Archive for July, 2005
Spice up your BBQ with the right rub
In the article Make your own spice run for summer grilling chef Marc Bouchard gives us a comprehensive look at the importance of the spice rub for grilling and barbecue.
As a professional chef, I eagerly buy into all these arguments. I mix and match hickory and mesquite for the best smoke, putter around with fresh and store-bought sauces, concoct elaborately seasoned salt baths for my meats and keep an instant-read thermometer in my pocket at all times.But I sometimes think my favorite element of the grilling equation is the spice rub, that coating of seasonings that gives the fish or meat its unique crust. A steak or chop with just the right amount of savory crust doesn’t need a sauce or smoke; it can stand on its own.
This article isn’t just another spice rub recipe. It’s explains the role of a spice rub when barbecuing. As Marc explains:
The primary purpose of the rub is to season the meat while at the same time encouraging the creation of that all-important exterior crust. The crust helps to seal in the juices, keeping the interior moist, while producing perfect color and a crunchy texture.
Furthermore, Marc gives some great tips on how and why to make your own barbecue rub rather than relying on commercial blends.
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Bourbon BBQ Sauce
If you are seeking a very unique flavored bbq sauce for your next barbeque then you must try bourbon bbq sauce. This is a very unique sauce that only you will know the secret ingredient.
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How to Choose the Right Smoke for the Right BBQ
Do you know whether oak works with seafood, or if orange wood tastes good with beef? Here’s a quick guide for which woods go best with each type of BBQ meat.
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The Griller’s Guide to Charcoal Briquets
Many barbecue and grilling aficionados depend on the humble charcoal briquet as their fuel source when firing up the grill. No propane for many an outdoor chef — only charcoal will do. Everyone seems to have their favorite brand of charcoal they like to buy too — Kingsford, MatchLight, Royal Oak. Are they all the same?
How is charcoal made? How much do you really know about the history of charcoal? Do you know how to best store and light your charcoal? How do you know when its ready too cook on. In this article I’ll try to give you the scoop on grilling with charcoal.
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Recipe: Memphis Style Pork Ribs
With the days of summer comes great barbeque. There’s nothing better then a properly prepared Memphis Style pork rib!
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Battle of the PAMamazing Grillers
The folks over at PAM or hosting the Battle of the PAMamazing Grillers contest to push their ubiquitous pressurized oil products.
To enter you just submit a short (100 words or less) essay convincing them that you are the grilling stud you know yourself to be.
Then, 120 of the “best essays will be selected for a live grill-off, the winner earning the coveted title of Most PAMazing Griller in America. Oh, and $10,000.
Hurray, you must enter by July 29th, 2005.
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Wireless Grilling Thermometer
The last thing any grill master wants to do is burn those $25 ribeyes sizzling on the grill. But with a company to entertain and a few beers under the belt, it’s all too easy to lose track of time. Oregon Scientific’s Wireless Barbecue Thermometer
might be just the ticket.
Set the thermometer probe for the desired doneness, place it in the meat and clip the wireless receiver to the combination belt clip/table stand up to 100 feet away. When the barbecue is almost done, the receiver will sound an alert.
The device can measure the temperature of beef, lamb, veal, hamburger, pork, turkey, chicken and fish, and can be set for rare, medium rare, medium and well done.
It costs $50 and ships with two AA and two AAA batteries.
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Hungry and Tired? Take a Culinary Vacation
Here’s an interesting article about the growing popularity of the culinary travel industry, and visiting Steven Raichlen’s Barbecue University in particular. This new vacation trend has tourists visiting some countries just to experience the cuisine. You can either eat your way through a new country, or get a piece of the action — by attending cooking classes.
Bring your checkbook though, The Greenbrier’s Barbecue University for example costs $2,300 for singles, and $3,100 for couples. For three half-day sessions. Yes really. I guess lunch is included, but you have to cook it yourself.
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Churrasco, Brazilian for Barbecue
Churrasco is the Brazilian form of barbecue made from the picanha — an unadorned sirloin cut of beef. Seasoned simply with garlic and sea salt, the delicious steak is gaining popularity throughout the U.S. Brazilian-style barbecue restaurants have opened in Little Rock, Arkansas, Beverly Hills, California and even in the U.S. barbecue stronghold of Memphis, Tennessee. The ban has forced these Brazilian steakhouses to grill only American meat, but their presence may pave the way for Brazilian beef in the U.S. meat market, the world’s largest. As a recent article from Reuters discuses, Brazilian barbecue is introducing Americans to Brazilian culture and attempting to reverse current U.S. bans on Brazilian beef.
“The number of Brazilian barbecue restaurants shows that there is a growing interest in the Brazilian culture,” said Marcus Vinicius Pratini de Moraes, president of the nation’s beef exporters association and a former agriculture minister. “This is the best way to promote our products.”
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Cooking Roast Prime Rib on the Grill
Love the taste of prime rib? Love the taste of barbecue? You can combine them together for cooking roast prime rib on the grill. It takes a bit longer than hamburgers, but cooking roast prime rib on the grill gives you a fabulous roast that everyone enjoys.
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Barbecue for You
We all love a great barbecue but just where did it originate? learn about its history and how it came about.
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Everything You Thought You Knew About Grilling Is Wrong
There’s a goldmine of grilling tips on this blog posting and another batch on this follow up post. The posts, and their comments, are a pretty good grill school. Here’s the introduction to the thread.
I was always pretty competent at making burgers (although I attribute that to my super secret blend of ingredients more than anything else), but I never dared tackle the quality food. Steaks, chicken, fish? I’d leave that to the older men in the family. They knew what was what around the grill. I was merely the acoloyte. The burger flipper.Fortunately, my wife gave me a great present for Father’s day a couple of years ago: grilling lessons. An unbelievably good investment. Although we only went through a couple of recipes, the few simple techniques we learned turned me around completely. Suddenly, I knew more about working the barbeque than anybody in my family. When I’d go visit my parents, I’d be the one grilling steak, potatoes, and veggies on the grill, giving impromptu lessons to anyone who’d listen.
There are a few extremely simple secrets. Once you learn a good marinade (I’ll include on at the bottom), you’ll be amazed at the results. Trust me.
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The BBQ Oral History Project
The Southern Foodways Alliance is collecting a BBQ Oral History documenting the development of food and culture in the American South, it makes for some interesting reading. You can get involved by conducting your own interview, using the tools available on their site, or by volunteering your labor or resources.
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Give Your BBQ a Gourmet Kick
Gourmet sauces, rubs and marinades can move your meal from blah to bang! Kick it up a notch at your next barbecue with this advice on some gourmet additions for your meat.
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Recipes: Boozing up your chicken
Any grilling recipe with booze in it has my vote, so here’s a couple of adult flavored chicken dishes to try:
- Grilled Chicken in Kentucky Bourbon Barbeque Sauce
- Gin Chicken
- Tequila Lime Chicken
- Bloody Mary Chicken
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