Outdoor Cooking

Outdoor cooking isn't for everyone. It takes a person who is willing to put his reputation as a grilling superstar on the line each time he lights a gas grill or tosses a match onto a flammable pile of charcoal. that the people he feeds will appreciate the food he has cooked.

Most of the outdoor chefs I've run across are men.

If you're using charcoal and you're using a liquid lighter, know what you are dousing on those briquettes! Stick with charcoal lighter.

One big tip! Never use kerosene to start your charcoal! No matter how long you let your charcoal burn, no matter how much more briquettes on the coals, your rib eyes will have that subtle aroma and taste of kerosene. Your grill will smell like a piece of construction equipment. There are other methods to ignite your charcoal. Put a match to the paper in the bottom and the draft of the "chimney" will make the coals burn. There is also the electric heating iron category of charcoal starters. Let's talk about charcoal grills versus gas grills. Cooking with gas is almost like cooking on the gas stove in the kitchen. Boring! Maybe that's why I prefer charcoal. It's just manlier to battle the flames and rescue a steak just in the nick of time, from being overly cooked. That's the way outdoor cooking is supposed to be; a man conquering the elements!

Really, cooking on a gas grill is a nice and comfortable way to grill steaks, chickens, burgers, chops and vegetables. One of the areas in which the gas grills are deficient is smoking meat. I prefer charcoal smokers of course, but I've had excellent results with electric smokers also.

Smokers, both electric and charcoal, are set up pretty much in the same way. The ones that I use are tall round ones that have a trap door opening on the side so you can add charcoal or water in the water bowl. Meat smoked on an electric grill is great if you have some wood smoke flavor to make it tasty. If you've left the electric smoker outside uncovered, check to make sure the lava rocks are dry. If it has rained since your last cookout, chances are that the bottom of the smoker is covered in water. If so, don't plug in the heating iron! Drain the water out of the base first, let the lava rocks dry, then have a safe barbeque.

My personal favorite is the charcoal smoker. I usually smoke three or four Boston butts at a time. First I load the coal pan with charcoal, and then use a charcoal lighter fluid to start the coals. You could use one of the instant light charcoals if you wish, but just make sure than when you add charcoal, you use the regular briquettes or your meat will taste funny.

After the coals are lit and the flames have died, fill up the metal water bowl with about a quart of water. This helps keep the meat moist. Next lay the meat on the two racks of the smoker. For three Boston butts, I usually let them cook for about 12 hours, adding charcoal and hickory chunks to the hot coals about every hour and a half. I prefer to lay the wood chunks on the live coals. The dry wood smoking and burning will give you a mild taste of hickory, not the smell and taste of a burning barn! When the meat reaches 180 degrees on the meat the thermometer, take it off and tear it apart with forks. There is one ingredient so unique, so necessary to cooking good barbeque. From the moment you light the fire until you take the meat off the grill, allow yourself allow yourself enough time to do the job properly. That just won't work when you're trying for the best tasting barbeque you can cook.