Carne Asada… It’s what’s for dinner! Nothing fancy just a good old fashioned carne asada BBQ with some queso fresco (that is fresh mexican cheese that is so tasty), fresh homemade tortillas (thanks to my sponsors La Superior Tortillas) , fresh homemade guacamole, my favorite corn on a stick (click for recipe), and lots of family to enjoy it! I love the summer!

So this is how awesome you could look in a  BBQ War Apron if you owned one! Get yours today! Supply is Limited! Act Fast! If you place your order in the next 15 minutes we will have Ismael Burciaga personally sign your apron! Because grilling in an apron can be manly! Right?

Alright well dinner is served and the natives (aka my 3 boys and their friends) are getting restless! But I have taste tested everything and it was amazing!! Another BBQ War Success at the Gates Home!! Thank you come again!

Then I used some of this Martha Wrap which I’ve found to be very wonderful. It’s parchment and foil in one. Pretty slick.

Next the Barramundi gets a nice coat of the crushed cashews plus a little salt and pepper.

I wrapped ’em up and threw on the grill. Those other pouches have broccoli and jalapeño respectively.

I then sliced up some pears and a strawberry. I cooked them up in nice Shiner Ruby Redbird bath with a couple small slices of jalapeño. Added a little brown sugar.

Here it is all plated up nice.

Overall this was a pretty good dish. The cashews and vanilla really added a nice flavor to the Barramundi. A bite of that with a little pear and it was just heavenly. The little bits of jalapeño added a nice subtle bite.

Grilled broccoli is not something a lot of folks are familiar with, but I hope you’ll take my advice and try it. Best if they’re room temp before cooking. Season with a little olive oil and black pepper and directly onto the grill (helps if you close off the vents and shut the lid to cook). Turn once after about 3 or 4 mins and get a little bit of char on them. Finish with grated parmigiano. Delish! Tonight I added cob corn to freshen up the palette and finished the plate with cold tomato slices for a nice cool acid refresher.

The Main Event:

• 3 – 2lb cuts of top sirloin
• 8 potato’s (Idaho of course…unless you da ho!)
• 8 ears of corn

Peach Cobbler Afterglow:

• 2.5 cans of sliced peaches w/heavy syrup (28oz-30oz cans)
• 1 cup self rising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

The first step for the grillmaster should always be his heat, for this session (and anytime meat hits my grill) I will be using lump charcoal. You can’t beat the heat, burntime and cost of some real lump charcoal. I like to see branches and small animals mixed in the bag, that’s how you know it’s old country BBQ like our forefathers intended. Throw in a little Mike’s for yourself!

This stack will burn at about 350-400º for about an hour and a half then get down to about 300-350º. I’ll add a refresher of about half the original amount just before I get the meat on so I can have greater control over my cook time. Remember lump charcoal burns HOT so be cautious when placing your items directly over the coals, you may want to lower the coals to the lowest height your rack supports or utilize your firebox. You will want to double up the amount of coals used when cooking indirect via the firebox.

The Sides

Our baked potato’s will need a good 45min+ out on the coals so we’ll go ahead and prep them first. (To shorten your cook time you may place the potato’s in the microwave first for about 10min, be sure to puncture the skin first! This will pre-soften your potato’s leaving the grill time to impart mostly just flavor to the spuds.)

Baked Potato Wrap:

• Potato
• Aluminum Foil
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder

Set out your ingredients listed above. Grab your aluminum foil and roll out enough foil to wrap your potato with an overlap on the tops and sides.

Place your potato in the center of the foil, placing a spoon full of butter on the top of the potato (this will help keep your potato from drying out and give a nice crisp your skins). Next season to taste with the Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder.

With your seasoning out of the way you may now wrap your spud in the foil. Start by folding the long sides up and over your potato (much like a peppermint candy), finish off by fold the edges up and over the center of the potato.

With all of your potato’s prepped and wrapped we are ready for the grill. I like to place my potato’s right over the coals, even as they are ashing over so I can get a good heat under the butter to help crisp up the skins. Your butter will burn if left unchecked so you will want to rotate often to keep the heat even. After about 15min of rotating on direct heat you can move these off to your indirect side of the grill for the remainder of the time. Giving the potato’s at least 45min grill-time ensures your baked potato’s will be piping hot and ready for the fork. Serve with butter and cheese for best results.

Off The Cob:

Corn is corn. Peel, boil and serve with butter. I go with about 30min boil or until the corn is soft but not to mushy.

The Meat:

With our potato’s on it’s time to get down to business. I like to keep my steaks simple as not to mess with the natural flavor already so graciously bestowed upon the cut by our Creator so we’ll make a rub that is meant to compliment not overpower.

Steak Rub (per 2lb of meat):

• 2tsp Onion Powder
• 1tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1tbsp Salt
• 1tbsp Pepper
• 1tbsp Chili Powder (optional)

Grab your ingredients and a bowl, combine your mixture and give a little mix-up. Next rub your spices on both sides of your meat. The above recipe covers about 2lb cuts nicely. However your may increase the rub amount dependent upon your taste preferences.

While you let the rub set you’ll want to check on your coals and transfer your potato’s to the indirect side of your grill. I like to do traditional thin cuts like Top Sirloin at about 350º.

Just before laying your steaks on the grate make sure your grate is nice and ready to give a good hot sear to your steak.

Sear for about 5min on each side then lower your coals to prevent burning. Close your lid and try to flip your steaks often as lump charcoal can burn your meat quite quickly.

This is where the “master” comes into grillmaster. Based on your heat and coal positions your cook time will vary. Check your meat often, when pushing on the meat you should feel the same resistance as the meaty part of your thumb. Of course a 165º on the inside is your goal.

The Sweet Stuff:

• 2.5 cans of sliced peaches w/heavy syrup (28oz-30oz cans)
• 1 cup self rising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

This one is pretty easy. Your first step will be to make your “dough”. Add your milk and vanilla to your mixing bowl, gently mix while slowly adding your flour. Next add in your stick of butter to the mix and continue mixing until well mixed.

Preheat the oven to 375º and in an oven safe bowl (not to shallow and not to deep) pour your “dough” in and bake for 10-15min or until dough has risen.

While waiting for your dough to rise, heat your 2.5 cans of peaches w/ heavy syrup and 1 cup of sugar on the stovetop. When dough has risen remove from oven and pour peach mix into center of dough bowl, do not stir.

Cook the completed dish for another 35min at 375º or until brown. Your dough should overtake your peaches and form a top layer of dough. Cool and serve a scoop with some Vanilla ice-cream.

Foods Ready!

I started by brining the salmon in water, salt, brown sugar, and onion and garlic powder.

Once that brined and dried, I got everything together to organize and plan.

The salmon went on first, brushed with extra virgin olive oil.

At the same time, the onions went next to the coals below the fish.

After 90 minutes, the onions came off the charcoal to cool and be peeled and cut.

While they were cooling, I rubbed the chicken with my standard BBQ rub.

After 2 hours of smoking, the salmon came off the grill to rest.

Sides were prepared.

Then the chicken went on the grill with the onions to finish cooking.

When the chicken came off, the asparagus went on to finish up.

By then, everyone was so hungry, I couldn’t get a picture of a full plate, so you’ll just have to imagine. So in place of that, I’ll give you two photos of my kids from a baseball game earlier that weekend. Enjoy!

The Ingredients

Ingredients for Meathead's Memphis Dust (click image for recipe)

I like to serve my ribs dry and let people pick their sauces. I find these two cover the spectum from rich & sweet to tangy & wet.

Easily my favorite cut of ribs. Some people like baby backs, I like St Louis cause they have more meat and take the smoke better in my opinion. A technique I use is to roll em up and let them dry into a paper towel lined tray. When the ribs are a dry as possible more of the rub actually stays on the ribs. Try it!

In regards to wood and charcoal. I rarely grill with lump charcoal. I find it's difficult to control the heat. However for smoking, using the minion method and wood chunks, you can get a pretty consistant burn if your smoker has a firebox.

The Cook

So this is where things got a little dicey…  My thermometer batteries died.  I forgot the water pan and didn’t add it until about halfway through the cook.  I planned on using the minion method for the smoking and put the lit coals in first and the unlit ones on top (good thing I didn’t have the meat on, it would have been a disaster).  In the end I got everything under control.  The takeaway? Use a cooking log, seriously…  Enjoy the pictures!

While my Apple-wood bacon wrapped onions were soaking in a molasses marinade I started preparing the roasted edamame salad.

Cutting the corn for the salad

Placing the edamame into the bowl

I put the edamame, corn, scallion, garlic, olive oil and a few spices in a bowl, mixed them up then spread it all out in a pan to get roasted in the oven.

OK, salad is roasting, time to make the olive spread.

Chopping the olives, capers, garlic and olive oil

I mixed up a half cup green olives, half cup black olives, tablespoon capers, some garlic and olive oil to spread on the burgers.  Once that was done I grabbed my appetizers and threw them on the grill.

These little guys needed constant basting while they grilled

It was a constant flip and baste to make sure they didn’t get burnt.  After a few minutes they were ready.

Sweet onions wrapped in bacon appetizers

I went back in to chill the edamame salad and prepare the burgers for the grill.  Each burger patty consisted of a meat patty, topped with smoked gouda cheese, topped again with the other half of the burger patty.  I placed some boy scout BBQ spices on top and threw them on the grill.

Stuffed smoked gouda burgers grilling (hot dogs for the kids)

Once the burgers were finished I took them inside where I put the olive spread on top and served it on Italian sweet bread.  The roasted edamame salad was cooled off and was paired with a fruit salad.

Grilled smoked gouda stuffed burger with olive spread on Italian sweet bread

And to feel young again, the drink of choice was raspberry lemonade with a Twizzlers straw.

Being a kid again with the Twizzlers straw

And last but not least was the dessert.  I melted some dark Godiva chocolate, mixed in some chipotle spice to give it a little heat but contrasted it with fresh strawberries to dip.

Godiva, chipotle and strawberries...mmmmmm...

My family really enjoyed the meal and I’m looking forward to my next big BBQ!

The burgers were seasoned in one of my (and seems to be growing quickly on @JoleneNicole) favorite local BBQ Companies (CJ Pub) Seasoning. The corn was hand crafted by @shannonmgraham with her Lime, Cilantro Butter seasoning, and the Guacamole was done once again by our friend @pastorjayme. Enjoy the photos there; will be more explaining to come but for now click the fifth star above and vote for a BBQ Celebrated by friends.

With any great BBQ one must know that prep work is vital to the end result; we had much help in the kitchen for this battle.

The unfortunate part of the battle was the lens that I’ve used to take beautiful shots like this; did meet the floor and will need to be sent in to the shop to be fixed. [insert sad emotion here].



Walter took the reigns on the grill; he is a low temp, slow cooking, tender grill master; much like he is in his calling as a pastor.


Guacamole tends to be a Grahamberton home favorite. Jayme took lead on creating the dish, and if you’ve not yet mastered the art of it; click here




I learned young in marriage that when you eat corn, you eat it with the husk on; that IS your corn holders. (Somedays I think I still miss my plastic little corn forks).




Every dinner should end with chocolate right?

Apparently the Guac’ wasn’t quite ready yet, may have been a bit sour? It’s @jolenenicole if you want to tweet her about this photo (and please do).

and like I said its the people you BBQ with that make the BBQ a success. Walt and Allie were showing me the number of hand claps they had mastered.

And I’m sure we were the ONLY BBQ war team that brought in a slip-n-slide, right?! (I’m afraid Aaron might have missed most of the sliding part on this run).
Tux seemed to have had his turn on the slip-n-slide also.

To top that memory we built a smoker from scratch in 2 days and 6 evenings (not consecutive), starting 18 days before Memorial Day.

So enough back story, lets get to the meat! I bought 3 racks of ribs, a chicken, and a 10 pound pork shoulder to help break in the new smoker.

The Night Before

Daniel and I started by removing the membrane from the ribs and then rubbing the ribs and shoulder with Meatheads Memphis Dust.

The chicken got a good coating of Simon and Garfunkel rub.

Memorial Day Morning

I awoke at 8am on Memorial Day and built a good fire in The Smoker with charcoal and hickory chunks. I pre-lit the coals with my handy charcoal chimney.

When the smoker was up to temp I added some pans with apple juice and water and then placed the chicken and pork butt on the grates.

Then we sealed the lid and waited 3 hours.

Lunchtime

At lunchtime we swapped out the chicken for some ribs.

Lunch was the smoked chicken, steakhouse potato salad, and grilled asparagus.

The Apple Pie

After lunch my wife started making what has to be one of the best, and most dangerous, BBQ drinks I’ve ever had. Its called Apple Pie.

Recreation

Daniel and I enjoyed some pool time with his son (essential part to good BBQ is cooling down).

Dinner Prep

As dinner time approached we made sweet and sour slaw and corn to go with the ribs.

I made a BBQ sauce with these ingredients.

After 5 hours of smoking the ribs went into the oven for 30 minutes to steam, sealed up with some of the Apple Pie drink because we ran out of apple juice. Then onto the grill with our homemade BBQ sauce to crisp up a bit.

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Almost there! The spread, ready for us to dig in and eat.

The Feast

I can’t explain the joy I get from working together with family and friends to create great BBQ, the sides, the drinks, and then sharing it around a table, thankful for all that God has blessed us with. The ribs were amazing. Steaming with the Apple Pie drink enhanced the flavor, topping our last BBQ adventure. We didn’t quite hit the texture mark perfectly, but we know what to do differently next time.

Dessert

Last but not least is a chocolate and peanut butter cake courtesy of my wife (in honor of my brother in law’s birthday also being this weekend).

* the title of my entry is an homage to the show Chuck
* the pork butt ended up taking 16 hours to complete, which was fine since the 3 racks of ribs were more than enough to feed us