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Grill It! With Bobby Flay Wants YOU!

Are you a Master Griller? Are all barbeques held at your house? If you’re a serious griller (charcoal or gas) and have the skills to prove it, then live out your culinary fantasy on Bobby Flay’s new half hour GRILL IT! series on the Food Network.
To apply, please create a 3-minute VHS Tape or DVD in which you cook us your favorite dish. Tell us how you created the recipe and the ingredients you use.
All applicants must have a terrific personality and must illustrate
why you’d make a fantastic candidate for GRILL IT! with Bobby Flay! Unlike “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” there’s no winners or losers, instead GRILL IT! shows people how to grill with a well-stocked kitchen.
All applicants must live in the U.S and be 18 and over (although quick-witted teenagers with parents’ permission can apply).
To be considered, please mail your submission tape, original recipe and photo of yourself to the address below no later than March 15th.
ATT: GRILL IT!110 Leroy StreetNew York City, NY 10014
Questions? Email grillitwithbobby@gmail.com

Tricks

Foiled Again – Smoking Barbecue

You don’t need a thousand dollar stainless smoker to prepare great BBQ. In fact, you may already have all you need in the kitchen.

Even a gas grill can provide a succulent slow smoked flavor to almost any meat. The secret is in the smoke and getting the heat down LOW.

Good thing is many of today’s gas grills come with a temperature gauge right on the lid. 225 degrees to 250 degrees should do nicely for most slow smoking. Just give it plenty of time.

You’ll also need just enough smoke. Here’s how you can handle it even without a special green egg or smoker box. Just soak some wood chips for about an hour in water. You can buy great chips and chunks in most grocery stores these days. Hickory is good but pit masters will argue over flavors of wood for hours… our advice is just stay away from pressure treated! (We’re not kidding! It can kill you.)

Create an envelope out of heavy duty aluminum foil. It need not be pretty… sometimes I’ll just wrap up the larger chunks of hardwood in a wad. Then, lay the pouch on or near the gas burner (or even on charcoal). Have another pouch handy after an hour or so. It’s OK to leave the “done” pouch in the grill until after cooking. You’d be surprised how much smoke flavor continues to emit from the pouch even after the visible smoke is gone. This easy extra adds a nice touch to gas grill ‘cue. Clean up is also a breeze.

Recipes

Removing That Membrane

BBQ aficiandos will argue if you really NEED to remove the membrane on the backside of a good slab of ribs.

I say it’s a nice thing to do if only to make it easier to pull apart and eat each individual rib. Some like a bit of a chew. The additional benefit is that it allows for a deeper penetration of your favorite rub or marinade.

The simple trick to removing the membrane is to use a clean paper towel to grip the slippery tissue. I haven’t met a cook that has a grip tight enough to grasp the membrane firmly enough to pull it off the slab! Simply use a butter knife to begin the peel on one end. Then grasp what you can of the tissue (the membrane is on the boney side of the rib). If you’re lucky you should be able to peel off a nice clean sheet.

It often times takes a few peels to get it all. If you can’t get every fragment – don’t sweat it. You’re guest will likely not notice smaller amounts remaining.

Recipes

Go Nuts For a Special Crust

A PECAN crust on your BabyBacks? Everyone at BBQ Tricks.com is ready to try this neat use for Pecans.Inspired by a Dominican Republic drink known as Mamajuana (also described as Dominican Viagra!), these ribs go through a two-stage cooking process.

First a slow braise to tenderize the ribs, then grilling and basting for the char flavor and crispy goodness.

Recipes

Smoke This

Don’t limit your babecue to just smoking with hickory and mesquite. Try Basil Twigs. If you happen to grow fresh basil during the summer months you’ll likely find that you have an dry bush of twigs as winter nears. Not good looking… but good for cooking!

Use the completely dried twigs to add flavor to your next cook out. Soak the twigs as you would any wood chips and use them to add that secret basil flavor to pork chops or a good London broil. Enjoy a cold one while your buddies argue over what wood your using!

Competitions

The Meatiest Ribs You’ve Ever Served

When presenting your championship ribs to your cookout guests you want to make a good impression. One way to do that is to offer them the MEATIEST rib they’ve ever seen. Here’s how:

Cut the ribs off in a manner that will force you to discard every other bone. You will essentially scalp the “middle” rib to allow the bones on each side to showcase the meat. You’ll NEVER see them offered this way in restaurants because there is some waste involved.
As the cook – you can reserve the “discarded” and skinny middle bones as a snack for later. They’ll still have SOME meat… but NOTHING compared to the monsters you’ll have on the serving tray.