What could be better? You throw the burgers on the grill … wait - the kids want hot dogs. And Jimmy (not his real name) wants chicken. Chicken? How about steak? Rachel (not her real name) won’t eat meat. Are there vegetables around here somewhere?

Hey - where’s dad? The burgers are burning. Oh well, you weren’t going to eat them anyway. Now Charlie (ok, that’s his real name) informs you he’s on a diet - so forget that potato salad. Where are those vegetables? Never mind. That pizza delivery number is around here somewhere.

Is that is your summer grilling experience? It is ours. If it’s yours then this plan is for you. A fool-proof, Everyone Gets What They Want No One Gets Stuck Behind the Grill Mild Stomachs to Heat Freaks Are All Happy, SUMMER GRILLING PARTY PLAN. Did I mention it’s healthy? And vegetarian friendly? Read on for all the details.

THE PLAN

You are going to host a shish kabob bar-b-que. Everyone picks their own meat and vegetable combination, and everyone spices and cooks their own kabobs. You are going to sit back and enjoy your party.

THE MEAT

Pick your meat. Your meat needs to be a thick cut, and easy to skewer. For instance, London broil or boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.

The easiest way to prepare the meat is to cut everything into about 1″ cubes. It is easier to cut if it is partially frozen, plus the meat will stay fresher while grilling.

Since the meat will be combined with vegetables, you will only need about 1/4 pound per person. Ok, maybe more for Dad.

THE VEGETABLES

Now choose your vegetables. You will need some onions and peppers, as well as milder vegetables like zucchini and summer squash. Mushrooms do not work well - they tend to crumble on the skewer. If you use potatoes, use small canned ones - regular raw potatoes take too long to cook on a skewer.

Everything can be cut ahead of time. Cut everything into chunks that will be easy to skewer. Onions and peppers work best if they but in half, then cut each half into four sections.

Squash should be sliced into 1/2 inch slices. When you use tomatoes, pick large cherry tomatoes that can be added whole - slices do not work well on skewers.

THE SPICES

Here’s the fun part of this grilling party - spicing your kabobs. Have several different types of sauces and spices available for guests to choose.

You will need the basics like pepper, various salts, lime, chili powder, cilantro. Also include bottled marinades, bbq sauce, even some salad dressings. Be sure you cover the whole range of spices, from hot and zesty to mild and sweet.

Depending on how picky your guests are you might want to have some of the kabobs cooked up unspiced and then let them add their own, if any.

THE SIDE DISHES

Because you already have meat and vegetables, you will need only a few side dishes. Pasta salad works well, and fruit platters. Keep it light to complement the meat and grilled vegetables.

THE SUPPLIES

You don’t need anything fancy for this grilling party. Just skewers, and the usual utensils.

Bamboo skewers work well, and you can throw them away. You will need a shallow pan of water to soak them in 15 minutes before the grilling starts.

One note about plates, since the kabob will be straight off the grill, Styrofoam plates do not work. They melt. Use paper if you want a disposable plate.

THE PARTY

Pre-cut all the vegetables and meat, and prepare the side dishes ahead of time. Now, all you have to do is cook your own kabob.

To assemble the kabobs, just add whatever meat and vegetables you want to the skewer. Now, add spices. Grill until the meat is cooked to your taste. Slide the kabob off the skewer, and you’re ready to eat.

And you get to enjoy your guests, rather than running around pleasing Jimmy, and Rachel, and Charlie, and…

Those who are serious about cooking and eating their barbeque should check out these BBQ secrets!

Your barbecue sauce will decide your outdoor cooking success. Sure, not all barbecue cooks use sauce in their cooking, they will sometimes use a barbecue rub instead. Even so, a bbq sauce should always be passed around for dipping.

There are more different barbecue sauces and ways to make barbecue than you can count, but generally there are just a few different kinds of sauces that make up the vast majority. For every class of barbecue sauce, there is one base ingredient that gives it its own particular distinction.

These classes of barbecue sauces are quite often regional in their popularity. In other words, traditionally you tend to see certain kinds of sauces in certain regions and areas of the United States.

Listed here, in no particular order, are the larger classes and regions of barbecue sauces that are most commonly found. Included is the base ingredient for each sauce and the particular meat or cut of meat most often associated with that regions’ barbecue.

(1) Texas Barbecue Sauce - This is a sweet and spicy sauce that uses ketchup as its base ingredient. Texas barbecue starts with beef and usually ends with beef.

(2) Memphis Barbecue Sauce - Not as sweet or spicy as Texas sauce, Memphis sauce usually includes tomatoes and vinegar as its base ingredients. It is also a thinner sauce. Ribs are Memphis’ users favorite cut of meat to barbecue.

(3) Carolina Barbecue Sauce - Within the Carolinas, barbecue can actually be broken down into three distinct regions of sauces. Pork shoulder or butt is king of all the Carolina barbecue meats.

In Eastern North Carolina, a thin sauce heavy in vinegar is the desired choice.

In Western North Carolina, a thicker, sweeter “red” sauce made of ketchup or tomato sauce is the favorite flavor.

In South Carolina, people tend to go for a thick barbecue sauce that uses mustard as its base ingredient.

(4) Alabama Barbecue Sauce - One of the more unusual sauces, this is “white” and uses mayonnaise (which will completely turn off my wife) as its base ingredient. This is used on chicken, turkey, or pork.

(5) Kansas City Barbecue Sauce - This is a thick, red sauce. Kansas City barbecue uses a lot of sauce on many different kinds of meat. Pork and beef the most common types of meat in Kansas City.

This list in no way included all the types of barbecue sauce styles there are. Versions of each type of sauce can be found in regions throughout the United States. And of course, different recipes within the regions can be found everywhere.

Choose a barbecue sauce that fits your taste. Find a few good recipes for that type of sauce. Then try different ingredients and add them to your base ingredient to make this recipe into your personal signature sauce.

Of course, the perfect BBQ is more than just the sauce, though that’s a big part of it. The right grill, time, temperature, cooking element, and so on are all important. Go here and see how the pros do it.

Many outdoor cooks close and cover up their grills and smokers for the winter months. They do all their cooking inside and force themselves to forget the great taste of outdoor-cooked food for long stretches of time.

Those who love to cook outdoors and enjoy eating grilled, smoked, or barbecued foods do not like to quit doing so just because it is cold outside. Outdoor cooking is not a passion that can be turned on and off because of the weather. It is a year-round love of some of the best-tasting food there is anywhere.

Fortunately, there are many ways to get around this dilemma of being left out in the cold when cooking outdoors in the winter.

Grilling is a process of cooking food quickly over an open flame. The operative word is “quickly” as this allows you to cook the food without having to spend a long time outside.

With a gas grill, where you control the heat, you can cook a steak or hamburger in just a few minutes. Because of the constant high heat, you will not be forced to stay outside in the elements for long stretches of time. And if the weather is really bad, you can time your cooking and be there to flip the meat or get it off the grill.

Other outdoor cooking methods work even better in the cold weather. A smoker, by its very nature, is designed to cook food at very low temperatures for long periods of time. In any environment, once you get the fire right, you basically put the meat in the smoker and forget about it for several hours. While you are inside, the meat is slowly cooking outside just the way it is supposed to.

Barbecue cooking works in a similar way, as well. It is cooked slow and over an indirect fire, although not usually as slow-cooked as in a smoker. Therefore, it pretty much cooks itself once you get the fire just right. With barbecue, it is usually better to leave it alone. The meat will be less likely to dry out and the fire will stay at more of a constant temperature.

Start getting into the mindset that cooking outside is not just a summer event. You will soon discover that the food actually benefits from being left alone, and you will be able to enjoy the great tastes of outdoor cooking all year and under just about any weather condition.

32 (4oz.) Gourmet Burgers from Omaha Steaks.

Here are some tips for buying good meat and for properly storing it.

Good Quality Veal
It should be grayish pink in color. The fat will be clear, firm and white. The bones should be red and there should be little marbling.

Good Quality Beef
Beef should be a fresh, red color. It should be well marbled with fat. Here is where you have to be careful. If you look at hamburger at the supermarket, some can be found to be a brownish color, or turning a brownish color. Pass on this meat and make certain it is a red color throughout.

Good Quality Lamb
Varies from light to dark pink. The color turns darker as the animal grows older. The lighter the color, the more tender the lamb.

Good Quality Pork
A good cut of pork will be grayish pink and the flesh feels relatively firm. It should be well marbled and covered with firm white fat.

When you bring your meat home, you should immediately refrigerate it. If you plan to divide it up and freeze portions, try to do so as soon as possible. When putting the meat in freezer bags, try to remove as much air from the bag as possible. Label the meat and include the date you froze it.

The length of time meat can be frozen varies greatly, but beef will generally keep longer than pork. Roasts, steaks and chops are good for four to six months, hamburger for three to four months, and poultry for nine months.

Any freezer burning that occurs does not necessarily mean the food is inedible. The taste will be tougher and dry and it is best to cut off the freezer burn portions. If the entire meat is freezer burned, toss it.

The best way to thaw meat is in the refrigerator. While you can use the defrost cycle of the microwave, the meat will tend to lose some of it’s flavor. Small portions can be thawed overnight. Large cuts of meat may take two days, although a turkey will take three to four days. Plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time to defrost your meat before your meal.

You should not thaw out meat and then refreeze it. When you thaw out your meat, make plans to cook it that day or the next.

Food safety is important and you should take the time to make certain you are serving your family the healthiest meat you possibly can. For meat that’s both healthy and delicious look into these Omaha Steaks T-Bones.

The barbecue is a time to savor the smells of roasting meat and to enjoy the company of good friends. It is a time-honored social gathering and a way almost to get back to nature. The next time you hold a barbecue, check your guest list. Not everyone on the list is your friend. Who are the bad guys? Bacteria.

We live in an atmosphere swirling with fungus, yeast, mold, and bacteria. Normally these microscopic meddlers pose no problem to us. After all, we’ve lived with them for millions of years. It is only when they find a suitable habitat and grow out of control that they can cause us harm. Bacteria are some of the most dangerous, because they flourish on what your are about to put on the grill: raw meat.

Here are some barbecue safety tips to help ensure that your cookout is a trip down memory land instead of a trip to the emergency room.

Use Proper Meat Handling Procedures

Dirty hands and cooking utensils can spread bacteria around a kitchen like a tornado. Always wash your hands both before and after handling raw meat. When preparing for your barbecue, never reuse a plate or container that has held raw meat. If you marinated your raw meat, never pour the marinade over partially or fully cooked meat, or place cooked meat back into the marinade. You may be adding harmful bacteria back into the meat.

Use Proper Cooking Temperatures

Heat kills most bacteria. Cook your barbecue meats to the proper temperatures to kill any unwanted bacteria. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends the following minimum grilling temperatures.

Cook ground beef to 160 F (71 C)
Cook steaks to at least 145 F (63 C)
Cook chicken breasts to 170 F (77 C)
Cook pork to 160 F (71 C) for medium or 170 F (77 C) for well done.

Note that these are the recommended minimum internal temperatures of the meat. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the items being grilled, especially of you have thick cuts of meat. Never use a dirty meat thermometer. Always wash it thoroughly between uses so that your aren’t reintroducing bacteria back into your food.

For those of us who like our steak a little more rare than the 145 internal temp will allow, we just have to be aware that there is a tiny bit more risk here. Of course, there’s risk in getting into the car and driving anywhere. Most of any bacteria will be on the surface of the meat, which is the part that contacts the greatest heat. For those who like to sear it 3 seconds on a side just beware of the potential side-effects.

Pregnant Women Beware!

If you are pregnant, let someone else handle all the raw meat preparation and grilling at your barbecue. If you have to handle it yourself then pay a little more attention to the handling of the raw meat and to proper clean up.

Finally, if you are at someone else’s barbecue, nicely let your hosts know of your bacterial concerns and make sure they follow proper grilling procedures, or lie and tell them you’d like your steak a little more done. It might be going too far to bring your own meat thermometer, but some neighbors might think it amusing. Especially if you’re good friends.

Barbecue Safety Isn’t Difficult

Don’t let germ concern hold back your next barbecue. A little soap and water, common sense, and a clean meat thermometer can take any bacterial worries out of your next barbecue.

In fact, if you want to upgrade your BBQ experience try this all-natural, 100% grass-fed Black Angus beef from Montana

Just like your regular kitchen, the one in your yard needs some planning. How often will it be used? How many people will you be cooking for? Are you going to barbecue (you’d better) or just grill meals? Will it need to function for full course meals? Or just quick and small dinners?

In our case, since our kids won’t eat anything cooked in a BBQ or on a grill (with the possible exception of a hot dog,) we don’t require a big outdoor kitchen. Our neighbors, who have people over regularly, do have use for one that is much larger than ours.

Some other questions that have to be decided first: Will it be on the deck or the patio? Next to the house or out in the yard? Should it be covered by a roof extension or a canopy or a gazebo in case of rain?

If it is going to have electrical appliances, then what kind of power will you need? Running a 110 volt power cord is easier and cheaper than burying a cable, but running that underground cable gives you more options (and the cable is better protected and arguably safer.)

Plan and lay out your design on a piece of graph paper. Measure your own kitchen so you can get a feel for what kind of space you’ll need. For inspiration, plans, and guidelines you’ll want to get a solid book before you start.

Do a physical layout of your outdoor kitchen with chalk or string, and get a feel for size and what goes where. This is the time to really think about the details. Jot down all your thoughts in a notebook.

Make sure you factor in exactly what kind of cooking you’ll be doing and leave some room for expansion. For example: if you’re only Barbecuing then you don’t need a stove top, but maybe you should consider a stove top for creating sauces, etc.

Do you need a refrigerator out there to hold your meats and veggies and such? Or just to hold a few sodas? If all the food is stored in the house (a good idea in many areas) then you can easily make do with a small fridge.

What kind of storage do you want? Will you have a dedicated outdoor set of dishes or just carry them from the house?

Will you be doing the food prep outdoors? If so you’ll want a sink and will need the appropriate plumbing hookups.

Now about those bugs… I mean the flying ones, not the technical ones. In our area it’s wasps, yellow jackets, and flies. The insect traps that you can get from the hardware store handle the yellow jackets and flies just fine. As for the wasps, we find the nests while they’re small, and we use one of those wasp sprays with the 20′ stream on the nest. Fewer bugs make for a much nicer meal!

Speaking of which… are you going to have an indoor or outdoor eating area? Will it be covered?

If you’re going to be adding any power or plumbing or permanent structures, then you might want to hop on down to your local building department and see if any kind of permit is required. Keeping everything legal can help to avoid certain headaches later on (such as when you sell the house) and the inspections just might catch something that needs to be caught, such as a bad power hookup.

With a little planning you should be able to put up an outdoor kitchen which will not only make for better barbecue, but will have your neighbors becoming a lot more friendly. Good luck!

Here’s a cool video on how to build a barbecue surround for your outdoor kitchen.

squidoo bbq

Solaire gas grills have a unique cooking system. Instead of using briquettes for lava rock as a convection heat source, Solaire gas grills use radiant infrared heat to cook the food. This is the same cooking technology that is used in the finest steak houses, so the great taste of professional grills is available in your own backyard.

Most gas grills on the market today cook by convection. There are several disadvantages to this method. The hood must be closed in order to raise the temperature of the cooking area, and whenever the hood is opened the temperature quickly drops. The food is cooked by the heated air, and this results in dried out food.

Solaire gas grills on the other hand, are specially designed to produce high temperature, radiant heat. The hood on Solaire gas grills can be left open because the heating elements are cooking the food rather than the heated air. The intense heat of the infrared burner seers the outside of the food, locking in taste and moisture. The result is succulent, flavorful food which cooks in a fraction of the time of traditional gas grills.

There are several models of Solaire gas grills to choose from. The 27″ Petite Solaire Infrared Built-in Gas Grill (model number SOL-IRBQ-27G) has three infrared burners producing 27,000 BTUs. The total grilling area is 461 square inches, and there is a an optional electric rotisserie available. This model can operate on either propane or natural gas with the conversion kit which is included with the grill.

The Solaire 30 Inch Infra-Red Gas Grill has two infrared burners producing 55,000 BTUs. There is a total of 703 square inches of cooking area, and an optional electric rotisserie. This model can be installed on a portable cart or it can be built in to a customized cabinet. It can operate on either propane or natural gas.

For heavy-duty professional style cooking, the Solaire 42 Inch Infra-Red Gas Grill on Cart offers 82,500 BTUs and 1027 square inches of grilling area. On the other end of the scale, the Solaire Portable Gas Grill is a compact grill that can be carried anywhere. It operates on 1 pound propane bottles that offer one hour of cooking time.

About the Author

Ross is editor of Patio Furniture and Barbeque Grills
and is specialized in Barbecue related products

Solaire Gas Grills on eBay.com

While it should go without saying that barbecuing can be dangerous there always seem to be someone who hasn’t grasped the fact that grills are hot and tools are sharp.

Most of the safety tips are just common sense and a good cook will generally follow them without much thought. For the newer cook there are a few habits to learn.
If young children are around, those habits are even more important. They haven’t yet learned that a barbeque is anything more than a big black box.

The first key to any safe practice is awareness. Because it’s static and relatively quiet, it’s easy to forget that barbeques are hot, full of smoke, can spit up flames at unexpected moments and can splatter hot grease.

When you’re about to lift the lid on your grill, remember that it’s full of hot air (like a politician) and possibly a fair amount of smoke. When you open the lid all that heat and smoke will escape. Just make sure that your face isn’t over the grill and it won’t be a problem. Also make sure that your kids are aware of that heat and smoke.

If you’ve been cooking for more than a few minutes you’ll have plenty of heat and smoke built up. Getting a grill or smoker that has handles on the side, rather than solely in front, can be a big help here. Lifting as you stand to the side will avoid most of the smoke, which tends to shoot out the (larger) open area in the front.

If you use a charcoal grill, and even with some gas or electrics, it’s helpful to have a spray bottle of water within easy reach. It’s very useful for spraying your hands, arms, or even face if you touch something hot or get grease spattered.

While water is pretty useless for dousing a grease fire it does help reduce the temperature if that grease hits the skin. That’s true of any kind of burn, too. If there is a grease fire just close the lid and turn the heating element off. The fire will suffocate and you’ll be ok.

Having the right tools and taking your time is always a good idea. If you’re new to certain activities, like unthreading kabob over the grill or turning a fish basket, practice over a flat spot in the kitchen. When you’ve mastered the physical movements in a cool, safe environment, you’re less likely to have accidents over the grill.

Always be prepared for the unexpected. Steaks stick, burgers break in two, chicken skin peels off, and it’s all really hot. Spraying the grill to minimize that may or may not work depending on your grill type, recipe, and other factors. Never let your desire to ’save the meal’ get you into trouble. No piece of meat is worth a bad burn.

After you’re done, always let the grill cool before attempting some types of clean up. Many clean up guides will say that scraping a hot grill is easier than cleaning a cold one. That’s true, since as the material cools it bonds to the grill. Scraping from a distance (long handle) is safe, but cleaning a hot grill with a wire brush is foolish, since you’ll invariably fling hot bits of material onto your skin and possibly into your eyes. Scrape first and then scrub (if you need to) when the grill is cool.

Develop the habits to keep your barbequing safe and you’ll enjoy those BBQ dinners a lot more.