Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association Searches
May 16, 2007
Barbecue Trends
Perfect Your Grill Skills; May Is National Barbecue Month, A Great Time To Hone Your
Skills **HPBA/NBM**
Roanoke Times - Roanoke, VA
May 16, 2007
Lindsey Nair
Time to dust off grill; Get Gassed Up for National Barbecue Month **NBM**
The Daily Advertiser – Lafayette, LA
May 16, 2007
Bruce Brown
Rock Your Ribs at the 16th Annual Toyota of Bedford Great American Rib Cook-Off &
Music Festival **NBM**
PR Newswire
May 16, 2007
Perfect Your Grill Skills; May Is National Barbecue Month, A Great Time To Hone
Your Skills **HPBA/NBM**
Roanoke Times - Roanoke, VA
May 16, 2007
Lindsey Nair
These days, there's a poll around every corner.
Take, for example, the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association's "national grilling poll,"
which shows that 54 percent of Americans have below-average grilling skills.
Well, 54 percent of the students at a recent "Thrill of the Grill" cooking class at Hotel
Roanoke & Conference Center could have told you that.
How do you know when the tuna is done? How do you keep onions from falling through
the grill? How long before a bone-in breast of chicken turns to sawdust?
Executive Chef Billie Raper and his sous chef, Richard Arbaugh, fielded such questions
with ease on a recent Sunday while teaching 10 people how to pull off six recipes in just
a few hours.
The April 29 class was an appropriate preview to the summer grilling season. May is
National Barbecue Month, a great time to start honing those grill skills.
Serious grillmasters don't even wait for the last frost to don their mitts and wield the
Barbie Boss, but these peak summer months are when many folks (47 percent, the survey
says) fire up the grill more than once a week.
The most oft-grilled food is hamburgers, followed closely by steaks, chicken and hot
dogs. But why stick to simple meats on a bun when you can amaze guests with Tandoori
Chicken Breasts with Grilled Tomato Jam and Herbed Yogurt Sauce?
The more adventurous the cook, the more he or she can find in the fridge to slap on the
grill.
Raper taught the class how to grill fresh pineapple, mango and papaya for a smoky-sweet
fruit salsa. To finish the meal, he grilled thick slabs of pound cake on a clean grate and
topped them with strawberries sauteed in Grand Marnier.
Let's face it, part of the grill's appeal is standing around it with a cold one and staring at
the progress. So why not grill every course?
There is, however, something to be said for keeping things simple. For you amateurs,
here are some basics Raper shared:
Cooking directly over the heat source should take only a few minutes. This is good for
thin cuts of meat, vegetables, kabobs and fillets.
Larger chunks of meat such as thick steaks or whole fish should be cooked over indirect
heat -- about 350 degrees -- with the lid closed. To achieve indirect heat, only light half
of your burners on a gas grill and place food on the unlit side. For charcoal, push the
coals to the outer edges of the grill and place your food in the center.
To find the right temperature, get a grill thermometer. Or hold your hand 6 inches above
the heat source and count to see how long you can bear it. High heat is three seconds or
500 degrees, medium is seven seconds or 350 degrees, and low heat is 15 seconds or 300
degrees.
To test doneness, consider using an instant-read meat thermometer or simply slice the
meat. Red juice is rare, pink juice is medium rare and clear juice is well-done.
At "Thrill of the Grill," the chefs shared several helpful hints for grilling vegetables,
which tend to fall through the grate if you're not careful.
To grill peppers or tomatoes, roll them around on the grill whole. Zucchini or summer
squash should be sliced lengthwise in slabs, which take on nice grill marks and flavor.
One student expressed frustration that she can never grill onions directly on the grate
without them falling through.
Raper's advice: Never slice onions in rounds and lay them on the grill. Instead, peel the
onion and slice off the top, then quarter it almost to the base but not quite.
Leaving the base intact prevents the onion from falling apart while you turn it on the grill,
he said.
Raper is also a fan of brining meat before grilling. The class brined a venison chop in a
mixture of water, cider, kosher salt and brown sugar for two hours.
The chops were then grilled with a molasses-based glaze.
The fact that no one dared jump in while Raper was wielding the tongs suggests that
everyone was up on their grilling etiquette.
That's right, in honor of National Barbecue Month, you might as well know that
according to the same folks who pulled off the National Grilling Poll, the original
caveman cooking method has its very own etiquette.
So think twice before you touch another man's (or woman's) grill, bring a side dish when
you are invited to a barbecue and don't be afraid to bring your own sauce.
Forty-nine percent say that's acceptable.
Tandoori Chicken with Grilled Tomato Jam and Herbed Yogurt Sauce
2 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. ground cayenne
1 Tbsp. ground turmeric
1 Tbsp. ground white pepper
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 cups plain yogurt
14 cup chopped fresh mint
14 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
*One whole chicken, cut up, or four boneless chicken breasts
Tomato Jam (recipe follows)
Combine all spices including fresh mint and cilantro with yogurt in a large bowl and mix
well until combined. Remove about a cup of the yogurt mix and set aside in the
refrigerator to serve with the grilled chicken later.
Place the chicken in the bowl and coat with remaining yogurt sauce. Let marinate for 1 to
2 hours.
Grill chicken over medium heat until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
*If you care to serve the chicken pieces whole, bone-in chicken is fine. If you would
rather slice the chicken into strips and serve in pitas topped with the tomato jam and
yogurt sauce, boneless breasts would be more suitable.
Grilled Tomato Jam
5 plum tomatoes
1 serrano chile
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
1 small white onion, diced
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 pinch of saffron
Heat grill to high. Brush tomatoes and whole serrano chile with oil and season with salt
and pepper. Grill tomatoes and chile on all sides until charred, then remove from the grill.
Trim and deseed chile. Chop both tomato and chile coarsely.
Saute onion until soft, add tomatoes, chile, balsamic vinegar and saffron and cook until
thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl and let cool to
room temperature before serving.
Time to dust off grill; Get Gassed Up for National Barbecue Month **NBM**
The Daily Advertiser – Lafayette, LA
May 16, 2007
Bruce Brown
You can use a bargain basement Hibachi charcoal grill, big enough for a couple of
hamburgers or a pair of chicken breasts and little else, and have room for you and a friend
on an apartment balcony.
Call it a starter kit for small groups of people.
Or, you can get the gigantic, modern, shiny gas grill with the bells, whistles and a
marching band that's capable of feeding a platoon.
Those units are plentiful at big-box stores throughout Acadiana.
Most of us dwell somewhere in between as we head outdoors to prepare meals.
The climate this time of year allows more time outside to perfect the art of grilling.
"Spring and fall are typically the best times," said Greg Guidry of Percy Guidry's Hearth
and Patio. "May is National Barbeque Month, so this is where it's at. It seems to kick
things off. In South Louisiana, July and August are the worst times, because it gets so
hot."
Not surprisingly, Guidry is an avid grill cook himself. He knows some of the pitfalls of
dusting off the grill after time.
"We always tell customers to inspect their grill, particularly if it's been put up for an
extended period of time without use," Guidry said. "Critters and varmints can get in the
airways and block the gas ducts on a gas grill. And, on charcoal grills, they'll build nests
in the bottom.
"As far as operating the grill, pre-heat the grill for 15-30 minutes to get it to the proper
temperature. Have the meat and condiments ready to go. And be sure to have proper
utensils on hand."
Beef, chicken, pork and other meats grab the spotlight for grilling, but there is plenty of
room for other foods outdoors.
"We promote grilling vegetable kabobs - with shrimp," Guidry said. "It makes a great
meal. There are also additional attachments you can get for your grill that let you cook
things on the side - potatoes, baked beans - and warm up your bread."
Guidry advocates taking your time with the grilling process.
"In the world today, you don't have time," he said. "But South Louisiana is different from
most other places around the country. We take pride in a barbecue event, instead of just
throwing the food on the fire and going back inside.
"We'll set aside a Sunday, have friends and family over and make a day of it. That's why I
prefer cooking with a charcoal grill. Gas grills have been the craze for the last 15 years or
so, and we sell both."
Guidry also has an added touch to the process he prefers.
"Hardwood charcoal is making its way back into consumer sales," he said. "It's an allnatural product, unlike charcoal briquets which have chemicals in them, and it's like
cooking over an open fire. It's the best food, the best flavor you're ever going to get."
Rock Your Ribs at the 16th Annual Toyota of Bedford Great American Rib CookOff & Music Festival **NBM**
PR Newswire
May 16, 2007
CLEVELAND, May 16 -- Commemorate National Barbecue Month in Northeast Ohio!
Now in its 16th year, the event celebrates a number of new sponsors including a new title
sponsor! The Toyota of Bedford Great American Rib Cook-Off & Music Festival,
presented by Pepsi, Friday! in The Plain Dealer, Dave's Markets and WKYC-TV 3, keeps
the barbecue tradition alive! Grab a slab of ribs Friday, May 25 through Monday, May
28, 2007 at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City (formerly Tower City
Amphitheater) in downtown Cleveland.
Sample ribs from the gladiators of grilling! Master chefs from New Jersey to Texas bring
their best barbecue secrets to Northeast Ohio in a competition to determine who has the
"Greatest Ribs in America," "Greatest Sauce in America" and the Toyota of Bedford
"People's Choice" award!
Only the Rib Cook-Off can bring five decades of music together on one stage. Four days
of enticing smells and rockin' entertainment will lead fans to this barbecue bash!
The weekend begins Friday, May 25 with FREE LUNCHTIME ADMISSION from 11am
to 4pm, compliments of WNWV-FM The Wave. Rusted Root takes the stage at 9pm on
Friday. On Saturday, May 26, former American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin performs a
special 3pm matinee. Saturday also promises a heavy metal jazz performance by Alex
Skolnick Trio of Trans-Siberian Orchestra fame. Keep the party going Saturday night
with Cleveland's own adopted son Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. Sizzle on
Sunday, May 27, with The Temptations! A full line-up electrifies the stage on Memorial
Day with two performances by Beatles tribute band Abbey Road LIVE and 80's rocker
Pat Benatar with Neil Giraldo!
For an additional charge, fans can purchase VIP reserved seat tickets for all scheduled
performances except Abbey Road LIVE. Visit http://www.livenation.com/ for
information.
Adult admission is $7. Kids under 12 are FREE, compliments of Charter One.
Entertainment is FREE with your paid general admission. Receive two FREE general
admission tickets to the Rib Cook-Off from Toyota of Bedford when you make any offer
on any vehicle during the month of May. Save $2.00 on general admission with discount
coupons from Dave's Markets and online at http://www.wkyc.com/.
For advance info call 440-247-4FUN, visit http://www.cleveland.com/rib. Call 216-5224822 during event.
Source: LiveNation