Is it BBQ or grilling?
Maybe “backyard grill” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “backyard barbecue,” but if you’re inviting friends and family over for hot dogs, hamburgers and steaks this Memorial Day weekend, you won’t be barbecuing.
“There’s lots of confusion,” said Chris McGonigle, executive chef of Texas Station and Station Casinos corporate director of culinary affairs.
John Holland, owner of the Rollin’ Smoke food truck and the restaurant of the same name on South Highland Drive, said the distinction is clear.
“Grilling is high-temperature cooking,” Holland said. “You’re searing the flavor in.
“With barbecue or smoking, you’re still on a grill, but it’s very low and slow. You’re trying to get the flavor of your rub, your sauce, the smoke — you’re trying to infuse all of that into the meat.”
Brad Hoffman, director of marketing for Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, which has two locations in the valley, said the company has recognized plenty of confusion.
“I think that’s what we’ve had to do from the very beginning, is educate customers out here what true barbecue is,” he said, explaining that “out here” refers to anyplace that’s not Texas, Kansas City or most of the South. “It’s indirect heat, cooked at a much lower temperature for a much longer period of time. There’s some confusion about what true barbecue actually is. A lot of people think that just by putting barbecue sauce on something, that makes it true barbecue.”
While the sauce is a plus, it’s the long smoking that gives barbecue its distinctive flavor.
But back to “low and slow.”
“When you’re grilling, you’re probably grilling like 10 minutes,” Holland said. “In smoking or barbecuing, for a brisket, it’s anything from 15 to 18 hours.”
As for temperature, McGonigle said, grills run at an average of 500 to 550 degrees.
“And we use cuts of meat that are much less fatty, and the quickness of that process caramelizes the meat on the outside to give you some kind of a sweetness,” he said.
When barbecuing or smoking, the temperature is 180 to 220 degrees, he noted.
“You have the ability to use fattier or tougher products, like a brisket, ribs, pork butt, a whole hog,” he said. “The smoke gets into the meat in a very long process. You get the sweetness from the smoke into the meat.”
If you’re planning to barbecue — really barbecue — the choice of wood is important, too.
“I do a very traditional green hickory here at Texas Station,” where barbecue is available at the Feast Buffet from 4 to 9 p.m. daily, McGonigle said. He said the resort runs its smokers about 12 hours a day, smoking pork ribs, brisket, whole chickens and turkey breasts. Hoffman said Lucille’s uses hickory wood and Southern Pride smokers with capacity of 1,000 to 1,500 pounds.
Making the distinction between barbecuing and grilling is not in any way meant to show disrespect for the latter, which is overwhelmingly popular with the American public. The Weber GrillWatch survey found that 64 percent of grill owners say grilling is relaxing after a stressful day; 75 percent say grilling turns a weeknight dinner into a special occasion, and 77 percent find grilling just plain fun.
So if you’re planning to grill this weekend, own it.
“It is,” Hoffman said, “an important distinction.”
GRILLED HALIBUT, EGGPLANT AND BABY BOK CHOY WITH KOREAN BARBECUE SAUCE
4 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil (divided use)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1½ teaspoons minced serrano chili with seeds
1/3 cup soy sauce
¼ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
8 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
4 medium-size Japanese eggplants, trimmed, halved lengthwise
4 6- to 7-ounce halibut fillets (each about 1 inch thick)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and chili; saute until fragrant and light golden, about 3 minutes. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and 3 tablespoons water and bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is reduced to ¾ cup, about 5 minutes (sauce will be thin). Remove barbecue sauce from heat; whisk in sesame oil. Transfer ¼ cup barbecue sauce to small bowl and reserve for serving.
Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Combine bok choy and eggplant halves in large bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush fish with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill vegetables and fish until vegetables are tender and slightly charred and fish is just opaque in center, turning occasionally and brushing with sauce, about 10 minutes total for vegetables and 7 minutes total for fish. Transfer vegetables and fish to plates; sprinkle with green onions. Drizzle with reserved sauce and serve.
Serves 4.
— Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine
GRILLED POTATO BAKE
1 pound assorted potatoes such as red, Yukon Gold or white, russet, purple, fingerlings
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Preheat grill. Cut potatoes into ½-inch cubes and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Cut all remaining vegetables into 1-inch pieces and place all ingredients in the potato bowl. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Using 12-inch long pieces of aluminum foil, place 1½ cups of mixture into the center of the foil. Tent the foil and fold corners together, rolling ends together to seal. Cook on grill for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pierced with a sharp knife. (Be careful when opening the packets using tongs, as the steam will be very hot.)
Serves 4.
— Recipe from Taste of Home
BEER-BRAISED AND MESQUITE-SMOKED SHORT RIBS
Braising liquid:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion (about 10 ounces), coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno chili pepper (about 1 ounce) roughly chopped (with seeds)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin seed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 bottles (12 ounces each) lager
1 bay leaf
5 pounds meaty beef short ribs
Mesquite wood chips
Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Hot pepper sauce (optional)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic and jalapeno and cook until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the oregano, cumin seed, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Pour in the lager and add the bay leaf.
Place the ribs in the braising liquid, meaty side down, and add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the ribs are barely tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1½ hours. Transfer the ribs to a sheet pan to cool. Remove and discard any bones that may have fallen off the ribs in the liquid; reserve the liquid. Cover and refrigerate the cooled ribs until chilled, about 2 hours.
Soak two large handfuls of mesquite wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes.
Strain the braising liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Skim the fat from the surface of the liquid. Rinse the stockpot, pour the liquid back into the stockpot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer the liquid until reduced to ¾ cup, 1 to 1½ hours. Transfer to a medium saucepan. Stir in the ketchup, molasses, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and season with hot pepper sauce, if desired. Set aside at room temperature.
Prepare a two-zone fire for medium heat (350 to 450 degrees).
Brush the ribs with the oil and season evenly with the salt and pepper. Brush the cooking grate clean. Drain and add one handful of the wood chips to the charcoal and put the lid on the grill. When the wood begins to smoke, cook the ribs over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, until the meat begins to crisp around the edges and the ribs are heated through, about 25 minutes.
Brush the ribs generously with the sauce. Drain and add the remaining wood chips to the charcoal. Move the ribs over direct medium heat, close the lid, and continue to cook until the meat is glazed, about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from the grill and serve warm with the remaining sauce.
Serves 4.
— Recipe from “Weber’s Smoke” by Jamie Purviance
HOISIN CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH BROCCOLI AND MUSHROOMS
Marinade:
1 cup hoisin sauce
¾ cup finely chopped scallions (white and light green parts only)
3 tablespoons peeled, minced fresh ginger
3 large garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each about 4 ounces, excess fat removed and meat cut into 1½-inch pieces
1 pound broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch florets
20 small shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
Vegetable oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
In a large bowl, whisk the marinade ingredients. Transfer ½ cup of the marinade to a small bowl and set aside to use as a glaze when the food comes off the grill. Add the chicken pieces to the remaining marinade in the large bowl and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350 to 450 degrees) and preheat the grill pan.
Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers, leaving space between each piece. Brush the chicken with any leftover (not reserved) chicken marinade from the large bowl.
Toss the broccoli and mushrooms with enough oil to lightly coat them and season evenly with salt and pepper.
Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the chicken over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until it is firm to the touch and opaque all the way to the center, 8 to 12 minutes, turning once or twice. At the same time, spread the broccoli and mushrooms in a single layer on the grill pan and cook over direct medium heat until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from the grill as they are done. Immediately brush the chicken and vegetables with the reserved ½ cup glaze. Top with the sesame seeds and serve warm with steamed brown rice, if desired.
Serves 4 to 6.
— Recipe from Weber
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.
