Inspire your BBQ
Written by Mike Cheliak on April 28, 2009 – 7:18 am -I pretty much BBQ all year round although I don’t do much in the snowy season here in Southern Ontario. Now that April is almost over; I officially launch my BBQ season and do so with the same intention every year…Inspire my BBQ!
I have a Vermont Castings Grille and named it “Russ”. Yes I named it! I actually visited him in the store a couple times a week before my wife and kids presented him to me on Father’s Day (completely assembled I might add!). The key to a good BBQ is actually having a good BBQ!
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a BBQ although you can. You do need to have quality components (cast iron burners and grille plates) as well as a sturdy body. I have 5 main burners, an infrared rotissary burner and side burner on mine but you can get away with 3 main burners. Don’t go for two burners…it isn’t enough!
Thai Lime Prawn Skewers
Now to the point of all this…the food! I am a die hard food lover. I eat very healthy but I don’t allow that to get in the way of making and eating interesting food all the time. Sure, the good old burgs and dogs are a great standby but 90% of the time, I opt for something “alternative”.
I grille everything! Meat, veggies and anything else that needs cooking! A typical BBQ season meal for us is grilled meat, grilled veggies including either yams or taters and a salad. Easy, enjoyable and healthy.
Using your imagination to “Inspire your BBQ” is easy! With the Internet, you can jump online, Google anything and come up with an inspired meal in less time than it takes to fetch the hot dogs from the freezer! Try using ground lamb in a kebab or Greek Burger or flank steak (great when marinated and properly cut). Grille your seafood and fish, use a cedar plank, search for ethnically diverse meals from Morocco, Turkey, India or any other country and continent. Doing a “themed” meal is really a fantastic way to entertain and with great sites like Epicurious (www.epicurious.com) and tonnes of resource sites to help pair wines and beverages…you can WOW the crowd instead of just feeding them!
Being diverse on the grille is not difficult. If you are able to grille your usual fare, you can grill more un-usual fare! Your taste buds will thank you and trust me…your family and friends will thank you! You WILL be the coolest Grill-Meister on the block.
In Happiness and Health as always!
Mike C.
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