I love books, especially cookbooks, so when I got a Direct Message on Twitter from Jennifer Chandler asking if I’d like a copy of her new grilling cookbook to read and review I immediately replied with a big yes!  What I like best about cookbooks is that no matter how bad the book is there’s something to be learned by reading it.  With Simply Grilling: 105 Recipes for Quick and Casual Grilling you get a cookbook that will teach even the most seasoned backyard griller something. Simply speaking this is a pretty darn nice cookbook.

It seems every grilling and barbecue cookbook today begins with a section on the basics on grills, barbecues, accessories and a few essential cooking tips.  Jennifer has done a great job in providing an easy to read and understand primer that every cook should have memorized.  With her “5 Tips to Master Grilling Meats” and tips on “Food Safety” she has touched on some of the more important aspects for becoming a Grill Master.

The educational part of the book is not limited to the first chapter though.  Each recipe includes one or more of the following tips:

• Cooking Tips: Detailed information on cooking techniques, substitutes and “food facts” about the dishes and specific ingredients.
• Do-Ahead: Tips and strategies to take the stress out of dinnertime. (For me this is one of the best features of the book -Grail)
• Variations: Tips on how to put a unique spin on a dish.
• Marinate: To help you plan, I let you know at a glance how long a dish needs to marinate.
• Suggested Sides: Tips to help you plan your menu.
• Grill Pan: Too rainy or cold to grill? Don’t own an outdoor grill? This icon lets you know which dishes can easily be made indoors on a grill pan.

From “Starters” to “Sweet Endings” there is a chapter for every course you might need for your cookout.  (Notice I didn’t say barbecue.  Barbecue is a verb, not a noun.  But that’s another blog post for another time.) There’s even a chapter on salads that looks pretty good.

The recipes aren’t all that difficult to understand and shouldn’t give to much of a challenge for even the novice griller.  But don’t let the level of difficulty lead you to believe these are basic recipes because they aren’t.  Jennifer has taken complex flavor profiles and simplified them down to a basic level.  What this means is there is plenty for the beginner to learn from but with a good solid base that will allow the experienced cook to take them and “make them their own.”

Jennifer may like blue cheese as much as I do, at least it seems so.  There are several great recipes using blue cheese on the grill and before the Summer is over I’m probably going to give each and every one of them a try.  If you’re looking for a new grilling cookbook that doesn’t just rehash the standard recipes then pick up a copy of “Simply Grilling” by Jennifer Chandler.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

I love Tri-Tip!

Tri-Tip is second only to Ribeye when it comes to picking my favorite cut of beef.  It’s an incredibly flavorful piece of meat that takes smoking and grilling well.  My preferred method for cooking Tri-Tip is on my Weber kettle using indirect heat until 130 degrees internal and then a quick high heat sear.  After resting you should end up with pretty close to a perfect medium rare hunk of juicy beef goodness.

My “secret” technique is basting the Tri-Tip just before and then during the searing process with a basting mixture heaving on melted butter.  My first Tri-Tip basting mixture was a 50/50 mixture of butter and A1 Bold Steak Sauce.  You get a great caramelized crust on the steak from the sugars in the steak sauce and from the butter.  This time around I decided to try a couple new ingredients I received recently to see if I could come up something a little bolder for my Tri-Tip.

I was in the grocery store the other day and came across a limited edition Heinz Ketchup with Balsamic Vinegar.  My friends at All Spice Cafe also recently sent me some Chipotle Garlic Sauce.   I decided to use these two ingredients to come up with a new basting sauce.  And it worked to perfection.   The taste was great with a nice little heat tingle on the tongue along with the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar.

When I’m not doing Tri-Tip Santa Maria style I like to season the Tri-Tip with just salt and pepper (right).  For me it’s all about the beef flavor and besides I’m getting plenty of additional flavor from the basting sauce.  I cooked the Tri-Tip on my 26″ Weber Kettle at about 450 degrees until the internal temp was 130 degrees (left).  At this point I stoke the coals up as hot as I can get them.  While the coals are getting hotter I baste the meat with the sauce.  Then a quick super hot sear and another coat of sauce.  Turn the meat over and baste again.

Let the meat rest for at least five minutes before slicing.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

I’ve got to admit that I’m already a brussels sprouts fan.  If cooked right this is one of my favorite vegetables so I was pretty sure adding bacon would make it taste pretty good.  I was right…

Brussels Sprouts can have a bitter after taste if not selected and prepared properly.  There are several methods for removing the bitterness.  First, select the smallest sprouts you can find.  It seems the smaller the sprout the less bitterness.  Next trim off the hard bottom of the sprout and remove the first layer of leaves.  Next par-boil the sprouts for a couple of minutes in salted water. Don’t cook them all the way.  Just a couple of minutes will do the trick.  Plunge them into ice water to stop t he cooking.  The par-boil and ice water bath will also help them maintain their bright green color.  Using these methods has never failed me.  I never end up with bitter sprouts.

I wrapped each of the Brussels Sprouts in a half strip of thin sliced bacon and put them on skewers to make grilling easier.  I set up my Weber kettle for indirect heat and cooked the sprouts until they were almost done.  You want the sprouts tender, but not mushy so watch them.  Once they are done I gave them a flash over direct heat to crisp up the bacon.

While the sprouts were cooking I reduced 1/4  cup of raspberry balsamic vinegar down to about two tablespoons of thick tasty syrup.  I added two tablespoons of butter to the syrup and heated it through.  When the sprouts were plated I spooned the balsamic reduction over the top.

The bacon was good on the Brussels Sprouts but it was a little overpowering.  I know I’ll make these again, but next time I’ll just stick a piece of thick sliced bacon between each sprout on the skewer.  This will give me the flavor without it being overpowering.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

Unforgettable is a very bold claim when it comes to a BBQ sauce.  I’m always skeptical of products that boast of being “world-famous” or “world’s best” so David’s Unforgettable Balsamic Barbecue Sauce was a product I just had to try it.  And I was skeptical of the unforgettable claim…at least until the sauce arrived.

I love balsamic vinegar and if you think about it the sweet and tart vinegar taste should be perfect for BBQ.  And the Balsamic Barbecue Sauce from David’s Unforgettables is a sauce that I am looking forward to using again.

There are two “flavors” of “David’s Unforgettables Balsamic Barbecue Sauce,”: Mild and Spicy.  I gave both a try and for my tastes the Spicy is the only way to go.  The combination of pepper along with the some mustard enhances the tang of the balsamic vinegar.  The vinegar flavor is not overpowering, but you are able to taste it.

Balsamic vinegar is normally made by aging unfermented grape juice in barrels for several years.  The aging process concentrates the flavors and not only produces a vinegar flavor but because of the aging process the sweetness of the grapes is increased.  It’s this sweetness, when combined with some added molasses, gives the barbecue sauce a unique flavor that will enhance almost anything you have on your BBQ pit or grill.

The sauce not only tastes good, but it looks good on ribs too.  I know for a lot of people the look of the food put on the table is important.  The eyes “taste” the food before the taste buds do and the balsamic BBQ sauce from David’s Unforgettables provides a nice caramelized look (and flavor) when cooked.  One of the next things I’m going to do is onions caramelized in this sauce on a grilled burger.  I’m pretty confident this is going to taste as good as the ribs do.

Is the balsamic vinegar BBQ sauce from David’s Unforgettables actually unforgettable.  It’s pretty darn close.  Every since using it I’ve thought about it a lot.  There aren’t many sauces in my sauce refrigerator that have been good enough to get to thinking of interesting ways to use it.  So I guess in a manner of speaking it is…unforgettable.

David’s Unforgettables Balsamic Vinegar Barbecue Sauce is available online.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

I actually don’t like the flavor cedar imparts on my meats and other grilled foods.  It would never occur to me to use cedar in my normal low & slow BBQ smoking so I figure why use it for planking.  Instead I use the same woods I use to smoke with, alder, maple, cherry, apple and oak

Today’s entry for my week-long series on “plank” grilling is pork loin on alder planks.  The alder planks are “Chef Locke Interlocking Planks” from TailgatingPlanks.  The nice thing about these planks is because they are interlocking you have a choice with what size you use.  I really liked these planks.  Unlike some planks these did not have a tendency to curl or bend in the middle part way through the cooking process.  My only caution is to make sure they have the locked together when you soak them.

The process for pork loin is the same as yesterday’s post on cooking chicken on wine vines.  Soak, soak, soak the plank.  Some instructions for planks recommend soaking anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.  I always soak for a minimum of one hour.  I don’t think you can soak a plank too long.

I took each pork loin and trimmed off any excess pieces of dangling fat and any silver skin that was still attached.   Some people recommend leaving the silver skin on because they feel it adds a layer of fat, but I never see any fat with the silver skin and in my experience leaving it on can lead to a tougher piece of meat when the silver skin starts to shrink.

Once the loins are nicely trimmed rub them with just a little olive oil.  You don’t want them dripping with oil but instead a nice even coating that makes the meat glisten.  Season the loin with your spice/rub mixture of choice and set it aside for a couple of minutes.  I seasoned my loins with Instant Gourmet “Rustic Italiano.”

I like to have my pork loins as close to room temperature as possible so I’m not putting ice-cold mean on the planks.  So, while the meat is sitting remove the planks from the water and towel dry them.

Put your planks in the center of your pre-heated grates and allow the wood to heat up.  When the planks start to smolder slightly and burn on the edges, turn the heat down to medium and quickly put a light layer of oil on the planks.  Put your loins on the planks and close the lid.

Give the pork loins about 20 minutes on the planks and check the temperature.  Have a small water bottle handy to spritz any flare-ups while the lid is open.

Cook the pork loins until they reach an internal temperature of 130 degrees.  DO NOT take the pork loins above 130 degrees or you will end up with shoe leather.

Trust me on this, please.  If you follow these instructions you will end up with moist pork that is properly cooked, not the dried out pieces of pork you get if you cook it to 165 degrees.

When the pork reaches 130 degrees turn you grill up to high and remove the planks.  Quickly sear the pork loins on all sides.  Do this on a grill that’s as hot as you can get it.  Do it quick!  Once you have all sides seared remove the loins to a plate and loosely cover the them with foil.  Let them rest for 20 minutes.

The Cola Balsamic reduction when well with the Italian seasoning I used on the pork loin.  I recommend cooking up the reduction before you even start the pork loin cooking process.  The pork loin cooks fast and it’s easier to keep an eye on the pork loin when you don’t have to worry about stirring the reduction.

The reduction is simple to make.  Pour a bottle of GUS (Grown Up Soda) Dry Cola into a small saucepan.  Using medium heat reduce the cola by one half.  The reason I like to use GUS soda is they are low in sugar.  There are lots of sauces and reductions that use sodas but they are often just to sweet.  By using a low sugar soda you can add sugar and get just the right amount of sweetness.

Once the cola has reduced add the balsamic vinegar to taste.  I added 2 tablespoons.  You want the bite of the vinegar but don’t want it to overpower the cola flavor.  Now add enough palm sugar so that it’s barely sweet.  I use palm sugar in this type of reduction because it melts like brown sugar but gives you a nice caramel flavor profile that compliments the cola and balsamic vinegar.

If the reduction was made the day before, heat it up while your pork loin is resting.  Slice the pork loin, plate it and spoon a little of the reduction over the top.  Serve immediately so it doesn’t cool too much.

Later in the week there you’ll get a couple of recipes for potatoes that will pair very nicely with this dish.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Here’s my entry for this months “challenge.”  Pork Chops with Cola Raspberry Balsamic Reduction and grilled zucchini…

Cola Raspberry Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz bottle GuS Dry Cola*
• 1 6 0z container Fresh Raspberries
• 2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• Sugar, to taste

Directions:

Pour soda and raspberries into a medium sauce pan and bring to small boil.  Cook until raspberries are soft.  With a mixer, blender or other appliance puree the ingredients.  Strain the liquid, to remove all seeds and any remain pulp.  Return to saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced to almost a syrup consistency.  Add the Balsamic vinegar and whatever sugar you need to take any tartness away.

*I used the GuS Dry Cola (Grown up Soda) because it is lightly sweetened with cane sugar.  This lightly sweetened cola allowed me to have more control over the sweetness than if I’d used a more readily available cola.

The reduction reduced from all the liquid you see down to about 5 ounces of great tasting sauce.  I think if I were to do it again I would cut the amount of raspberries in half so more of the cola flavor came out.

A few weeks ago I received some amazing products from Bushelle Seasonings.  These all natural seasonings are made from fresh herbs and seasonings.  When I first opened the box and looked at the jars I realized it wasn’t anything like what I was expecting.  When I opened the jars I was greeted with a fantastic aroma.  But what to do with them…

I decided to make a basic brine for the pork chops and add some Bushelle Garlic Seasoning.

BBQ Grail’s Bushelle Seasoning Brine

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon Bushelle Seasoning

Directions:

Heat water, salt and brown sugar to a boil.  When all the ingredients are dissolved remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  Add Bushelle Seasoning to brine.  Place pork chops and brine in a plastic bag and brine the chops for four to five hours.

Remove the chops from the brine, rinse off the salt and let air dry.

Grill!

I also grilled the zucchini using a little olive oil and “Butter Blast” from Instant Gourmet.  As usual the GrillGrates gave me great grill marks and some fantastic chops and veggies.

The brine for the pork chops was incredible.  The Bushelle Seasonings added a robust herbal flavor.  I’m not sure exactly what is in the there, but it’s also got just a little bite.

Celeste also used the Bushelle Seasoning Original in her rice pilaf.  This is a great product and I can’t wait to come up with other ways to incorporate it into my BBQ dishes.

Besides the rice pilaf Celeste helped with a dessert that fit right in with our ingredient theme.  She used the Dark Chocolate Linguine, we purchased in Seattle on our recent trip, along with a raspberry sauce.  Topped with ice cream and/or whipped cream it made for a good dessert.

The linguine didn’t have nearly enough chocolate flavor but vanilla ice cream and whipped cream more than made up for it.

All and all it was a great meal.  Fantastic, juicy pork chops along with a nice rice side dish and grilled veggies made for a great end for the day.

Additional participants in this month’s Ingredient Challenge include:

Ingredients:

• 2 baby eggplants
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your grill to high.

With a potato peel remove strips of skin off the eggplant.  Slice the eggplant, long ways, into 1/2 inch slices.  Arrange the eggplant slices on sheets of paper towels.

Season the the eggplant slices with a generous amount of salt on both sides.  This will cause the eggplant to release most of the liquid they contain, removing the bitterness of the eggplant while causing it to be less watery during grilling.  Let the salted eggplant set for about 15 minutes, then pat dry with additional paper towels.

In a bowl mix honey, olive oil, garlic Sriracha, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Dip both sides of each eggplant slice into mixture.  Oil grilled.  Place eggplant slices on the grill, cover.  Grill for about 3 minutes, rotate 90 degrees and grill for an additional 3 minutes.  Brush  remaining sauce on the slices, flip and repeat process.  Adjust heat through the grilling to insure eggplant is not burning.

Serve immediately.

Zucchini Fries

Ingredients:

• 4 zucchini
• 1 1/2 Tbsp “The Rub Co. Santa Maria Style Rub”
• 1/4 cup Canola oil
• 1/8 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp Black pepper, ground fresh
• Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions:

Wash the zucchini under cold water and drain well.

Trim about 1/8″ from the stem of each squash.

Square each zucchini by removing a sliver from each side and

Quarter each zucchini.

Combine the seasoning, oil, vinegar and pepper in a large zip-top bag.

Seal the bag and shake to combine the marinade ingredients.

Add the zucchini to the bag, seal, and set aside for one to two hours.

Prepare your grill for direct cooking at medium heat (about 350º).

Oil the cooking grate lightly with canola oil.

Remove each zucchini from the bag, shake off the excess marinade, and lay them on the grill at a 45º angle. Reserve the marinade left in the bag.

Grill each side until they are nicely browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Lightly brush the zucchini with a small amount of the marinade each time you turn them.

Remove the zucchini to a platter in a single layer and immediately shave the cheese over them to taste.

Serve and enjoy!