Archive for: September 2007

It’s the time of year when it’s cooler in the evenings and many of us enjoy sitting around an open fire - roasting hot dogs, grilling hamburgers, etc.

If you are in charge of the fire, you want to get the fire going well before the guests arrive so there will be plenty of hot coals for cooking. When grilling, you will want the flames to die down so you can grill over the coals. Wrap some potatoes and some corn in aluminum foil and toss into the coals for your side dishes.

Grill as usual. The amount of time the burgers or steaks take will depend on how close the grate is to the coals.

Roasting hot dogs on a stick is very popular, especially with the kids. Again, roasting over the coals is ideal, but in the evening when the fire is blazing, just hold the dogs high enough above the flames to get the heat and not burn them so they cook inside and outside. When the dogs casings begin to expand and the juices start falling, you know you are going to be loving the taste.

I wanted to give you a important warning. DO NOT burn treated wood in your fire. There are poisonous chemicals inside the wood and they can be dangerous. There has been reports of people burning treated wood in their indoor fireplaces and having serious side effects. You certainly do not want to put anybody at risk by burning treated wood and cooking over it.

This is a great time of the year for sitting around the fire in the evening. I love the fall. Enjoy it.

Sausage links on the grill are delicious and easy to make. Really easy. It’s not a whole lot different from grilling hot dogs. But a little more care needs to be taken.

You buy the fresh sausage links - the thick kind - at the store and cut them into hot dog bun length. I preheat the grill as usual, then turn the burners to low and put on the sausage. We all know pork needs to be thoroughly cooked with an internal temperature around 155 degrees.

Don’t overcook! Here is where the care comes in. I grill them on low heat so the outside doesn’t get charred while waiting for the inside to cook. I like to lay them on the grill going with the grid. They don’t roll all over and they allow me to turn them a little at a time and get a nice crust on the entire sausage. Just my preference.

Once you see the juices turning clear, test with a thermometer. If they are near or at the finish temperature, crank up the heat and char the outside - keeping the top open and turning frequently. You’ll only do this for 2 or 3 minutes. This crusts the casing. Don’t overdue them. A dried out sausage with no juices loses it’s appeal.

Put them on a bun and add your condiments and enjoy! They also have the thicker buns for these but I prefer the hot dog buns. I’m more interested in getting that sausage taste!

Before you toss your steaks or chicken or burgers on the barbecue grill, make certain you have given the grill time to heat up. Generally it’s a good idea to turn the grill on - close the lid - and let it heat up for at least 5 minutes. That also softens the grid and makes it easy to clean.

We’re talking about a gas grill right now. Many have the temperature guages on the front which measure from low temperature to high temperature. Wait until the needle reaches the high temperature mark and then . . . . . start to grill.

Use direct heat on steaks and other meats that you generally grill quicker. Use indirect heat on meats and whatever that require longer cooking periods, such as spare ribs or chicken.

A grilling technique I use regularly when grilling for just my wife and myself, is to alternate sides of the grill to grill the meat on everytime I grill. In other words, I grill steaks today and grill them over the right burner and center burner, then the next time I grill I switch to the left burner.

When I am slow cooking over indirect heat, I will generally have the unused burner on high. That makes the cooking temperature high to thoroughly cook the insides of the meat. Pretty much like an oven.

Obviously if grilling for a large number of people, the entire cooking surface is used, and you need to adjust your burners as such. Keep in mind that even though the new grills with the porcelain grids cook evenly, you will still have areas where you might get flare up so you need to keep an eye on the meats and move them around occassionally so they all finish at the same time.

Stuffing ingredients

2 cups soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoon minced onion or onion powder
1/2 teaspon salt
add pepper to taste
1/4 cup orange juice

You need to slit the pork chops to make a pocket.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Now fill the pockets with the stuffing and secure with toothpicks you have soaked in water.

Brush the outside of the chops with oil and put chops on the grill over indirect heat. I like to get the temperature of the grill around 450 degrees and I do so by having the open burner on high heat and the other 2 burners, over which I place the pork chops, on medium heat.

Grill until finished, turning about every 5 minutes. You should see clear juice forming on the chops when they are finished. For pork chops, an internal temperature of 145 degrees is recommended.

These are delicious. I enjoy the stuffing as much as the pork chops.

I know. A lot of people think barbecuing over a gas grill just isn’t barbecuing. I have written about using a gas grill a number of times and still hear occassional negative feedback about it.

Get over it. Sure, there is a unique taste when you grill over charcoal that you just don’t get on a gas grill. But when you use a gas grill, you are getting a terrific grill taste over the flames and . . . . . here’s what’s even more important in my mind - It’s easy to fire up and grill!

I have mine sitting outside my sliding glass door on my deck. I grill all the time, no matter what the weather. That simply would not happen if I was using a charcoal grill. Throw in some of the special wood chips they have for flavor if you want to. It’s easier to control the heat and it’s much easier to get good results each time you grill.

Yep - I’ll use a charcoal grill once in awhile but don’t even try to take away my gas grill. Watch the Food Network and Bobby Flay and others at the grill and they are using the new stainless gas grils. With 3 burners it is easy to cook for 1 person or 20 people.

Barbecue

Everyone loves hot dogs on the grill. Why not add a little pizzazz to that hot dog?

Slice your hot dog open to form a pocket and tuck in a thin slice of cheese. Wrap the hot dog in a couple slices of bacon and grill until cooked. Butter your hot dog buns and place them on the warmer rack to toast.

Delicious change to the classic hot dog.