In Murphysboro, IL, September is the time when we honor the almighty apple. The Murphysboro Apple Festival has been celebrated here every September for 72 years. For the last 37 of those years, our own Murphysboro Praise the Lard Barbecue Cook-Off has been held the following weekend. Mike Mills always like the idea of having an entire month when people could all come together to shine a light on Murphysboro, and that’s how the Cook-Off originally came to follow the Apple Festival.

Following here is our recipe for 17th Street Barbecue Apple Cider Marinated Pork Loin. We thought it was the perfect recipe to feature this September, when apples and apple products can be found all around not just our region, but across the country.  It’s one of the few recipes in our book, Peace, Love and Barbecue, that uses a marinade instead of a dry rub. The down-home side dishes for this moist and tender meat would include — you guessed it— some type of apples. Baked, fried…even applesauce. And don’t forget…for the best results, smoke it with real apple wood, too!

17th Street Barbecue Apple Cider Marinated Pork Loin

Serves 6

• 1 pork loin (4 to 6 pounds)
• 1 can (6 ounces) frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1/3 cup apple jelly
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried sage, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, finely ground
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Set the loin in a shallow dish.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Pour the marinade over the loin, coating thoroughly. Marinate, covered and chilled, overnight.

Discard the marinade and smoke at 200 to 225 degrees for about 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

© Mike Mills and Amy Mills, published in Peace, Love, and Barbecue, Rodale

For more recipes, secrets, tall tales, and outright lies from the legends of barbecue, pick up a copy of our book Peace, Love, and Barbecue

Every family ought to have a good potato salad recipe. 17th Street Barbecue Homestyle Potato Salad is ours. The potatoes must be perfectly cooked—not too hard or too mushy. Make this well in advance— the flavors need time to blend, and it should be served well chilled.

Homestyle Potato Salad

Recipe makes 4 to 6 servings

• 1 1/2 pounds small red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 large eggs, hard cooked, peeled, and chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons celery seeds
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (we use Hellmann’s)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (recipe below)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (we use Colman’s)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon pickle juice or dill pickle relish
• 17th Street Magic Dust®, for garnish

Put the potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 40 minutes, or just until tender. Test the potatoes by sliding the blade of a sharp knife into a potato. When it slides out clean, the potatoes are done. Don’t overcook them or you’ll end up with mashed potato salad.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When they are cool enough to handle, cut them into 1/2-inch dice, leaving the skins on. Transfer the still-warm potatoes to a large bowl and toss them with the onion, eggs, and celery seeds.

In a separate large bowl, make a dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch dressing, 1 teaspoon salt, the white pepper, mustard, sugar, and pickle juice.

Pour the dressing over the potatoes and mix gently with clean hands until the potatoes are well coated. Sprinkle the top lightly with Magic Dust®. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours before serving.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Recipe makes about 2 cups

The variety of fresh herbs used in our rendition of creamy ranch dressing gives it fresh, bright flavor. We use it in our 17th Street Barbecue Homestyle Potato Salad. Use any leftover dressing as a dip for vegetables.

• 3/4 cup full-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (we use Hellmann’s)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Decant into a mason jar, cover, and refrigerate; the dressing keeps for 5 days..

© Mike Mills and Amy Mills, published in Praise the Lard, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

For more recipes and revelations in barbecue culture pick up a copy of our book Praise the Lard

The term “reverse-sear” refers to flipping the traditional sequence of steak-cooking steps so that the meat is first infused with smoke and searing happens just before serving. This is an easy route to a tender piece of meat with a delicious savory crust, especially if a perfect medium-rare is your goal—which is one of the factors determining a win according to Steak Cook-off Association guidelines. 

We like to cook boneless Certified Angus Beef prime or choice grade meat. Bone-in or boneless—the choice is yours. 

Garlic-Buttered Ribeye Steak

Recipe makes 4 to 6 servings

• 4 to 6 ribeye steaks (about 1 pound each, 1 to 11/2 inches thick, prime or choice) 

• 17ST Brisket Rub or kosher salt and pepper 

• Herb and Garlic Butter (recipe below), chilled, for serving 

• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, for serving (optional) 

• 2 pounds good-quality lump charcoal (we use Royal Oak) 

• 1 small (8-inch) piece of apple wood or 2 store-bought chunks 

Up to 40 minutes prior to cooking, season the steak generously with the Brisket Rub. Set the steaks on a baking sheet and refrigerate them, loosely covered, until you’re ready to grill.

Set up the cooker for indirect-heat smoking: Open the top and bottom vents. Load a charcoal chimney one-quarter full of charcoal and light it. When the coals in the chimney are glowing, dump them on one side of the cooker. Set the wood on top of the coals, replace the grate, and put the steaks over the side with no coals (the indirect cooking area). Close the lid.

Don’t open the cooker for 15 minutes, but keep a close eye on the temperature; when it reaches 200°, which might happen very quickly, close the vents about halfway so that less air comes in to feed the fire and the heat in the cooker rises slowly. Let the temperature climb to between 225° and 250°. Maintain your target temperature; if at any point the temperature climbs above your target, close the top and bottom vents further so that even less air comes in to feed the fire.

After 15 minutes, open the lid of the cooker and use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the steak; you are looking for a slow and steady climb to 105° (for rare) or 110° (for medium-rare). This will take no longer than 20 minutes. 

Reload the chimney halfway with charcoal and light it; you’ll need additional hot coals to sear the steaks at the finishing stage, after they’re done smoking. 

When the steaks are 105° for rare or 110° for medium-rare, set them aside on a baking sheet. Add the hot coals from the chimney and spread them out all over the bottom of the cooker. Replace the grate and put the steaks directly over the hot coals. Sear for a minute or two on each side, just until a brown crust forms and the internal temperature is 120° for rare or 130° for medium-rare. Top each steak with a slice of Herb and Garlic Butter or blue cheese, and serve. 

Herb & Garlic Butter

Recipe makes 4 to 6 servings

• 2 cups packed fresh herb leaves of your choice (we use flat-leaf parsley, chives, and basil)

• 1/2 small garlic clove

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Pulse the herbs and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pulse to combine. Scrape the butter into a ramekin and cover with plastic wrap. Alternatively, scrape the butter onto a sheet of parchment paper and form into a cylinder about 2 inches in diameter. Roll the parchment paper to cover it and twist the ends. Wrap in foil to keep airtight. Chill in the refrigerator or freeze.

Bring to room temperature for spreading. Keep the log slightly chilled for slicing. The butter keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

© Mike Mills and Amy Mills, published in Praise the Lard, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

For more recipes and revelations in barbecue culture pick up a copy of our book Praise the Lard

When it’s done right, smoked chicken is juicy and lusciously redolent of smoke, spice, and sauce, along with the flavor of the meat itself—all in equal measure. We lightly season the outside of the bird with garlic salt to draw moisture from the skin so the fat renders and the skin comes out deliciously crispy.

Half-birds are easier to position and move around than whole ones. Additional advantages of half-chickens over separated chicken parts include that you have fewer pieces to corral and less juice draining from the meat while it cooks, and you end up with larger expanses of crispy skin. Use apple, wild cherry, peach, or pecan woods for chicken; hard woods such as hickory or oak impart an overpoweringly strong flavor.

There is no end to the delicious uses for leftover smoky chicken—shredded, cubed, or sliced. Our favorite ways to repurpose include atop salads, baked potatoes, and nachos.

Bird on a Fire

Recipe makes 2 to 4 servings

• 1 whole chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), very cold 

• Garlic salt 

• Magic Dust®

• 17ST Hog Warsh Barbecue Sauce, warm 

• 3 to 5 pounds good-quality lump charcoal (we use Royal Oak) 

• 1 small (8-inch) piece of apple wood or 2 store-bought chunks 

• String mop 

Use poultry shears to cut along each side of the backbone to remove it; discard. Open up the bird, lay it skin side up on a cutting board, and press down firmly to flatten. Trim off and discard the hunk of excess fat at the tail end and cut through the breastbone to halve the chicken. Flip the halves over and straighten out the skin on each half. Twist each wing tip upward and over the rest of the wing and tuck it in so that the “elbow” of the wing sticks up in the air. (This is purely for aesthetics; if you leave the wing be, there will be a white spot where the smoke doesn’t hit the skin.)

Very lightly season the chicken with garlic salt and Magic Dust, coating so thinly that it’s barely visible. Set the chicken halves on a baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you’re ready to put them on the cooker.

Set up the cooker for indirect-heat smoking: Open the top and bottom vents. Pile 3 pounds of the charcoal in one half of the cooker, leaving the other half empty. Load a chimney no more than one-quarter full of charcoal and light it. When the coals are glowing, dump them on top of the pile of charcoal in the cooker. Set the wood on top of the coals, replace the grate, and put the chicken on, bone side down, over the side with no coals (the indirect cooking area). Close the lid. 

Don’t open the cooker for 1 hour, but keep a close eye on the temperature; when it reaches 185°, which might happen very quickly, close the vents about halfway so that less air comes in to feed the fire and the heat in the cooker rises slowly. Let the temperature climb to between 250° and 275°. Maintain your target temperature for the duration of the cook. 

Throughout the entirety of the cook, be on the lookout for fluctuations in cooker temperature. If it dips more than 5° below your target and opening the vents isn’t sufficient to bring it back up, you will need to add a few coals. If at any point the temperature climbs above your target by more than 5°, close the top and bottom vents further so that even less air comes in to feed the fire. 

After an hour, open the lid and check the edges of the chicken closest to the fire. If they look like they’re beginning to brown, rotate the chicken, moving the half farther away from the fire and placing it closer, and vice versa. 

Close the lid and continue smoking the chicken for another hour, checking the color and the edges every 20 minutes. Never flip the pieces over; instead, continue rotating them to cook evenly. 

Prepare another round of charcoal in the chimney, filling it halfway and lighting it, so you’ll have additional hot coals if you need them. This cook should not require more charcoal than the initial amount, but we always keep some coals at the ready just in case more are needed to maintain target cooker temperature. 

After 2 hours, use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness: Insert the probe into the thickest part of the thigh; if the probe slides in easily, the meat is nearly done. The temperature will read between 165° and 170°. 

When the temperature reaches 170°, mop the chicken with a thin coat of Hog Warsh (it will ball up a bit—don’t worry), then close the lid for just a minute to let it dry a bit. Mop with a second thin coat and give a final sprinkle of Magic Dust. Pull the chicken halves off the cooker and set them on a cutting board to rest, uncovered, for about 10 minutes before serving. 

© Mike Mills and Amy Mills, published in Praise the Lard, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

For more recipes and revelations in barbecue culture pick up a copy of our book Praise the Lard