• Wash the exterior of the grill using warm soapy water rather than harsh chemicals that can damage paint or stainless steel. Use steel wool to clean any stubborn grease spots.
• Clean the drip pan. If it is really grimy, you can find a replacement at most hardware stores.
• Tighten any loose screws, handles and wheels.
• Check for gas leaks and damaged hoses. Replace any damaged pieces immediately. Gas leaks can be very dangerous.
• Make sure the burner flames are even. If they aren’t, clean the burners using a small wire brush or pipe cleaner and tap out any debris.

These steps won’t take long to do and will get you ready for a full season of delicious grilling!

• 1 lb of halved pecans
• 1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
• 2 tbs. butter

Now this recipe is so easy, it’s almost embarrassing that it has to be explained. However, the flavor you get from the pecans tastes like there should be some complex recipe and techniques to go along with them. And not that there is anything wrong with roasting some pecans in the oven every once in a while, but the smoky flavor provides a depth that’s missed out from oven cooking.
First, fire up your smoker. Steady heat should reach between 225 – 250 degrees. Arrange nuts on a grill safe pan. If you have a grill pan with holes, just cover with foil and then arrange nuts in a single layer across the pan. Next, sprinkle with about a ½ tablespoon of salt. Cut up 2 tbs of butter into very small cubes and arrange evenly over pecans.
Smoke the pecans for about 1hour or until golden brown stirring halfway through the smoking process to cover nuts completely with the melted butter and salt. If you like your pecans extra toasty, leave in smoker for another hour, or taste every 15 minutes for desired flavor.
Please note that the crunchy factor does not happen until pecans have had a chance to completely cool.
Serve these at your next party, and your guests will surely go nuts! (no pun intended)

Now you are aware and utterly confused and realize that you have been using the wrong term for most of your life, go and have a barbecue and grill out with your friends by grilling some hotdogs and barbecuing some ribs.  Practice makes perfect!

• Quail (boneless, skinless breasts)*
• Pickled jalapenos
• Bacon slices (cut in half)
• Italian dressing
• LowCountry Barbecue Hot Sauce

Directions:

For every quail breast, place 1-2 slices of jalapenos on top and wrap with ½ slice of bacon.  Skewer a toothpick through to hold in place.  Marinate in Italian dressing for 1-2 hours in fridge before grilling.  Arrange quail on a disposable grill pan, tin foil, or grill basket to easily transport to grill and cook over medium high heat for approximately 15 minutes or until lightly brown on all sides and quail is still slightly pink inside.  Baste with LowCountry Barbecue Hot Sauce twice during cooking time.  Once removed from grill, liberally baste again with sauce.  If you like your bacon a little more crispy than how it’s coming off the grill, place under medium broiler for 1-2 minutes or until desired crispiness.

*If using the whole quail, cut a slit in the breast on each side of the bird large enough to stick a slice of jalapeno and wrap with a full slice of bacon.  Follow remaining directions; however, cooking time will need to be adjusted.

For starters, try toasting some nuts or melt cheese over toast with halved grape tomatoes for bruschetta.  Remember, all this can be cooked on your grill.  Next, have a go with some bacon wrapped shrimp, stuffed jalapenos, or turkey sliders (recipe below).   You can wrap, stuff and patty these a day before the party, so all you have to do is pop them onto the grill the day of.  These are just starters, but the possibilities are endless with your grill, and the barbecue fanatic of your house will be the highlight of the party serving up great snacks and hors d’oeuvres all night long.  Just make sure to do your prep work, like any other party, a day or two before the big day.  That way, your party time isn’t interrupted by a messy kitchen and unnecessary duties.

Turkey Sliders

• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1/8 tsp dried parsley
• Dash of Worcestershire
• 1/8 tsp salt and pepper
• 8 soft dinner rolls or mini hamburger buns

Place the turkey into a large bowl along with next 2 ingredients, and mix just until ingredients are combined.  Do not over mix.  Mold turkey mixture into 8 even-size slider patties and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Grill sliders on medium high heat  approximately 15-20 minutes or until cooked throughout.  Warm rolls/buns on grill and serve immediately.  Top with desired garnishes.

Here at LowCountry Barbecue, we have enjoyed making your barbecue catering events extra special in 2011 and look forward to continuing to provide great service to all our wonderful patrons in 2012.  Happy New Year!

Ingredients:
• 1 whole turkey (approximately 8 to 10 lbs)
• 1 can beer – your favorite to drink is fine
• 2 sprigs of each: thyme, rosemary, and sage

Rub:
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tbs paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne (optional)

Preheat oven or grill to 350F degrees .

After removal of gizzards and neck from inside bird, rinse well with cold running water. Pat completely dry with paper towels.

Open and pour ¼ of beer out of can – or drink it. Stuff herbs into beer can and set aside.
Mix rub ingredients together and rub over clean and dry turkey and under the skin. Place butt of turkey over beer can in a roasting or sheet pan in order to catch juices and provide a sturdy base for the turkey.

Place on next to bottom rack of oven for 1 ½ hours or until internal temperature of breast reaches 165F degrees. If top of bird is getting too brown before the rest of the turkey is done, you can put a small tinfoil tent over the top. When bird is done, remove from oven and let rest at least 15 minutes.

After resting, beer can should be cool enough to remove and then turkey can be laid on its side. Let rest 5 to 10 more minutes so juices can redistribute before carving.

If you’re over the turkey and stuffing anyway, have you thought about a different menu?  Families are more and more moving away from hours spent in the kitchen themselves and moving to something easier prepared by someone else – barbecue even.  Barbecue is a southern time honored tradition that dates back over hundreds over years.  (If that’s not traditional I don’t know what is!)  From the succulent meat to the classic sides, it’s an easy take out choice for your holiday gatherings.  So, if you want to spend more time with your family and less time in the kitchen, take a little help from someone else.  Who knows, it might start a new family tradition.

Brining could be used and would be recommended for any type of meat. The amount of time to brine, however, depends on the type of meat you are brining. Seafood takes a lot less time than a whole turkey would. Below is a short list to give you an idea of how long to brine: (times depend upon weight)

• Shrimp 30 minutes
• Chicken breasts 1 to 2 hours
• Whole chickens 5 to 12 hours
• Whole turkeys 12 to 24 hours
• Pork tenderloin 6 to 12 hours
• Cornish hens 1 to 2 hours

After your meat is finished brining, it is usually recommended to give it a good rinse. Whether the recipe calls for you to rinse or not, though, it is important that once you are ready to cook or store it in the fridge until cooking, make sure the meat is patted dry with paper towels. Do not salt the meat again before cooking; moreover, if the meat is kosher, it has already been salted, so cut the amount of salt in your brine. You will find the process of brining will yield a better, juicier, more tasteful piece of meat for you to enjoy – no more dry, chewy dinner!

Sweet Tea
Nothing encompasses true southern tradition like sweet tea. This super-sweet, ice cold beverage can be found in barbecue joints across the country. As two southern favorites, sweet tea and barbecue were made for each other.

Beer and Wine
From the savory meat to the addition of barbecue sauce, barbecue is bursting with different flavors and aromas. A beer with comparable flavors would get lost in the taste of the meat, but a bright and citrusy American Pale Ale would make a great pairing. The strong hops will go perfectly with the spices of the barbecue sauce and the malt from the beer will match up with the savory meat.

As far as wine goes, a nice Malbec from Argentina would be perfect with succulent barbecue. It’s a red wine that tastes like ripe blackberries bursting with fruit, with some smoke and black pepper. The flavors flow harmoniously with barbecue and give the meat a little kick. For white wine lovers a nice Riesling will do wonders. It’s light, delightful, mouth-watering and super easy on the taste buds.

Other Cocktails
Cocktails filled with light, dainty flavors are great for barbecue meals, but make sure to choose ones that have a darker base. The strong, bold flavors of barbecue go great with aged whiskies and rums. These alcoholic beverages are exceptional bases and add freshness to the meal when topped with soda.

• Ground Pit: A long hole dug in the ground, generally about three to four feet wide and two feet deep. However, the length depends on the amount of meat that is being cooked.
• Raised Pit: Usually built with cinder blocks above the ground. Most people build a pit three blocks high with one end closed and the other end open so you can put more hot coals in the fire box.
• Pit Rods: Rods, or rebar, that are placed across the pit to support the meat over the fire.
• Pit Cover: A covering placed over the pig while it is smoking in the pit. You can use heavy foil or cardboard and it will trap the heat and smoke. Some refer to this step as “wrapping the pig”.
• Bank the Fire: Moving the hot coals to the sides of the pit to produce low even heat for a long period of time. People who used fireplaces to heat their homes used this technique for years.
• Stoke up: Stir the coals to achieve a hotter heat.

The Plate

• Bark: also known as “Outside Brown”, bark is the part of the meat exposed to the most heat and smoke. It is preferred by many BBQ enthusiasts because of its more intense smoky flavor.
• N.C. Eastern Style Sauce: A vinegar based sauce made generally from a mild vinegar, water, white sugar, hot peppers, black pepper and cooked down a bit.
• Chopped BBQ: Chopped pieces of BBQ into the size of pecan halves, either done by a machine or by hand.
• Coarse Chopped BBQ: Also known as blocked BBQ, usually in one to two square inches in size and done by hand or machine.
• Minced BBQ: Done generally by machine and running the meat through three times to produce a much finer, chopped product.
• Sliced BBQ: Meat sliced roughly ¼ inch thick, sometimes thicker depending on the barbecue master.
• Pulled Pork BBQ: Hand pulled meat from the cooked pork shoulder. Many people consider it as the “best”.
• Eating High On The Hog: A term used when one is eating the choice parts of the pig that are located on the top half of the pig, i.e. the top half of the shoulder (Boston Butt,  loin, tenderloin, ham etc. In the South, this saying means “eating well” or “living large”.