Get a License To Grill

The debate has raged for years. Me, I like lots of different sauces. I like to try it all. Of course there are people out there for whom only one sauce is right. So, let us hear it, "What is your Favorite Sauce for Pork?"

POLL: What Kind of Sauce is Best for BBQ Pork?
1) Vinegar
2) Vinegar and Tomato
3) Tomato
4) Mustard
5) Vinegar, Tomato and Mustard
6) No Sauce at all
7) Something Else (please specify in the comments)

Photo © 2009 Regarding BBQ Inc., licensed to About.com, Inc.

Best Sauce for Pulled Pork originally appeared on About.com Barbecues & Grilling on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 02:02:19.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

The National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show is part trade show, part retail show. When the doors opened to the public today the line stretched the length of a football field. I've been told by some of the sauce purveyors that this show can be the make or break point for the whole year and that they can make more money selling to the hundreds (if not thousands) of people that will pay $15USD just to get in than they do all year. Of course these are the small label sauces that produce high quality products and sell through a handful of outlets. The prices are higher for these sauces than you would pay in a grocery store, but so is the flavor and the quality of the ingredients.

Yesterday I pointed out some of the sauces, particularly barbecue sauces, that I thought were amongst the best at the show. Of course there are so many great products that I simply can't highlight them all, but for those of you interested in trying something new here are a few more of my favorites:

Melanie's Big Acres Chipotle Maple BBQ Sauce
Melanie makes great gourmet, all natural sauces and this one is probably my favorite. This is a sweet-hot sauce that combines a rich, smokey Chipotle flavor with maple. Not only does this have a unique flavor, but a flavor that goes so well with virtually everything.

Historic Lynchburg Hot N' Spicy BBQ Sauce
Can you guess where this sauce is made? Can you guess what local Tennessee Whiskey is an ingredient in all their sauces, Jellies, Syrups, and Sauces. I'm betting you guessed right. This Hot n' Spicy BBQ sauce has a rich, deep flavor that works great on barbecue, but is so well formulated that you can pretty much use it on anything.

Jube's Firehouse BBQ
Named after famous fires, these sauces were created as part of these guys BBQ catering business. Years of experience making great barbecue helped them create some very good sauces. I particularly liked the Chicago 1871 sauce. Built on a sweet barbecue sauce this one heats up in your mouth. This is something I look for in a spicy barbecue sauce. It is easy to make something hot. It is much harder to give that heat depth and flavor. This BBQ sauce does that.

Sauce Goddess Grill Glazes
A lot of sauces for smoked or grilled meats work to give foods a "cooked over the fire" flavor. If you are grilling something why would you need artificial smoke flavorings? These Grill Glazes, particularly my favorite the Sweet and Spicy, add flavor to meats without overpowering them and without trying to reproduce the flavor you are already getting from your grill.

Montebello Kitchens Virginia Barbecue Sauce
In Virginia you get some great barbecue and some great apples. This sauce combines a southern style barbecue sauce with sweet apple butter to give you a truly unique flavor. Sweet with a cider tanginess, this is really a great tasting barbecue sauce. In fact it tastes great all by itself, but heated on meat it is has a great flavor that adds but doesn't overpower.

Simmie J's Bar-B-Que Sauce
This is one of those homespun sauces that is hard to find but definitely worth the search. Built on a classic barbecue sauce flavor (they claim the original recipe dates back to around 1850) this one is sweet, spicy, and tangy. It works perfect with pretty much everything.

Photo: Regarding BBQ Inc.

Reporting from Fiery Foods part 2 originally appeared on About.com Barbecues & Grilling on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 13:55:49.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Grandma Koyote's Diabetic BBQ Sauce
Most barbecue sauces labelled as diabetic have an odd aftertaste or simply don't taste like barbecue sauce. Well this one is different. Made from all natural products this sauce is not only great tasting but approved by the American Diabetes Association.

Chef Dean Martin's Asian Barbecue Sauce
This sauce has bee around for a while but is worth mentioning (again). Consider it a Korean Barbecue Sauce with American sensibility. The Asian flavor combined with a barbecue flavor makes this a great sauce for most anything you cook.

Over The Fence BBQ
These guys are a competition barbecue team that seem to have dedicated their lives to mustard. Yeah, that's right, Mustard, the most unappreciated sauce there is. The thing is, they got it right. You see, they understand that a good mustard sauce doesn't start with the stuff you squeeze out of a bottle. It starts with pure, dry, ground mustard. If you want to try something amazing, try their Orange-Ginger Mustard Sauce. The flavor of this was something I had never actually tasted, and I've tasted a lot of stuff.

Captain Thom's Sauces
Not only does this guy put out a vegan Bacon Ketchup up a BBQ Finishing Sauce that is excellent. It is a thin, cleanly flavored, fruity sauce that works great with lots of meats. It adds but doesn't overpower.

Great Scott Sauces
Scott Ross is a barbecue fanatic and a chemistry teacher. What he brings to all his sauces, particularly his Original Ross Sauce is his love of barbecue and his knowledge of flavor. I have to say that I loved everything I sampled at his booth. These are definitely sauces worth checking out.

More to come. I promise. No, honestly.

Reporting From Fiery Foods originally appeared on About.com Barbecues & Grilling on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 18:43:08.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

After two years of development the Big Green Egg Cookbook is finally available. This is a high quality, hardback cookbook specifically written for all you eggheads out there who want to do so much more with their ceramic cooker but just didn't know how. Well I have my hands on this book now and have to say that it is one of the better grilling books out there.

As you know ceramic cookers are amongst the most versatile grills on the market and this book takes advantage of that capability with recipes for everything from beef ribs to pecan pie, all of which are specifically written for the Big Green Egg. Of course they are adaptable for other cookers, but this book is very product specific. In fact it includes a large section on how to use your Big Green Egg and how to take care of it. If you have an Egg I highly recommend this book.

Currently this book is available through Big Green Egg dealers, but will be available online and through bookstores in the next few months.

Compare Prices

Photo: Big Green Egg

New Book: Big Green Egg Cookbook originally appeared on About.com Barbecues & Grilling on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 02:22:52.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Time was you could get a grill in any color you wanted as long as it was black. Unless, of course, you wanted to spend thousands of dollars for a high end stainless steel gas grill. Now, several manufacturers are turning to colors. From baked enamel to simple painted finishes there are many grills out there available in colors. Most of these are pretty straightforward red or blue but if people turn from stainless steel and black to designer colors you could see a whole new direction in modern grill design. So as we start into the big grill sales season I thought I would ask:

POLL: What color would you want your grill to be?
1) Black
2) Silver (Stainless Steel)
3) Blue
4) Green
5) Red
6) Copper
7) Gray
6) Something Else (please specify in the comments)

Photo © 2008 Weber-Stephen Products Co.

What color would you want your grill to be? originally appeared on About.com Barbecues & Grilling on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 02:33:40.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Roasting chilies and peppers is easy and is a great addition to recipes and meals. By fire roasting chilies you add a smoky flavor and help to release the heat inside.

Photo © 2010 Regarding BBQ Inc., licensed to About.com, Inc.

Fire Roasted Peppers originally appeared on About.com Barbecues & Grilling on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 02:14:18.

Permalink | Comment | Email this