Image by Earl - What I Saw 2.0 via Flickr

Kebabs

by Mama Jade

Ingredients:

• 1 package baby portabella mushrooms
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1 large orange bell pepper
• 1 pineapple
• 1 package grape tomatoes
• 2 large sweet onions
• 2 lbs beef or chicken
• salt, pepper and other seasonings
• wooden or metal skewers

If you are using wooden skewers, set them to soak in warm water. Rinse and cut bell peppers, onions, and pineapple into 1.5 inch pieces. Rinse the mushrooms and grape tomatoes. Rinse and pat dry your choice of meat and cut into 1.5 inch pieces. Toss the pieces liberally with seasonings.

Remove the skewers from the water and set them on a clean towel. Gently and carefully thread your skewers with the ingredients, leaving about an inch of exposed skewer at both ends. Place your skewers on the grill or on a tray under the broiler for 10-12 minutes or until the desired doneness is reached.  Turn about halfway through cooking.  Allow a few minutes to cool before eating.

Tips:

You can substitute just about any combination of meats and vegetables for this recipe, provided it can be pierced with a skewer.

You can separate meat and vegetables on different skewers if you have different preferences for doneness.

Try marinating your kebabs in different spices or sauces for a variety of flavors.

One of the great thrills of summer is a day spent at the beach, lake or park. It’s that time of year again, let’s enjoy the beautiful outdoors. Here are a few tips to make your barbecue party successful.

After a day of sun and fun, even a simple grilled burger tastes fantastic. Before you pack your cooler, consider the safety and planning required to make your day at the beach a successful one. Many parks have grills installed tableside and grilling is a popular activity. However, some parks and beaches may not allow fires in any form, including your grill fire, so it is best to check the rules at your intended destination first.

Image via Wikipedia

Once you know that grilling is allowed and you have reserved a nice shelter for your party, you should begin planning what kinds of food will be served and how you will keep it at the proper temperatures.

Marinated meats, poultry or seafood should be stored in a cooler with plenty of ice. Keep them cold until ready to cook, and make sure that the ice from this cooler is not used for drinks.

A second cooler should contain prepared foods such as salads, side dishes, and barbeque sauces. Drinks and ice could go into a third. This sounds like a lot of packing, but you want to avoid bacterial contamination that might spoil your party.

Carefully think through your menu and how long each item will take to cook, this way you can start the longer cooking items first. Then imagine serving and eating each item. Will you need anything special? Tongs for the pickle jar? A knife to slice the onion? Think about serving plates, bowls and utensils. Remember that you must take everything with you or you won’t have it when you need it. Of course don’t forget the salt and pepper, charcoal and lighter, napkins, plates and cups.

If there are children in your party, consider their special needs early. Be sure there are activities planned and someone assigned to actively supervise them.

Plan ahead and enjoy your day. Don’t forget the towels and sunscreen.

Related Articles:

A Nation of Barbecue
Lexington Barbecue Recipe, Slow Cooker Style
How to Make Barbecue Sauce from Scratch
How to Cook a Tender Juicy Steak
Easy BBQ Chicken Marinade
Discover Barbecue – How to Smoke Pork Ribs in a Weber Kettle
Learn How to Smoke Barbecue – What is a Water Smoker?
Buttery Grilled Citrus Fish and Easy Grilled Vegetables
A Delicious Basting Sauce For Grilled Fresh Vegetables
How to Barbecue a Brisket
Top 10 Grilling Tips -Video

We are a country that loves to eat. United by a love of good food and divided by regional preferences, such diversity leads to countless opportunities to try new flavors and styles. Barbecue (barbeque, BBQ) will always spark a conversation of passionate opinions and delightful recipes. Hundreds of thousands of people gather at cookouts and competitions each year all across the nation to partake in this national favorite. Individual recipes and secret ingredients are tightly guarded secrets passed on from generation to generation. No matter the region, barbecue is a most delicious summertime fare.

Image via Wikipedia

Memphis Barbecue

Traditional Memphis barbecue uses pork, either served as a slab of whole ribs or in pulled form. They tend to use dry rubs on the slabs of ribs, served with a side of sauce, while the pulled pork is usually served in or alongside plenty of sauce. The dry rubs contain ingredients such as garlic, paprika, onions, cumin and other strong, vibrant flavors. They are rubbed on the ribs and then smoked until the meat falls off the bone. The sauces are made with tomatoes, vinegar and a vast combination of spices. They tend to be on the thin side, very tangy with a bit of sweet for balance.

Carolina Barbecue

Carolina barbecue is usually pork, served pulled, shredded, chopped or sliced. The region has several different styles, the most famous being the Lexington style from the city of Lexington, North Carolina. Lexington barbecue uses the pork shoulder exclusively. The meat is slow smoked until it pulls from the bone easily with a fork. It is served soaked in a thin tangy and sweet sauce, a vinegar base with brown sugar, tomato sauce and spices. When making a traditional Lexington barbecue sandwich, the pulled pork is topped with slaw soaked in the same sauce and served on a hamburger bun.

Kansas City Barbecue

Kansas City barbecue is likely the most well-known barbecue style of cookouts nationwide. The bottled barbecue sauces found at most grocery stores is based around the Kansas City style. Kansas City barbecue uses any and every meat from pork to beef and even turkey and fish. The meat is slow smoked over a variety of woods until it is tender. It is then glazed or basted in a thick, tomato and molasses based sauce. The sauces tend to be intensely sweet with a good kick, balanced by the savory smoked meat.

Texas Barbecue

Texas barbecue uses primarily beef but can also incorporate goat or sheep and is broken down into the 4 major styles: East, West, Central and South. East Texas, the meat is slow cooked until tender and then marinated in a sweet, tomato based sauce. West Texas, the meat is smoked over mesquite wood, giving it a unique and powerful flavor profile. Central Texas uses a dry rub of various spices and the meat is typically smoked over pecan or oak. South Texas uses a thicker, molasses based sauces that are used throughout cooking to lock in the juices from the meat.

Related articles:

Lexington Barbecue Recipe, Slow Cooker Style
How to Make Barbecue Sauce from Scratch
How to Cook a Tender Juicy Steak
Easy BBQ Chicken Marinade
Discover Barbecue – How to Smoke Pork Ribs in a Weber Kettle
Learn How to Smoke Barbecue – What is a Water Smoker?
Buttery Grilled Citrus Fish and Easy Grilled Vegetables
A Delicious Basting Sauce For Grilled Fresh Vegetables
How to Barbecue a Brisket
Top 10 Grilling Tips -Video

Image by Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer via Flickr

by Mama Jade

This Lexington style pulled pork sandwich recipe is adapted for the slow cooker, but you can also cook it on the smoker or in the oven during the winter months. There are a lot of ingredients, but the recipe is quite easy to prepare, you just mix and cook.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 lb pork shoulder
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup apple juice
• 1 head of cabbage
• Hamburger buns

Overnight Rub Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon celery salt
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Lexington Style Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• ¼ – ½ cup apple juice
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¾ cup ketchup
• ½ tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Combine all the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry. Rub the meat with the spice mixture, coating it evenly. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator in a pan (to catch any leaks). Let it sit, refrigerated, overnight.
3. In the morning, unwrap the pork and place it in a large slow cooker, fat side down. Cook on low for approximately four hours.
4. After four hours, carefully turn the pork shoulder over using a turning fork and tongs. Add the 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of apple juice.  Continue cooking on low another four hours or until the bone slides out cleanly.
5. Carefully remove the meat to a pan, allowing it to rest and cool for a few moments. Shred the meat with a fork (called pulling). Add it back to the crock pot, set to warm.
6. In a large bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and stir until the salt and brown sugar are dissolved. Taste the sauce and adjust any seasonings to your preferences. The sauce should be very strong, tangy and sweet with a hint of a kick.  Pour half of the sauce onto the meat in the crock pot.
7. Dice the head of cabbage into a bowl.  Add enough of the sauce to season it without soaking it through.  Pour the rest of the sauce into the crock pot with the meat.
8. Serve on hamburger buns with a scoop of slaw on top of the pork.

Tips:

This recipe can be done in the oven or a roaster if your crock pot is not big enough. Set your oven to 200 degrees and follow the instructions as before.  You can mix your sauce ahead of time and baste with it periodically.

The pork can also be smoked. Mix up the sauce ingredients ahead of time and baste throughout the smoking process.

Related articles

How to Make Barbecue Sauce from Scratch
How to Cook a Tender Juicy Steak
Easy BBQ Chicken Marinade
Discover Barbecue – How to Smoke Pork Ribs in a Weber Kettle
Learn How to Smoke Barbecue – What is a Water Smoker?
How to Barbecue a Brisket

Making homemade southern-style barbecue sauce is just a matter of combining ingredients and simmering it to blend the flavors. Choosing ingredients that combine well, with just the right touch of sweet, sour and spice, can be an art. Start with these flavor combinations and spice it up or down to fit your flavor preferences.

Image by Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer via Flickr

Southern Barbecue Sauce Ingredients

With the exception of the mustard based sauces favored in South Carolina and the white sauces of Alabama, most American barbecue sauce begins with a tomato base in the form of ketchup. You can use pureed tomatoes or tomato sauce instead if you choose, but ketchup is the base most often used.

In addition to the ketchup, you will need to add a balance of sweet and sour as well as spices or heat to add interest. Let us look at each ingredient category.

For acidity or sour, some form of vinegar is commonly used. In addition, lemon juice and orange juice add additional tang and flavor, when included.

Balance the acidity with sweeteners in the form of molasses, honey, maple sugar or brown sugar. Some recipes even use cola or Dr. Pepper as a sweetener. The amount of sweetener used will depend on which sweetener you choose and how sweet you like your sauce. Start with less than you expect to need and taste your sauce as you add more to get the sweetness you prefer.

Spice It Up

Additional flavorings are common and depend on your preferences. Common flavorings include sautéed onions and garlic, mustard powder or Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper, minced chili peppers or dried chili flakes and liquid smoke. Do not try to overload the sauce with all of these flavors. Start simply with the ingredients that you like.

Simmer your sauce for 30 to 45 minutes to blend the flavors and thicken the sauce. You can thin the sauce with water, orange juice, lemon juice, or sherry if needed.

Basic Barbecue Sauce Recipe

1/2 cup of ketchup
1/2 cup of vinegar
1/2 cup of molasses
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 to 2 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of chili flakes
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce as desired

Mix all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spice it up with and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce to taste. Add more or less spice to your own tastes. Simmer for 30 minutes to blend flavors and thicken the sauce.

Southern Style Sweet Barbecue Sauce Recipe

1/2 large onion
1 tablespoon butter
chili pepper, chopped and seeded
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
Garlic salt
Black pepper

Mince the onion and sauté it in butter for a few minutes until translucent. Add a chopped and seeded chili pepper and stir for another minute.

Add the remaining ingredients. Season the sauce with garlic salt and fresh black pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors.

Grilled Brisket, photo by Willie Lunchmeat

Barbecued Brisket

1 whole Brisket- 10 to 11 pounds

Brisket Seasoning Rub

Mix together:

• 1/4 cup paprika
• 2 T chili power
• 2 T dark brown sugar
• 2 T ground cumin
• 2 T salt
• 1 t ground oregano
• 1 t white pepper
• 1 tblack pepper
• 1 t white sugar
• 2 t cayene pepper

Rub into brisket. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 2 to 48 hours for flavors to meld.

Smoke over low heat on the smoker using hickory chips for 2 hours.

Wrap the brisket in foil and move the brisket to the oven at 300 degrees for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until done and fork tender.

Let the brisket rest for 30 minutes and then carve it across the grain.

Make a sauce from the drippings:

Mix equal parts of de-fatted drippings and barbecue sauce. Serve over brisket slices.

This video from Cook’s Illustrated discusses how to choose a brisket and illustrates this recipe, for a moist tender brisket every time. The video also shows you how to slice it across the grain- very important for a tender bite.