Flavors
Planet Barbecue
Like It Hot—Grill It Hot
As the summer kicks into high gear and temperatures soar, the best way to beat the heat is . . . to join it. Fiery foods make you sweat, and perspiration is the body’s natural cooling mechanism. Fiery foods are enjoyed in hundreds of the world’s top food cultures. Indeed, people in some of the warmest climates across Planet Barbecue eat some of the spiciest food. Here, to challenge your inner fire-eater, are some of the most fiery dishes on the world’s barbecue trail. Just be sure to keep a glass of cold beer (or better...
Read more →Project Smoke Quiz: Sauces and Marinades
Do you know your barbecue sauces and marinades from around the United States and the world? Test your knowledge with this short quiz.
Read more →Tips for Planked Salmon
Excerpted from Steven Raichlen's Beer-Can Chicken. Chances are, if you’ve visited the Pacific Northwest you’ve enjoyed one of the most distinctive American ways to grill fish: on a cedar or alder plank. The process satisfies and gratifies on quite a few levels. First, the wood imparts a unique flavor all its own—a spicy, wine-like flavor in the case of cedar; a woodier, smokier flavor in the case of alder. It also tends to absorb...
Read more →A Guide: Curing Salts in Home-Smoked Meats
Photo by Rob Baas. In a few weeks’ time, a big rosy pork shoulder ham will have pride of place on millions of American tables. Its very color is a harbinger of spring, the result of a preservation process using curing salt. (Without this special salt, the meat would not be pink; it would be the same shade of tan as a cooked pork chop.) The details have been lost to history. But thousands of years ago—as early as 3000 B.C.—mankind discovered salt not only delayed the spoilage of precious proteins like meat and fish, but when laced with small amounts of sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, or potassium nitrate (saltpeter) there were even more benefits: an appealing color,...
Read more →Your Next BBQ Secret Weapon: Coconut
Coconut may not play a big role in your grilling, but in Asia it is a staple. Malaysians, Cambodians, and Indonesians all use coconut shell charcoal for grilling. Coconut milk goes into marinades and basting mixtures in these countries: try the Cambodian coconut grilled corn in Planet Barbecue. In Guam, freshly grated coconut is added to grilled chicken salad. So as you ascend the ladder of barbecue enlightenment, you need to know more about the amazing coconut....
Read more →Monroe County-Style Pork Steaks
All photos by Rob Baas. Project Smoke fire wrangler Rob Baas needs no introduction. Not to anyone who has watched him fire up our grills on the set of Project Smoke. Not to anyone who has read his excellent blog posts on BarbecueBible.com or enjoyed his mouthwatering photos on Instagram and Facebook. What you may not know about Rob is that he’s a native of Kentucky. We asked him to write about the best Kentucky barbecue you’ve never heard of. Get ready...
Read more →6 Homemade Holiday Gifts from Your Grill or Smoker
Bumping up against December’s “order by” deadlines? Running low on funds? Or just tired of the mall scene? Find respite by using your grill and/or smoker to make homemade gifts for the important people on your list. In the process, you might even recapture some of that old-fashioned holiday spirit. Here are six worthy projects, most of which not only require very little hands-on time, but that travel well, too. So relax: We’ve got you covered. Bacon Bourbon: What happens when bourbon...
Read more →Grilling with the Best Olive Oil
If you’ve watched my TV shows (the latest one is Project Smoke on American Public Television), you’ve likely noticed I always emphasize that the quality of your food is at least as important as how you cook it. On the show, we use the best meat. The best produce. The best seafood. This dedication to quality extends to other ingredients as well. An example? Premium extra virgin olive oil, which you’ve likely noticed on the set, is a staple in my cooking and grilling life, a...
Read more →Filipino Barbecue: It’s in the Stuffing
It gives me great pleasure to introduce this month’s guest blogger, Alex Paman. You may recognize his name from the Barbecue Board (and from my book Planet Barbecue). Alex is my go to guy when I want to know more about Filipino barbecue. And Filipino barbecue is one of the world’s best-kept food secrets. The following makes me hungry just to read about and I bet it will you, too. –Steven Lechon baboy (roast pig). The very words make a Filipino’s...
Read more →Planet Barbecue
Jamaica: Where Smoke and Fire Meet the Caribbean
As spring slowly approaches, imagine yourself in sunny Jamaica, where spicy jerk is the star of the barbecue scene. We're continuing with our series of grilling destinations around the world (see what Argentina and Singapore have to offer) as featured in my book, Planet Barbecue! When it comes to barbecue, Jamaica has only one trick up its sleeve. But, oh, what a trick. I’m talking, of course, about Jamaica’s national dish—and cultural icon—jerk. Once you’ve tasted this fiery smoke-roasted...
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