Crock Pot Asian-Style Ribs

Verdict: win?

Country-style ribs were on sale last week, so I purchased a bunch to try out this recipe. I halved the recipe and cooked the ribs in the crock pot on low for around 8 hours. The original recipe is posted below, but I took some liberties in using lime juice instead of orange juice for the ponzu substitute, and I did not broil the ribs. I'm not sure if it's because the liquid didn't completely cover the meat that made the meat a bit more dry, but overall it was a bit dry and quite salty. It was much more balanced chopped up and sauteed with green beans, and I imagine it'd also be great for fried rice, but I'm not sure I'd make this again without figuring out what I did wrong.

Perfectly Pulled Pork

Verdict: win

About a month ago, my friend Albert won an R2-Cuervo Smoker from a raffle at Hamptons on King, our go-to and favorite bar.

He's been storing it in our back yard, and yesterday he spent 14 hours smoking this beaut.

It was worth it.

Mojo-Marinated Pork Kebabs with Mango

Verdict: win

I bookmarked this recipe as soon as it was posted on Serious Eats. Definitely a win with the tart/savory pork and grilled sweet mango combo. The recipe requires little active time, too boot!

I'm tempted to just make a batch of the marinade and keep it in the freezer. It's pretty bomb. For the record, lime juice + OJ is a great alternative to fresh sour orange juice, and if you're in a pinch you can use orange mango Naked Juice (just had some in the fridge - I'm not a big OJ drinker) or some other juice variation of that sort. Next time I would just grill pork chops with the mojo marinade instead of making kebabs, because it's so difficult to not overcook the kebabs.