You already know how to grill stuff (zones, indirect, etc.), so I won't go into that, but I will say get a grill with a good ash-catcher so you don't burn down your deck. And always…Choose the correct method of cooking for what you’re trying to prepare.
Rinse your meat (yes, it’s dirty). Rinse your vegetables too.
WATCH YOUR MEAT CLOSELY even if it seems to be taking a long time and you think you can relax with a cocktail. You can’t, LOL.
Unlike the center of a steak, the center of a burger can harbor germs. Cook ground beef to 155°F.
Marinate your chicken in bottled Italian dressing.
Marinate your steaks in bottled Italian dressing.
Coat your veggies with bottled Italian dressing.
Marinate your boneless pork loin in bottled Italian dressing. (Use several tablespoons, and wrap it in saran with sliced onions and minced rosemary and thyme overnight. If extra garlic is desired, pierce meat and insert slivers. Grill indirect for a little over an hour.)
If you want to, make your own Italian dressing, LOL.
If you wish to use to subsequently use your marinade as a sauce (rather than waste it), boil it.
Try white barbeque sauce on chicken, seafood, and pork. (1 qt. mayonnaise, 3/4 qt. apple cider vinegar, 1/2 c. corn syrup, 1/4 tbsp. cayenne pepper, prepared horseradish, lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper) Use it in cole slaw and potato salad.
Buy good fresh sausage, Italian (Dominick’s is okay, hot and/or mild) or Polish (Andy’s in Chicago for all your Polish sausage needs, http://www.andysdeli.com/). Most ppl in Chicago eat Vienna hot dogs. If you live in upstate New York, like Michele, you prolly favor Zweigle's white hots over Vienna for hot dogs. Zweigle's ships these and a variety of other fresh and pre-cooked sausages nationwide (http://www.zweigles.com/order_online.asp).
Stuff your hamburgers with blue cheese (spread about a tablespoon of a mixture of equal parts blue and cream cheese with some parsley and onion powder between two 2 oz. patties and press together sealing the edge). These can also be marinated in red wine.
Slit your hot dogs and stuff them with cheddar cheese, then wrap them in bacon to hold it in. Also use some water soaked tooth picks. (This used to be called a "Francheezie" and was once a staple at every greasy spoon in Chicago. What ever happened?)
(Many things can be served with added strips of bacon, a la Razzie.)
Since these are barbeque tips, something needs to be said about pork ribs and especially tips. Spareribs are large but have the least actual meat. (There's a lot of fat and gristle on each rib. The fat can make the ribs more tender than baby back ribs.) Baby back ribs are smaller and less fatty than spareribs, but have more meat. St. Louis Cut ribs are spare ribs with the breastbone ”rib tips” removed. St. Louis cut rib racks are almost rectangular in shape and therefore cook evenly. (Find out how to trim spareribs St. Louis style here - http://www.bbq-book.com/news2006/html/october_2006.html).
Yes, barbeque tips. Many barbeque connoisseurs will argue that rib tips, bony and more heavily marbled, are the most flavorful of rib meats. They are also cheap. You do them pretty much as you would any ribs. Sprinkle with a dry rub (for example - 2 tbsp. paprika, 2 tbsp. light brown sugar, 2 tbsp. salt, 1 tbsp. ground red cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1 ground bay leaf), cook them on the grill 2-3 hours at about 300°F (relax, these DO take a long time), cut into 1” cross-cut strips, and serve with your favorite sauce.
If you barbeque anything, serve it with Wonder Bread.
Husk your corn and wrap it with butter, salt, and paprika in a double layer of foil. (With a double layer of foil, it won't burn. Removing the husk removes the risk of bugs, and rinsing it removes insecticides... cleaner, seasoned, and tastier though less picturesque).
☆☆☆☆☆ FIVE STAR recipe special: Gudrun’s Secret Simplified Rumaki appetizer (or meal even - see this blog’s posting for July 14, 2008).
