Hello Summer, welcome back to the Northern Hemisphere. We hail you with smoke signals from our grills, with greasy grins and happy sounds. We toast you with fruity iced elixirs, bubbling black marshmallows, bug spray and a New Playlist:) We are now, and have always been, yours, all yours.
“Most etymologists believe that barbecue derives from the word barabicu found in the language of the Taíno people of the Caribbean and the Timucua of Florida. The word translates as "sacred fire pit." The word describes a grill for cooking meat, consisting of a wooden platform resting on sticks. It entered the English language in 1661.” (Wikipedia)
Of course we now grill almost everything, even tofu... but the core concept remains - it is all purified and elevated by the ‘sacred fire.’ And if you've kinda exhausted the old bottled sauce routine and are looking for something brand new, check out the cookbooks below for wild and crazy stuff to do on that sacred fire.
While you're grillin' and chillin', run this playlist on your outdoor speakers!
And when you're stuffed and have nuthin' else to do - check out the names of these awesome BBQ joints!
So we'll be updating this as we get more reponses from our favorite chefs, but in the meantime, here some highly recommended books (below) and a few easy tips from the house.
1) Slather pork tenderloins with a mixture of the following: olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, cumin, Sriracha sauce, and a bit of Mirin or whatever marmalade or jam you have kicking around. Hardly takes a minute on the grill and of course these days we're eating pork pretty pink...
A good friend, who is a dedicated griller, has a simpler, more direct approach: Slice up fresh, ripe figs and Vidalia (or yellow) onions and turn it into a mush in the blender with a little bit if olive oil. Baste with this.
He also offers up this one: a plum glaze for grilled lamb chops or grilled chicken. Just use plum jam and add garam masala to taste. What you are aiming for with this is a sort of hard glaze on the meat. The trick here, so as not to burn the marinade, is two-fold: 1) only apply glaze in later stage of cooking and 2) cook over a steady, controlled fire, not the kind that flares up and burns food. Might take a little practice but worth it.
Excellent books.... Click on them to buy at Amazon (keeping in mind that this is the only way Realize can realize any profit at this point. Doesn't come of your hide, it comes out of their's!
The Grilling Book The Definitive Guide from Bon Appetit
The Salt Lick Cookbook: A Story of Land, Family and Love
All Fired Up, by the editors of Southern Living Magazine
Big Boy Gibson’s BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint:
Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way, by Francis Mallmann:
Geez, I'm now totally hungry!
And just in case you need to upgrade your BBQ tools, Weber makes some basic Stainless Steel that will do the trick...
