Grateful Days of Christmas Continued

During the Thanksgiving holiday I made a promise to myself to start each day quietly and calmly thinking about the many things I have to be grateful for.   Now I have a long list just like Santa! 

Grateful Moments:  Today is the perfect day to celebrate Peyton D. our customer service manager extraordinaire. Peyton joined us in February and quickly became a favorite of the gang at The Good Shepherd Foundation.  Peyton has a background in occupational developmentally challenged adults so this is her dream job (so she tells me).  Peyton- THANK YOU for all you do for GrillGrate and The Good Shepherd.   It's especially pertinent today- Pearl Harbor Day to celebrate a great employee, a great American and this great country.   Peyton, its people just like you who make this country grrrrrate!

Grateful to be an American:  In my inbox this morning was this video clip.  Made in the USA has always stood for quality and innovation- around the globe.  Today it is also the road-map to restoring our economy and creating jobs.  I am so proud that GrillGrates are made in Wisconsin, finished in Chicago and packed and shipped from Georgia.  Lots of American's involved in getting GrillGrates to our customers.  Thank you.
 
 


Grate Gift Ideas:  

Made in the USA!  Don't settle for anything less!

Today is a great day to be thankful for our armed services and how they have defended us and the world from tyranny.  We are free because of their service and sacrifice!  God Bless America!

Full disclosure:  While GrillGrates are made in the USA, The GrateTool is made in China.  I have renewed my commitment to get it manufactured in the USA. 

Grate Days of Christmas- A lazy Sunday Morning with Meathead!

This Sunday morning I started my day by not immediately diving into emails instead I enjoyed two cups of coffee while readying all Meathead has to say about grilling Prime Rib.  Well, more correctly, a  Choice Rib Roast (as Meathead points out).  We plan on grilling prime rib for the family holiday dinner this Christmas and I want to be prepared!  I realized when I got up for my second cup of coffee that I read every word including the reader comments.  I'm grateful to Meathead this morning for getting my day off to a such a great start.  I'm already salivating for the Christmas feast!

Grateful Moments:  I'm grateful for Meathead on many levels going beyond his support and enthusiasm for GrillGrate:

1. amazingribs.com has become my grilling and bible and my crutch.  Whenever I venture from my comfort zone I go to Meathead's amazingribs.com for guidance, solace and confidence!  I hear that from a lot of our customers too!
2. Meathead broke me of my winging it when its done approach to grilling and now I feel lost without an instant read thermometer when I'm at the grill. Our grilled food is now near perfect and my family lets me know if I slip below 9.5 out of 10! And as Susan likes to say- "You can't send it back if its not cooked right!"   Link to Meathead's Thermometer Buying Guide.
3. Meathead has helped me better understand the science of grilling including low and slow.   I  never truly barbecued until a few years ago.  I ate plenty of barbecue though!
   
4. He's also helped me understand the scientific aspects of why GrillGrate grills food better.
5. And now we've collaborated to create a wonderful new gift!   Meathead's Amazingribs.com Temperature Magnet- see below. 

Thank you Meathead for all you do with amazingribs.com  and for the science of great grilling!

A Stocking Stuffer for the Grate Griller! 
Here's a link to Meathead's Temperature Magnet on Amazon.  

•  JUMBO 5.5 x 8" magnet
• Meathead's  Chef Temps displayed 
• Further detail on doneness, temperatures, color and texture.  
• A Gem of a stocking stuffer!  

Buy a bunch and save with $5 flat rate shipping.  A portion of the proceeds go to Meathead. 

What are you grilling for the holidays?   
Do you have a signature recipe to share? 
Have a question or suggestion for family holiday grilling?

Nothing like a Parade to Jump Start the Christmas Spirit!

The Grate Days of Christmas got into high gear on Thursday night.    The annual Christmas parade brought out everyone into town.  The entire parade route was packed! 

Grateful moments:  Being with the gang from the Good Shepherd Foundation and walking with them handing out candy canes.   The Good Shepherd Float won 2nd place in the parade.  It was especially fun to walk with the guys who pack and ship GrillGrates.

Jared, Daniel, and Jerry- you guys rock!

Me and Abe in front of the Booth Museum Float

Watching Susan (and actually getting a picture) as Abe Lincoln on the Booth Museum's Float-priceless!   Try saying Merry Christmas a thousand times and not get into the spirit!  The Grate Days of Christmas are off to a great start.

Family Holiday Grilling Ideas and Traditions:  Take the heat off the kitchen and turn your grill into a short order kitchen for vegetables, appetizers and dessert.  We grill several different vegetables for family style vegetable plates.  Often 3-4 different grilled vegetables at the table. Not so easily done in the kitchen but a snap at the grill.  Family style vegetables- especially yams and sweet potatoes, squash have changed my eating habits.  Grilled vegetables are the center-piece of my grillers diet and great holiday grill fare for your family.  Gril more vegetables this holiday season!



Holiday Gift Ideas for the Grilling and Chilling Lifestyle:  Rarely do you find a product that becomes a regular part of your life and actually changes how you do things.  Nope- I'm not talking about the GrillGrate!  I'm talking about STUFZ!  The Burger Stuffer tool.  Stufz makes a phenomenal best in class stuffed hamburger.

You can get a lotta stuff in there!  Perfect stuffed burgers every time.

We're talking about a new breed of burger here! 

A great gift for every griller!

The GRATE Days of Christmas

I'm still full from Thanksgiving and I already feel overwhelmed with part two of the holidays fast approaching!  My attention deficit disorder is in overdrive!    I made a vow over the Thanksgiving weekend to start each day (calmly) focusing for just a few minutes on what / who / why I am grateful at that moment.  So each morning I first will stop myself from diving in to take stock, maybe even write a few thank you notes and then saddle up!  I'll share a few of them along the way this Christmas season and I would love to hear from you!

The categories for the Grate Days of Christmas are:

• Grateful Moments
• Family Holiday Grilling Ideas and Tradition
• Holiday Gift Ideas for the grilling and chilling lifestyle
• An Occasional Grate Funny!

Grateful moments:  Being with our kids this past thanksgiving after not being together for nearly a whole year.  Watching our 24 year old middle daughter cut her two siblings hair (26 and 21) before going out dancing- priceless!

Family Holiday Grilling Ideas and Traditions:  Breakfast pizza made its debut in our house 4 years ago (with GrillGrate) and has become one of our all time favorite family grilling traditions.  Gathering in the kitchen over coffee while making and grilling breakfast is a wonderful way to start the day as a family.  No one rushes away from the Ultimate Grilled Breakfast Pizza!  We usually make two- with MamaMary's Gourmet pizza crust- the thick lip style. The great thing is all the ingredients can be pre-cooked and prepared the day before- even the gravy.  Just pile high the sausage, onion, potatoes, bacon, hard boiled eggs, gravy oh my!  My son and I even made a video one of this pizza creation for some holiday- I forget which one!   Got a family grilling tradition to share?  Please leave a comment.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Grilling and Chilling Lifestyle:   Want to gift some of the best sauces and rubs in the business?  Denny Mike's Cue Stuff is outlandishly good!  This boy from Maine was Texas trained and his products are gaining national acclaim.  The packaging of his gift boxes is every bit as good as his product. Fintastic has become our go-to fish seasoning.

Funny Caption Winners:   We held a little contest on Facebook for captions to this cartoon.  We'll do that again it was fun to see how creative (and perverted) everyone is!

 

Winners win Meathead's Temperature Magnet!  

• My nuggets are burning! My nuggets are burning! -  J. Giametti
• Cool your tail feathers with GrillGrate-  J. Cole
• Burned does not mean better - P. Heistad
• No Angry Birds on the Grill-  F. Evans
•  Me,  BGG- before GrillGrates - J. Askew

• GrillGrate, Eat Well, Be Safe, Give Thanks-   ME!  I wanted to end on a grateful note!

Special AMAZON Sale through Midnight Monday!

Free Shipping and Meathead's Temperature Magnet FREE with every order.  Now that's a deal! Through Midnight Cyber Monday 11/28/11.


Http://www.amazon.com/shops/grillgrate

A big thank you to Meathead of Amazing Ribs for allowing us to create this very handy reference tool.

• Chef Temps for quick reference
• Temperatures for all stages of doneness with color and texture detail
• Jumbo 8 x 5.5" size.
• Magnetic  4 color laminated

Free Temperature Magnet with Every Amazon Order through 11/28/11.

You've Found the Perfect Gift for Every Griller!

 Http://www.amazon.com/shops/grillgrate

Introducing the 10-10 -15 Plan!

Ok it was funnier last week but our web elves worked so hard to put together this year's Grate SALE!  Introducing the 10-10-15 SALE!

10% OFF ALL GrillGrate Sets

 Problem solved!  GrillGrates are the perfect gift for every griller.   GrillGrate puts a chef in every backyard!  Even competition pro's and restaurants have discovered how much better and juicier food grilled on GrillGrates tastes.  Several steak champions including the 2011 World Steak Cook-off were won using GrillGrates.  You'll score juicy points with GrillGrates.  

• Gift sets starting at $39.99 for Two GrillGrate panels and The GrateTool.
• Lays on top of any grill.
  

10% OFF ALL Accessories

Find unique grill gifts!

 

 

 

• STUFZ- hamburger stuffer
• BBQR's Delight's Smoker Set
• Sauce Tool
• Maverick Thermometers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15% OFF When you Buy BOTH GrillGrates and Accessories

 

!

Bundle up some grate savings when you buy GrillGrates and two accessories.     

You have found the perfect gift for any griler!  

Problem Solved!.  

Every order gets Meathead's Temperature Magnet- FREE! 

 mygrillgrate.com/gratesale

And You'll Score with the 10-10-15 Sale!

GrillGrate, Eat Well!

Offer expires 12/1/11

An Extra Special JACK Daniels World Championship Barbecue Invitational for Mike & Chris Peters

Hats off and congratulations to the hardest working couple in Barbecue! Mike & Chris Peters are in their 3^rd year of crisscrossing the United States promoting barbecue and the KCBS at major events and competitions.

 They even manage to squeeze in a little competing as Here Piggy Piggy Barbecue Team.  And they won a Grand this year gaining them entry into the draw for The Jack!  As luck would have it and they surely deserve it- they got the draw!  

 So in addition to their demos and KCBS responsibilities they’ll be in the field competing with champions from all over the US and a distinguished group of teams from around the world.   Mike and Chris are the real deal and an asset to the sport of competitive barbecue and the KCBS.  They’ll be a little busier than normal at this year’s Jack.

Congratulations Mike & Chris!  Good luck and pick up an extra magic walnut from Ardie Davis! 

PS- If you are not a member of the KCBS- your should be- join here. 

An Open Letter to Candy Weaver of BBQr's Delight

Grateful for My Barbecue Education at the 2011 American Royal from Candy Sue Weaver

Candy preparing the baked beans turn-in with tour group watching.

I had the privilege of working the 32^nd annual American Royal in Kansas City with Candy Weaver of BBQr's Delight.  Candy is also the current President of the KCBS so I saw her not only cook great barbecue but also saw her literally on her feet for 4 days representing this organization.  The KCBS team and the staff of the American Royal ran a fabulous event and Candy was right in the thick of it.

Jeffrey Saad of Cooking channel and Candy really hit it off.

Her itinerary was non-stop too:

• She entered all four sides contests- showcasing her talent beyond the standard meat entries
• She participated in 3 “Tours of the Royal” where the public and VIP’s are led on a tour to meet and greet with certain teams for demonstrations, tastings and tips.  The public got their money’s worth from Candy!
• She cooked the open on Sunday 
• She was constantly greeted by team members and KCBS staff
• She conducted business on behalf of the KCBS
• She was even filmed by the Cooking Channel!

The smoke ring looks more like years on a tree. Candy was not happy, she thought it was over-cooked.

Talk about getting an insiders look at all that goes on at a major event like this.  You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face all weekend—you still can’t!  I don’t know how she managed it all and still cooked some great barbecue and we made every turn-in.

It seems everyone knows Candy—and loves her.  She has a sterling reputation among the teams and her fellow KCBS members.  Paul Kirk told me she is the best president the KCBS has ever had.  Paul should know. 

Candy- Thank you for inviting me to be your wingman and for allowing me to keep my nose pressed on the window to the wonderful world of competitive barbecue.  I learned so much about cooking and competing from my ringside seat, but most of all I learned what a wonderful treasure you are to this great American tradition, and to the KCBS. 

The dessert was a great way to end our day too!

Thank you Candy Sue for all you do for barbecue and the KCBS!

Sincerely,

Brad Barrett

PS- If you are not a member of the KCBS – you should be, join KCBS today.

Grilling Up Summer's Abundance

What to Do with Extra Corn on the Cob and Ripe Tomatoes?

The abundance of ripe tomatoes and bushels of sweet corn is upon us at the end of the summer. Don't say no to that co-worker or friend who offers up a pile of vegetables- say YES and grill them!

Meathead's Grilled Marinara Sauce!
Meathead of Amazingribs.com grills his way to the best Marinara sauce possible!  This recipe delivers wood-fired flavor and is a great way to cook up that pile of ripe tomatoes and other fresh vegetables into the best sauce you've ever made!  Read the full article and recipe here.

GrillGrate CORN on the COB!

Grilling corn on the cob is easy with GrillGrates, just shuck it and grill it.

• 8-10 minutes at 400-450F lid down
• Lay shucked corn lengthwise along the rails
• Rotate regularly for 8-10 minutes.
• Brush with melted butter at the end or at the table.

Grilled Corn Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce from Nibble Me This Food Blog:

This recipe is perfect for extra or left-over grilled corn.  It's a two-part grill too. First grill the corn on the cob then grill Chris's Great Corn Cakes!  I particularly appreciate Chris as he wrote me the most amazing letter!  (An Open Letter to Brad Barrett)

 Nibble Me This is a blog worth subscribing to.  Chris's recipes and photography is mouthwatering!

Linda Orrison- aka Mama Shed from The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint shared her great recipe for grilling corn.  

• Keep the husk on
• Remove the silk fibers
• Coat corn with mayonnaise and spices- we choose Cavender's Greek Seasoning
• Wrap corn back with husk....grill on GrillGrate 

Now that was some sweet, juicy corn with a perfect bite courtesy of Cavender's!  Thanks Linda!


Stuffed Zucchini
Courtesy of Bob & Deb from Delevan Wisconsin, Stuffed Grilled Zucchini . This is my kind of veggie recipe!  Add a little meat and rice to the equation to get  me to eat more green and yellow.

Bob & Deb were Instant winners in our Grate Moments in Grilling Contest!

Yes you can grill more and eat less... At least I'm trying!
That's my promise to myself- call it the grillers diet!  I'm often firing up two grills because one is filled with Vegetables!  Vegetables are at their most delicious and most healthy with GrillGrates and a little olive oil and seasoning.  The GrillGrate website gives you a complete run-down of grilling vegetables.

This 2 minute video on grilling vegetables with GrillGrate is the latest addition to the GrillGrate video library.

What a way to celebrate the end of summer by grilling up the best of summer's abundance!  GrillGrate, Eat Well!  and Eat Your Veggies!

August Winners of Grate Moments in Grilling Contest

We have FIVE Grrrrrrrrate Winners in August: 
1) Instant Winner Bob & Deb S from Delavan, WI who submitted a recipe for Grilled Stuffed Zucchini 1 & 8 Balls which we just published on grillgrate.com

Sausage & Rice Stuffed Zucchini

2) Julie H. with a top-notch tailgate using a Wally world disposable grill.  Now that is using your GrillGrates Julie!

Disposable grill made fabulous with GrillGrates

3) Robert C. for his Chicken Ceasar Salad

4) A new twitter / food blogger friend Albukirky for his grilled halibut steaks.

Grate Grilling, Great Photography

 5) Tim S. for his Top Sirloin Cap (Picanha) cooked with some mesquite chunks.

CONGRATS! and let us know the prize you'd like:

• Extra GrillGrate Panel (any size)
• GrateChef Steaming Brush
• Peace, Love and Barbecue by Mike and Amy Mills
• STUFZ Gourmet Burger Stuffer
• BBQR's Delight Smoking Pellets Gift Pack 
• The Sauce Tool

Please share your Grate Moments in Grilling with us. 

TWO Ways to Win:

1. Share a comment or photos with us via email (info AT grillgrate.com) or on Facebook
2. Submit a recipe with photos and if its published on GrillGrate.com you are an instant winner. 

GrillGrate, Eat Well, Share More!

Brad

The GRATE KAMADO JOE GIVEAWAY

GrillGrate has teamed up with KAMADO JOE to give everyone a chance to upgrate their grilling game.  One lucky person will win a Kamado Joe grill!  Equipped with GrillGrates of course!

You have 4 Chances to Win a KAMADO JOE grill!

1. LIKE the GrillGrate Facebook page
2. LIKE the Kamado Joe Facebook page
3. Subscribe to Kamado Joe's monthly newsletter
4. Subscribe to GrillGrate's monthly newsletter

All four lists will be combined and a winner will be selected from by random drawing on December 1st 2011.  US and Canada residents only.

I recently joined the Cult of the Kamado and will readily attest to the fact that this is the best grill I've ever owned or used.  Not only is the Kamado Joe a great grill, its a fabulous smoker too.  It will hold steady at 225F as easily as 600F.  From low and slow to steakhouse hot searing the Kamado Joe does it all.

No purchase necessary to win or enter.  Open to legal residents of 50 United States and Canada 18 years of age or older.   Sweepstakes open 8/4/11 - 11/30/11.   Odds depend on number of entries received.  Void where prohibited.

Good luck to a future member of The Cult of Kamado Joe!  

Grate Moments in Grilling- July Monthy Winners!

We had over 30 photos and and even more comments submitted in July.  A nice mix of winners:  Three from Facebook, Two who emailed me directly and one from Twitter:  Winners drawn at random via random.org. 

"You and your grill grates are making me look good!"  Walt S.

"I've been grilling for almost 40 years. Had Weber grills, Brinkman smokers, and my favorite..Ducane with a back burner/basket for wood smoking. But..... all gas grills flare up. I came across Grill Grate on the web, ordered them, and WOW! Best grilling access. I have ever owned! Every gas grill should have one! I cook anything and everything on it."    Ed S.

From Steve F. "Just added 2 additional grates. Broke them in with sirloin tips and sweet potato. They came out GRATE!"

From Michael P. Spanish Adobo Style Chicken grilled on my new GrillGrates! Came out great! New to plating the food and taking pictures...my wife looked at me kind of funny but she humored me since I was having a good time.

From @MarolJ off Twitter.  Grilled Salmon Burgers.  I'm going after the recipe for this one!

From Allan R. "Salmon grilled to a perfect medium, paired with grilled zucchini, yellow squash, red onion and a chilled tomato infused with aged balsamic vinegar,sea salt and powdered Mediterranean spices. At serving the Salmon was covered with a reduction of Prosecco, honey, brown sugar, caper juice and whole capers. VERY Yummy!"

We've already had several AUGUST submissions.  Please share your Grate Moments in Grilling with us.  

TWO Ways to Win:

1. Share a comment or photos with us via email (info AT grillgrate.com) or on Facebook
2. Submit a recipe with photos and if its published on GrillGrate.com you are an instant winner. 

GrillGrate, Eat Well, Share More!

Brad

 

 

New Products in The GrillGrate Store

We just added three new products to the GrillGrate Store:

 

Gift Pack of BBQR's Delight Smoking pellets.  Just a few pellets in the valleys of the GrillGrates is instant smoke.  I find myself putting pellets on almost y GrillGrates all the time and using them in my Kamado Joe's lump charcoal too.  The SUPER SMOKER SET has 4 one pound bags of their best sellers including Jack Daniels, Apple, Mesquite and Hickory.  Meathead of amazingribs.com called GrillGrates and BBQR's Delights peanut butter and jelly we go so well together. 

 

Four 1 lb. bags of best selling flavors

• STUFZ  Gourmet Burger Stuffer.   There's a new breed of burger at the grill!  It's BIG, BAD, STUFFED and TOO BIG FOR A BUN! We used to make stuffed burgers infrequently as they are hard to make, huge, and they often slide apart like a melting cake.   STUFZ has changed that.  Now its 50% of the time we're filling the pocket with something- even macaroni and cheese.  We called it the Mac Daddy Burger.  
• The Sauce Tool is a great way to sauce chicken, ribs, and food on the grill.  No muss, no mess and no waste.  And with GrillGrates you can sauce away!  Two brushes are included, one for thicker sauces, one for thin sauces even thin marinades.

  

  Attaches to most squeeze bottles

We've had so much fun testing and using these products AND giving them away as prizes in our Grate Moments in Grilling Contest that it only makes sense to sell them too.  Most time shipping is free when ordered with GrillGrates! Add these great gifts to your next GrillGrate order!

GrillGrate, Eat Well!  


P.S. Thank you to the more than 100 people who took our survey and shared their thoughts, recipe interests and ideas with us.  We appreciate our grate customers!  We'd love your feedback too.  

June GRATE MOMENTS in GRILLING Winners!

Perfect Steak Plate from Robert C

Copper River Salmon from Mike B

Grilled Kangaroo in Turkey by David B



Marty R fills his grill

• Mike B. for his copper river salmon   Looks more like a zebra fish- beautiful markings!
• Robert C. for his perfect steak plate.   We love grate plate shots as they really show off the entire meal.  This is my idea of a perfect plate:  steak, potatoes and asparagus!
• Marty R. for his filling the grill photo.  We love to see people filling the grill!  Without GrillGrates this is a fireball!  Way to maximize your grill space and output Marty.  I want to grill and fish with you!  ( I saw all those fic pics on your Facebook page)
• David B. for his grilled kangaroo (you read that right) from Turkey.  David is on assignment in Turkey and sent this shot from his apartment balcony.  Way to take your GrillGrates with you David!  How was the kangaroo?
• Ken & Patti Fisher of the blog Date Night Doins!  Winner for several video contributions including grilled fruit kabobs.  Ken chose the STUFZ gourmet hamburger stuffer.
• Scott G. A repeat winner whose recipe for Atomic Buffalo Turds was just published on grillgrate.com.  Scott even included a video!  All recipes published on grillgrate.com are automatic winners!  Scott joins Andy S. and Fourie from New Zealand in the repeat winners circle of Grate Moments in Grilling.  Thanks Scott!
  

 

Congratulations to our JUNE 2011 winners.  

Lady & Gentleman collect your prizes!  

Share your Grate Moments in Grilling and win cool prizes:

1. Use recipe submital form
2. Post pictures on GrillGrate Facebook page
3. Email us photos and recipes to infoATgrillgrate.com