Patti and I have set one night a week just for us. It’s our date night. We usually put something special on our Green Mountain Davy Crockett Tailgaiter Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker but sometimes we cook inside. We always eat outside on our patio where it is very comfortable with a rainforest theme. Wood burning stove, little lights, candles, lanterns and surround sound. We enjoy a little wine, or strawberry margaritas using frozen strawberries for ice, good food, music and sometimes a dance or two…
For our date night dinner tonight we did some simple Habanero Glazed Pork Strips. I let these guys go in the smoke for about 45 minutes then pulled them off, turned up the heat to finish our Smoked Chipotle Garlic Treat (http://datenightdoins.com/smoked-chipotle-garlic-treat/) and twice baked potatoes. Returning the pork strips to finish to a Smoky Heavenly Habanero Delight!
Habanero Glazed Pork Strips
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes smoke, 20 minutes cook @ 400 degrees (205c)
Grill: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill
Pellets: Lumberjack Mesquite
Ingredients: Habanero Glazed Pork Strips
- Pork Strips
- Pete’s Firehouse BBQ Rub
- Habanero jelly for glaze
Rub with Pete’s Firehouse BBQ Rub
Directions: Habanero Glazed Pork Strips
Rub the pork with a nice coating of Pete’s Firehouse and set them aside to come to room temperature. Meats cook more evenly if they go on the grill at room temp. Let them sit in the smoke @ 170 degrees (77c) for 45 minutes. Then, pull them off, turn the heat up and finish your sides. Add the meat back to the grill and brush a coat of the Habanero Glaze on. I did a few coats of the glaze and turned them a few times to caramelize the glaze. For the glaze I put a few tablespoons of Habanero jelly in a small bowl then into the microwave to melt it so I could brush it on.
Cooking Directions: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill
To prepare the grill for cooking, check your pellet supply – top off or change flavors as needed. Scrape grill grates off. Set the temperature to 450 degrees and press the “Start” button. Give the grill about 15 minutes to reach temperature and the grates to burn clean.
Note: You can set the start temperature anywhere you want. I do 450 (230c) for a quick cleaning burn.
I like to smoke everything for at least 30 minutes with an hour being even better. After all the Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill is an awesome smoker so use it for all the wood smoke flavor it will add to your food.
So after the grill comes up to temp and burns clean turn it back down to 170 degrees (77c) for 45 minutes. Place everything directly onto the grill and just let it hang out in the smoke and get happy for 30 minutes or so. This is referred to as “Smoking” or “Hot Smoking”, the temperature is 170 degrees (77c) 30 minutes of smoking is not enough to have any cooking effect on your meat but it is enough to open the pores so that the meat can pick up all the flavor of the smoke.
After 30 minutes, turn the (Temperature Control) up to 400 degrees (205c) and pull the meat off the grill. Now you can cook your sides and pick up all the wood fired flavor from the grill. I did 30 minutes here at 400 degrees (205c). Then pulled my sides and put your meat back onto the grill I did the meat for 10 minutes per side. Do a nice brush with the Habanero Glaze. Perfect.
When the meat reaches an internal temp around 130 – 140 (55c) pull it off, cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. This will be medium rare. Keep in mind that the meat will continue cooking for another 10 degrees after you pull it off the grill. USDA recommend temperature for pork is 145 degrees (64c). I use a Maverick ProTemp Instant Read Thermometer for checking meat temps.
Note: I get a lot of questions about the kind of pellets you can use with a recipe. Keep in mind that a recipe is just an outline. Some you need to follow closely like when you are making bread, but most you can do anything you can dream, our favorite way to cook. Feel free to mix and match the pellets until you find a combination you really like. Also you are only smoking at temps less than 250 degrees (122c), anything higher is cooking and there will not be much if any smoke so it does not matter what kind of pellet you are using.
Smoked Chipotle Garlic Treat
On The Green Mountain Davy Crockett
Smoked Twice Baked Potatoes
About our Recipes
The important thing to keep in mind is TIME & TEMPERATURE. You can even do some of them in the oven or crock pot, but, then you lose all the flavors you get from cooking outdoors. But sometimes it does rain.
Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone. Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste. Take it and run with it….
