Columbine:

Everybody knows about wrapping spuds in foil and cooking them in the coals.  But Yukon Gold potatoes are uniquely suited to open grilling too.  Slice them 1/2 inch or 15 cm thick, paint with vegetable oil, and grill slowly on the top rack. 

Love, Columbine 

I never knew that about ye old Yukon Gold 'taters!  great tip....

Don't you hate when you run out of propane in the middle of grilling?  I suppose that charcoal-favorers will just laugh at that!

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http://mjbphotos.tripod.com
http://www.myspace.com/mikebirchmusic

MikeB:

Don't you hate when you run out of propane in the middle of grilling?  I suppose that charcoal-favorers will just laugh at that!

At least we're not shouting propanities!  We've got our own woes, too - like when the person minding the fire is so accustomed to diesel fumes that they declare the coals ready before the accelerant's burned off, and dinner ends up tasting like a garage.

Love, Columbine
 

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Columbine:

At least we're not shouting propanities! 

Very nice!

 Columbus, Ohio hosts a "DooDah Parade" every July 4th in the Short North. One of the units that marches each year is the Weber Grill Precision Drill Team. At least one of the signs that is carried by the unit proudly states "Just Say No to Charmglow!"

 

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Greg Forquer

"Raise high the Black Flag, My Children, and show no pity! I'll shoot any man that his pity in him" - Field Marshall Gebhard von Blucher at Waterloo, 1815

forkme:

Columbus, Ohio hosts a "DooDah Parade" every July 4th in the Short North. One of the units that marches each year is the Weber Grill Precision Drill Team. At least one of the signs that is carried by the unit proudly states "Just Say No to Charmglow!"

That's great!  What, do they wear matching aprons and twirl tongs and burger-flippers?

Love, Columbine 

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Columbine:

forkme:

Columbus, Ohio hosts a "DooDah Parade" every July 4th in the Short North. One of the units that marches each year is the Weber Grill Precision Drill Team. At least one of the signs that is carried by the unit proudly states "Just Say No to Charmglow!"

That's great!  What, do they wear matching aprons and twirl tongs and burger-flippers?

Love, Columbine 

 Not too far off the mark! Their main specialty is choreographed drill routines with their classic Weber kettle grills.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the Marching Fidels. I'm sure everyone can figure that one out!

NOW!!!!!

Here's what summer is truly about, folks (minus the corn on the cob, but that comes later.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's about 7 1/2 hours on the smoker, using about 30 lbs of good lump hardwood charcoal and about 5 lbs of hickory chunks. Temp was maintained at between 155F and 225F. A fine chunk of brisket, to be sure.

Nummers!

 

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Greg Forquer

"Raise high the Black Flag, My Children, and show no pity! I'll shoot any man that his pity in him" - Field Marshall Gebhard von Blucher at Waterloo, 1815

I love to cook things on the grill, but I've never been a "BBQ" fan because I don't like anything that resembles a condiment - an BBQ sauce would certainly qualify...HOWEVER, on my recent cross country journey from LA back home to Chicago I spent two days in Kansas City and learned to LOVE BBQ at a historic place Arthur Bryants...In general KC is known for BBQ and I think I had the best...I'm salivating just thinking about it...I had pork ribs and beef brisket...While there I got to talking to one of the "chefs" and he told me that they put a dry rub on all their meat a day in advance and then smoke it in a wood burning grill...It's like heaven in my mouth...

 So, I bought a butt-load of the rub and I'm attempting to recreate the magic in my brother smoker tomorrow with the family - which seems to be growing as people are hearing BBQ...

 You can buy the rub online if you are into them - it rocks!  The even sell their sauce, if you are into that sort of thing.

http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/

First time out for the smoker this year. Started these Texas Broils (essentially, flank steaks) about 8:30 this morning and will go for about 4-4.5 hrs. They marinated in a dry rub (brown sugar, chili powder, black pepper, sea salt, chopped dried onion, garlic powder) for about 24 hrs.

 

 

Woo Woo!

 

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Greg Forquer

"Raise high the Black Flag, My Children, and show no pity! I'll shoot any man that his pity in him" - Field Marshall Gebhard von Blucher at Waterloo, 1815

Here's a fun "dry marinade" for the kids to help out with, because it really does involve playing with your food.  Get some nice lean healthy steaks.  Combine in a bowl:  onion powder, garlic powder, fresh-ground pepper, oregano, thyme, coriander, and rosemary (no salt, though - it'll dry out your meat).  Take the steaks and press them in the spice combination, bending and turning them to make sure you mash spices into any gaps that appear.  Put in a Ziploc bag for as short as an hour or as long as overnight, and grill 'em up!  I call it Steak Hillary, because I invented it by throwing in everything but the kitchen sink.

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People always talk about the meat when it comes to BBQs!  There are many side dishes you can do over the coals/burner, too.

For both these dishes, cook in an aluminum pie plate, spray the bottom with no-stick first 

1) Summer squash or zuchini - slice into 1/4 thick pieces, put in pan.

or 

2) Cut up some mushrooms (white, baby bella, etc) into 1/4" or thicker chunks or slices, add some cut-up red bell pepper in short strips, and add some onion (if you like it) - red or white or Bermuda, also cut into small pieces.

Take either of the above and drizzle some virgin olive oil over them, then drizzle a little italian salad dressing - don't put too much on, you can always add some if the veggies start drying out.

I usually start the pans on the grill close to the flame, then when they have started sizzling, move them to the upper grill and start the meat - usually both course are ready at the same time.   Stir frequently, of course!

 

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http://mjbphotos.tripod.com
http://www.myspace.com/mikebirchmusic

A couple other veggies that are good on the grill - asparagus (seriously, just snap the bottoms off and pop 'em on, turning until waterproof and a richer shade of green) and eggplant (slice thick, paint with insane amounts of olive oil, and and put on the top rack until black outside and sweet-n-mushy inside)!

You can also  cut sweet potatoes or ordinary potaties into chunks, toss with olive oil, pepper, ginger, and sage, and microwave a few minutes to give them a "head start" before stringing on shishkebabs with your mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, etc.  Any vegetable should be good and oily and your grill scrubbed clean to minimize stickage.

You can also grill big portobello caps (I like to paint them with gingery soy sauce first) and serve up on a bun, with tahini-lemon sauce and thin-sliced Vidalia onion if you want to get fancy.

And, of course, the ultimate BBQ veggie - CORN!  

Love, Columbine 

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Sweet Potato Bacon Nuggets

I used 2 lbs. thick-cut bacon and about 2 1/2 large sweet potatoes.

Soak wooden skewers and toothpicks in water. 

Scrub sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks (about 4 cm on a side, very approximately) and microwave in covered casserole until you can easily stick a toothpick through one, but they're not mushy/disintegrating.  Let cool.

Cut each slice of thick-cut bacon in half.  Use two halves to wrap each sweet potato chunk, securing with a soaked toothpick.  (This is a good job for someone young.)  String these packages onto soaked skewers, but don't crowd; leave space between.  Grill on top shelf or over low coals.  This will produce insane amounts of smoke.

You'll have no luck whatsoever trying to convince people to wait until they're cool enough to eat!  Yummmm... 

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