BBQ or Grilling as Defined by the Campside Chef!

I just love bringing you these guest articles! New perspectives, new recipes, new ideas from some really great cooks. This guest post is from Ronald Loeber from www.CampsideChef.com. Ron presents his take on BBQ vs Grilling, hope you enjoy his perspective!

 

Barbequing & Grilling…Are they the same?

Campside Chef BBQ Grill 640x480 BBQ or Grilling as Defined by the Campside Chef!

 

A lot of people confuse these two cooking techniques. You wouldn’t barbeque a burger, unless you want a hockey puck for dinner. You wouldn’t grill a beef brisket. Slapping barbeque sauce on some grilled chicken doesn’t make it barbequed chicken. How many times have you been invited to a “barbeque” only to find out its only hamburgers & hotdogs? I’m going to shed some light on the two different techniques and hopefully this will get you some points at your next outdoor cooking adventure.

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Barbeque defined: Well, this is my take on it at least. Barbeque is supposed to be at low temperatures, usually between 225°F & 275°F but can vary 25°F either way. Barbeque is a slow process and that’s the fun part of it. It gives you more time to enjoy the party! You will also have everyone salivating with the awesome scents coming from your barbeque. Barbeque should take hours to prepare, not minutes. Usually tougher cuts of meat are used like beef brisket. Ribs are another favorite. Marinades are often used to help break down the connective tissue that makes meat so tough. The use of charcoal and different types of wood such as hickory, mesquite & oak are mainstays of the barbeque master. I have an inventory of fourteen different types of wood to smoke from with each one infusing a different flavor into my food.

mmmm....chicken 640x480 BBQ or Grilling as Defined by the Campside Chef!

 

Grilling defined: this cooking technique is defined by much higher temperatures, around 500°F. The meat is seared which caramelizes the outside surface. The process of caramelization brings the naturally occurring sugars to the surface of the meat and gives it that great taste we are accustomed to when grilling. Grilling is a short process that takes minutes, not hours to prepare. Marinades may be used but wouldn’t recommend it for tender cuts of meat such as New York strip, porterhouse or t-bone steaks. Grilling is also characterized by using smaller, individual sized portions. Charcoal is also used to grill, but foods usually don’t grill long enough to get that deep rich smoky flavor that is associated with barbequing.

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Although there are some common traits to barbequing & grilling, in the end they are not the same. The important thing to remember is the type & cut of meat should define which one of these cooking methods you use. Don’t be afraid to use your grill like a barbeque. Set the temperature down low and add some wood chips into the mix. These definitions are not set in stone; they are guidelines to go by. Use your imagination and impress your friends the next time you have an outdoor cooking adventure!

Ron Loeber,

Campside Chef

 

Ron Loeber can be found at www.Campsidechef.com sharing camping recipes, videos and stories. Ron is an avid camper dispensing great tips to all of his fans, making thier next camping trip a whole lot better than their last!

Thanks Ron – hope to see you back with another great article soon.

Gary

 

 

 

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”
fire052 BBQ or Grilling as Defined by the Campside Chef!



Grilled Wahoo steaks on the Island grillstone

6625544793 35012c7137 Grilled Wahoo steaks on the Island grillstone
The wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh make it a prize game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is known as ono. Many Hispanic areas of the Caribbean and Central America refer to this fish as peto.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

“Tastes like Chicken!” So my exclaimes my young son, wolfing down another bite. Not too chicken like for me though, delightfuly subtle taste and texture, accented with only salt and pepper. I perfer to define Wahoo as a firm, flakey white fish that textures simular to Salmon but with little flavor to overly dominate the taste. Centainly a new “go-to” fish for me. I picked up a flash frozen package of three steaks from my local Trader Joe’s.

6625482165 ec6daa4651 Grilled Wahoo steaks on the Island grillstone

Start off pre-heating your Island Grillstone to 350 degrees. Three pieces of bacon should do the job! Grill till crisp, remove to cool on a paper towel. Remove most of the bacon grease from your Island Grillstone before continuing to the next step.

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A little EVOO, salt and pepper only.

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Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. You don’t want to over cook your Wahoo steaks, think medium done.

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Remove Wahoo and keep warm. Start with some sliced garlic and red peppers. A little salt and pepper here also. Grill till tender.

6625521795 bbca20c70e Grilled Wahoo steaks on the Island grillstoneHeap on a pile of fresh spinach and grill till limp.

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Place the spinach mix on a plate, add Wahoo steaks, crumble bacon and then drizzle on the honey balsamic sauce.

It was all quite good if I say so myself!

Grilled Wahoo steaks on the Island grillstone
Print
Recipe type: Grilling
Author: Gary House
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 3
Ingredients
  • 3 slices of bacon
  • 3 Wahoo steaks
  • EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 1 whole red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 bunch, fresh spinach, washed, dried
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup honey
Instructions
  1. Start off pre-heating your Island grillstone to 350 degrees.
  2. Grill bacon till crisp, remove to cool on a paper towel.
  3. Remove most of the bacon grease from your Island Grillstone
  4. Wash and dry Wahoo steaks
  5. Coat evenly with EVOO
  6. Salt and pepper all sides lightly
  7. Grill Wahoo steaks for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. You don’t want to over cook these. Turning only one time.
  8. Remove Wahoo and keep warm.
  9. Start with some sliced garlic and red peppers. Grill till tender.
  10. Add spinach to Island grillstone and cook with the garlic and red bell pepper till spinach is limp. About 5 minutes
  11. Place the spinach mix on a plate, add Wahoo steaks and crumbled bacon.
  12. Blend honey and balsamic together and drizzle over the Wahoo steaks.

 

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”
fire052 Grilled Wahoo steaks on the Island grillstone



English Muffin Burgers on the Island Grillstone

6309083292 4b2d91fc5d m English Muffin Burgers on the Island Grillstone I have never been to White Castle to try those famous mini burgers I have heard so much about and maybe that is a good thing. Sometimes the myth is greater than the legend and the legend is grander that the facts. Sliders have been sweeping the cooking shows and magazines for a while now and I have yet to try one of those either.

Not to encroach upon the Sliders phenomenon but these English muffin sized burgers grilled on my new Island Grillstone were packed with great flavor! This was greatly due to the piles of goodies placed on top of the burgers when I assembled them. Avocado, smoked mozzarella cheese, lettuce and tomato to tower over a burger larger than a hand span defying the odds of easy eating, having to smash it down in order to consume the tasty morsel.

6307636749 1d1c551e83 m English Muffin Burgers on the Island Grillstone Everyone has an opinion on the type, grade, blend and fat ratio; so many opinions can make my head spin. I prefer to select a 15% fat ratio from a prime cut of beef. Now before the hackles rise and the war begins over my declaration, I want to add that I prefer to taste the beef as opposed to the taste of fat. IMHO a 20 – 30% fat ratio is too greasy for my personal taste and waters down the taste of the beef. Why am I making this statement? For the simple reason that the English muffin burgers recipe below is slightly different from the one I cooked. This new recipe recommends a leaner cut of beef, a recommended 15% or even better try buffalo or beefalo. It is just my current rant … but I am sticking to it!

Here is the recipe for my English muffin burgers cooked on the Island Grillstone:

English Muffin Burgers on the Island Grillstone
Print
Recipe type: Grilling
Author: Gary House
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 4 – 6
Both the onion and the burgers were prepared on the Island Grillstone.
Ingredients
  • 1 pd ground U.S. Prime select beef or Buffalo 15% fat
  • 4 tbls of your favorite dry rub
  • 2 tsp A1 sauce
  • 6 slices of smoked monzarella cheese
  • 1 large onion sliced
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes sliced
  • 6 leaves of red lettuce
  • 6 English muffins
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 Island Grillstone
  • 350 degree grill – gas or charcoal
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat your Island Grillstone following manufactuer instructions
  2. Mix hamburger and A1 sauce together in bowl
  3. Coat both sides of the hamburgers with the your rub
  4. Divide hamburgers into 6 patties the size of an English muffin
  5. Press down in the center half of the hamburger patties to even out the rising
  6. Oil Island Grillstone
  7. Place sliced onions on stone to grill and toss as they cook
  8. When onions are half way done add hamburgers flipping only once
  9. After flipping the burgers, placed cheese over each one
  10. Cook onions and hamburgers are done to your personal preference. 140 – 145 degrees is about medium for the burgers. The rub should have created a nice crust!
  11. Remove onions and burgers to rest
  12. Add English muffins and toast on the Island Grillstone
  13. Assemble English muffin burgers with a sauce of your choice
  14. I served mine with seasoned fries baked on the grill at the same time!
Notes

I didn’t add a lot of ingredients to the beef for the specific desire to taste the beef. The A1 sauce helps keep it juicy and adds a very slight flavor to the hamburger. The rub, if it has a bit of a suger content, will carmelize and create a crust as it cooks. I thoroughly enjoy this added crunch as I devour my burgers.

6308165956 b51f49a1a1 m English Muffin Burgers on the Island GrillstoneI can almost hear everyone’s grilling wheels a spinning as
they get to this point. So many variations to be applied to a simple hamburger recipe
I know, but at Cooking-Outdoors, we keep it simple!

Let me know how your English muffin burgers turn out!

Our grillstone was supplied by our sponsor Island Grillstone.

For the complete set of photo’s from this recipe: Cooking Outdoors Flickr

 

 

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”
fire052 English Muffin Burgers on the Island Grillstone



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