It’s summer, apparently, and that means spending time in the great outdoors enjoying the spots of sunshine and stubbornly waiting out showers. One popular summer activity is to have a barbecue – even if we end up having to take the food inside to eat. If you are planning to buy a new barbecue this summer, check out our top barbecue searches and then take some time to read through our thoughts on what’s available.
Depending on what type of barbecuer you are, there are lots of different barbecues to choose from. If you’re all about convenience but not flash with the cash, you may want to buy a simple disposable barbecue, readily available in supermarkets. These tin foil trays with coals and mesh are a brilliant purchase for a day in the park and for those not quite hardcore enough to invest in the real deal.
If you want something a bit more meaty but are an impatient sort of cook and want your food right now, you should consider a gas BBQ. No fannying around with firelighters and bags of coal with these machines. You want your barbecue ready to go straight away? This is the one for you. The gas ones do tend to be at the more pricey end of the barbecue scale but they have a lot going for them, including a wood chip option to create that distinctive smokey flavor.
Do you pooh pooh the idea of a gas barbecue due to your superior skills in the traditional coal-grilling method of barbecuing? If so, you’d be forgiven for savoring the delights of the ultra-hot, ultra-fiery, ultra-manly coal barbecue. Never mind the fact that it takes these grills 20 minutes to get going or that cleaning them afterward is a real pain, barbecuing pros will tell you that coal barbies are real barbies, plus they cover a range of budgets. But whichever type you choose, just make sure you always cook your meat properly!
To read more from Hot Searches check out http://hotsearch.aol.co.uk
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Flaming-Hot-Barbecues&id=2748602
Mia Chan contributes to AOL Hot Searches
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/flaming-hot-barbecues-1160202.html
Filed under Grills and Smokers by on Aug 10th, 2009. Comment. 
Enjoy this VERY funny story by Weekend Griller, Bob Alexander
Backyard Barbeque Blunders
by Bob Alexander
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com
Stupidity isn’t one of the essential ingredients in the perfect back yard barbeque. As much fun as grilling can be, it can be dangerous at times. It can also be quite amusing, unless you’re the one being the idiot. But then, life is made up of idiotic acts that we all have been fortunate enough to survive. God must really have had a sense of humor when He gave the first cave man the idea to cook his meat instead of eating it raw.Trouble begins when one of questionable intelligence, starts playing with matches, charcoal lighter and gas. A friend of mine who had a gas grill tried to start the burner with a match after turning the propane on and then going into the house to use the bathroom. He then took the time to get a drink before he went back outside.
It was a calm day with no breeze, so the gas sort of settled around the grill. When he struck the match, you could hear the whoomp all the way to the house. Luckily the fireball only singed the hair on his head, his arms and his eyebrows. It shouldn’t have to be said, but never leave the gas line open for any length of time before igniting the gas.
Unfortunately, most barbequing mishaps are not due to carelessness, but to stupidity. Charcoal grills are especially fun to work with and only an idiot would use gasoline to start the fire. Another friend of mine, Joe, did just that. He didn’t start off that day being stupid; that came later in the afternoon.One Saturday afternoon in June, Joe invited all the neighbors over for the first cook out of the season. Everyone was in a festive mood, especially Joe. This was his big chance to show off his grilling skills to the neighbors. Now he has always struck me as being a brick shy of a full load, but I was always willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, until that Saturday afternoon. Joe proved my theory correct when he came very close to burning down his house.Joe’s stupidity wasn’t readily apparent at the beginning of the evening when he prepared to light the charcoal. Not one to do something half way, he used an entire twenty pound bag of charcoal. He had converted a 55 gallon drum into a smoker grill that was big enough to serve the entire neighborhood. Almost a full can of charcoal lighter was used to ensure that all the briquettes were burning brightly.
It didn’t work. While Joe went into the house to supervise the preparation of the meat and side items, the fire outside in the grill went out. Such a dilemma! He had just used all his charcoal lighter. One of his neighbors went next door to get a can of fire starter but it wasn’t fast enough for Joe. After all, this was his party and it was up to him to get things rolling again.
I’m sure somewhere deep inside Joe’s mind he knew that pouring gasoline on charcoal, especially when that charcoal had already been burning, was not a brilliant idea. Sure enough when the gasoline hit the charcoal, a briquette that was still burning and hiding underneath the mound of charcoal, ignited the gasoline! Whooomp! The gas can start spouting flames.
Joe threw the gas can as far as he could; right on top of his brand new treated wood deck. When the can hit the deck, the top came off, pouring the gasoline out of the can onto the wooden deck. There was a big blaze this time. By now we had the garden hose going and the next door neighbor was soaking down Fred’s deck too. In a matter of minutes the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. Luckily nothing but the deck was burned. Someone was looking out forJoe that day!
Electric kettle type smokers have become popular lately because they keep a constant heat and they’re easy to cook with. A great tip is to always keep the smoker in the garage and out of the rain. If the lava rocks in the bottom of the tray are wet, when you turn the electric wand on and it’s buried in wet rocks; guess what? The sound this time won’t be whooomp! It will be bang! The electric wand will blow apart, ruining a perfectly good smoker and cook-out.
The moral to this story is simple. If you’re stupid, don’t play with matches!
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
To Read More of Bob Alexander’s Funny BBQ Stories visit The Weekend Grillers and Check out Fred’s BBQ Blowout and BBQ & Ice Cream.
Filed under BBQ Stories by on Aug 10th, 2009. Comment.
All of the chefs on the Food Network are good. There’s no doubt. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be on for long.
But there is only one regular who is a true master chef — totally respected by his peers.
Mario Batali of course.
Shrimp Rosemary – (Spiedini Alla Romagnola)
Turn your next backyard barbecue into an Italian grill! It’s easy with the simple addition of a Piastra (Italian for “plate” or “griddle”) and a great recipe – both inspired by popular chef, Mario Batali.
Grilling alla piastra is a classic cooking technique that uses a flat griddle stone over a hot fire. It’s perfect for flatbreads, scallops, shrimp, mussels, vegetables and more.
Batali’s Piastra (new this year from Mario Batali, The Italian Kitchen by Copco) is made from granite to ensure even heat. It’s also double-sided, offering a choice of a griddle or grill. Simply preheat the Piastra on the grill, and you’re ready to cook.
Shrimp Rosemary is from Batali’s recent cookbook, “Mario Batali Italian Grill” (Harper Collins, 2007). This savory summer entrée features shrimp skewered on rosemary sprigs, accented with a parsley and basil crumb topping. Buon appetito!
For more information about Italian grilling this summer, visit the Grill Essentials section of www.italiankitchen.com.
Shrimp Rosemary – (Spiedini Alla Romagnola)
Serves 6
The rosemary skewers, which are easy to make, impart an herbal fragrance to the shrimp, and they look both rustic and elegant at the same time. Alla romagnola means that these spiedini are a specialty of Romagna, the eastern part of the region Emilia-Romagna.Ingredients
- 12 large sturdy rosemary sprigs
- 1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves only (about 2 cups loosely packed)
- 1 bunch basil, leaves only (about 2 cups packed)
- 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds large shrimp (21-30 per pound), peeled and deveined
- 2 lemons, cut into wedges
Directions
- Choose large sturdy sprigs that are about 8 inches long. Pull off most of the leaves from each sprig, leaving a nice tuft of leaves at the top (use the remaining leaves in the dish you are making, or reserve for another use). Using a sharp knife, cut the bottom of the sprig on a diagonal to create a sharp point.
- Soak in water for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Place parsley and basil leaves into bowl of food processor; add bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup of the olive oil.
- Process until the herbs are chopped and the bread crumbs look green.
- Transfer to a pie plate or wide shallow bowl; add the shrimp, and toss to coat well.
- Skewer 4 or 5 shrimp on each rosemary sprig: line up 4 or 5 shrimp at a time on a work surface and run a rosemary sprig through them; separate them slightly so they will cook evenly.
- Dredge on both sides in the bread crumb mixture, place on a platter and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
- Place the Piastra on the grill to preheat.
- Brush the Piastra with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Place the skewers on the Piastra.
- Cook, turning once, just until the shrimp are opaque throughout and some of the crumbs are browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Transfer to a serving platter; serve with the lemon wedges.
- Copco Product: Piastra – Italian Grilling Stone from Mario Batali® The Italian Kitchen by Copco
Culinary.net : Recipes – Italian Grilling in Your Own Backyard
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Filed under Recipe, Techniques by on Aug 10th, 2009. Comment.
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