This time of the year you can find community celebrations throughout the country. I am very partial to these events because they occur for no reason other than the good intentions of groups of dedicated citizens. Everyone is invited and most certainly there is great food as well as local vendors of crafts and art. The community in which I live has a seafaring tradition drived from the fishing industry and an ancestral Scandinavian heritage. They call it the Ballard SeafoodFest.

This past weekend the main street was closed for several blocks as were the side streets. Thousands of locals came out to enjoy the sun, music, games and food. My best friend and I visited twice on Saturday and twice more on Sunday. We enjoyed the silly food eating events, the great music and talking with local folks who brought their wares to sell in booths set up right down main street. Oh – and I stuffed myself with crab-melts, crab cake sandwiches, roasted sweet corn, grilled shrimp on a stick, grilled oysters and, of course, alder smoked salmon! I took a few pictures of some interesting folks I met to share with you:

These “spuds” were just hanging around and captured me. I have a great recipe for smoked potatoes – just email me for it!

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Have you used your grill of barbecue to slow cook a chicken? I mean set it up to cook for about 4 or 5 hours at 225F degrees – adding just a touch of smoke or glaze to it as it absorbs the flavor from the charcoal or wood? I recommend you try it.

I recently purchased one of those “family paks” of chicken breasts and decided to barbecue them all. When I was finished I was faced with a delicious problem – “How do I serve these?” Obviously a tender and moist barbecued chicken breast is a wonderful meal with a side of potato salad and iced tea. But I also wanted to try a couple of other ways to serve it.

Here’s the step by step process:

First I brined the chicken breasts overnight in CB’s Basic Brine. The next morning I rinsed and patted them dry and placed them on a baking sheet and applied a little of CB’s Basic Dry Rub on them.

When the grill was set with “indirect heat” I spread them out on the grates ‘bone side down.’ I find that starting the chicken breast bone side down really improves how it cooks, regardless if it’s being cooked using direct heat on a grill or using indirect heat in a barbecue or smoker.

Here’s a picture of the breasts after a bit more than 4 hours:

I served up individual pieces that evening for dinner and placed the remainder in a sealed container in the fridge overnight.

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Guests inspect the Char-Broil demonstration area. In the foreground is the Char-Broil Outdoor Stove Top.

Hello from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

The weekend’s exciting finish to the Brickyard 400 wrapped up a very fun week for the Grill Masters in Indy. While we weren’t able to kiss the fabled bricks, we were close enough to the speedway to hear the whine of the engines and the roar of the crowd. Speaking of crowds, we had huge numbers of race fans come by the Everybody Outside Tour setup, many with questions about the Grill2Go Advantage. And rightly so, as Char-Broil created the Grill2Go specifically for those people who spend a lot of time at sporting events or camping. This week, the tour will be visiting Columbus, OH, where we expect many more questions about the Grill2Go, as we hear there is a university there that has a pretty good football team! – Tina

CHECK THE SCHEDULE FOR A TOUR STOP NEAR YOU CLICK HERE

This past week when I was clearing out my freezer to make room for some blanched summer berries and green beans I found one of the pot roasts I’d wrapped and froze earlier this year. I pulled it out and decided to try something different. I decided to barbecue it.

Here’s the step-by-step process I undertook.

A 5 pound boneless beef chuck roast with lot’s of marbling.
This is a near perfect roast for making traditional pot roast.
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I’m pleased to announce that a regular contributor to this web log and newsletter has agreed to be recognized as a “Guest Chef.” His credentials are simply his enthusiasm for outdoor cooking and grilling for friends and family. Here’s a picture of Terry with several “beer can” chickens and some sausages grilling on his Char-Broil grill.

Check out the Guest Chef tab in the Left-hand navigation column to see all of our Guest Chef recipes. You can read about Terry and the other Guest Chefs in the Author Bios pages, click on the link in the navigation bar at the top of this page.

This recipe uses any smoked fish but is particularly good with smoked salmon. If you need a good recipe for smoked salmon (using either a smoker or a grill) try my recipe for CB’s EZ Smoked Salmon CLICK HERE.

This past week I got together with my good friends Gary and Linda. They are both retired school teachers who have lived in their houseboat for more than 35 years. They enjoy travel and particularly like spending time in Mexico, as Gary was a Spanish teacher. Consequently they’ve really come to enjoy the flavors and textures of food from Mexico and the Southwest. I wrangled my friend Allison to prepare her most excellent crème brûlée for dessert (Get her recipe CLICK HERE) and I packed up about 2 pounds of great smoked salmon and the fixins for soft tacos, to be enjoyed on the deck of their home.

I had one jar of mild Santa Fe Salsa and knew I’d be happy with that good flavor, but my friends really like spice and heat and I was out of time to run to the store for a HOT version. So I opened up the kitchen cupboard and used my “flavor memory” to mix up a tasty salsa I call “CB’s EZ “What’s in the Kitchen Cupboard?” Taco Sauce.” I was worried they might be repulsed by my last minute concoction – but they loved it. I confess, so did I.

Get the recipe for CB’s EZ Kitchen Cupboard Taco Sauce CLICK HERE

Get the recipe for CB’s EZ Smoked Salmon Soft Tacos CLICK HERE

Happy Grilling!

Howdy y’all! Country Thunder certainly lived up to its name, as the 5 day country music festival began with an impressive display of thunder and lightning in the skies above Twin Lakes, Wisconsin on Wednesday night. Luckily not much rain fell and the rest of the week was sunny and breezy, setting the stage for large crowds and some excellent performances from the likes of Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Sugarland, and Kenny Chesney. The Char-Broil Everybody Outside Tour members were even lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet Ms. Underwood and Sugarland and we also gave away a Designer Series grill to one lucky country fan. This week, the tour heads to Indianapolis for one of the most highly anticipated NASCAR races of the year, the Brickyard 400. - Tina

Check the Schedule for stops near you CLICK HERE

One of the most popular meats to prepare on the grill, smoker or barbecue is chicken. I took at a look at some of the recipes in SEARCH RECIPES for chicken. If you enjoy preparing chicken for your guests please take a look at the different recipes we’ve got for you to try. A simple way to experiment is to just mix it up a bit by using different rubs or sauces and the same cooking technique.

Originally I developed this rub for my guests who enjoy something a little spicy on their ribs or other meat that is slow cooked. I think it works well with just about any meat, but particularly with pork and chicken when rubbed on about 20 minutes or so before you start the slow cooking process. If you like “dry” ribs, I think a light dose can also go on after grilling (or toward the end) to add extra “umph!” [Please be careful about cross contamination when using a rub or sauce. Always pour a small amount into a container that you can dip a brush into. NEVER dip the brush used to apply the rub or sauce into the primary container!] This rub recipe is a variation on several I’ve tried over the years. It’s become the rub that I prefer when preparing chicken for any dish that calls for a “Southwestern” flavor. I’ve found it works especially well on smoked chicken breasts. I’ll often prepare several extra to shred and freeze for later use in burritos, tacos, salads or even on a pizza!

NOTE: When creating a recipe I try to use ingredients that are easily found in just about any national grocery store. Because of this policy the spices I purchase are usually called generic names like “chili” or “curry.” For those purists who want to be specific about ingredient names – be my guest!

Get this recipe CLICK HERE

Incidentally, Not a Bad Sauce:

Equal parts of light olive oil & balsamic vinagar,
Add brown sugar to taste (usually a table spoon…and maybe a 1/2).
Microwave for a few seconds and whisk until the ingredients combine.

Simple but not bad actually (I don’t much care for garlic/onion (or anything that alters the breath), and heat (red peppers).
You may be surprised at the number of folks out there with these tastes (or lack of )

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Nic

When I think of grilling I think of meat (with apologies to all my vegan friends) and that can be beef, pork, lamb, goat, fish, shellfish, poultry, wild game or even kangaroo! I enjoy the flavors and textures that a perfectly grilled piece of meat has to offer. This past week I heard from several readers who asked me for some quick meals that include vegetables. I instantly thought of a Flat Iron steak, because it is so flavorful and quick to prepare. It’s also a versatile meat that can be enjoyed in sandwiches, or combined with other ingredients in a flavorful melange. And while I’m on the record for loving to grill meat, I also enjoy grilled fruit and vegetables. One of my favorite ways to prepare veggies on the grill is a kabob.

I started by selecting a Flat Iron steak at my local grocery store meat counter. I purposely shopped at a national chain that most likely has a store near you. The flat-iron steak usually comes pre-packaged and easy to spot. As the butcher for it if you don’t see it displayed.

I seasoned the steak with a special rub mixture – OK I confess, it was inspired by the Des Moines RIB RUB from guest chef, Mike Stines. (CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE)

Next I prepped the veggies by cutting them into large and evenly sized chunks that could stand up to being skewered. To prevent “slippage” I used two skewers per kabob. I like the metal ones because they don’t ever catch fire.

The veggies are large crimini mushrooms, zucchini, red and green peppers, yellow squash and sweet onion.

I lightly sprayed the Flat Iron steak with some canola oil and placed it on the TEC infrared burner pre-heated to MEDIUM-HIGH. (On a regular gas grill use the HIGH setting and on a charcoal grill use the closest setting for the grates to the hot coals.)

I seared the Flat Iron steak on both sides for approximately 4 minutes and set it on a piece of aluminum foil that was on the warming rack directly over the two convection burners that were set on MEDIUM-LOW. The steak continued to “finish” from internal heat to my preferred degree of Medium Rare while I grilled the veggies. I lightly sprayed the veggie kabobs with canola oil and placed them on the TEC burner for about 2 minutes per side. Because I’d used two skewers per kabob, it made turning with tongs much easier and stable. I don’t like overcooked veggies – just seared and warm – so I was happy with the results. You may wish to sear and then roast a bit on the warming rack or over the low-heat burners. It’s all a matter of personal taste.

Flat Iron steak has long muscle fibers and is best cut across the grain in strips.

I plated the veggies and steak for service. On the side I added condiments for the meat: hot mustard, sweet barbecue sauce and off-the-shelf steak sauce. For the veggies I offered several choices of prepared salad dressings: blue cheese, ranch, creamy Italian and my favorite – Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar.

Give this cut of meat a try on your grill. Adjust the recipe to suit your tastes and the level of heat your grill produces. On regular gas grills it may take a bit longer to sear both the meat and the veggies. If you need to hold the meat or veggies for any amount of time – I suggest you cover them with aluminum foil to prevent them from drying out.

Happy Grilling!