"Are You Hungry Tonight? - Elvis' Favorite Recipes" - Mississippi Barbecued Pork

Date I made this recipe: January 10, 2010

Are You Hungry Tonight? – Elvis’ Favorite Recipes by Brenda Arlene Butler
Published by: Metro Books
ISBN: 978-0-7607-6302-5
Recipe: Mississippi Barbecued Pork – p. 28

Well who knew? Friday, January 8th, would have been Elvis’ 75th birthday. That just doesn’t seem right, does it? How on earth could the man who stared in Viva Las Vegas and Blue Hawaii, not to mention Jailhouse Rock, have left us so soon? It ain’t right.

So confession time—years ago my husband and I stopped at Graceland after a tour of the south and I was honestly disappointed that not one single person threw themselves on the grave sobbing “Oh Elvis, Elvis.” Not a one. Sheesh-where was the love, people? I mean, the man was the King (in the same way that Bruce Springsteen is The Boss and Frank Sinatra was Chairman of the Board—what is it with singers, anyway?) Show some respect already!

And I also have to confess to you is that there was something about that tacky 70’s decorating at Graceland that I found oddly comforting. I mean, what’s not to like about lemon yellow, black and mirrors (gotta have the mirrors!). All I’m saying is that I took pictures.

My favorite Elvis moment, however, did not come from touring Graceland but rather Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi. Because it was there, people, that one could by a small sliver of clothing worn by The King. After cracking up laughing, I bought one small sliver of one of Elvis’ clothing to give to a friend of mine who likes to sew. Feel the love and pass it on, I say!

By the way, years and years ago, this same friend and I went to Hawaii on vacation, staying with her aunt and uncle who lived on the island of Oahu. And somewhere on that island (if memory serves, it was in the International Village in Waikiki Beach), was a huge display of Elvis memorabilia (including what I call The Vel-vi Elvi – a velvet rendition of Elvis (in better days, of course). Naturally, I had to document that display as well and now that I made a recipe from this book, will have to dig out my photo albums and find said proof of the exhibit’s existence as sadly, it wasn’t there when I went back in 2004. (For those of you who don’t know, Elvis was extremely popular in Hawaii—extremely).

And so it goes. It would have been interesting to see a 75 year-old Elvis parading around in those jump suits that he wore (yikes!) but alas, it was not meant to be. So I’ll console myself with this Memphis Barbecue recipe, his old movies, and a rousing rendition of some of my favorite Elvis songs.

By the way folks, this recipe made for some damned fine barbecue. Damned fine!

Mississippi Barbecued Pork – serves 6
2 ½ pounds butt pork roast
1 teaspoon corn oil
1 4-ounce can tomato sauce (Note: Is there such a thing? The smallest I found was an 8-ounce can.)
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon chili powder
Dash red pepper sauce

Randomly pierce the surface of the roast with a sharp knife. In a Dutch oven, over high heat, brown the roast on all sides in the corn oil. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour the mixture over the roast and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, basting frequently for 2 hours, or until pork is fork tender. Let the roast stand for 10 minutes before slicing.