I have bacon envy!

Who knew that a NY times story about a well Stumbled Upon video would create a net sensation. A recipe called bacon explosion is a massive culinary masterpiece much like the Coronary ByPass Burger at the VORTEX. But the internet buzz and traffic it created is much more impressive. I have bacon envy.

I like grilling bacon (and with GrillGrates it is superb without the massive flare-ups) but I had no idea that there is a cult of bacon people. I knew this to be true when Guy Kawasaki was twittering about it way back about 19 hours ago. Then he added an Alltop page just for bacon lovers.

I thought I'd do my part and put up a gallery of grilled bacon shots for the unheralded multitudes of bacon lovers out there! I feel better getting that out of my system.

Coming Clean on the Grill

This post is dedicated to cleaning GrillGrates during abnormal and nearly continuous use. Two of my best friends never clean their GrillGrates. My buddies are part of the reason we developed the hard anodized version- they are hard on their GrillGrates and they are hard on me! You guys run your grills hard and are grilling all the time, and I do appreciate grilling and dining with you. Thank you for being my in-house testing and torture team.

Tommy Boy called me on Saturday night wanting to know where his GrillGrates were. After the last time we grilled together I went over to his house the next day and took them off his grill to see how well I could resuscitate them. Remarkably well

thank you!

UPDATE: This link is to a more recent entry about SAVORING a SEASONED GrillGrate I have come to really appreciate well seasoned GrillGrates and have learned a lot from our friends!

The GrillGrate on the left is hard anodized with silver clean rails, the GrillGrate on the right is the Gourmet GrillGrate coated with RealEase- both GrillGrates have seen months of continuous grilling.

Now that I am a student of GrillGrate care and proper preparation here is a recap of what I've learned from studying my friends grill hygiene habits.

1. Clean GrillGrates are easy- just focus on the top rail grilling surface. Clean rails give you a huge edge on the grill and a sense of culinary excellence. A clean, hot GrillGrate is ready to deliver a perfectly seared and sizzling meal. No sticking or random grill chunks please. It is ok to oil GrillGrates especially during break-in when they are new. Weber Grilling Spray is highly recommended since it is non-flammable. The Gourmet GrillGrates with the RealEase coating will not require oiling as much, and clean-up well in the sink, but we're not talking gourmet here.

2. Achieving clean GrillGrates is easy. The best time to clean GrillGrates is during grill warm-up. Use a Grill Pad or Wire Brush on the rails lightly to remove any blackened remains. The rails should come shiny clean. Dip the brush or pad in water or spray hot GrillGrates for steam cleaning. Its not as easy to clean up after the meal- its better to allow the Grates to cool and re-heat. If are grilling a three course meal, then run a wet brush or spray water over the GrillGrates and get them 80-90%. Don't over-brush- what does not come off the next time you warm-up your grill.

3. Clean GrillGrates in the sink occasionally if you feel inclined. GrillGrates will clean as much or as little as you want. DO let them blacken in on the sides and valleys- no need to clean there just keep debris out of the valleys- and DON't drive yourself crazy trying to clean these areas- its seasoning! If you want to give your GrillGrates a bath- you'll be amazed how easy the top rails release the grime and char. A brief soak and the rails come perfectly clean with a sponge or brillo. I can almost see myself in the shine. No harsh caustics, just regular dish soap. And no dishwasher. Try it every once in a while- Tom, Randy... (Update MAY 2009- I have not put my GrillGrates in the sink for months. Once they are seasoned the rails clean easily and I just keep the valleys clear of debris.) I have to admit that less is more and again you guys have shown me the way!

4. I 've learned that there are two kinds of grillers.
The hard core, year-round griller which I believe is 90% of us and the Gourmet Grillers who treat their GrillGrates like cookware. The fastidious are hard core too they just clean up after themselves better. The RealEase coating does deliver unbelievable non-stick and clean-up. Now we call them Gourmet GrillGrates but they are not for you Tom or Randy- the hard anodize are for you. Thanks for teaching me that and Tom- your GrillGrates are back on your grill nice and clean by the way. Carry on.
GrillGrate, Eat Well!

Tell me how you clean your GrillGrates- please leave a comment below. THANKS- Brad.

Grlll More, Eat Less!

That is my resolution for the New Year among a few others. After all grilling is the healthiest way to cook- especially lean meats, fish and vegetables. I packed on more than a few pounds this holiday with wonderful home cooked meals and deserts almost every night. Grilling only works with real food, and I need to limit myself to real food and a little less of it at that. A little less cheer will help too. My wife and I are whipped after another whirlwind holiday with family, friends and out of town guests and the recovery process started today. We are back to empty nester status as of this afternoon when our youngest headed back to school. It was great to have them all home and it is great to have them all happy to get back to their worlds too.

My middle one snuck out with the left over brisket from our Low & Slow New Year's Day Party. We had brisket, beans and collard greens at a friends farm. The day was complete with a sauna and polar bear jump into the cold lake. What a way to cure what ails you! A new tradition has been established I hope. The bed & breakfast that was our home is now closed, but the grills are still warm. May your grill warm you and nourish you and your family and friends in 2009. Grill More, Eat Less!

Christmas Tenderloin

After seeing our daughter hand trim the tenderloin I couldn't wait to get it to the grill. I followed Weber's instructions for a three-zone split fire using a drip pan in the middle to wall the charcoal off to both sides leaving the center as the indirect heating zone.

We cut the tenderloin into two matching halves and I placed them over the coals for the first 10 minutes turning once to get a bit of searing before moving them to the middle of the GrillGrates to complete the grilling. The tenderloin took about 10 minutes longer than Weber estimated and I attribute that to the GrillGrates acting as a flame shield that further protected the meat. Knowing that our clan likes their meat rare, I took the tenderloin off a bit early and gave it a short rest before cutting thick juicy red slices. The trimmed loin fed 8 of us without a slice left and not one plate had any evidence left of a great meal. The meat literally melted in my mouth and the pressure was off. We switched from Pigs Nose (smooth as a Pigs Nose) to Champagne with strawberrys crushed and pureed in the bottom of the glass. The Champagne was so good it carried over to an after dinner treat. There was a StarTrek marathon on TV, the kids retreated to their worlds and we went quietly into space.

Julia Child was in our Kitchen this Christmas

I am so glad that Julia Child visited our kitchen as we prepared a Christmas tenderloin. Julia took the form of our oldest daughter who is one year into medical school. Confession here- I have grilled several tenderloins and never dressed or trimmed them much beyond obvious fat removal. Now I'm reading Julia Child! She explains that you often trim 1/2 weight to dress it out and end up with a great steak for two and kabob meat for later. OK no revelation to some, but it sure was to me. Then my daughter took over as I read her Julia Child's instructions from page 221 of her book The Way to Cook. She hand trimmed the butt end and removed the tendon and membranes. Her cadaver training came in handy and we heard all about it. She only snipped with a knife a couple of times and mostly used her hands. She wants to give me a scalpel to add to my meat preparation tools. Pretty cool. These photos detail the preparation and trimming of the tenderloin. I'm beyond late early adopter on this one! It was fun learning from Julia Child and seeing our daughter prepare our family feast. And the Pig's Nose Scotch was absolutely perfect for the occasion! Since I am now actually reading cook books, I consulted Weber's Charcoal Grilling, The Art of Cookwing with Live Fire for their suggestions on properly preparing my Weber Kettle. I'm finally a student of grilling after 30 years of winging it. Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?

Mayberry Christmas

Christmas Day 2008. It's late afternoon and I'm taking my first peek at the computer in over 24 hours. I've been back to Mayberry the past few days helping around the house, hanging with friends and family and especially our kids and their friends. It was great to hear my middle child say how the candle light Christmas Eve service was her favorite. It's great being back in Mayberry. Now I'm counting down the time to firing up the Weber to grill a Christmas dinner tenderloin. I've got both of Weber's great grilling books out along with Julia Child to get my game on, or should I say brush up my game. I've done nice expensive pieces of meat over the years and always winged it to fairly good success. Back then, most of the pressure I put quietly on myself. Now that I am in the grilling business the pressure is on from my newly vocal family- particularly my 83 year young mother-in-law who is worried I'll overcook the tenderloin. Meanwhile Susan is fretting over a crust. Back to Mayberry. That is my theme for this blog and our holiday time together. My wife and I were lucky enough to grow up in our own Mayberry's which were small towns in New Jersey and we were even luckier to find Mayberry in a smalltown in Georgia for our kids over 16 years ago. I have nothing but affection for Mayberry and all the Americana it stands for. The bedrock of America is Mayberry- honest, friendly, hard working people who care about everybody in the community. Mayberry is also about innocence, family, faith, hope and joy. Our kids don't get the Mayberry analogy but they will. Time to go prepare the tenderloin.

The Greatest Gifts are Friends, Family and Customers!

One year ago my wife and I took the leap off the entrepreneurial cliff again. We had prepared for months and I had the full support of my employer at the time and the support of a great group of friends. Now a year later the support network is even stronger with a whole bunch of new friends like suppliers, new grill industry friends, press, and especially customers. Last week I reached out to this grate group of friends for ideas and advice for holiday grilling and I was delighted by so many grate ideas:

• French Toast- we're trying that this weekend
• Apples- partially cored, filled and grilled- ditto
  
• Pork loin holiday style- designed for several days of nibbling
  
• Even a large bologna roll that was grilled first then cut into thick slices, then add pockets and stuff with cheese and back on the grill! Rocky sent pictures of this grate creation using GrillGrates on a Big Green Egg.
  
• Mike Jediny from NJ even mailed us his favorite spice so we can grill his kickin chicken recipe.
  

Speaking of Mike, he was the fellow who was steam cleaning his GrillGrates and planted the seed for me as we were testing the hard anodized GrillGrates. I just sent Mike a GrateBrush as an early Christmas present. Thanks again Mike and congratulations on bagging two bucks last weekend. Mike also sent in some interesting venison recipes.

Now for a quick Thanksgiving wrap-up. My wife (not I) has oven roasted our Thanksgiving turkey for the past 25 years- stuffed with my favorite sausage stuffing. So when I mouthed off about Alton Brown saying not to stuff the bird I got an earful and a subtle challenge to go ahead and grill it then. So for the first time 'we' grilled our Thanksgiving Turkey.

The bird was super juicy although I dare not rank it above birds of years past... It took just under 3 hours to grill. I had a drip pan under the bird and a separate pan next to it with water (I switched to beer since it was handy) to keep moisture in the grill. I think soaking in brine overnight was the real key.

I will admit to only going 1/2 way by doing it on my gas Charbroil and not the charcoal Weber. The Charbroil held its temperature and I had three of the four burners on as low as possible. Did it taste better off the gas grill? Tough call there. I think I know the answer- use the Weber next time- and I will. Weber put out an interesting survey about grilling Thanksgiving Turkey. Seems 10% of us headed outdoors to grill our birds. That jives with me being a "late" early adopter...

We sure freed up oven and kitchen space. I don't think we'll be roasting too many more Turkeys or chickens for that matter in the oven. I grilled a breakfast pizza early Thanksgiving morning and started the day off well. I also upgraded my carving skills which was overdue. I watched a The NY Times video with a butcher showing a different take on carving the turkey. At least I knew better than to carve at the table! Removing the entire breast and de-boning the dark meat made it a lot easier and the presentation was better too.

Only our middle child was able to get home this year for Thanksgiving. She's not used to being the center of attention- helping in the kitchen, at the grill, at the store. We enjoyed having her all to ourselves, but I think she missed having her siblings around which is a good thing. Friends, family and happy customers. Life is good.