Labor Day Celebration

Breast-halves and leg-quarters gotten on sale at Safeway

Holy Smokes!

Mmm... Barbecue!

Spring Campout

When I go camping, I pack my Weber Smokey Joe. When I barbecue with it, I consider that everything is scaled down: the size of the kettle, the size of the cuts of meat, the amount of briquets, and the cooking time. Using smaller cuts of meat, I like to do a “barbecue medley”: that is cook and serve beef, chicken and pork all at the same time.

Saint Patrick's Day

What else? Shenson corned beef brisket in the green shamrock package. Here it is after the first turn. I've found instructions that say to bake at 350° for 50 minutes per pound, and also to boil for 3 hours or until fork tender. I've tried BBQ'ing this twice already to practice the technique. It does take 3 to 4 hours depending how hot your coals are. You will have to get the outside bacon crispy to get the meat to shred.

Super Bowl XLIV

My BBQ strategy for the all day Super Bowl XLIV celebration is to split the cooking over a short term and then a long term. For lunch during the pre-game show, I'll quickly grill a fish fillet. Then for dinner, I'll BBQ some Pork Shoulder Country Style Ribs (Boneless) leaving then on the grill for hours while I watch the game.

The issue with grilling fish is the fillet may stick to the grill and flake apart when it's done. There I several things I do to prevent sticking without using a grilling basket. First, my food grill is not shiny chrome new. My grill wires are blackened with the baked-on oil you season with your iron frying pan to make it non-stick. You could apply cooking oil to the grill, but don't do this while over the hot coals because it will catch fire. I put Star Olive Oil on the fish fillets instead. Next, I rub on Zatarain's Fish-Fri seasoned breading to give the fillets a non-stick surface. On the grill, soon as the first side gets scorch marks, I'll turn the fillets over. Then I'll leave them alone until they are ready to come off the grill. My fillets stay whole using these techniques.

For my special Super Bowl meals, I served my fish and pork BBQ on tacos. I throw on the grill a flour tortilla, spread some shredded Mexican cheeses, and take it off just when the cheese melts. I assemble the taco with pico de gallo, extra cilantro, and Mexican hot sauce.