Thursday, October 28, 2010

Grate Fish and Game Grilling

In one week we've received some great fish and game pictures on GrillGrates:
  • Pheasant
  • Elk
  • Wahoo
  • Trout
Wahoo! One of the tastiest fish in the sea!

Rainbow trout caught and grilled in the wild!
Pheasant on the Big Green Egg

ELK on camp grill
The fish and game crowd sure loves GrillGrates!  Thanks for sharing Bill, Clint and David.  We have a lot of outfitters using GrillGrates- let us hear from you.  Show us your great catch!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

I've got a green glow this morning!

Susan and I are recovering from non-stop grilling at Big Green Egg's Eggtoberfest!  We grilled desserts on Friday night and had no idea what we were in for.  Jonathan from BGE finally came over and fired up a second EGG for us.  The line never stopped for 3 solid hours.   The fun part was watching Susan prep and interact with the people while making sure I didn't stray from my grilling duties as I jabbered away.  We finally ate at Waffle House at 11:00PM covered in chocolate and raspberry juice!

My hat is off to BGE!   The way they set up the event and then turn it over to the crowd is brilliant.   No corporate BS either.  No Steve Jobs keynote speeches here!  At the end of the day on Saturday several hundred new Egg'ers eagerly awaited driving home with their new EGGS.  They had the green glow going on too!

Thanks BGE for a fabulous event- your customers are just as amazing as your product!

Brad
When this baby rolled up I grabbed my camera and then never touched it again. 

PS-  I'm reaching out to the EGGer's on the BGE forum for pics.
Susan prepping Fruit Pizza

Love our MamaMary's crusts!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Enter the Tell Us Your Grate Grilling Stories Contest

Win The Greatest Book about Peace, Love and Barbecue!

The best part of my job is hearing from customers.  I love hearing GrillGrate stories and particularly grate recipe ideas.  Please tell us your grate grilling story by:
Every entry will be entered to win a copy of Peace, Love and Barbecue by Mike and Amy Mills.  FIVE people will be drawn at random.  Multiple entries are encouraged! 

Every Picture Tells a Story
Penzey's Spices grills for their employees nearly every week
As Rod Stewart says: "Every Picture Tells a Story" Our new friends at Penzey's Spices sent me this picture and grate story.  They purchased one set of GrillGrates a few weeks ago and then ordered 8 more sets.  I called to make sure it wasn't an error and learned that Penzey's grills for their 200+ employees nearly every week.  They bought 8 more sets to cover all their Weber Kettles.  Now that's a grate story and a great company!


Tell Us Your Grate Grilling Story or Recipe

We'll post some of your stories here on our blog and some on the website.  We've even got a few videos from a GrillGrate customer in New Zealand to share.   Check out my new video (90sec) to kick off the Grate Stories contest and this new section on our website.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Speaking of Grate Steaks- How about a $2500 Steak?


That is what the United Steaks of America BBQ Team won for their best steak in the 2010 OK Steak Championship!  GrillGrates deliver more than just gorgeous steakhouse sear marks.  GrillGrates bring out the best flavor of the meat while keeping meat tender, moist and evenly cooked.

Congratulations to the United Steaks of America for best steak in the great state of Oklahoma!

The Science of Grate Grilling: Grilling Great Steaks!


Grilling Steakhouse Quality Steaks - "Grate" Lessons Learned

One thing we hear constantly is how much better steaks grill and taste with GrillGrates.  Over the past year I have been on a personal journey to better understand the science behind grilling steakhouse quality steaks.  Craig Goldwyn of Amazingribs.com has been my guide as I learned and improved. I pay a lot more attention to preparation, internal temperature, resting, and even proper slicing tips.

Preparation starts by allowing choice quality (and thicker) steaks to come to room temperature.  SALT liberally and pat dry with a paper towel before grilling.  Meathead calls it dry brining. Pepper moderately, with more pepper at grilling time.  Ideally the entire steak is at room temperature when it hits the GrillGrates.

  •     Good Product  + Good Preparation + GrillGrates = GRRRRRRATE  Steaks! 

Lesson #1:  Stop Winging It!

This has been a difficult lesson for me to learn.  I've always winged it, stabbed my finger on the steaks and pronounced them ready.  I got a thermometer as a gift and I'm trying to get in the habit every time I grill meat.  Err to the rare and get steaks off the grill to rest so juices can settle back into the meat.  I finally printed out the Amazing Ribs temperature chart and posted on our refrigerator.  I find myself referring to it practically every time I grill. 

      (suitable for laminating and posting on the fridge)

Bumper to Bumper Color, Texture, Juiciness, and Flavor

I like Meathead's bumper to bumper analogy;  juicy, evenly cooked from top to bottom, seared, not charred. (as opposed to a cross-section of sear, brown, tan, pink, red, pink, tan, brown, sear)  GrillGrates deliver bumper to bumper beauty.


Now we're onto trying out an Argentina technique of corn starch and salt glaze, followed by a trip to the freezer for 30 minutes before grilling- stay tuned.