October is National Apple Month—not to mention, prime picking and eating time for some of America’s best apples. What better occasion to celebrate the contributions this storied fruit has made to American barbecue?

Apples possess a natural affinity for pork, which probably gained the fruit admission to the barbecue world in the first place. But don’t stop there. Apple juice, apple sauce, and cider vinegar are essential ingredients in regional American barbecue sauce. Apple wood is the fuel some of the most decorated competition pitmasters swear by. Then there are grilled apples, smoked apples, and “baked” apples hot from the smoker.

Given the apple’s deep roots in American food culture, you may be surprised to learn that the fruit originated in Central Asia. The early colonists brought the apple to the New World along with the honeybees needed to pollinate the trees. Thousands of apple varieties have been grown in the U.S., though only a fraction are grown commercially.

So how else should you use apples and apple-based products to take your barbecue to the next level?

Apple Brines and Marinades

• Make an apple brine: Replace a portion of the water in a standard brine recipe with apple cider or apple juice for pork, turkey, and game birds.
• Make a simple apple marinade or injector sauce: Combine 2 cups of apple cider with 1/4 cup each apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, and vegetable oil. Add 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce.
• Don’t forget hard cider, made by fermenting apple cider like beer. A dry hard cider is less sweet than apple cider, which makes it ideal for basting or as a base for marinade.

Apple Sprays, Basting Mixtures, and Mop Sauces

• Place apple cider in a spray bottle and spray it on ribs or pork shoulder as they smoke to add another layer of flavor.
• Combine apple cider, cider vinegar, bourbon, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and a little water to make a “Cider Squirt” for basting pork and poultry. Squirt it from a spray bottle or brush it on with a basting brush.
• Make a hog slather by combining mustard, apple cider, Worcestershire sauce, and melted butter in roughly equal proportions. Brush on the meat with a basting brush.
• For a simple mop sauce for beef brisket, combine one bottle of beer with 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup cold-brewed coffee, and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Swab it on with a barbecue mop at the 1-hour mark, and every hour after that.

Apple Cider or Apple Juice?

So what’s the difference between apple cider and apple juice? In the U.S., sweet cider is generally unfiltered, while apple juice is filtered for clarity. Either may be pasteurized. I prefer cider—especially freshly pressed at a farm stand. The aroma and flavor will vary depending on the season and which apples are used.

Three Apple Recipes for the Grill

Put the fruit itself on the menu with these recipes for a grilled side dish, savory stuffed apples, and a skillet dessert.

Apple “Steaks”

Thick slices of Granny Smith apples get a glaze of cider, honey, lemon juice, and butter before and during grilling. Direct high heat browns the slices while leaving them firm enough to hold their shape. Serve them alongside grilled pork chops.

Get the Apple “Steaks” Recipe »

Apples Stuffed with Sausage and Sage

Pork sausage, onion, celery, and sage fill these apples, with a little maple syrup spooned over the stuffing. Smoke-roast them over indirect heat until the apples soften. They’re a savory side dish you can assemble several hours ahead and refrigerate until grilling time.

Get the Sausage-and-Sage Stuffed Apples Recipe »

Smoke-Roasted Apple Crisp

Apples, lemon, and cinnamon go into a cast-iron skillet beneath a topping of butter, granola, flour, and brown sugar. Smoke-roast over indirect heat until the filling bubbles and the topping browns. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving—with ice cream, if you like.

Get the Smoke-Roasted Apple Crisp Recipe »

Next time you’re picking up apples, grab a few extra for the grill. Serve them alongside pork, stuff them with sausage, or save them for dessert. And if there’s cider in the fridge, you’ve got the start of a baste for whatever’s smoking.

The post An Ode to Apples: Grilled, Stuffed, and Smoked appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

By Daniel Hale

Tailgating calls for food that’s easy to serve, easy to eat, and substantial enough to satisfy hungry sports fans. Here at BarbecueBible.com, we believe you can do better than the usual burgers and hotdogs. BBQ beef sliders check all three boxes, especially when the beef has been smoked low and slow over smoldering hardwood. Just one catch: You’ll want to smoke the beef the day before the game. Which, come to think of it, isn’t a catch at all, because by doing most of the prep ahead of time, you get to enjoy the game.

For this recipe, I went with chuck roast instead of brisket. It’s a smaller, more manageable cut of beef with plenty of marbling and rich flavor. It’s a lot more affordable (and these days, who isn’t worried about the grocery bill.). And when smoked properly, it makes a spectacular filling for BBQ sandwiches.

I used the Monument Denali 605Pro gas grill and Monument smoker box to smoke the chuck roast low and slow, developing a flavorful, smoky bark before chopping the beef for our sliders.

And yes, you can smoke beef on a gas grill. You just need the right setup, some wood chips, and patience.

Why Chuck Roast Works for BBQ Sliders

Chuck roast comes from the shoulder of the steer, an area that gets plenty of exercise. The meat contains loads of connective tissue and intramuscular fat, which make it particularly well-suited to low-and-slow smoking.

As the roast heats, the connective tissue gradually breaks down, helping transform a tough cut of beef into meat tender enough to cut with the side of a fork.

Chuck also has a practical advantage over brisket. You can purchase a roast weighing three to five pounds rather than committing to a 12 pound packer. For this smoke, I started with a boneless chuck roast weighing a little over 4 1/2 pounds.

If you have the time and patience, you can smoke a chuck roast until it’s tender enough to pull or shred with forks. I had neither, so I chopped the smoked chuck with a cleaver instead. It makes an excellent sandwich filling, especially when mixed with barbecue sauce.

How to Set Up the Monument Denali 605Pro for Smoking

A gas grill might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about smoking beef, but with indirect heat and a smoker box, it’s entirely possible.

I used the Monument Denali 605 gas grill, setting it up for indirect grilling with a target temperature of approximately 250°F.

The Monument smoker box holds wood chips, allowing them to smolder over an active burner and produce smoke inside the grill. The chuck roast sits away from the direct heat, where it can smoke slowly without scorching.

My target was 250°F, although the grill temperature fluctuated between approximately 230°F and 280°F throughout the smoke. Maintaining a steady low temperature can be tricky on a gas grill, even with the burners turned down.

Steven shared a little hack for managing the heat: Prop the grill lid open slightly with a small metal rod to allow some heat to escape. (I wish I’d known that one before I started!)

I added wood chips twice during the initial smoking stage. The goal was to develop a noticeable smoke flavor and a dark exterior bark, not to produce heavy smoke for the entire grilling session.

A few tips for smoking on a gas grill:

• Use indirect heat so the roast isn’t sitting directly over an active burner.
• Monitor the grill temperature and adjust the burners as necessary.
• Replenish wood chips when needed, especially during the early stages of smoking.
• Use a meat thermometer to follow the roast’s progress.

Smoking the Chuck Roast

I started by seasoning the chuck roast generously with Steven’s Texas Brisket Rub, covering all sides of the meat.

Once the Denali 605Pro was preheated and the smoker box was producing smoke, I placed the roast over indirect heat and closed the lid.

After four hours, the internal temperature was approximately 142°F. An hour later, it had only climbed to 147°F.

That slow progression isn’t unusual with a large piece of beef. Evaporative cooling can slow the rise in internal temperature, a phenomenon barbecue enthusiasts know as the stall. And personally, it drove me crazy.

By this point, the chuck roast had spent around five hours in the smoke, developing its bark and smoke flavor.

Rather than continuing to smoke the beef uncovered, I moved to the next stage: a covered finish to help tenderize the meat.

Finishing the Chuck Roast

Once the smoking stage was complete, I transferred the roast to a foil pan with beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and onion powder.

I covered the pan tightly to retain moisture and moved it to the oven to finish. That’s a little tip I picked up from barbecuebible.com editor Nancy Loseke: Once the grill has done its job developing the smoke flavor and bark, there’s no need to keep burning propane—unless you want to. Your oven can take it from there.

The purpose of this stage is to help break down the connective tissue while keeping the meat moist. The liquid also collects beef juices that can be used later when preparing the sliders.

After more than eight hours of total grilling and finishing time, the chuck roast reached approximately 205°F internally.

Here’s something worth emphasizing: Internal temperature alone doesn’t guarantee tender beef.

Although the roast had reached the temperature normally associated with shreddable chuck, it wasn’t quite as tender as I had hoped. One section pulled apart relatively easily, while the larger portion still offered a little resistance.

Since it was getting late, it was time for Plan B. I decided to chop the meat instead.

And that proved excellent for sliders.

If you’re aiming for fully shredded beef, you have to keep cooking until a temperature probe or skewer slides into the thickest part with very little resistance. That final tenderness test is more important than reaching a particular temperature on the thermometer.

Building the Smoked Chuck Roast BBQ Sliders

With the beef rested and chopped, it was time to assemble the sliders.

I mixed some of the chopped smoked chuck roast with barbecue sauce, using just enough to coat the beef without overpowering the smoke flavor. You can use any barbecue sauce you like, including Steven’s Chipotle Molasses Barbecue Sauce. Personally, I prefer a sauce with less sugar for health reasons. I’m partial to Stubb’s Simply Sweet Reduced Sugar BBQ Sauce.

For the sandwiches, I kept it simple: Hawaiian slider rolls, smoked BBQ beef, and provolone cheese. The sweetness of the rolls worked nicely with the smoky beef and barbecue sauce.

These sliders are ideal for tailgating because you can prepare the beef the day before the game. Save some of the juices from the covered finishing stage to keep the meat moist when reheating.

On game day, simply reheat the beef until hot, toast the slider rolls, add the provolone, and assemble the sandwiches.

Smoked Chuck Roast BBQ Sliders for Game Day

The finished sliders were fantastic. The smoky beef, barbecue sauce, melted provolone, and sweetness of the Hawaiian rolls made a spectacular sandwich!

The Monument Denali 605Pro did a great job smoking the chuck roast. Paired with the Monument smoker box, it gave the beef plenty of smoke flavor and developed a nice bark, all on a gas grill.

Not bad for a tailgate sandwich!

Recipe

Smoked Chuck Roast BBQ Sliders

Smoked chuck roast, chopped or shredded and tossed with barbecue sauce, served on Hawaiian slider rolls with melted provolone cheese.

Yield: Approximately 16–20 sliders (estimated)

Method: Indirect smoking

Equipment: Gas grill, smoker box, meat thermometer, disposable foil pan, aluminum foil

Ingredients

For the smoked chuck roast:

• 1 boneless beef chuck roast (approximately 4 1/2 pounds)
• Steven Raichlen’s Texas Brisket Rub (or your favorite barbecue rub), enough to generously season the roast
• Wood chips, for smoking
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon jarred minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

For the sliders:

• 16–20 Hawaiian slider rolls
• Your favorite barbecue sauce, to taste
• Sliced provolone cheese, enough for each slider

Instructions

1. Season the beef: Generously season the chuck roast on all sides with Steven Raichlen’s Texas Brisket Rub.
2. Set up the grill: Prepare the gas grill for indirect smoking at approximately 250°F. Fill the smoker box with wood chips and position it over an active burner according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Smoke the chuck roast: Place the roast over indirect heat and close the lid. Maintain a grill temperature near 250°F, replenishing the wood chips as needed. Smoke until the roast develops a dark bark and reaches an internal temperature of approximately 165°F.
4. Cover the roast: Transfer the chuck roast to a disposable foil pan. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and onion powder. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.
5. Finish the roast: Return the covered pan to the grill over indirect heat. Continue smoking at approximately 250°F. When the internal temperature reaches 205°F, begin checking for tenderness. The beef is ready when a temperature probe or skewer slides into the thickest part with very little resistance.
6. Rest and chop: Remove the roast from the grill and let it rest for 20–30 minutes. Chop or shred the beef, reserving some of the pan juices.
7. Add the barbecue sauce: Toss the beef with enough barbecue sauce to coat it. Add a little reserved pan liquid if needed to keep the meat moist.
8. Prepare the slider rolls: Split the Hawaiian slider rolls and lightly toast them on the grill. Place a portion of BBQ beef on each bottom bun and top with provolone cheese. Warm briefly until the cheese melts.
9. Assemble and serve: Replace the top buns and serve warm.

Make-Ahead Tailgating Tip

Prepare the smoked chuck roast the day before the game. Refrigerate the chopped or shredded beef with some of the reserved pan juices in a covered container. On game day, reheat the beef thoroughly to 165°F, adding reserved liquid as needed to keep it moist. Toss with barbecue sauce and assemble the sliders shortly before serving.

A big thank you to Monument Grills for sponsoring this post.

The post Big Beef Flavor, Little Buns: <br />Smoked Chuck Roast Sliders appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

When I started writing about barbecue, a tomahawk was an Indian ax. No one had heard of beef tomahawks.

Today, you can’t go to a steakhouse—or even your local supermarket—without being tempted by this magisterial cut of beef. The beef tomahawk has become the new steak status symbol—one restaurant in Miami even serves it clad with gold leaf. (You don’t want to know the price.)

Given beef prices these days, a beef tomahawk is definitely a splurge, but for a special occasion, you may just want to sizzle one on your grill.

What Is a Beef Tomahawk?

So what is a beef tomahawk? In a nutshell, it’s a bone-in ribeye steak with the entire rib bone attached. (In butcher speak, it’s IMPS/NAMP Number: 1103B.). Often that rib bone is “frenched,” that is scraped clean of meat. Picture a monster steak, 2 to 3 inches thick, with a bone that extends 5 to 8 inches. For all you meat geeks out there, know that tomahawks are cut from ribs 6 through 12 on a steer’s ribcage.

A steak this size presents the griller with several challenges. Try direct grilling it, as you would a regular rib steak or rib-eye, and you wind up burning the exterior, while leaving the center cold and raw. Try smoking it, as you would a brisket, and you miss out on a sizzling seared crust.

No, a beef tomahawk requires a special technique for cooking it to perfection and that technique is, drumroll please, reverse searing.

How to Reverse Sear a Beef Tomahawk

In a nutshell, you start cooking the steak low and slow, as you would true barbecue, like Texas brisket. Once the center reaches an internal temperature of 100 degrees, you take the steak off and rest it on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Raise your grill heat to high to sear the steak on the outside and direct grill it to the desired doneness.

Reverse-searing has several benefits: the meat cooks evenly from top to bottom (no more blood-red “bullseye” in the center, and the timing is a lot more forgiving because you can do most of the cooking ahead of time. Add wood chunks or chips to the fire to give your steak the smoky flavor of barbecue. That’s always a big win in my book.

Two Other Ways to Grill a Beef Tomahawk

Note: There are two other ways to grill a beef tomahawk. If you have a grill with a raisable and lowerable grate (like a Santa Maria-style grill or KUDU), position it high (18 inches) above the fire. Direct grill your steaks slowly, turning every few minutes. Lower the grate the last few minutes to lay on a crusty sear. The cooking time will be 20 to 30 minutes.

Alternatively, if you have a large grill, set it up for direct grilling, one side on medium-high and one side on low. Start the steak on high, then when the surface begins to sizzle and brown, slide it to the low zone. Keep sliding it back and forth between the hot zone and cool zone. The Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet company calls this the “sear and slide” method. The cooking time will be 20 to 30 minutes.

Recipe

The Raichlen Beef Tomahawk

By Steven Raichlen

Yield: Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients

• 1 beef “tomahawk” (rib steak with long rib bone attached and dry-aged, if possible) or very thick ribeye, 24 to 30 ounces and 2-1/2 to 3 inches thick
• Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and coarsely and freshly ground black pepper
• Cowboy Butter or other compound butter

Cowboy Butter

• 8 oz. (organic) butter, unsalted (2 sticks)
• 1 tsp smoked sea salt
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 shallot, small, minced
• Zest from 1 lemon
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon thyme, stems removed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Very generously season the beef tomahawks on both sides with salt and pepper. Set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-low (250 degrees). Brush or scrape the grill grate clean and oil it well.
2. Arrange the tomahawks on the grate away from the heat. Add wood chunks or chips to the fire. Smoke-roast the steak to an internal temperature of about 100 degrees. This will take 40 to 60 minutes.
3. Transfer the steak to a wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, set up your grill for direct grilling and heat to high.
4. Arrange the tomahawk steak over the hottest part of the grill grate, running diagonal to the bars of the grate. Direct grill until both sides are sizzling, browned, and crusty, 2 to 4 minutes per side. You want a final internal temperature of 120 to 125 degrees for rare; 130 to 135 degrees for medium-rare; or 140 to 145 degrees for medium. If the exposed parts of the rib bone start to burn, slide a sheet of aluminum foil under it.
5. Transfer the tomahawk to a cutting board or warm platter. Carve the beef off the bone and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices for serving. Top with Cowboy Butter (if desired), following the recipe below.

Cowboy Butter Instructions

1. Before grilling your steaks, let’s start by making the compound butter.
2. Let butter come to room temperature. Combine all ingredients with a stick blender or a food processor. Roll butter onto a large piece of plastic wrap forming a log. Roll the plastic wrap up into a log and twist on the ends. Store in the refrigerator until it is time to use.

The post Beef Tomahawk 101 appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Weary of the usual tailgating fare? Whether you party on the asphalt or in your backyard, we have the perfect antidote for “wing fatigue”: Smoked Pork Chili Verde.

Forget the usual hot dogs and hamburgers. This smoky, slightly spicy pork chili brings something different to the party, and it won’t cost a fortune.

This recipe—one of our favorites—was developed when we were blessed with an abundance of fire-roasted green chile peppers at a session of Steven’s Barbecue University. Meaty country-style pork ribs (not ribs at all, but a well-marbled cut from the shoulder) were smoked and helped turn these peppers into a dish that could feed more than 50 attendees. The recipe has since been adjusted to feed 12.

Happily, the chili benefits from an overnight rest in the refrigerator. Make it at home the day before the party, then reheat before your guests arrive. We like to serve the chili from a Dutch oven, like this one from Lodge.

What makes this pork chili verde special is its combination of roasted green chiles, tangy tomatillos, tender pork, and a touch of wood smoke.

The green chiles and vegetables develop a rich, roasted flavor when charred over high heat. Meanwhile, the pork gets its own dose of smoke before everything comes together for a slow, gentle braise.

It’s the kind of meal that makes people stop talking about the game long enough to ask, “Who made this chili?”

And that’s saying something when the score is tied in the fourth quarter.

Recipe

Barbecue University Chili Verde

Recipe by Steven Raichlen

Country-style pork ribs are smoked over wood, then gently braised with fire-roasted green chiles, tomatillos, onions, and spices. This crowd-sized chili serves 12 and tastes even better the next day.

Yield: 12 servings

Equipment: Grill or smoker; grill-safe Dutch oven or heatproof casserole; food processor; 2 cups wood chips or chunks, preferably mesquite, soaked for 1 hour and drained

Ingredients

• 20 to 24 fresh chiles, preferably a mix of poblanos, Anaheim, Hatch, or New Mexican chiles
• 2 to 3 jalapeño chiles
• 1-1/2 to 2 pounds fresh tomatillos, husked, washed, and halved
• 2 large Spanish onions, peeled and quartered through the stem ends
• 4 to 5 pounds country-style pork ribs, bone-in or boneless, each 3/4 to 1 inch thick
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 12-ounce bottle or can of beer, in a spray bottle
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, coarse stems removed, with a few sprigs reserved for serving
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin, or more to taste
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• Sour cream or Mexican crema, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Set up your grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Grill the chiles, jalapeños, tomatillos, and onions, turning as needed, until the chile skins blister and blacken and the onions develop a good char.
2. Transfer the grilled vegetables to a large bowl and allow them to cool. Peel, stem, and seed the chiles, reserving their juices. Remove any excessively charred layers from the onions and tomatillos. Coarsely chop the vegetables and garlic.
3. Working in two batches, process the roasted vegetables, cilantro, garlic, chicken broth, cumin, and oregano in a food processor. Pour the mixture into one or two grill-safe Dutch ovens or heatproof casseroles.
4. Prepare the grill for indirect grilling at 225 to 250 degrees F, placing a drip pan between the coal piles. Add 1/2 cup of wood chips or chunks to each pile, replenishing halfway through smoking. Alternatively, use a smoker according to its instructions. On a gas grill, use a smoker box or foil smoking pouch, starting on high until smoke appears, then reducing the heat to medium-low.
5. Season the pork generously with salt and black pepper. Place the ribs over the drip pan and smoke for 1 hour, turning once and periodically spraying with beer. Transfer the smoked pork into the chile mixture, submerging the pieces.
6. Cover the Dutch oven or casserole and place it on the grill. Cover the grill and braise for 1-1/2 hours, maintaining a temperature of approximately 300 degrees F by adding coals as needed.
7. Move the Dutch oven to a heatproof surface. Remove the pork, discard any bones, and cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Stir it back into the chili. Adjust the seasoning with additional broth, cumin, or salt if necessary. Serve in bowls, topped with sour cream or crema if desired, and garnish with cilantro.

See the original Barbecue University Chili Verde recipe.

The post Smoked Pork Chili: A Winning Tailgating Feast (Budget-Friendly, Too!) appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Because Sometimes Bigger Is Better

By Steven Raichlen

Greetings from Barbecue University®, my school at the Alisal Ranch in Solvang, California. We always start the first class with a bang. And bangs (or bones) don’t get bigger than dino bones, aka brontosaurus bones, aka beef plate ribs, aka big bad beef ribs!

The beef plate rib certainly lives up to its reputation as “brisket on the bone.” Imagine the fatty richness of a barbecued brisket point with the gnaw-a-bility of a meaty sparerib. Imagine a single rib that weighs upwards of 2 pounds and easily feeds 2. When you order it at a restaurant, you can pay up to $50—for a single rib! I’m going to show you how to barbecue this spectacular beef bone at home for a fraction of the price.

What Are Dino Bones?

First the rib. Beef plate ribs are cut from bones 6, 7, and 8 on a steer’s ribcage. (MPS/NAMP 123A in butcher speak.) They come in a slab that’s the size of a laptop computer, tipping the scale at 6 to 8 pounds.

We source our beef ribs from the Nashville-based butcher shop and online meat purveyor, Porter Road. Founded by Chris Carter and James Peisker in 2010, Porter Road specializes in pasture-raised meats free of antibiotics and hormones, dry-aged and hand-cut. I order from them whenever I can: their meats are first rate. If you use code BarbecueBible you can get 15% off your first order.

How to Smoke Dino Bones

Once you have your dino ribs, cut the rack into individual bones. Individual bones mean more spice, more bark, and more woodsmoke on each rib. I like to keep the seasoning simple: coarse salt and cracked black peppercorns. Maybe a whiff of garlic powder and dried oregano. Whoops—I just gave away the formula for my Planet Barbecue Brisket Rub, which goes great on dino bones.

You can cook your dino ribs on a smoker, kamado, pellet grill, or charcoal grill. (Sorry, folks. It’s hard to smoke meat on a gas grill.) Preheat it to 250 degrees and add the wood (chunks or chips) following the manufacturer’s instructions every hour.

The other ingredient you need is time—lots of it—because dino ribs take at least 8 to 10 hours to cook, plus 1 to 2 hours resting in an insulated cooler or barbecue blanket before serving.

So how do you know when they’re done? The meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by 2 inches or so and the meat will be soft and tender. The internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer should be around 200°F.

What to Serve with Dino Bones

And what do you serve with dino bones? If you’re me, nothing. I like to savor the rich beefy flavor, salt, pepper, and smoke all by themselves.

But Mrs. Raichlen likes my Chipotle Molasses Barbecue Sauce, so I wouldn’t say no to that.

Here, then, are Barbecued Dino Bones in all their beefy glory. Guaranteed to give brisket a run for its money!

Recipe

Dino Bones (Barbecued Beef Plate Ribs)

By Steven Raichlen

Big, meaty beef plate ribs seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper, and hot red pepper flakes, then smoked low and slow until tender.

Yield: 3 ribs, serving 3 hungry people
Method: Hot-smoking
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Smoking Time: 8 to 10 hours
Resting Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3 full beef plate short ribs (rack of 6 to 7 1/2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons coarse salt (sea or kosher), plus extra for serving
• 3 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
• Beer (optional)
• 1 cup beef stock (preferably homemade)

Equipment

• Smoker
• Oak, hickory, or mesquite wood, or a combination
• Aluminum foil drip pan
• Instant-read thermometer
• Insulated cooler (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut the rack lengthwise into individual bones and place them on a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Place the salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes in a small bowl and mix well. Generously sprinkle the rub on the ribs on all sides, including the ends, rubbing it into the meat with your fingertips.
3. Set up your smoker following the manufacturer’s instructions and preheat to 225° to 250°F. If your smoker has a water pan, fill it with water or beer to a depth of 3 inches. If it doesn’t have a water pan, fill a disposable aluminum foil pan with water or beer to a depth of 3 inches and place it below the rack on which you’ll be smoking the ribs. (Note: You don’t need to do this on a ceramic cooker.) Add wood as specified by the manufacturer.
4. Place the ribs in the smoker fat side up, with at least 2 inches between ribs. Smoke the ribs until darkly browned on the outside and very tender inside, 8 to 10 hours. If working on a smoker with the firebox at one end, shuffle the ribs a couple times so they cook evenly. To test for doneness, insert a metal skewer in the largest rib (through one end and parallel to the bone); it should pierce the meat easily. Another test for doneness is to insert an instant-read thermometer parallel to but not touching the bone; it should read 200°F. (Check the ribs to make sure all are done.) When done, the meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by 1 to 2 inches.
5. Transfer the ribs to a large foil pan with the beef stock. Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in an insulated cooler. Let the ribs rest for 1 hour before serving.
6. Just before serving, season each rib with a light sprinkling of salt.

The post How to Smoke Dino Ribs: Big, Bad Beef Plate Ribs appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

By Steve Nestor

What is your go-to appetizer when hosting a party at your house? Mine is chicken wings. My guests expect and look forward to the chicken wings. But sometimes I like to mix things up and surprise them with something new.

Here is an appetizer that is sweet, salty, savory, and speedy to make. If you are looking for a quick and delicious appetizer, I have just the thing: bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese.

How to Make Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Here is how it all comes together. I used Medjool dates. I started by slicing down the side of each date and removing the pit. I then stuffed each date with a slice of blue cheese.

I cut the bacon in half and spread the slices out on the cutting board.

The Barbecue University Bacon Trick

One trick I learned when I was a student at Barbecue University is to use your hands to stretch out each slice of bacon to make it longer when wrapping food. Stretching out the bacon allows you to overlap the original edge of the bacon.

Next, I wrapped each date with a slice of bacon and secured it with a toothpick. I placed them in the refrigerator to help the bacon stick to the dates.

Griddling the Bacon-Wrapped Dates

I wanted the bacon to get crispy without burning, so I set up the Wildfire drop-in griddle over medium heat. I removed the toothpicks and placed the bacon-wrapped dates on the griddle seam-side down to sear them closed.

The dates grilled for 2 minutes on each side, for a total of 8 minutes. I finished the bacon-wrapped dates with hot honey for some kick.

The bacon was crispy and salty, the dates were warm and sweet, and the blue cheese created a creamy center. The spice from the hot honey balanced the sweetness of the dates and the richness of the blue cheese. Each bite provided a burst of flavors and textures.

Recipe

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Blue Cheese and Hot Honey

Medjool dates are stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped in bacon, and griddled until the bacon is crisp. A drizzle of hot honey adds a spicy-sweet finish.

Ingredients

• 10 Medjool dates
• 10 slices or pieces blue cheese
• 5 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise
• Hot honey, for finishing

Instructions

1. Slice down the side of each date and remove the pit.
2. Stuff each date with a slice of blue cheese.
3. Cut the bacon slices in half and spread them out on a cutting board. Using your hands, gently stretch each piece of bacon to make it longer.
4. Wrap each date with a piece of bacon, overlapping the bacon slightly, and secure it with a toothpick.
5. Place the wrapped dates in the refrigerator to help the bacon adhere to the dates.
6. Set up the Wildfire drop-in griddle over medium heat.
7. Remove the toothpicks and place the bacon-wrapped dates on the griddle seam-side down to sear the bacon closed.
8. Griddle for about 2 minutes on each side, about 8 minutes total, or until the bacon is crisp.
9. Transfer the dates to a serving plate and finish with hot honey.

A big thank you to Wildfire Outdoor Living for sponsoring this cook.

Wildfire Outdoor Living is an Arizona-based company specializing in high-performance gas grills and premium outdoor kitchen solutions. Wildfire brings a commitment to cutting-edge technology and industry-leading innovation. Their 304 stainless steel design, illuminated LED knobs, cast stainless steel burners, and laser-cut stainless steel cooking grates create products designed to provide peak performance. They also allow you to customize your outdoor kitchen with designer-finish knobs and handles to meet the growing demand for designer outdoor kitchens.

The drop-in griddle will turn your Wildfire gas grill into a full-fledged kitchen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can enjoy pancakes and bacon for breakfast, smash burgers for lunch, or stir-fry for dinner, all on the drop-in griddle.

The post Back to Basics: A Hot Date with Bacon, Blue Cheese, and Hot Honey appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

“Candy is dandy,” goes the saying. But candied bacon is even dandier.

Just ask my wife. This morning, she announced she would like candied bacon to go with her eggs for breakfast.

Well, you know the other saying: “Happy wife, happy life.” So candied bacon it is!

Fortunately, I had a package of organic, thick-sliced, cob-smoked bacon in the refrigerator. I grabbed some maple syrup and brown sugar (equally organic) and fired up the griddle.

So who first created candied bacon? One predecessor may have been “pig candy”—pioneered on the competition barbecue circuit by pit masters who crusted pork belly with brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne, prior to an hours-long smoke in their offsets. Martha Stewart got into the act in the early 2000s with sugar- and spice-crusted bacon baked crisp in the oven. But that effort paled next to the “Millionaire’s bacon” introduced (and trademarked) at the Sweet Maple restaurant in San Francisco.

You know what I think? Candied bacon had no single progenitor. Like fire, it arose in many places independently, because sweet + salty + smoke = edible paradise every time.

How to Make Candied Bacon on a Griddle

Which brings me back to the wife-pleasing candied bacon I made this morning. It’s super easy. All you need is bacon, maple syrup, brown sugar, a griddle, tongs, and a wire rack.

Step 1. Heat your griddle to medium-high. Open a 12-ounce package of thick-sliced bacon and fry one strip to grease the griddle. (Figure on 2 to 4 minutes per side, rubbing the bacon across the griddle so the fat will grease the surface.)

Step 2. Spread out the remaining bacon on a platter. Place 1/4 cup maple syrup in a small bowl and using a basting brush, brush each strip of bacon with the syrup on both sides.

Step 3. Spread out 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark—your choice) in a foil pan. Dip each strip of syrup-glazed bacon in the brown sugar, turning to coat both sides. (Add more sugar as needed.) Arrange the sugar-crusted bacon strips on the griddle.

Step 4. Fry the bacon until sizzling and darkly browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side, turning with tongs.

Step 5. Transfer the bacon to an oiled wire rack over a drip pan. Let it cool slightly or to room temperature. It will crisp on cooling.

We served the candied bacon with my wife’s scrambled farm eggs, but it’s also delicious with French toast, on a BLT sandwich, crumbled over baked potatoes and salads (hum—what a cool flavoring for potato salad!), and, yes, even ice cream sundaes. Really! (See the recipe in my book Man Made Meals.)

But best of all, candied bacon makes my wife happy, and that’s the dandiest of all!

Note: In addition to the brown sugar, some people like to add black pepper, cayenne, or their favorite barbecue rub. Just saying!

Recipe

Candied Bacon on a Griddle

By Steven Raichlen

Thick-sliced bacon brushed with maple syrup, coated with brown sugar, and griddled until sizzling and darkly browned.

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce package thick-sliced bacon
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup light or dark brown sugar, plus more as needed
• Optional: black pepper, cayenne, or your favorite barbecue rub

Instructions

1. Heat your griddle to medium-high. Fry one strip of bacon to grease the griddle, 2 to 4 minutes per side, rubbing the bacon across the griddle so the fat greases the surface.
2. Spread out the remaining bacon on a platter. Place the maple syrup in a small bowl and, using a basting brush, brush each strip of bacon with the syrup on both sides.
3. Spread the brown sugar in a foil pan. Dip each strip of syrup-glazed bacon in the brown sugar, turning to coat both sides. Add more sugar as needed. Arrange the sugar-crusted bacon strips on the griddle.
4. Fry the bacon until sizzling and darkly browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side, turning with tongs.
5. Transfer the bacon to an oiled wire rack over a drip pan. Let it cool slightly or to room temperature. It will crisp on cooling.

The post How to Candy Bacon appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

 

By Daniel Hale

With football season fast approaching, it’s time to make my first tailgating meal. Being from California, I have to go with tri-tip!

A few years ago, I wrote about my first real attempt at grilling tri-tip. I cooked it indirectly on my Weber kettle, then finished it over direct heat for that amazing sear.

This time I wanted to take the same cut in a different direction. I decided to put a Santa Maria-style tri-tip on the rotisserie.

And what better grill to use than the Monument Eminence 605? This is a big grill. This isn’t something I’m throwing in the back of the car and hauling to a stadium parking lot. This was game-day cooking at home.

Rotisserie Tri-Tip on the Eminence 605

I started with Steven’s Santa Maria Tri-Tip recipe, seasoning the meat with coarse salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried rosemary. The tri-tip started at about 3 1/2 pounds before I trimmed a fair amount of exterior fat.

 

Once the meat was secured on the rotisserie spit, I set up the Eminence 605 for indirect cooking. I lit the burners on either side of the meat and left the burners directly below the tri-tip off. The grill settled in around 285 to 290°F.

The rotisserie kept the tri-tip turning steadily without any flipping or repositioning. After about 45 minutes, the deepest part of the roast had reached 117°F.

Finishing with the Infrared Rear Burner

The Monument Eminence 605 includes a rear infrared burner designed to work with the rotisserie. The rear burner is either on or off rather than adjustable like the main burners.

 

I turned on the infrared rear burner and kept the rotisserie running. The added radiant heat browned the outside while I watched the internal temperature closely.

I wanted medium-rare, so I pulled the tri-tip when the deepest part reached 130°F and let it rest before slicing. The finished meat had a pink center and a browned, rosemary-flecked exterior.

Tri-tip has grain that changes direction, so I separated the roast as needed and sliced each section across the grain. The method was different from my previous tri-tip cook, but the temperature strategy was familiar: cook it gently first, then use higher heat to finish the exterior.

Santa Maria-Style Sides on the Grill

A Santa Maria-style tri-tip called for the traditional supporting cast, so I also made Steven’s Santa Maria Garlic Bread and Santa Maria Pinquito Beans.

I made a couple of changes to the beans. Instead of pinquito beans, I used Frijoles Colorados Cortos (small red beans). I also substituted chipotle sauce for the red chile sauce. Other than that, I followed the recipe.

 

I cooked the beans in a saucepan on the Eminence 605’s side burner while the tri-tip was on the rotisserie. Bacon, ham, onion, garlic, tomato purée, chipotle sauce, and the seasonings all went into the pot with the beans.

For the garlic bread, I followed the Santa Maria Garlic Bread recipe. I grilled the bread at the end of the cook while the rest of the meal was coming together.

 

That gave me the full game-day menu: rotisserie tri-tip, Santa Maria-ish beans, and Santa Maria grilled garlic bread.

The Results

The tri-tip came out beautifully, with a pink center and a browned exterior from the infrared finish. The rosemary really came through in the Santa Maria seasoning and gave the beef a distinct herbal note without covering up the flavor of the meat. I especially liked what the chipotle sauce did for the beans, adding a deeper smoky flavor and a little heat. And the garlic bread may have been the surprise of the meal. Grilled until crisp around the edges and loaded with garlic butter, it was excellent alongside the tri-tip and beans.

Game Day at Home

I’ve now cooked tri-tip a few different ways, and the rotisserie gave me another one worth keeping. The Eminence 605 handled the slow roast, the infrared rear burner handled the finish, and the side burner gave me a place to cook the beans at the same time.

 

For a tailgating-season meal at home, it made good use of the grill without turning dinner into a juggling act.

A big thank you to Monument Grills for sponsoring this cook.

The post Kick Off Tailgating Season with Rotisserie Tri-Tip appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

“…bacon is in its terminal stage, clinging to relevance, grasping at any opportunity to cash in on its dwindling cachet as its 15 minutes come to an end.”

So wrote Seattle journalist Erica C. Barnett in May 2009, in the alternative newspaper The Stranger.

Well, Ms. Barnett, you got it wrong. Time to eat crow, preferably wrapped in a bacon weave.

Yes, cured and smoked pork belly is still one of America’s favorite flavors, an exceedingly popular meat at supermarkets and butcher shops from coast to coast. At breakfast it sits beside eggs, toast, pancakes, or potatoes. On a hamburger it contributes smoke and crunch. Wrapped around vegetables, chicken, fruit, or scallops, its rendering fat bastes whatever lies beneath it. Crumbled over salads or soups, a small amount can flavor an entire dish. Even bacon fat itself becomes an ingredient, carrying its smoky character into eggs, beans, cornbread, vegetables, gravies, stews, and sauces.

“Fry” it on your outdoor grill or griddle and avoid messy spatters and lingering odors.

Here are our favorite ways to enjoy this versatile meat.

Make a Bacon Weave

Have you yet to try the impressive bacon weave, a savory cloak that elevates meatloaf, pork loin, and the Thanksgiving turkey?

If not, find concise directions and tips for success here. It’s easy and is guaranteed to impress friends and family.

Make Bacon Jam

We read that 69 percent of U.S. restaurants feature bacon on their menus, some in the form of bacon jam.

It’s a bougie condiment you can make yourself. Find the recipe for Bacon Jam here.

Make Bacon Bourbon

Bacon isn’t limited to the plate. You can even put it in your glass.

Our Bacon Bourbon uses rendered bacon fat to infuse bourbon with smoke. Sip it straight or use it for Manhattans and Old Fashioneds. Better still, garnish the cocktail with a strip of bacon.

Bacon-Wrapped Onion Rings

Wrap thick slices of sweet onions with thin-cut bacon for a porky twist on onion rings.

Bacon on a Stick

Thread bacon on bamboo skewers and grill at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes per side, or until done to your liking.

Serve with burgers or other grilled sandwiches. These also make good stir sticks for Bloody Marys.

Bacon-Wrapped Corn

Spiral bacon slices around ears of sweet corn.

Bacon-Wrapped Fruit

Wrap wedges of fruit—peaches, cantaloupe, or pears—with bacon and grill to your liking.

Make Onion Bombs

Follow our directions for Onion Bombs—a blessed marriage between onions, bacon, and ground meat.

Make Your Own Bacon

Make your own bacon! It’s easier than you think and can be on your table in as little as two days.

Our 48-hour homemade bacon method shows you how.

The post Baconpalooza: 9 Ways to Grill With Bacon appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Monument Grills Makes Accommodating Food-Sensitive Foodies Easy

By John White

When it comes to a daily household menu, most families have a diversity of needs, wants and plain-old “I don’t like that” sensitivities. For example, I don’t like baked potatoes, but I’ll go out of my way for French fries.

Sometimes, personal likes and dislikes don’t factor into the equation, but actual sensitivities do. In my family’s case, it’s gluten, as my wife and daughter can’t tolerate it. But that doesn’t mean we don’t eat well (we do!), nor does it mean we can’t celebrate National Quesadilla Day, even though flour tortillas would be considered a necessary ingredient.

Delicious Food-Sensitive Quesadillas Without Sacrificing Flavor

Once again, my graciously provided Monument Mesa II propane-fired grill made preparing this multi-step, Mexican-inspired treat easy, using the grill, a griddle and side-mounted burner for an accompaniment of refried beans.

And…what would a Mexican feast be without salsa (in this case, Pico de Gallo), Guacamole and Margaritas!

The Menu

Gluten and gluten-free chipotle chile-marinated quesadillas with refried beans, guacamole, pico de gallo and margaritas, traditional or made with non-alcoholic spirits.

The Recipes

Recipe

Chipotle Chile Marinade

From Steven’s book, Barbecue Sauces, Rubs and Marinade.

Yield:
Makes 2 cups adobo, enough to marinate 2 to 3 pounds of meat or seafood

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 3 ripe plum tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 medium-size onion, peeled and cut in half
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 to 4 canned chipotle chiles
• 1 to 2 teaspoons canned chipotle juices
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt (sea or kosher)

Instructions

1. Heat a comal or dry skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin and peppercorns and toast until fragrant, 2 minutes. Transfer the spices to a blender or spice mill and grind to a fine powder. Leave the spices in the blender.
2. Place the tomatoes, garlic, and onion on the comal and cook until nicely browned on all sides, turning with tongs. This will take 4 to 6 minutes for the garlic, and 10 to 12 minutes for the tomatoes and onion. Coarsely chop the vegetables and transfer them to the blender with the spices.
3. Add the lime and orange juices, the vinegar, chipotle chiles and juices, oregano, and salt. Run the blender in bursts to reduce the ingredients to a thick purée. Transfer to a large jar, cover, and refrigerate. Use within a few hours of making.

Recipe

Chipotle Chile-Marinated Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients

• Marinated and cooked chicken breast, using the Chipotle Chile Marinade above
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (or more, depending on the number of guests) 8- to 10-inch flour tortilla(s)
• 2 (or more, depending on the number of guests) 6-inch cassava or almond flour tortillas

Instructions

1. Heat a griddle on the grill top of the Monument Mesa II to medium-hot (about 350 degrees).
2. Shred the chicken breasts and, in a bowl, toss with the Monterey Jack cheese.
3. For the flour tortilla, sprinkle the chicken-cheese mixture on half of the tortilla, then fold it over to create a half-moon.
4. For the cassava or almond flour tortillas, sprinkle the chicken-cheese mixture over one tortilla and cover with another tortilla, like a sandwich.
5. Prepare the griddle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and heat until hot, but not smoking.
6. Place the quesadillas on the griddle under a weight and cook until the cheese begins to melt and the quesadillas begin to crisp. Flip and cook until the cheese is fully melted, then remove from the griddle.
7. Let the quesadillas cool slightly, cut into wedges and serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole and refried beans.

Recipe

Refried Beans

Ingredients

• One small bag (1/2 pound) pinto beans
• 1/2 large white onion
• 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
• 2 canned chipotle chiles
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup (approx. 4 oz.) Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

1. Place pinto beans in a large pot and cover with 8 cups of water. Add the onion and set over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, partly cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour.
2. Remove the lid, stir in salt, partly cover with the lid, and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the beans are tender and the liquid is tinted from the pinto beans.
3. Uncover the pot of beans and, using a slotted spoon, remove and discard the onion.
4. Working in batches, add the cooked beans along with 1 cup of their cooking liquid and the chipotle chiles to a food processor, and pulse until the mixture forms a coarse purée.
5. Heat the oil in a large, heavy, cast-iron sauté pan on the side burner of the Monument Mesa II to medium. Once hot, but not smoking, carefully add the bean purée. Stir well, incorporating the hot oil into the bean mixture. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often until the mixture thickens a bit.
6. Stir in the grated Monterey Jack and continue to cook for another minute or so, stirring frequently until the mixture forms a thick purée.

Finally, what would a delicious quesadilla be without a tasty Margarita?

Recipe

John’s (Almost Famous) Margarita

Ingredients

• 1 fresh lime
• 2 “generous” shots (4 oz.) of high-quality tequila (Casamigos or Mijenta)
• 1 shot (1 oz.) Cointreau
• 1 “squirt” organic light agave syrup
• 1 handful or a bit more of crushed ice
• Kosher or sea salt

Instructions

1. Fill 1/2 of a large cocktail shaker with crushed ice.
2. Slice the lime in half and, using a reamer, squeeze over the ice. Include some rind.
3. Add tequila, Cointreau and agave.
4. Cut one thin slice of the remaining half-lime for garnish and “wet” the rim of a margarita glass with the rest of the lime, then salt the rim of the glass.
5. Shake the tequila mixture vigorously and pour into the glass.
6. Garnish the cocktail with the lime slice and enjoy!

Recipe

John’s (Nearly Famous) Margarita with Non-Alcoholic Spirits

Ingredients

• 1 fresh lime
• 3 “generous” shots (6 oz.) of Aplós non-alcoholic spirits (either Calme or Arise)
• 1 “squirt” organic light agave syrup
• 10 “shakes” of Angostura Orange Bitters
• 1 handful or a bit more of crushed ice
• Kosher or sea salt

Instructions

1. Fill 1/2 of a large cocktail shaker with crushed ice.
2. Slice the lime in half and, using a reamer, squeeze over the ice. Include some rind.
3. Add Aplós, agave and orange bitters.
4. Cut one thin slice of the remaining half-lime for garnish and “wet” the rim of a margarita glass with the rest of the lime. Salt the rim of the glass.
5. Shake the Aplós mixture vigorously and pour into the glass.
6. Garnish the cocktail and enjoy!

Remember…

It doesn’t have to be a holiday to enjoy quesadillas. Cook a few extra, let them cool, seal in sandwich bags and reheat for a treat anytime. Happy National Quesadilla Day from the entire team at BarbecueBible!

The post Now Everyone Can Celebrate <br />National Quesadilla Day! appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

 

September 9 is National Steak au Poivre Day. Here at BarbecueBible.com, we’re celebrating with one of the great French steak preparations: beef crusted with cracked black pepper and served with a Cognac cream sauce.

Traditionally, steak au poivre is made with filet mignon in a skillet on the stovetop. We’re taking it outside, using ribeye and a cast-iron skillet over a wood fire.

The idea for this version came from BarbecueBible Test-Kitchen Director Steve Nestor, who cooked a ribeye steak au poivre in cast iron over a wood fire in 2023. His original version inspired the approach here.

Why Ribeye for Steak au Poivre?

Ribeye brings considerably more marbling and beef flavor to the equation.

It also stands up well to the assertive flavors in this dish. There’s a lot going on between the cracked peppercorns, Dijon mustard, Cognac, and cream. Ribeye doesn’t disappear underneath the sauce.

Cast Iron Meets Wood Fire

Set up the grill for a two-zone wood fire, with a hot side and a cooler side. A chimney starter makes quick work of getting the fire going. The hot side will heat the skillet and cook the steak; the cooler side gives you a place to finish the sauce, especially once the Cognac comes out.

Lightly brush the ribeye with Dijon mustard, then coat it with freshly cracked black peppercorns. The mustard helps the pepper stick to the steak. And cracked is the operative word here. You want some texture from the peppercorns, not a coating of finely ground pepper.

Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over the hot side of the fire. Add the butter, then the pepper-crusted ribeye.

Cooking the steak in cast iron rather than directly on the grill grate keeps the butter, rendered beef fat, and browned bits in the pan.

 

Transfer the ribeye to a wire rack set over a sheet pan and let it rest while you make the sauce. Don’t wipe out the skillet. The butter, beef drippings, and browned bits left behind are the starting point for the au poivre sauce.

Building the Au Poivre Sauce

With the steak resting, sauté the diced shallot directly in the skillet, then add the mushrooms you grilled earlier over the wood fire.

Move the skillet to the cooler side of the grill before adding the Cognac. Pour it into the skillet, then ignite it with a long match or butane lighter, keeping your face and hands back from the pan. Let the flames burn out on their own, then stir in the Dijon mustard and heavy cream. Cook until the sauce reduces and thickens.

Recipe

Wood-Fired Ribeye Steak au Poivre

A thick-cut ribeye is brushed with Dijon mustard, crusted with cracked black pepper, and cooked in cast iron over a wood fire. The steak drippings become the base for a Cognac cream sauce with shallots and grilled mushrooms.

Ingredients

• 1 thick-cut ribeye steak, 16 to 20 ounces
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, for brushing the steak
• 2 tablespoons coarsely cracked black peppercorns, plus more for the sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 shallot, diced
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons Cognac
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, for the sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. Set up the grill for a two-zone wood fire, with a hot side and a cooler side.
2. Grill the sliced mushrooms over the wood fire until browned. Set aside.
3. Lightly brush the ribeye with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, then coat it with the cracked black peppercorns.
4. Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over the hot side of the fire. When the skillet is hot, add the butter. Once the butter melts, add the ribeye and cook for about 4 minutes. Flip the steak and cook for another 4 minutes, or until cooked to your desired doneness.
5. Transfer the steak to a wire rack set over a sheet pan and let it rest while you make the sauce. Do not wipe out the skillet.
6. Sauté the diced shallot in the remaining butter and steak juices. Add the grilled mushrooms and season with kosher salt and additional cracked black pepper.
7. Move the skillet to the cooler side of the grill and add the Cognac. Ignite it with a long match or butane lighter, keeping your face and hands back from the pan. Let the flames burn out on their own.
8. Stir in 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and the heavy cream. Bring the sauce to a boil, then cook until it reduces and thickens.
9. Slice the rested ribeye and spoon the au poivre sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

Au poivre isn’t limited to ribeye. The same peppercorn-and-Cognac treatment works with strip steak, sirloin, or the traditional filet mignon. You can also take the sauce beyond beef and serve it with pork chops, lamb, or venison.

 

Not Hot Enough? Pepper Steak Barbecue University Style

This steak gets its smoky char flavor from a singular grilling method—cavemanning, aka grilling directly on the embers. I like to start with a nice thick T-bone for this recipe—1-1/2 inches thick. Season it super generously with coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper.

Build a charcoal fire and rake out the embers to an even layer. Fan the coals with a folded newspaper to dislodge any ash.

Then lay the T-bone directly on the coals. Grill until the bottom is charred and beads of blood start to pearl on the top, 3 minutes or so. Move the steak once or twice with tongs, so it grills evenly. Then, using long-handled tongs, invert it and grill the other side the same way. Transfer the steak to a wire rack over a sheet pan, shaking it to dislodge any embers.

And now the pepper sauce. Heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil in a long-handled skillet directly on the embers. Add 4 thinly sliced jalapenos, 4 thinly sliced garlic cloves, and 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro. Cook the ingredients in the oil, stirring with tongs, until the jalapenos and garlic are sizzling and lightly browned. Pour the mixture over the steak and dig in.

Whichever version you choose, I’m sure you’ll agree that pepper(s) make a great steak taste even better!

Do you have a favorite steak au poivre? Share your photos on Steven’s social media: @stevenraichlen.

The post Hot or Hotter: Pepper Steak Two Ways appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

 

By Daniel Hale

There are burgers, and then there are burgers that make you rethink what a burger should be.

I came across these New Mexican Green Chile Burgers while paging through Steven Raichlen’s Raichlen’s Burgers.

This is the kind of burger I had never really considered. Sure, I’ve had plenty of chili cheeseburgers. But a green chile burger? That was something new for me.

So when Melissa’s Produce sent me a box of fresh mild Hatch chiles in the middle of Hatch season, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

I fired up the Monument Grills Eminence 605 and put Steven’s New Mexican burger to the test.

What Makes a Hatch Chile Different?

Hatch isn’t a particular variety of pepper. The name refers to chiles grown in and around New Mexico’s Hatch Valley.

They can range from mild to seriously hot, but what makes them special is their distinctive flavor—especially once they meet fire. Roasting softens the flesh, concentrates the flavor, and adds a smoky edge that makes green chile a natural partner for grilled beef.

 

Once roasted, the chiles are covered briefly to steam, then peeled, seeded, and cut into strips. Some go into the cheddar topping for the burgers, while the rest can be used to make Steven’s New Mexican Salsa Verde.

Making the Green Chile Burgers on the Monument Eminence 605

The first job for the Monument Grills Eminence 605 was roasting the Hatch chiles.

I fired up the grill and brought the temperature to around 550° to 600°F. That intense heat quickly blistered and blackened the skins while softening the flesh underneath.

 

The Eminence 605’s six main burners made it easy to generate the high heat I was looking for. I placed the chiles directly over the heat and turned them until the skins were blistered on all sides.

While they cooked, I kept an eye on the grill through the Monument Grills app. The Eminence 605 connects to the app via Bluetooth, allowing me to monitor the grill temperature from my phone without constantly lifting the lid.

 

Once the chiles were roasted, peeled, and seeded, they became the ingredient that really sets Steven’s New Mexican Green Chile Burger apart.

The chile shows up twice. First, strips of fire-roasted Hatch chile are combined with grated white cheddar and piled onto the hot burger, where the cheese melts around the peppers.

Then comes the salsa verde. Made with roasted green chiles, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, and oregano, it adds another layer of chile flavor along with acidity and freshness.

The burgers themselves are intentionally simple: ground chuck or sirloin seasoned generously with salt and pepper. After roasting the chiles, I used the Eminence 605 to grill the beef patties and toast the hamburger buns.

 

Steven’s original recipe calls for New Mexican green chiles, Anaheim chiles, or poblanos. If you can get fresh Hatch chiles while they’re in season, use them.

Recipe

New Mexican Green Chile Burgers with Salsa Verde

Recipe by Steven Raichlen

These New Mexican green chile burgers get a double dose of chile flavor from fire-roasted peppers mixed with white cheddar and a fresh New Mexican salsa verde.

Method
Direct grilling

Serves
4

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup roasted New Mexican green chiles, Anaheim chiles, or poblano peppers, cut into 1/4-inch strips (4 to 5 chiles)
• 4 ounces white Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef sirloin or chuck
• Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 hamburger buns
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• New Mexican Salsa Verde

Instructions

1. Place the chile strips in a serving bowl and stir in the Cheddar. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Wet your hands with cold water and divide the ground beef into 4 equal portions. Working quickly and with a light touch, pat each portion into a thick patty. Place the patties on a plate lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate, covered, until ready to grill.
3. Generously, and I mean generously, season each patty on both sides with salt and black pepper. Grill the burgers until they are cooked through. Remove the burgers and cover to keep warm. Leave the grill on.
4. Brush the cut sides of the hamburger buns with the olive oil. Place the buns on the hot grill, cut side down, and, lowering the temperature if necessary, grill until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. You may need to work in batches.
5. Place each of the burgers on the bottom half of a bun and top each with a quarter of the chile and cheese mixture. Spoon some salsa verde over each, top with the other half of the bun, and serve at once.

Fire Up a Different Kind of Burger

I have to say, this burger was fantastic.

You get great beefy flavor up front, followed by the roasted chile and just enough Hatch chile heat at the finish. The salsa verde adds brightness without overpowering the burger.

A great burger doesn’t always need bacon, a dozen toppings, or some complicated secret sauce. Sometimes all it takes is good beef, a hot grill, melted cheese, and one ingredient that changes the whole personality of the burger.

In New Mexico, that ingredient is green chile.

After trying one topped with fire-roasted Hatch chiles, the standard lettuce-and-tomato cheeseburger suddenly has some serious competition.

 

A huge thanks to Monument Grills for sponsoring this post.

The post Fire-Roasted Hatch Chile Burgers:<br /> A Taste of New Mexico appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

A Twist on Indirect Grilling this German Staple Courtesy on Monument Grills

By John White

Suffering through one of the hottest summers on record, it’s tempting to project what it will be like in a few weeks. Cool and crisp with perfect weather for celebrating a bountiful harvest with grilled Bratwurst and, of course, cold beer!

That must be exactly what residents of Johnsonville, Wisconsin thought when they established National Bratwurst Day in the early 20^th Century – this year, celebrated on August 16^th.

In Sheboygan, Wisconsin – the “Bratwurst Capital of the World,” – residents grill them over charcoal and eat them on a special hard-crusted, soft-crumbed roll called a semmel, with brown German mustard, dill pickles, and an optional flourish of diced onions.

Being an enthusiast of all things Teutonic – that sounds delicious to me! But…can that wonderful, smoky flavor and slightly crisped texture be replicated on a gas-fired grill?

In their graciousness, our friends at Monument Grills have provided an opportunity for me to discover the versatility of their Mesa II unit, and I’d found that with its side-mounted burner and the Smoker Bar accessory, this grill can accommodate a variety of tasks – from boiling water, to frying bacon and, of course, grilling – making it a ‘one-stop’ workspace for nearly any culinary adventure.

Should you be motivated to celebrate National Bratwurst Day this week, the following provides and easy and efficient way to enjoy a German feast that is truly ‘wonderbar!’

The Menu

Grilled Bratwurst with German Potato Salad, Sauteed Onions, Homemade Sauerkraut and Homemade Mustard

For inspiration, I referred to Steven’s Bratwurst recipe, recommending an indirect method for grilling the ‘brats. Like a traditional frankfurter or hot dog, Bratwurst is easy to cook – and, in this case I used the Mesa II ‘Broil Zone’ feature with the Smoker Box (filled with water-soaked Applewood chips) positioned between the flames and, with the lid closed, I heated the grill grates to 325^.

Once up to temperature, I placed the Bratwurst (shout-out to Barth’s, in New Providence, New Jersey for the Beer and Thuringer Bratwurst) over the cool side of the grill. Turn the Bratwurst to cook it evenly and, when they reach an internal temperature of 150º to 160º, expose them to flame to blister the casing a bit.

It couldn’t be easier – and they grilled perfectly.

While the Brats are on the grill, use the side burner to sauté finely chopped white onion in oil or butter and serve over the Brats on your roll.

As an accompaniment, I used my wife’s German Potato Salad recipe for which I was able to use one saucepan on the Mesa II’s side burner for boiling water and frying bacon (Note: It’s important to fry the bacon in the same saucepan that’s used for completing the salad).

Recipe

Martine’s German Potato Salad

This warm German-style potato salad combines tender potatoes with crisp bacon, red onion, celery, garlic, and parsley. A tangy dressing made with apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and maple sugar brings everything together while the potatoes are still warm.

Ingredients

• 1 pound yellow gold or red potatoes, small to medium size
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, for the boiling water
• 6 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated maple sugar or sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, for seasoning the potato salad
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Scrub the potatoes and cut any larger potatoes so all the potatoes are uniform in size. Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and transfer the potatoes to a cutting board. Let cool, then slice the potatoes into about 1/2-inch pieces.
2. Using the same pot, heat over moderate heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot and reserve about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
3. With the pot off the burner, add the vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to the bacon fat. Return the pot to the heat, bring to a simmer, and whisk for a few minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chopped onion, celery, and minced garlic. Cook for a few minutes, until the garlic turns light golden.
4. Remove the pot from the burner and add the sliced potatoes, gently mixing from the bottom until the potatoes absorb the liquid. Fold in the cooked bacon and chopped parsley.
5. Transfer the potato salad to a serving dish and serve warm.

For an alternate side-dish, see our recently posted recipe for German Potato Salad.

To make this meal as authentic as possible, I also made a truly delicious Horseradish Mustard, from Steven’s book, Barbecue, Sauces, Rubs and Marinades.

Recipe

Horseradish Mustard

Recipe by Steven Raichlen

This homemade mustard gets its bite from a blend of yellow and brown mustard seeds and fresh horseradish. White wine, vinegar, brown sugar, and black pepper round out the flavor for a sharp, full-bodied condiment.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
• 1/4 cup brown mustard seeds, or more yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt (sea or kosher), or to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 2 ounces (about 2 inches) fresh horseradish root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, or 4 tablespoons prepared white horseradish

Instructions

1. Combine the yellow and brown mustard seeds, vinegar, wine, and hot water in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature. Soak the mustard seeds at room temperature until soft, 1 hour.
2. Transfer the mustard seed mixture to a blender or food processor and process to a coarse purée. Transfer the purée to the top of a nonreactive double boiler over simmering water, or to a nonreactive saucepan sitting in a sauté pan of simmering water. Add the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring often, until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t worry if the mixture isn’t quite as thick as commercial mustard; it will thicken as it cools. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mustard cool to room temperature. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place the horseradish in a food processor fitted with a chopping blade and finely chop. Take care not to inhale the volatile fumes. Add the mustard and process to mix. Transfer the mustard to a large jar, cover, and refrigerate. The mustard will keep for several weeks.

Variation

Sun-Dried Tomato Mustard

Prepare as for Horseradish Mustard, substituting 4 sun-dried tomatoes for the horseradish. Soak the tomatoes in hot water until soft, 1 hour. Chop and add them to the mustard mixture when you purée it in Step 2.

…and don’t forget…

Finally, what would a German meal of grilled Bratwurst be without a healthy serving of hand-crafted Sauerkraut and a cold German beer of your choosing.

Of course, it’s also important to grill plenty of Brats for friends and family to enjoy – Happy National Bratwurst Day!

The post Octoberfest in August? A Bratwurst Feast Worth Celebrating! appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

By Steven Raichlen

It’s America’s favorite seafood. Despite its diminutive name and size, we consume more than 5 pounds per person—for every man, woman, and child—per year.

I’m talking, of course, about shrimp.

Shrimp is quick and easy to grill, delivering a satisfying taste in a matter of minutes. It’s pure protein and in this world of $50-a-pound strip steaks, it’s mercifully affordable. It absorbs virtually any spice, marinade, and smoke flavor you throw at it, without losing its own unique briny flavor. Not everyone eats oysters, clams, or sea urchins. Everyone loves shrimp.

Withal, not all shrimp is created equal, nor do all varieties cook the same on the grill. Here’s what you need to know to grill the perfect shrimp every time. And while we’re at it, we’ll give you some pointers on grilling shrimp’s big brother: lobster.

What You Need to Know About Shrimp

What’s the Difference Between Shrimp and Prawns?

A simple question with a complicated answer. In the U.S. we tend to call these crustaceans “shrimp.” In the UK, people call the same shellfish “prawns.” (In Italy, prawns are called “scampi.”) There are also anatomical, zoomorphic, and biological differences too complicated to get into. Don’t let that interfere with the pleasure of grilling them.

What Size Shrimp Is Best for Grilling?

Shrimp range in size from Quebec’s diminutive crevettes Nordiques (so tiny you can fit a dozen in a tablespoon) to Africa’s black tiger prawn, which can grow up to a foot in length. Shrimp in the U.S. are sold by the “U” size—for example, U-16 means fewer than 16 headless shrimp to a pound. That’s what I use when making shrimp kebabs. When grilling individual shrimp, I buy U-8s or U-10s—also sold as “colossal.”

Should You Grill Shrimp With the Heads On?

In much of the world, people grill shrimp with the heads on. There’s lots of flavor in the head (don’t be embarrassed to suck it out), and it looks cool as all get out. Never underestimate the power of looking cool at the grill.

Should You Grill Shrimp With the Shells On?

I like grilling shrimp in the shell. Fire-charred shells add flavor and keep the meat moist. I like grilling peeled shrimp because they’re quicker and easier to eat (and easier to marinate). There’s a place for both in my barbecue world.

Should You Leave the Tails On?

A lot of restaurants leave the tails on—to remind you that the creature you’re about to eat once swam in the ocean. Or maybe to give you a handle when eating shrimp with your fingers. The fire-charred tail adds a bit of flavor. But it also adds another step come time to eat the shrimp, so omit it if you prefer.

How to Devein Shrimp

A visible black vein in a cooked shrimp is off-tasting and unsightly. Here are three ways to remove it.

1. Use a shrimp peeler and deveiner. Insert the deveiner in the fat end of the shrimp and push. The shell and vein will come off easily.
2. Butterfly the shrimp—that is, make a V-shaped cut along the back of the shrimp to cut out the vein and the flesh immediately surrounding it. The advantage of this method: The shrimp curls into an attractive butterfly shape as it cooks.
3. Insert the tine of a fork in the rounded part of the back under the vein and gently lift. Most of the time, the vein will pull right out.

How to Grill Shrimp

In a nutshell, directly over high heat. Grill small shrimp kebab-style (threaded on bamboo or metal skewers). The skewer should pass through the head end and tail end so each shrimp lies flat on the grate. It’s a lot easier to turn 4 kebabs than 20 individual shrimp.

For the really big guys, like African black tiger prawns, cut them almost in half through the back (cut lengthwise), butterfly them open, and grill as you would a lobster tail. And don’t overlook smoking: Smoked shrimp make an awesome shrimp cocktail.

Figure on 1/2 pound of headless shrimp per person.

Which Shrimp Should You Grill?

Shrimp remain mercifully regional, and each variety has its own distinct texture and taste. If you live on the southeastern seaboard, you eat delicate Carolina shrimp. If you come from Down East, sweet white Maine shrimp are your ticket. Down my way, in south Florida, we grill succulent Key West pinks. Californians and Hawaiians savor spot prawns—so named for the black eye-like mark on the side of the shell. Wild-caught shrimp are my personal favorite—buy them whenever you can.

Otherwise, you’ll use farmed shrimp, which are mercifully affordable and available everywhere. If you’re worried about the provenance, look for the Marine Stewardship Council label on wild-caught shrimp. For farmed shrimp, look for certification from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or Best Aquaculture Practices.

When buying shrimp, use the sniff test. They should smell briny and fresh, like the seashore, not a fish store. Avoid shrimp that smell ammoniated or like bleach.

A Word About Grilling Lobster

Here in North America, we have two basic varieties to choose from. Down my way, in Miami, we get spiny lobster, also known as Florida lobster (or langosta among our many Spanish speakers). Its lack of claws and wide meaty tail makes it ideal for grilling. Up in Martha’s Vineyard, where I spend my summers, we have Homarus americanus, Maine lobster, distinguished by its large front claws. Spiny is easier to split and grill (and it’s my wife’s favorite), so that’s the recipe featured here.

Here are five of our favorite shrimp and lobster recipes, starting with a New Orleans classic: Emeril Lagasse’s Barbecued Shrimp.

Shrimp and Lobster Recipes to Try

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It wins no competitions. It joins no halls of fame. But without it, a grill session would be short of an essential element. And barbecue—whether the backyard variety or the kind served at your favorite smokehouse—would seem downright incomplete.
I speak, of course, of potato salad. If you make it from scratch, good for you. I’m going to tell you how to make it better. And if you’ve never made potato salad from scratch, it’s time to start.

Some of the world’s great grill cultures back me up on this. What would German Spiessbraten—onion-stuffed pork shoulder spit-roasted over blazing birchwood—be without Kartoffelsalat, the warm, vinegary, bacony potato salad served alongside it? Or Peruvian anticuchos—grilled beef-heart kebabs—without papas a la huancaína, potatoes dressed with a piquant Andean chile-cheese sauce?

Closer to home, there’s the potato salad at your neighborhood barbecue joint, or even at temples of smoke and fire like Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Lewis Barbecue in Charleston. The style may change, but the message does not: don’t stage a grill session without it.

What Makes a Great Potato Salad?

First, there’s the potato. Then the dressing. Then the embellishments, flavorings, and garnishes. Even temperature enters the picture, because some potato salads taste best cold, while others are at their finest warm or at room temperature. Here are the decisions that separate an ordinary potato salad from a great one.

1. Choose the Right Potato

Tradition often calls for waxy potatoes, such as fingerlings, red potatoes, and Yukon Golds. They’re lower in starch than baking potatoes, so they hold their shape when cooked and tossed with dressing. That makes them ideal for warm German-style salads and any version in which you want distinct pieces of potato rather than a softer, creamier texture.
But don’t overlook baking potatoes. They’re higher in starch and become light and fluffy when baked. Start with a fully baked potato, chill it, then dice it. One of the best potato salads I’ve ever tasted comes from Larsen’s Fish Market in Menemsha on Martha’s Vineyard. They start with baked potatoes and add bacon and scallions. Delectable!

2. Put Some Skin in the Game

Personally, I like potatoes with their skins on—more color, more flavor, and more fiber. Scrub them clean with a stiff-bristled brush before cooking. On the other hand, Mrs. Raichlen prefers her potatoes peeled before they become potato salad. Just saying.

3. Dress the Potatoes at the Right Temperature

When Germans make potato salad, they start with hot cooked potatoes. As the potatoes cool, they absorb the dressing, which typically includes vinegar, mustard, oil or bacon fat, and, of course, cooked bacon. Warm or room temperature is the way to serve it.

For a creamy American-style salad, let the potatoes cool fully before adding the mayonnaise dressing. For food safety reasons, mayonnaise should always be kept cold.

4. Choose Creamy or Vinegary

The traditional American version gets its richness from mayonnaise. Hellmann’s, please—unless you come from the South, in which case your mayo of choice may be Duke’s. Central Europeans favor a sharper vinegar-based dressing, with oil or bacon fat supplying the richness.

Neither style is automatically better. The important thing is balance. Potatoes are mild and starchy, so the dressing must bring enough acidity, salt, and seasoning to wake them up.

5. Flavor Assertively

As far as I’m concerned, any potato salad needs mustard and vinegar to offset the starchiness of the potatoes. German potato salad demands a touch of sweetness to counterbalance the vinegar and smoky richness of the bacon.

Many people crown their potato salads with a sprinkling of sweet paprika. You, my friend, will add a smoky dimension by sprinkling on pimentón—Spanish smoked paprika. Once you try it, I promise, you’ll never go back to the sweet stuff.

6. Add Crunch and Contrast

All cream and no crunch would make for a boring potato salad. In my house, capers, olives, and cornichon pickles are obligatory, as are chives or scallion greens chopped so finely a sudden sneeze would blow them away.

Sliced celery? It certainly adds crunch, but Mrs. Raichlen doesn’t like celery, so I omit it. I have been known to sneak in slivered celery leaves. Mrs. Raichlen, meanwhile, likes to add diced raw carrot—diced, mind you, not shredded—to maximize the crunch.

The exact embellishments are up to you. The larger point is to give the soft potatoes something crisp, briny, fresh, or sharp to play against.

7. Make It More Substantial

Just because it’s a side dish doesn’t mean potato salad can’t contain protein. Bacon may define German potato salad, while sliced hard-cooked eggs give an American version more heft. Peru’s popular papas a la huancaína pairs potatoes with a piquant sauce made with tangy white cheese and aji amarillo, the country’s fruity yellow chile.

8. Above All, Add Smoke

So what makes a Raichlen potato salad a Raichlen potato salad? You guessed it: smoke and fire. Instead of boiling the potatoes, I smoke-roast them on the grill.

Set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat it to medium-high—about 400°F. Add wood chips or chunks to the fire. Place the potato chunks in a foil pan and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Smoke-roast until tender, about 40 minutes, stirring from time to time with a wooden spoon.

The potatoes emerge bronzed at the edges and perfumed with wood smoke. From there, you can take them in an American, German, or Peruvian direction.

Four Potato Salads to Try

Drum roll, please. I now give you four of my favorite potato salads—American, German, and Peruvian, with two very different approaches to the German classic. You be the judge as to which is best.

So Which Potato Salad Is Best?

Creamy or vinegary? Warm or cold? Skins on or off? There is no single correct answer. The world’s best potato salad is the one that delivers the right balance of tender potatoes, assertive seasoning, contrasting textures, and enough acidity to keep you coming back for another forkful.

But this much I know: smoke-roast the potatoes instead of boiling them, and your potato salad will taste like the barbecue it accompanies. Once you add smoke and fire, the humble potato salad becomes a star of the show.

The post How to Make the Best Potato Salad You’ve Ever Tasted—The Secret Is the Smoke appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Barbecue is simple but it isn’t always easy. Simple because it really requires only 2 ingredients: patience and wood smoke.

As for easy? Well, anyone who’s spent 14 hours barbecuing a brisket—maintaining a steady stream of thin blue smoke and a constant temperature of 250 degrees, powering through the stall, doing the wrap, resting the meat and attempting the carve—you’d never call a perfect brisket easy.

But there is one cut that’s both simple and easy to cook and it’s absolutely forgiving. Cook it high heat or low, fast or slow, and it almost always comes out tender and juicy. It’s also one of barbecue’s big three. Drum roll, please. I give you pork shoulder, aka Boston butt. (More on the curious name in a minute.)

Pork shoulder is definitely easy. You season it with your favorite barbecue rub (mine is my Carolina Pit Powder). Or even just salt and pepper. You put it on your grill or in your smoker. Hell, you can even cook it on the rotisserie. You can cook it low and slow or hot and fast—with charcoal, wood, propane, or even—shhhh—on an electric grill.

You can cook it in a few hours, or smoke it for half a day, at temperatures ranging from low to medium, and even high. Thanks to its ample marbling and collagen-rich meat, pork shoulder stays juicy while extended cooking turns it tender enough to shred.

Which brings us to the traditional way to serve pork shoulder in the Carolinas—“pulled,” that is shredded and doused with one of the world’s strangest barbecue sauces. In eastern North Carolina, that sauce consists of vinegar, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (sometimes with a whisper of sugar). In western North Carolina, they redden this vinegar sauce with a shot of ketchup.

In South Carolina, pulled or sliced pork is often served with mustard sauce. In Tennessee, you may encounter tomato-based barbecue sauce, while northern Alabama is famous for its mayonnaise-based white sauce.

But American pork shoulder is just a start. In Germany’s Saarland, cooks marinate pork neck or shoulder steaks with onions and spices, then grill them over a traditional beechwood fire on a swinging grate called a schwenker. In Greece, they perfume it with oregano, paprika, and pepper. In Bali, they blast it with ginger, galangal, lemongrass, and fiery chilies. The truth is pork shoulder is so easy to prepare and forgiving to cook, you can season it with almost anything.

Just the Facts About Pork Butt

• A whole pork shoulder (14 to 18 pounds) consists of two parts—the Boston butt and the picnic shoulder (also known as the picnic ham). The former is the top part of the shoulder—5 to 8 pounds of rich, luscious meat, with only a shoulder blade to stand in the way of your carving knife. (When properly cooked, which is to say overcooked, you can pull said bone out with your fingers.)
• The picnic ham is the bottom part of the shoulder, including the top of the leg. The drawback of a picnic ham is its high proportion of skin and bone to meat, which is why I prefer Boston butt. So if Boston butt comes from the shoulder, not the posterior, how did it get its curious name? In ancient times, New England butchers packed salted pork shoulders in barrels, aka “butts.”

  

• When I started out in barbecue, pork was pretty much just pork. Today, connoisseurs choose heritage breeds like Berkshire, Duroc, and Mangalitsa. Berkshire (sometimes sold by its Japanese name, Kurobuta—literally “black pig”), for example, boasts richly flavored, well-marbled, dark-pink meat that makes commodity pork taste downright bland.
• Most of the pork shoulder you buy today comes with the skin removed. Otherwise, trim it off with a paring knife and deep-fry it to make cracklings. (Prolonged grilling or smoking makes the skin leathery.)
• Pork is safe to eat at 145^°F followed by a three-minute rest, but pork butt usually needs to reach approximately 195^°F to 205^°F before its connective tissue has softened enough for easy pulling.
• Chase the smoke ring. Smoke a pork shoulder low and slow in the presence of wood smoke, and you wind up with a pink ring just below the surface—the coveted smoke ring. No, it doesn’t mean that the meat is undercooked. The pigmentation occurs naturally—think of it as the red badge of barbecue honor.
• Finally, the traditional way to serve pork shoulder in the American South is chopped with a cleaver or shredded with meat claws or your fingers. Elsewhere on Planet Barbecue, pork shoulder—particularly boneless shoulder—is served sliced.

4 Pork Butt Recipes to Try Right Now

Frequently Asked Questions

Is pork butt the same as pork shoulder?

Pork butt is one part of the pork shoulder. A whole shoulder consists of the Boston butt at the top and the picnic shoulder below it. The Boston butt contains more intramuscular fat and less skin and bone, making it the preferred cut for pulled pork. Recipes and meat counters often use the names pork butt, Boston butt, and pork shoulder interchangeably, so check the label or ask your butcher when in doubt.

What temperature should pork butt reach for pulled pork?

Pork is safe to eat at 145°F followed by a three-minute rest, but that doesn’t mean a pork butt is ready to pull. For tender, easily shredded pork, cook it to an internal temperature of approximately 195°F to 205°F. The thermometer is only part of the test: The shoulder blade should pull out easily, and a thermometer probe should slide into the meat with little resistance.

How long does it take to barbecue a pork butt?

Cooking time depends on the size of the pork butt, the temperature of your grill or smoker, and whether you wrap the meat. A smaller shoulder cooked at 275°F to 325°F may be ready in four to six hours, while a larger one smoked low and slow can take eight hours or more. Cook to tenderness and internal temperature, not strictly by the clock, and leave extra time for resting before pulling.

The post Why You Need to Barbecue a Pork Butt Right Now appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Heat domes. Uncontrollable forest fires. Triple-digit temperatures in Boston, Paris, Rome and New York. Yes, in many places, this has been one of the hottest summers in recent memory. It sure seems like this summer the world is burning up.

So what’s the best way to beat the heat? I’ve got a paradoxical solution. Fire up your grill.

More specifically, these cold summer recipes are served chilled, but their flavors are intensified by smoking and grilling.

• Sangria? It’s the perfect summer thirst quencher. But crust the lemons, oranges, limes, and cinnamon sticks with sugar first, then caramelize them on the grill—the resulting smoky wine punch will come as a revelation.
• Gazpacho? It’s another Spanish cooler and it requires little more in terms of cooking than switching on your blender. Until you’ve tasted my smoked gazpacho— you’ll never want to serve gazpacho any other way.
• Then there are bread salads. Italians call it panzanella; Lebanese call it fattoush. Besides being refreshing enough to double as a light summer supper, it’s also a great way to revive stale bread. This version combines grilled pita or bread with fresh vegetables and sweet-sour narsharab, or pomegranate molasses.
• When it comes to beating the heat, sultry Thailand has plenty of experience. They’ve invented the world’s best way to combine steak and salad: yum nua—an invigorating blend of lettuce, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and thin-sliced fire-charred flank steak. The seasonings—sour lime juice, salty fish sauce, sweet sugar, and fiery chilies—are as bracing as the massive doses of fragrant cilantro, Thai basil, and refreshing mint.
• But the ultimate antidote to a heat wave is ice cream—lots of it. Here in Raichlen-land, we have a barbecued twist on that too. Smoke it with hickory wood. If smoke is the “umami of barbecue” (as I call it in my book, Project Smoke), this will be the most interesting ice cream you’ve ever tasted.

Admittedly, firing up your grill when the temperature tops 100 degrees may seem daunting, but the resulting intense flavors are worth it. And because all these dishes are served cold, you can grill at night, when the temperature drops, or at least you’re not grilling in the hot sun. Alternatively, grill or smoke the ingredients for all these dishes at a single grill session, then serve them throughout the week.

Heat wave got you down? Try the Raichlen way to beat the heat: fire up your grill!

5 Chilled Dishes to Beat the Heat

The post Too Hot to Cook? 5 Cold Summer Recipes Made Better on the Grill appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Steak! A five-letter word that spells a mountain of pleasure. For some of us, it’s the ultimate luxury; for others, a weeknight dinner. It’s so easy to grill, even a first-timer can earn bragging rights, yet you can spend a lifetime perfecting the fine points. Steak is the one dish everyone should know how to grill.

Too often, people make simple, avoidable mistakes: Undercooking. Overcooking. Flipping too seldom or too often. Leaving the beef out to warm to room temperature (especially dangerous in summertime heat). Serving it hot off the grill or resting it so long, the steak is cold by the time you cut into it.

Here’s the ultimate guide to achieving the perfect steak every time.

Steak Cooking at a Glance

• Best Steaks: Ribeye, NY Strip, Porterhouse, Filet Mignon, Skirt, Flank, Hanger
• Seasoning: Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Doneness (Med-Rare): 130^°F to 135^°∘F
• Resting: 1 to 2 minutes on a wire rack
• Best Method: Direct grilling for steaks up to 1-1/2 inches thick; reverse searing link for 3- to 4-inch thick monsters

Step 1: Start with the Right Steak

Five factors determine the excellence of your steak: cattle breed, feed, aging, grade, and cut.

• Prime vs. Choice: The USDA grades beef on marbling (intramuscular fat). Only 2% of beef qualifies as Prime—highly flavorful, tender, and luscious. Choice is what you find at most supermarkets—less rich, but still very tasty.
• Wagyu vs. Angus: Wagyu is renowned for its hyper-generous marbling; an A-5 Japanese Wagyu looks like white lace on red cloth. Angus delivers a bold, robust, classic beefy flavor enjoyed across North America.

  

• Grain-Fed vs. Grass-Fed: Corn-fed beef produces rich, buttery, meaty steaks. Grass-fed beef is leaner with a distinctive, almost herbaceous flavor. The ideal compromise is beef raised on grass, then finished with grain.
• Dry-Aged vs. Wet: Dry-aged beef, hung unwrapped in climate-controlled rooms for 28 to 36 days, loses moisture, concentrating the beefy flavor and creating rich umami notes. Wet-aged beef matures in vacuum-sealed plastic; it is faster, cheaper, and tasty enough, but lacks the rich, concentrated flavor of dry-aged beef.

  

The Four Steak Categories

1. The Noble Steaks: Upper steer cuts (filet mignon, ribeye, strip, porterhouse) that are intrinsically tender and rich.

   

2. The Belly Steaks: Undercarriage cuts (skirt, flank, hanger). Intensely flavorful but stringy; slice thinly against the grain to ensure tenderness.
3. The Tough Steaks: Round and chuck. Slice paper-thin for cheesesteaks or chop fine for carne asada.

   

4. The Cult Steaks: Unique cuts like tri-tip, picanha (featuring a luscious fat cap), and flatiron.

Step 2: Keep Seasoning Simple and Strategic

For premium beef, skip heavy, muddying marinades. Stick to coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Season your steak early—about 45 to 60 minutes before grilling. This allows the salt to draw out moisture, dissolve, and reabsorb back into the fibers, seasoning the meat deeply. If you’re short on time, season immediately before the steak hits the grates.

Do not let steaks warm to room temperature beforehand. The difference in cooking time is negligible, and it is simply not worth the food safety risk. Keep them cold until they go on the grill.

Step 3: Set Up Your Grill for Two-Zone Cooking (Wood Smoke Optional, But Desired)

Arrange your coals or burners so you have a screaming-hot direct zone for searing and a cooler, zone for cooking. Control the cooking by moving the steak back and forth between the hot and less hot zone. Add wood chunks or chips (like oak, hickory, or pecan) directly to your coals or place in your gas grill’s smoker box. A quick blast of wood smoke during grilling makes a good steak great and a great steak unforgettable.

Step 4: Sear Hot and Flip Frequently

Forget the old myth of flipping your steak only once to get crosshatch grill marks. (Mea culpa—I used to recommend this in my earlier books.) I’ve come to see that flipping your steak often—every 20 to 30 seconds—cooks the meat more evenly and helps build a darker, richer crust. Focus on the crust and flip often.

Step 5: Master the Reverse Sear

1. Place your seasoned steak on the cooler, indirect side of your grill (225^°F to 250^°F).
2. Indirect grill (with grill lid down) to heat the meat to an internal temperature about 20^°F below your target doneness (for example, to 110^°F for a medium-rare steak)
3. Move the steak directly over the high-heat, searing for 1 to 2 minutes per side to build a sizzling dark crust and internal temperature of 130^°F.

Note: Measure internal temperature using an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally through the side of the steak. For the poke test, press the top of the steak with your forefinger. The amount of resistance will tell you the doneness. Use a thermometer for thicker steaks; the poke test for thin steaks like skirt.

Step 6: Give It a Rest

A steak served “hot off the grill” sounds romantic, but resting your steak on a wire rack over a sheet pan for a minute or two will give you a tenderer, juicier steak. (Resting relaxes the meat, allowing the juices to redistribute. The wire rack keep the bottom from getting soggy.) But over-resting results in a lukewarm or even cold steak, which does the meat an injustice.

Step 7: Carve It Right

It has become fashionable, if not de rigueur, for steakhouses to pre-slice your steak before serving. Don’t. This may look dramatic, but a pre-sliced steak gets cold and dry very quickly. Serve your steak whole and let the diner slice it him- or herself.

Note: the one exception here are belly steaks, like skirt and flank, which should be thinly sliced across the grain to shorten the tough meat fibers.

Finally, don’t forget to anoint

A great steak needs little more than salt and pepper by way of a seasoning, but a pat of compound butter link or drizzle of melted butter or extra virgin olive oil makes a great steak even better

Great Steak Recipes to Try Next

• Smoked-Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks with Jalapeño-Horseradish Butter: Ribeyes get a blast of wood smoke and a rich, spicy compound butter.
• Classic Tuscan Bistecca alla Fiorentina: A thick Porterhouse finished with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
• Reverse-Seared Tomahawk Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter: Thick tomahawk steaks are reverse-seared, then finished with a bold blue cheese butter.
• Churrasco-Style Skirt Steak: Searing hot skirt steak served with bright chimichurri.

More Steak Recipes »

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to cook steak on the grill?

For thick cuts, use the reverse sear method. For thinner cuts, cook directly over high heat, flipping frequently.

How long should you grill steak?

Figure on 2 to 2-1/2 minutes per side for thin steaks, about 1/2 inch thick; 3 to 4 minutes per side for 1-inch steaks; and about 5 minutes per side for 1-1/2-inch steaks. When using the reverse sear method for a really thick steak, figure on 40 to 60 minutes for the low-heat indirect grilling, followed by 2 to 3 minutes per side for the high-heat sear.

What temperature should steak be cooked to?

Medium-rare, 130^°F to 135^°F, is ideal for many steaks. Use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of the steak to verify doneness. For thinner steaks, like skirt and flank, use the poke test: press the meat with your forefinger to feel the resistance. Pull the steak a few degrees early, as carryover cooking will raise the temperature during resting.

How do you make steak tender on the grill?

Select well-marbled cuts, season like you mean it, do not overcook, and rest the meat for a minute or two before serving.

Should you grill steak with the lid open or closed?

Keep the lid open when searing thin steaks over high heat. Keep the lid closed during indirect cooking or when finishing thick steaks.

The post How to Grill the Perfect Steak: 7 Steps to Tender, Juicy, Smoky Beefy Nirvana appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

If you’re like us, we wait all year for summer corn. Wherever you live, summer means one thing: corn is at its peak, and there’s no better way to cook it than—you guessed it—on the grill. Live fire brings out corn’s sweetness, adding an inimitable smoky flavor. Grilling turns a simple ear into one of the great pleasures of the season.

Selecting Good Corn

Great grilled corn starts at the market. Look for ears with bright green husks that cling tightly to the cob and silk that feels slightly moist, not dry or brittle. The kernels should feel plump through the husk, and the ear should feel heavy for its size.

And, of course, buy local. Here at barbecuebible.com, we’re incredibly lucky. Steven lives in Martha’s Vineyard; Daniel in North Carolina, John in New Jersey, Nancy in Iowa, and Jared in New York. All of us have fantastic local corn in July and August.

Avoid corn with dried-out husks, blackened silk, soft spots, or missing kernels near the tip. Corn starts losing sweetness soon after it’s picked, so buy it as fresh as you can and grill it the same day if possible.

Ways to Grill Corn

There are a few basic ways to grill corn, and each gives you a different result.

Corn Naked (without the husk and directly over a hot fire)

This is my favorite way to grill corn. You remove the husk (or fold it back over the stem to make a handle), brush the ears with melted butter or extra virgin olive oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Then direct grill it over high heat until the kernels are nicely browned, basting with more melted butter as the corn cooks. The high dry heat caramelizes the natural plant sugars in the corn, making it all that much sweeter and smokier.

Corn Caveman Style

If you like your corn with even more smoke and char flavor, set up your grill (charcoal please) for caveman grilling—that is remove the grill grate ad rake out the embers in an even layer. Lay the corn in its husk directly on the coals. Grill until the husk burns off, turning with tongs, but not so long that the sweet kernels burn. Figure on 2 to 3 minutes per side, 8 to 12 minutes in all.

Corn in the husk

This method gives you juicy corn with a gentle roasted flavor. Pull back the husks without removing them, strip away the silk, brush the ears with melted butter and season with salt and pepper, then pull the husks back over the ears. Direct grill the corn over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the husks are browned and the kernels are tender.

Corn in Foil

In a word, don’t. Foiled corn steams rather than grills. Use one of the methods above.

How to Know When Corn Is Done

Corn is done when the kernels are golden brown, hot, and tender. If you press a kernel lightly, it should give a little and release juice. Corn grilled directly on the grates should have browned or lightly charred spots, but the kernels should still look plump.

Flavor Ideas from Planet Barbecue

Once the corn comes off the grill, the fun starts. Butter, salt, and pepper are enough when the corn is fresh and sweet, but grilled corn also loves bold seasonings. In Mexico, it’s slathered with mayonnaise, sprinkled with grated Cotija cheese (parmigiano or romano also work well), and sparked with chile and lime. In India, it might be electrified with cayenne and lime. Steven loves Cambodian style grilled corn, brushed with coconut milk and curry paste and dusted with shredded coconut.

Here are some fantastic recipes to try to make the best grilled corn you’ve ever tasted!

The Best Way to Grill Corn

However you grill it, corn does not need much to be great. Start with fresh ears, choose the method that gives you the texture and char you want, and serve it hot. Husk, foil, or directly on the grates—when summer corn is at its peak, the grill is the best place for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does corn take on the grill?

Naked corn, with the husk removed, usually takes 8 to 12 minutes over high heat. Turn the ears every 2 to 3 minutes so the kernels brown evenly without burning.

Is it better to grill corn in the husk, in foil, or directly on the grates?

It depends on the result you want. Corn grilled naked, meaning husked and cooked directly over the fire, gives you the most char and live-fire flavor. Corn grilled caveman style has the biggest wow factor because the ears cook directly on the embers. Corn grilled in the husk stays juicy and has a gentle roasted flavor.

Should you soak corn before grilling?

You can soak corn if you’re grilling it in the husk, but it is not mandatory. A 15- to 30-minute soak can help keep the husks from burning too quickly. You do not need to soak corn that is grilled directly on the grates or caveman style.

Why did my grilled corn dry out?

Corn can dry out if it cooks too long, if the heat is too high, or if it is grilled directly over the fire without enough turning. Pull the corn while the kernels are still plump and juicy, and baste often with melted butter or extra-virgin olive oil. Once the kernels start to shrivel, the corn is overcooked.

Can you put butter or olive oil on corn before grilling?

Yes, but it depends on the method. For corn grilled directly on the grates, use a light coating of oil before grilling, then add butter after the corn comes off the grill to avoid flare-ups.

The post Corn on the Grill: Three Ways to Do It Right appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

By Daniel Hale

All hail the hotdog! For some people, it’s an affordable staple. For others, it’s a rite of summer—along with baseball and backyard barbecues. For yet others, it’s the barbecue equivalent of a blank canvas—awaiting embellishments ranging from green pickle relish and chopped onions (Chicago) to beef chili (Detroit) to bacon and pinto beans (the Sonoran hotdog from Arizona).

Few foods are as regional as the humble hot dog. Nearly every part of the country has its version, and everyone has a favorite they’ll insist is the best.

Since July is National Hot Dog Month, I decided to make six different American hotdogs. Some are classics, some are personal favorites, and all of them prove there’s more than one way to build a great dog.

Setting Up the Grill

One of the things I wanted to take advantage of for this cook was the versatility of the Denali 605 Pro from Monument Grills. Besides its spacious cooking surface, the grill features a removable center cooking grate that can be swapped out for accessories. For this cook, I replaced it with Monument’s Round Cast Iron Cooking Plate.

That gave me the best of both worlds. The hot dogs cooked over the main grill grates while the cast iron plate handled everything else. Onions and peppers caramelized, and the plancha was perfect for cooking the bacon-wrapped hot dogs without worrying about flare-ups. Having both cooking surfaces going at the same time made preparing six different hot dogs much easier than trying to juggle multiple pans indoors.

6 Regional American Hot Dogs

Frankie Frankk’s “Lou Dog”

This one is special for me because it’s local. If you live in the Raleigh area, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Frankie Frankk’s, a popular hot dog cart that’s developed a loyal following over the years. One of their signature creations is the Lou Dog, and while this isn’t an exact copy, it’s definitely inspired by it.

Chili, pimento cheese, and a drizzle of hot honey works surprisingly well. The rich chili and creamy pimento cheese create a classic Southern flavor, while the hot honey adds just enough sweetness and heat.

The Barbecue Dog

This one may not belong to any particular city, but it absolutely belongs on this list. I wrapped the hot dog in bacon, seasoned it with barbecue rub, and cooked it on the cast iron cooking plate until the bacon was crisp. After that came a brush of barbecue sauce and a handful of pickle chips.

Smoky bacon, sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, a little extra seasoning, and crunchy pickles turn an ordinary hot dog into something that eats more like barbecue.

Kansas City Dog

The Kansas City Dog keeps things relatively simple, but sometimes simple is exactly what works. Melted Swiss cheese and tangy sauerkraut are served on a sesame seed bun, creating a balanced combination.

The sauerkraut cuts through the richness of the hot dog while the Swiss adds a mild, nutty flavor. It’s one of those combinations you probably wouldn’t think to make, but after one bite you’ll understand why it’s become a regional favorite.

Coney Dog

No list of iconic American hot dogs would feel complete without a Coney Dog. Not to be confused with Coney Island in Brooklyn, the Coney Dog is most closely associated with Detroit. Piled high with chili, chopped raw onions, yellow mustard, and shredded cheddar cheese, it’s messy, hearty, and worth every napkin you’ll need afterward.

LA Street Dog

Speaking of messy, this one might be my favorite simply because of the memories it brings back. I grew up in Los Angeles, and bacon-wrapped street dogs were everywhere after concerts, sporting events, and nights out. You could smell them cooking from half a block away.

Wrapped in bacon and topped with grilled onions, peppers, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and a whole jalapeño, this is definitely the biggest hot dog of the bunch. Cooking it on the cast iron plate made it easy to crisp the bacon while caramelizing the vegetables right beside it. One bite immediately transported me back to SoCal.

Southern Slaw Dog

Sometimes less really is more. The Southern Slaw Dog skips all the extra toppings and lets creamy coleslaw do the work.

Cool, crunchy slaw adds freshness and texture while complementing the smoky flavor of the grilled hot dog. Around the Carolinas, this combination has been a favorite for decades, and after one bite it’s easy to understand why.

Which One Will You Try First?

One of the best things about hot dogs is how personal they are. Every region has its own version, and every griller eventually finds a favorite combination. That’s what made this cook so much fun. It was simple, messy, and a good reminder that sometimes the best grilling ideas start with something as familiar as a hot dog.

The Denali 605 Pro made this cook especially enjoyable. I was able to grill the hot dogs on the main grates while cooking the vegetables and bacon-wrapped dogs on the Round Cast Iron Cooking Plate. It kept everything moving and made it easy to build six different hot dogs without juggling pans indoors. Thanks to Monument Grills for sponsoring this post.

The post Grilling Across America: <br />6 Regional Hot Dogs I Love appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.