If you are planning a fishing themed baby shower, what better protein than some recently caught pan fish? The baby shower food for this event included some of Dave’s fried fish, Will’s fried lake trout, and some pulled pork.
Pork Butt Tips
Will typically smokes a pork butt for pulled pork, but I didn’t want him to mess with a smoker all day. After all, he is the daddy to be. I chose to use Tyler Florence’s oven roasted pulled pork and southern barbecue sauce recipe.
I changed his recipe up a little and used smoked paprika and smoked sea salt instead of regular paprika and sea salt. Instead of regular brown sugar, use the dark. (The crackling on this pork is delicious!)
The rub is simply, 3 Tablespoons smoked paprika, 1 Tablespoon garlic powder, 1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon dry mustard, and 3 Tablespoons coarse smoked sea salt. Mix well.
After making the rub, Dave rubbed it all over the pork butt. Next, we placed it in a pan, and covered it with plastic wrap. Then, it went in the fridge overnight.
Early the next morning, I retrieved the seasoned pork from the fridge and allowed it to rest for an hour. Then, I place it on a rack in a roasting pan. Although Tyler doesn’t say to, I added 2 cups of water to the roasting pan and drizzled a little liquid smoke into the water.
This pork butt is just shy of 10 pounds. I figured it would take about 9 hours to roast.
Tyler’s recipe says to roast the pork at 300°, but Will told me to lower the temperature to 275° after it had been in the oven a couple of hours. He also told me to spritz the pork butt with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water every hour to keep it moist. This boy has been smoking meat for several years and is quite good at it… I used his advice.
Tyler says to use an instant read thermometer to reach 170° in the thickest part of the pork. Will told me to leave it in until it reaches almost 200°. He said the thermometer should easily slide into the meat just like soft butter. We took it out at 195°.
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Well, I did and by the time he arrived, the thermometer went into the meat just like soft butter. We took it out of the oven, tented it with foil, and allowed it to rest for about twenty minutes. Then, he pulled the pork with meat claw shredders. The shredders make pulling the meat so much faster than two forks.
My oldest son, Jon-Michael, made Tyler’s southern barbecue sauce using the pan scrapings. Oh, my goodness! Delish! In addition, we offered Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce.
This pulled pork is moist and delicious. We will definitely use this method again!
The Perfect Punch for a Fishing Themed
Baby Shower
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Before your party, order some old-fashioned bobbers to float on the punch. Display the punch in a punch dispenser. It makes a striking focal point.
Lake Water Punch
- 1-gallon blue Hawaiian Punch, chilled
- 2-liter bottle 7-Up, chilled
- 12- ounce can frozen Lemonade
- Garnish – Red Mini Swedish fish
Chill the Hawaiian Punch and the 7-Up. Just before serving, thoroughly mix the frozen lemonade with some of the Hawaiian Punch. Then, pour into the beverage dispenser.
Next, pour the remaining Hawaiian Punch into the dispenser. Then, add the chilled 2-liter of 7-Up.
This punch dispenser holds 2.5 gallons.
The punch was a hit, and it was virtually gone by the end of the party.
Baby Shower Food
Tackle Box Charcuterie
My daughter, Danielle, brought the tackle box charcuterie! Is this cute or what? Loaded with dried fruit, nuts, berries, vegetables, cheese, and fish crackers, it makes an awesome display, too.
The tackle box is a gift for the new baby, too.
Vegetable Bobbers
Earlier in the day, I created vegetable bobbers. I think the idea for these came from Taste of Home magazine. Then, just add them to the vegetable trays.
You’ll need whole carrots, round cherry tomatoes, and English cucumbers. I tried the mini cucumbers, and they seem too small. They just didn’t look right. Although it is easier to cut them, the mini carrots are not long enough.
After cutting the carrots into 1/4 – inch sticks, I found that the carrots were a little misshapen. A potato peeler will easily shave off the edges to improve the shape. The whole carrots were a little woodier in the middle than the mini carrots. Also, it is easier to insert the carrot stick into the vegetables if you cut one end into an angle. Cut off the angle after it’s in place.
You’ll need to use a thin bladed knife to make a hole in the center of the cucumber slice and the cherry tomato. I found that it is easier to make an opening through the middle of the cherry tomato before cutting them in half.
As an option, you can use celery in place of carrots, radishes rather than tomatoes, and zucchini or yellow squash instead of cucumber.
The Cole Slaw
Make the Cole slaw at least 2 hours in advance and chill in the fridge until serving.
You’ll need:
- Cole slaw mix
- Marzetti Cole Slaw Dressing
- Vidalia or Red onion
Wanting to make this quick and easy, we picked up a package of Cole slaw mix from Sam’s Club and a Marzetti Cole slaw dressing. Just follow the directions on the bottle of Cole slaw dressing. We diced a Vidalia onion to add to the mix. You can use a red onion instead.
French Potato Salad
I love this potato salad! You don’t have to worry about mayonnaise spoiling. The potato salad is served warm or at room temperature. It is really quite tasty.
French Potato Salad Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons Chardonnay
- 2 Tablespoons Chicken broth
- 3 Tablespoons Rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt – divided
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper – divided
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 2 Tablespoons minced flat-leaf-parsley
- 2 Tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves
French Potato Salad Directions
Place the potatoes in salted water. Heat the water to boiling, cover with a lid, and turn down to simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through. A knife should easily pierce through the potatoes.
Cut the potatoes in half and place in a medium bowl. Pour the wine and chicken stock over the potatoes and toss lightly.
Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Slowly, whisk the olive oil into the mixture to make an emulsion. Add to the potatoes. Toss in the green onions, parsley, basil, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
Serve the potato salad warm or at room temperature.
Baby Shower Food – Munchies
Aside from the tackle box charcuterie, you can see in the picture above that we served Pepperidge Farm Goldfish in a fishbowl. We also had chips with a Cheddar and Poblano Dip.
Baby Shower Food – Desserts
Abby’s mother, Cyndi, brought a delicious lemon Bundt cake. (She gave me the recipe! I’ll be sharing it later.) She also brought chocolate chip cookies. I made oatmeal fudge bars. ◄ You can find the recipe here.
How to Plan a Fishing Themed Baby Shower
Ideas to spark your imagination and plan a fishing themed baby shower!
How to Plan a Fishing Themed Baby Shower Food Part 2
How to Plan a Fishing Themed Baby Shower – Part 1 Activities
How to Decorations for a Fishing Themed Party
Congrats on the new grandbaby. Yum, the punch looks good! Love the tackle box charcuterie and veggie bobbers! Thanks so much for linking up at the 25 and Done Link Party 22! 25 entries in 25 hours!! Pinned.
Thank you, Dee! Can’t wait for this little bundle of joy!
What cute ideas for a fishing themed shower! Love the blue punch with the bobbers!
Thank you, Sylvia! The punch is really tasty, too!
CONGRATS Debra! Your post is FEATURED at the 25 and Done Link Party 23! 25 entries in 25 hours from Aug-18 at 5am to Aug-19 at 6am central.
Thanks, Dee! That is a great surprise to wake up to this morning! Thanks for hosting 25 and Done.