Sophie's Foodie

If you are interested in barbecuing like a pro and have a gas grill, here are some tips to get you going.
I wrote an Ezine Article about turning your gas grill into a raging barbecue machine. Rather than present all the information again, you might want to access the article and read it for yourself.
But, what I couldn't do in the article is show you a photo using a water pan in between your gas grill and whatever you are cooking. In essence, it an indirect cooking method and it allows you to slow cook and not burn the heck out of things.
The method comes from the Chinese way of steaming and goes back centuries. Since it has evolved into commercial-made "water smokers".
In between the coals and whatever is being cooked is a pan filled with water. It is self-basting and you can add all kinds of spices, and/or garlic, onions, cola, beer, wine to the pan.
In turn, while things are cooking, the contents of the water pan will permeate what you are barbecuing. Does this sound good or what?
Now, with a gas grill you need to make sure that the lid to the grill will close completely over the water pan, and the meat and/or veggies. This is critical.
In the above photo I am using a water pan and grill from my water smoker. You could use any 9 � by 13 � by 2 inch baking pan along as it is sturdy. You can buy grills almost anywhere to place on top of the pan.
Just make sure everything fits on your grill, and that you can place whatever you are going to barbecue on that grill without it hanging over the sides of the water pan or that part will burn.
Some folks use disposable aluminum pans. Personally, I think they are too flimsy and too expensive to be using all the time. Plus, eventually you have to take them off the grill and you don't want to do this while they are full of water.
Start your barbecue and set one burner at medium heat�..325-350 degrees. No need to use both burners unless you want to.
Place the water pan on the center of the grill and immediately fill with hot water all the way to the top of the pan. Use a pitcher.
At first, don't add anything to the water. I want you to get acquainted with using a water pan.
Barbecue a sirloin-tipped (watermelon) roast, or a pork loin roast. Neither of them require a lot of room, height-wise on a grill, so this shouldn't be a problem.
Use rubs and marinates as usual. See my "watermelon roast" post here. Cooking times should be around hour and a half for the sirloin, and longer for the pork. Always use a meat thermometer for doneness.
In fact, don't open the lid for at least an hour and a half. Then you can check for doneness.
This is more or less the tip-of-the-iceberg for using a water pan on your gas grill. I will have further tips about grilling and barbecuing soon�.stay tuned!

Labels: Barbecuing, BBQ, Gas Grill Tips, Gas Grilling Tips, Watermelon Roast

My family and I love Country-style Pork Ribs. These are serious-sized ribs. My father-in-law use to call them Dinosaur bones, and rightfully so when he barbecued them.
This package of pork ribs weighed five pound and there were five of them. So each rib weighs a pound. These ain't etsy bitsy baby back ribs, folks! Ok, they are theoretically not even ribs at all, but...who cares!
Your goal, anytime you are BBQing, or cooking, should be to add taste and keep whatever you are cooking moist and tender. This may be a "Duh!" but the "moist & tender" part can be tough to achieve if not done right.
Let's get to the recipe, now. Wash the ribs and pat dry. Rub with a generous amount of EVOO.
If you don't know what that term means you may want to consult "Rachael's Unabridged Dictionary Of Cooking Terminology". Hey, you'll also learn what "Delish, Stoup & Yummo" means.
Just kidding, she's a Doll and prepares excellent food and you can learn a lot from her! Maybe the fastest cook in the world!
Rub the ribs with EVOO and placed in a plastic marinating container or large plastic bag. Next, pour a generous amount of a quality Rub on these puppies. I prefer to make my own and here is a good one from Cheryl Jamison (author of Smoke & Spice...see her two books below) who has given me permission to pass it on : "Wild Willy's Number One-derful Rub Recipe".
Once you have her Rub made, distribute generously on the pork ribs and rub in real good. Now, this works like a champ for a marinade, just plain old yellow mustard. ( Has all the ingredients you'll need for one of the best marinades you'll run across)
Don't go berserk! But, pour on a fair amount of mustard and distribute with a cooking brush.
Best results dictate marinating the pork ribs over night. Before you put them on the grill or in the oven, let them sit out for 30 minutes while you get the cooking temperature up to medium or 325 degrees.
My Traeger Grill cooks on indirect heat and theoretically I can put them directly on the grill, but the mess with the mustard could be catastrophic. I highly suggest that you some type of pan when cooking.
On a gas grill, use indirect heat by lighting one side of the grill and putting the ribs on the other. On a charcoal grill, a two-zone fire should do the trick. Put a water pan in the middle of the grill to keep things moist. See this gas grill tip: ( How To BBQ Pork Ribs On A Gas Grill).
In an oven, I suggest using a Dutch Oven, or Clay Pot. Add a little water to the Dutch Oven so that you maintain moisture and don't burn up the meat.
Cooking time should be around two hours. Check for internal temperature, ideally around 170 degrees. I added another 20 minutes to this by smoking them on the Traeger at 90 degrees. You can do the same thing on a gas grill by using a "Smoker Box"!
Once you take the pork ribs off the BBQ, wrap in foil for 15 minutes before serving. I would even do the same with a Dutch Oven.
I hope you enjoyed this post on this very simple recipe. Sometimes things can just get too complicated and why not just do simple?

Labels: Gas Grill Tips, How To BBQ Pork Ribs, How To BBQ Ribs On A Gas Grill, How To Grill Pork Ribs, Traeger, Traeger Grills, Traeger Recipes

Just some very useful tips I learned over the years using a water pan, and a grill on top of that, for use on a gas grill.
Using a water pan (with some kind of liquid in it) in between whatever you are cooking and the heat, keeps the meat moist, adds flavor and keeps it from burning. It works very well, same principle as a charcoal smoker although you don't have the constant benefit of charcoal or wood flavoring while cooking However, there are some things that you can do to add a smoky taste on a gas grill so all is not lost.
In the above photo I am using a Brinkmann Water Pan which you can purchase through Amazon. You will also need to put some type of grill over the top of it. A local hardware store should have one that fits nicely over the top.
Some folks use only water in the pan, but you can add all kinds of things to the water, like onion, garlic, cola, beer to give meat added flavor. Add dark beer to give meat like brisket a distinct taste. For a ham, you add a cola product to the pan, which gives the ham a beautiful glaze.
You can also use your gas grill as a smoker using (wood chips pre-soaked in water for 30 minutes) in a metal box wood smoker, or make a tent out of aluminum foil, poking a half dozen holes in it. (Wood smoker boxes & wood chips can be found through Amazon. (See Below)
When I use a water pan, I only light one burner on the grill and get the temperature to no higher than 325 or 340 degrees. And, this depends on what I am cooking. This temperature is fine for pork loins and watermelon roasts.
If slow-cooking, for example a pork shoulder, I want to move the temperature down to 250 degrees, or so. I probably would be doing the pork for 10 to twelve hours.
If you want to add a smoky taste, place a wood smoker, or aluminum tent on the lit side of the grill , right on top of flame diffuser, or try putting it on top of the lit grill (Mine works well on top of the grill). Experiment!
Cooking times will increase when you use a water pan, but you will love the results. Just a few tips to get you to do things you didn't think possible with your gas grill.

Labels: BBQ Tips, BBQing Tips, Brinkmann Water Pan And Grill, Gas Grill, Gas Grill Tips

I don't think you can ever learn enough, get enough tips about grilling and/or barbecuing on a gas grill, or any kind of a grill. There are tons of recipes out there with different grilling and barbecuing methods all designed to prepare the perfect meal for you and your family.
I attended a class on grilling and barbecuing at Bauman Farms in Gervais, Oregon. It is about 35 minutes south of my home in Oregon City.
It's a huge complex that caters to families, has a first-class old fashioned general store, nursery, world-class landscaping display, and all kinds of fun things for the kids to do.
The class was conducted by Chef Dana Giardina (See above photo), a Portland chef who works for Whole Foods Grocery. Previously, she owned and operated a restaurant in the Pearl District in Portland, "Vitis Enoteca".
The class was two hours long and there were approximately 30 folks in attendance.
I thought it would be distracting to take photos during the session even though I had permission to do so.
I had the privilege of sitting at a table with some super, super nice folks�.Pete and Nancy and Dublin (Just like Ireland), she hasn't arrived yet when this shot was taken.

Chef Dana started the session with a "Grilled Asparagus and Sugar Snap Pea Panzanella". One of the best salads I have ever eaten in my life. No joke! I wasn't alone in my analysis either.
I'm thinking, "How come I can't get a salad like this when I go out to eat"?
Basically, you prepare a dressing in a food processor that consists of white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, Kosher Salt and black pepper�.set aside.
Next, you grill thick Italian Bread, then cube, grill asparagus, and snap peas.
Other ingredients include: diced tomatoes, Kalamata olives, red onion, capers, pine nuts and fresh basil. Toss everything together. I will prepare it in a modified version and let you know how it turns out in a future post.
I didn't count heads but, eighty percent, or even more, of the class were females.
Now, I didn't think much of this until I got home and by accident turned on the "Food Channel" and the "Grillin' Girls" were on. A fact: the gals are much more into the total meal experience than the guys are. And, it's ironic..... but, this was what my class was all about�."the total meal experience".
Back in the late eighties( or early 90's), there was a grilling show on public TV put on by Chef George Hirsch. He was way ahead of his time. He still is...check him out!
He had an inexpensive gas grill with a heavy and custom-made cast iron grill. His show was based out of Florida (I think), and although he grilled meats and fish, there was a lot of emphasis on the right way to grill fruits and vegetables. And, he always combined everything making it into "the total meal experience". And, I might add, "healthy meals"!
Meanwhile, back at the farm, the first course was the "Grilled Asparagus and Sugar Snap Pea Panzanella".
The second was a "Grilled Romaine Salad with Spicy Caesar Dressing". Romaine lettuce, besides Iceberg, is one of the few types of lettuce that won't evaporate, or wilt completely before your eyes on the grill. I have a Marine Corps buddy that fixes this salad on his BBQ grill all the time, and everyone just loves it.
The hard part is the dressing that you have to prepare in a food processor which includes chipotle peppers and anchovies, among other things. A hard cheese should be added to the finished salad.
A little history lesson: Chef Dana told us that the advent of Caesar Salad took place in Mexico.
We then devoured courses of barbecued turkey breast served with a white sauce, beef brisket and Asian baby back ribs. The finale consisted of Roasted Stone Fruit and Vanilla Ice Cream with Berry Compote.
She told us about using a good quality, aged balsamic vinegar on fruit when grilling. Wow, talk about learning new things! It interacts with fruit to bring out the natural sugars.
All the barbecuing of meats were prepared using gas grills. She used two of them, plus a warming platform. In earlier posts I talked about using indirect heat on your gas grill turned to a moderate temperature, or low temperature.
I also mentioned using wood chips in a smoker box, mopping, or misting, and the using dry rubs. You might want to read my post again, because this is exactly what she did except for the misting part.
Yes, you can have genuine barbecue using a gas grill, you just have to use exact methods in preparing things right way which includes slow-cooking. All of Chef Dana's BBQ recipes turned out super excellent, but with one exception, the brisket was a little on the tough side because she didn't have the time to cook it as long as she would have liked.
Basically, in the old nutshell, the synopsis, all things rolled into a ball, all recipes that you can prepare in your kitchen can also be prepared on your gas, charcoal, wood pellet grill. There is something about cooking things outside that cannot be duplicated. For now, ten four

Labels: Barbecue Grills, Bauman Farms, BBQ, Dana Giardina, Gas Grill Recipes, Gas Grill Tips, George Hirsch, Grilled Vegetables, Recipes For Gas Grill Cooking, Vitis Enoteca