Grill Maestro

Rachelle, a PR rep for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, sent me some information this past week that included a PDF on grilling etiquette, as gleaned from a national poll of Americans conducted by the HPBA. Apparently, 49% of grillers say it’s acceptable to bring your own sauce (that doesn’t necessarily mean that 51% [...]

A representative from Charbroil, actually it’s via a public relations person, responds to the issue of shearing screws in the TEC burner: Char-Broil has seen the messages posted on this and other forums regarding failing fasteners used in manufacturing of a limited number our TEC burners. We regret that a few TEC by Char-Broil Series [...]

Have you ever heard of the 3-2-1 Ribs cooking/grilling/preparation method? If you’ve ever enjoyed ribs where the meat fell right off the bone, you’ve likely seen the product of the 3-2-1 rib method of cooking. The numbers refer to the number of hours spent in each step of the process and it’s a pretty reliable [...]

Thanks to Hogwild BBQ, I was made aware of some serious problems several TEC grill owners have been experiencing according to what’s been written on some BBQ forums lately. Evidently the screws in the TEC burners have been buckling under the heat and shearing off, causing an extremely unsafe condition. There are extensive pictures and [...]

Working with lighter fluid can be especially tricky because most people misuse it so often, from both a safety and from a general cooking perspective. Ever have a burger that tasted like lighter fluid? Yeah, I have too. Have you ever seen someone spray lighter fluid directly into the fire? Yeah, me too and I [...]

The other day I was over at a friend’s place for some grilled pizza. That’s right, we grilled homemade pizza pies atop of ceramic plates designed especially for the purpose and they were delicious. It was the first time I’d ever grilled pizza so I’m going to share with you some tips that I picked [...]

One of the mistakes I made when I used the Weber Smoker for the first time was one that plenty of novice smokers make – I didn’t smoke the wood chips long enough! If you don’t smoke the chips long enough, they burn off way too quickly and you end up churning through more chips [...]

Ever wonder how “doneness,” that is medium-rare, medium, and well-done ratings, correlate to the internal temperature of the meat you’re cooking? Yeah, I have too (even though the only times I ever use a meat thermometer is when I’m cooking roasts in the oven) and it wasn’t until some research today did I find out [...]

When I was in college, two friends of mine on my freshman dorm floor introduced me to the idea of brewing beer (one of the two, Abe, is now a brewmaster at Trailhead Brewing Company I think), and it’s a hobby I still enjoy even today. In fact I have a few bottles of my [...]