4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. dried thyme
• 1 tbsp. ground mustard
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. Szechuan peppercorns (or mixed peppercorns), freshly ground
• 1 1/2 tsp. long peppercorns (or mixed peppercorns), freshly ground
• 1 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder or cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp. tomato powder, optional
• 1/2 tbsp. hickory powder, optional
• 4 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tbsp. IQUE dry rub

Instructions

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, make the gastrique by bringing the brown sugar, cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce to a gentle boil.

Remove from heat and add the thyme, mustard, garlic powder, cumin, ground Szechuan peppercorns, ground long peppercorns, chipotle powder, and tomato powder and hickory powder, if using.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

Stir in ketchup and corn syrup, return to stove, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and add IQUE Dry Rub.  Let cool in refrigerator, preferably in squeeze bottles, for up to 1 month.

Source: https://www.grillocracy.com/blog/2015/6/9/ique-1st-place-american-royal-brisket

BEEF BBQ MARINADE

Ingredients

12 ounces American lager

1 cup low-sodium beef broth

1 head roasted garlic, cloves removed and processed into a paste

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup Beef BBQ dry rub

2 tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a mason jar or other airtight container.  Cover and shake vigorously.
Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Source: https://www.grillocracy.com/blog/2015/6/9/ique-1st-place-american-royal-brisket