you need to know to barbecue like Joe Pro!

PAGE 26
NATIONAL BARBECUE NEWS
DECEMBER 2011
From the Backyard...
All you need to know to barbecue like Joe Pro!
Foodie Stocking Stuffers
By Kent “The Deck
Chef” & Ally
Whitaker
[email protected]
Are you looking
for a few stocking
stuffer gift ideas for
the barbecue, griller
or overall foodie on
your shopping list? If
you’re like Ally and
I, you probably have
some other food lovers in the family to
shop for. Here are a few flavor filled
suggestions.
NOTE: All items listed have been
tested, played with, and messed around
with by Ally and myself or by family
and friends. Our help included Ally’s
mom Joan and our son Mace. Two of
our neighbors, Wes Spencer and Joe
Norman, also pitched in. All opinions
are honest.
GRILL CHARMS
Grill charms were invented by Leslie
Haywood of Charleston, South
Carolina, who came up with the idea
after a grilling session that involved
keeping the spiced up fare separated
from the milder cuts. You can separate
meat by doneness, amount of added
spice, or even by allergy concerns.
Grill Charms are dime sized, stainless steel medallions with a serrated
edge extension. There are different
charms to choose from. A set with letters for doneness — M stands for medium, R for rare, etc. The Spicy set has
hot peppers showing different levels of
PHOTOS BY KENT WHITAKER
Grill Charms
heat. The Charmed Life set offers fun
designs, such as a sailboat so people can
pick by their interests. Some of the proceeds from the “Pink Set” go toward
finding a cure for Breast Cancer.
Insert the Grill Charms into the
meat or food before you cook it. You can
use them on the grill, oven, etc. The serrated edge did a great job keeping the
charm in place even when I turned
items and moved things around. We
only had one grill charm come out, and
that was due to the burger breaking.
They never moved in the chicken or
steak while grilling. They were easy to
use,and clean by hand with hot water
and dish soap. A great idea!
Info: Grill Charms. Phone 843-4377079. Website: www.grillcharms.com.
ST. CROIX FOOD & WINE EXPERIENCE
The St. Croix Food and Wine
Experience cookbook is a wonderful
book that is an off shoot of the yearly
festival held every year in St. Croix.
The photos, history, and stories featured
in the book are amazing. The recipes
were as well and many are grill-based
or can be easily prepared outdoors. In
fact, much of the actual festival features outdoor events and demos.
We tried several recipes in the book,
and the favorites so far are the Grilled
Caribbean Rock Lobster Cakes by Chef
Mathayon Vacharat of St. John
Catering and the Grilled Cheese &
Pulled Short Rib Sandwich by Chef
Govind Armstrong, owner of the 8 oz.
Burger in Los Angeles.
The St. Croix Food & Wine
Experience cookbook offers fantastic
recipes from local island chefs and visiting celebrity chefs. We enjoyed the
added info
on wines.
The recipes
use ingredients that can
be found in
many grocery stores
and are not
too complicated. Each
chef gives easy to follow directions.
Everyone that we asked to look over the
book loved it!
Info: Authors: Jane Watkins,
Katherine Pugliese, Steve Bennett,
Photography by Ted Davis
ISBN: ISBN-10: 0983263701 ISBN-13:
978-0983263708
Websites:
www.stcroixfoodandwine.com;
www.watkinspr.com/Cookbook
BUFFALO WILD
WINGS
SEASONINGS AND
SAUCES
Sometimes you want to watch the
game, or games, on big screen TV’s. You
also want someone else to handle making the wings and bringing cold beverages to the table. We tested the Buffalo
Wild Wing sauces with our son Mace.
Let’s just say that he, his Army buddies,
and college friends are well-versed in
items on the BWW menu.
The test included baked and grilled
chicken wings, drummies and a few
thighs. Each was tossed with a bit of
olive oil, and the bottled spices acted as
a rub and seasoning. Halfway through
the cooking process, some of the wings
were basted with a light coating of varied sauces. The remaining sauces were
tested as dipping sauces. The bottom
line, the testers loved the home versions
of Buffalo Wild Wings from the grill
and the oven.
PHOTOS BY KENT WHITAKER
Buffalo Wild Wings
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There were a few favorites, including
the Chipotle BBQ Spice, The Mild
Sauce, The Honey BBQ Sauce, and The
Parmesan Garlic sauce. We were pretty
impressed by the flavors offered up by
home versions of BWW sauces. A solid
thumbs up from the testers.
Info: Buffalo Wild Wing Sauces and
Spices. Website:
www.buffalowildwings.com
THE SPITJACK MAGNUM MEAT INJECTOR
There has been three or four so-so
meat injectors pass through the Deck
Chef kitchen. They all had one thing in
common. They were cheaply made and
didn’t work well. I now have an injector
that works, is heavy duty, and that is
made in the USA.
The SpitJack has a pistol grip handle
similar to a caulk gun, but much more
sturdy. There are assorted needle sizes
that allow for thicker or thinner marinades and those with larger pieces of
spices. My favorite was actually the needle that had several holes in the shaft,