Archive for: August 2007

This Labor Day, why not grill the entire menu on the grill. This menu is steak, corn on the cob and whole potatoes.

First I pulled back the corn husks and removed the corn hairs, then removed the outside husks, all but about 2 layers all around. This keeps the corn from burning on the grill and also allows the smoke to get in and add flavor.

The potatoes were pierced and put in a microwave oven for about 10 minutes so the insides were partially cooked.

A half hour before putting on the steaks, I put meat tenderizer on each side, accent and lots of pepper. I cover the steaks in pepper.

The grill was preheated to about 400 degrees, then I turned 2 of the burners to about medium and left the right burner at high. The corn was removed from the water, then the husks pulled back and butter added. The husks wrapped the corn and went on the grill. They would grill for about 25 minutes.

The potatoes went on over the high burner at the same time. I turned the corn and the potatoes about every 5 minutes. Yes - cover is closed.

The steaks were about a half inch thick, so they went on during the last 5 minutes of grilling. Wanted to turn the steaks at 2 1/2 minutes but they wouldn’t lift until 3 minutes, so the other side was on 2 minutes and lifted fine.

This barbecue technique allows you to grill a whole meal outside, especially nice on these hot, humid days. Beats heating up the house.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Here’s a barbecue sauce recipe from former president Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1/4 cup butter
1 no. 2 can tomatoes, sieved (2 cups)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tbs. sugar
3 tsp. paprika
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce or more according to taste
1 tsp. black pepper

Mix ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes. Use for basting meat or chicken, and serve as sauce for it as well. This makes a lot of barbecue sauce so you will want to store some for later use.

I tried this and it is delicious, although I went light on the Tobasco sauce. I began applying it to my barbecue chicken in the last 10 minutes of grilling, and then poured some directly on the chicken when serving.

Some like it hot. This recipe was sent in to me for those who like their barbecue on the hot side!

1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup mustard
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup canned pineapple juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Tobasco sauce
Put the molasses, mustard and brown sugar into a bowl and stir to mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and, once again, mix well.

This makes about 2 cups of barbecue sauce.

Looks to me like simply adding some Tobasco sauce to other barbecue sauce recipes is the key to kicing up the heat.

Here’s a barbecue basting sauce you can try - especially for pork, chicken and ham.

1/2 cup flat beer
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup chili sauce
Combine all these ingredients in a saucepan and heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.

You know, when you have beer and honey in a sauce, it’s gotta be good.

minced onions to taste
1 cup tomato sauce or tomato puree
1 cup water
3 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix these ingredients and bring to a boil.
Sprinkle some flour on each chop and place them in a pan to brown them on both sides in cooking oil.
Put the pork chops on the grill and grill on medium heat. Depending on the thickness of the chops, you may want to grill for a few minutes before adding any barbecue sauce. Baste with the barbecue sauce, turning often to keep from burning.

I prefer to slowly barbecue my country style ribs on the grill on a weekend. No pre boiling or anything. It takes about 2 hours.

However, there are times I want to have barbecue ribs at the end of a workday and just don’t want to spend 2 hours at the grill and not eat until around 7PM.

The crockpot is the answer. I put in my barbecue sauce, about 3/4 of it as I want some left for basting later. Add about a half cup of water and stir thoroughly, then add the ribs. The slow cooker is set at it’s lowest setting for a slow cook.

Now, when I come home, I remove the ribs from the slow cooker to a plate (they are usually falling apart so the ribs might be in smaller parts) and transfer to the grill, which is preheated. I grill them at a medium temperature. It’s only going to take about 10 minutes to grill, so begin basting each side of the ribs with the barbecue sauce from the start, turning often to keep them from burning.

You can see the ribs seperating from the bone. Very tender.