Sunday, January 2, 2011

The Best of GrillGrate

2010 was a grrrrrrate year for GrillGrate!   Thousands of new customers are grilling better, more often and grilling more types of foods with GrillGrates.  Many customers  have ordered multiple sets as gifts they are so pleased.   This feedback and enthusiasm sustains us!   Please keep those recipes, emails, and pictures coming!  I think today is the perfect day to recall the Best of GrillGrate 2010 and share what has become regular grill fare for us:  Signature dishes so to speak.  Some old and some new.  We want to hear about your signature dishes too!


HAMBURGERS are the most frequent grill fare at our house.  I prefer 80 / 20 if I can get it by the boss but 83 /17 or even leaner is still juicy with GrillGrates.
Courtesy of Paul Crump- BGE Fanatic
  1. Hamburgers grill perfectly with GrillGrates: I use the lift and twist method for perfect sear marks while only turning once and cooking to finish.   We often fill the grill with hamburgers and don't forget to toast the buns just after you take the burgers off while they sit for a minute.  Caterers are using GrillGrates to grill 50 hamburgers at one time while controlling flare-ups.
  2. Stuffed Blue Cheese BurgersIt's a bit of work and the burgers are bigger but you can definitely skip the bun with this treat.  A puddle of blue cheese mingles with the burger juices to create a flavor that puts stuffed burgers on the regular hit list.  Stay tuned for exciting new developments on the stuffed burger front!
STEAKS:
  1. Ribeye:  The king of steaks with deep marbling that delivers juicy wet steaks. We only use salt and pepper to prep and grill 'em hot and fast!  Add a few sliced onions 5 minutes ahead of the steaks.
  2. Sliced Sirloin:  Thick sirloins are ideal for cutting into thick slices after grilling.  Costco's sirloins are always on the list along with Ribeyes and the occasoinal tenderloin.
  3. Tenderloin:  We love doing Tenderloins for holiday meals and for larger groups.  I try to use the Weber and actually took my Weber to a friends farm this summer to make sure we would honor this fabulous and expensive piece of meat.  I always use BBQ'rs Delight smoking wood pellets in the valleys of the GrillGrates when we are grilling great steaks.
Try these old and new favorites too:
  1. Steaked Prime (choice) Rib Roast:  This was one of those accidental discoveries after missing my window to slow-cook a Rib Roast.  We cut the roast into thick steaks, salted the heck out of them and let them come to room temperature.  Normally this much marbling would cause a bonfire but not with GrillGrates.  My mother-in-law ranked this as our best steak of 2010.  Seared on the outside; firm and juicy red inside.  
  2. My Father's London Broil:  A Father's Day grilling that I like to do on our Weber.  This way my Dad's (and my) signature dish for years.  This is an old recipe that deserves to be brought back- especially with GrillGrates. Bumper to bumper red rareness as Meathead from Amazing Ribs.com likes to say.
View Low and Slow Sunday video
  • HONORABLE Mention!  
  • Tommy Boy's Pork Shoulders and Brats and Beer.  on low and slow Sundays. We mastered Tom's honking huge gas grill to get down to 225F for an entire day while we drank beer, grilled and chilled.  I agree with the recent survey that showed smoke from grilled meat has a calming effect on men!  We need to establish a winter grilling and chilling routine Tom!
FISH:
Breaded talapia from COSTCO
  1. Breaded Talapia from Costco:  Every Costco run includes a couple of fish items for the grill.  We particulary like how flaky and light the breaded talapia grills.   The crust gets very crispy on medium heat and sears nicely sealing in the fish so it is moist and flaky inside.   Great with salsas as toppings. 
  2. Seared Salmon from Costco:  How many ways can we grill salmon filets?  Our favorites are seasoned with Denny Mike's Fintastic or slathered in Rikki's Soy Ginger sauce.
  3. The Whole Fish and nothing but the fish!   Rainbow Trout, Snapper and other grill size fish:  We prefer to grill smaller fish in the whole if they are freshly caught.  David B from Montana used to grill trout in foil- not anymore! David says "fish in foil is not grilling its steaming".  David also grills fresh killed Elk and sent fantastic high mountain camp grilling photos.  I got to visit David!  We've got a lot of customers in Montana!
  • Honorable mention shrimp and scallops.   Large scallops are fantastic without skewers. Rotate and turn by hand for perfect searing.  Skewered shrimp only needs 5-7 minutes on GrillGrates.
    POULTRY: 
    1. Spatch-cocked Chicken:  Cutting out the backbone and flattening the bird has become our favorite way to grill chicken and turkey.   The grilling is faster, more evenly cooked and juicier. GrillGrates again provides the key to a hotter yet juicier grilling with crispy skin too.   Stay tuned for a video of Susan teaching our daughter's boyfriend the art of spatch-cocking.  And yes Bon-Appetit magazine-- there is a difference between spatch-cocking and butterflying.
    2. Sauce Wings last 10 minutes on grill
    3. WINGS!  I learned how to do great wings on GrillGrates courtesy of Randy Branch of Moe's BBQ Sauce.  Randy and I grilled together at our daughter's graduation from University of Georgia this spring.  He showed me how to low and slow wings on GrillGrates for over an hour for the ultimate spicy, crispy, juicy wings.  
    PIZZA:
    1. The Ultimate Breakfast Pizza:  We grilled a bunch of these piled high breakfast creations this year.  Pre-cook the fixings makes it easy to pull together a couple of breakfast pizzas even when you are a guest!  You'll delight your hosts when you bring the fixings of a great breakfast!  Don't forget to bring your GrillGrates!
    2. Kitchen Sink Pizza:  We keep a package of MamaMary's gourmet crusts on hand and find great uses for left-overs to make a fast lunch or easy dinner.  
    Happy New Year and Grrrrrrrate Grilling Ahead in 2011!

    Brad

    PS  I see from the above recap we have a few recipes to add to the GrillGrate recipe web pages... and we'll get right on it because I know we'll be adding more signature dishes to the list in 2011!- YOURS! 
    Please tell us about your signature dishes!  We'd love to add them to our website.

      Thursday, December 16, 2010

      Life is what happens while you’re making other plans!


      John Lennon ‘s refrain seems appropriate, as it would have been his 70th birthday last week.  I’ve been thinking a lot about this year as it wraps up and making plans for next year; and I’ve thinking of Lennon’s line and the things that happened this year that weren’t in the plan!  

      Never in my wildest dreams
      Doing Infomercials on TV was never in the business plan!  I want to thank Tom Dollnig who consulted us to change strategies. Tom brought Mr. Coffee to market and hired Joe DiMaggio so I listened to him! 

      Social Media was not in the plan either.  I especially like the customer interaction and the community aspect. My daughter told me I had to create a blog, get on Facebook, find a voice- none of that was in the plan.  Now it is.

      Grillers love GrillGrates!
      Active customer engagement was not in the plan either.  The grilling industry is the best business I have ever worked in.  Grillers are passionate, active and fun people!  That fun is multiplied when customers take the time to express their pleasure with your product. Active customer engagement was not in the business plan, but it drives us now.

      Fishing and grilling as good as it gets!
      Nor was appearing in a Fishing Show.  A call out of the blue from a producer hooked me  to fish and grill in an episode.  Twist my arm!  It was a great experience all around and now we’re a sponsor and a fan of LipEm and RipEm hosted by Lefty Larsen. 

      Pittmaster star Moe Cason and his wife
      Getting a call from Moe Cason who starred on BBQ Pittmaster as a contestant and finalist was a great highlight too.  Thank you to Darren Warth of Smoky D’s for suggesting GrillGrates to Moe.  We had a blast cheering Moe on.  But Moe, why did you plank that chicken in the finals?

      No doubt some of life’s greatest moments are unscripted and unplanned.  How boring it would be anyway.  The planning will resume shortly after a birthday celebration with family and friends!

      May your plans be aimed high and your heart (and grill) always be warm with the joy of friends.

      God Bless and Blessed by God
      December 2010

      Thursday, November 25, 2010

      Thankful Thanksgiving 2010

      Thanksgiving 2010:  Cribbing from Seth Godin:
      "Wherever you are, you could celebrate Thanksgiving today. Not the Thanksgiving of a bountiful harvest before the long winter, the holiday of pilgrims and pie. That's a holiday of scarcity averted. I'm imagining something else...

      A modern Thanksgiving would celebrate two things:


      The people in our lives who give us the support and love we need to make a difference, and...

      The opportunity to build something bigger than ourselves, something worth contributing. The ability to make connections, to lend a hand, to invent and create.

      There are more of both now than there have ever been before. For me, for you, for just about all of us.
       Thank you Seth for re-framing Thanksgiving for our time!

      I want to thank my sponsors and partners who have been incredibly supportive this year:
      Mike Mills and his team:  Being discovered by Mike Mills was a milestone moment in our business.  I'm proud to call Mike, Amy, Becky & crew friends.  And a very special thank you to Mike for appearing in our first TV spot!
      BBQR's Delight:  Thanks to Meathead for introducing us!  He calls us peanut butter and jelly we go so well together.   I've had the pleasure of cooking with Candy- she's a real pro and a fixture in the BBQ community and a great friend. 
      Bad Byron's Butt Rub:  It's true everything is better with a little Butt Rub!  Butt Rub is one of those universal seasonings that works as well with pork, chicken, steak, even popcorn!
      Mama Mary's Gourmet Pizza Crusts:  Our first partner.  We discovered their crusts grilling at our first trade show.  It became our first signature dish.  They just introduced an extra thin and crispy crust that is fabulous.  We use it on dessert pizzas too.
      KCBS:  The gang at KCBS and MMA Creative are incredible.  KCBS has over 14,000 members now and I'm proud to incorporate their logo in our packaging and our TV spots.  Sponsoring the KCBS Backyard BBQ Tour was a grrrrrate move this year.  Mike and Chris Peters have grilled over 35,000 food samples on GrillGrates- including hundreds of grilled pizzas!
      Big Green Egg!  What a great company!  Thank you for sponsoring our contest and offering a Big Green Egg as the prize!  There is still time to register!  Name me another company that has a more rabid and enthusiastic customer! (not even Apple)  Something for GrillGrate to aspire to!
      The Good Shepherd Foundation:  Finally and absolutely the best thing to happen to GrillGrate this year.  I start my day there every morning I can.  It is a pleasure and privilege to work with this great group of people.  They pack and ship for us 5 days a week!  Talk about grateful!
        Thankful and Grateful This Thanksgiving!  
        God Bless!

        Brad









        Thursday, November 18, 2010

        Butterflied Turkey: Take Two

        Thanksgiving 2010: A Bird and a Bag!

        Grilled Butterflied Turkey is Fast and Easy with GrillGrates!

        Bon Appetit Centerfold of Butterflied Turkey
        Our local supermarket butterflied a fresh turkey for us and it was easy to prepare and grill.  We did the recipe twice and nearly a third time until I relented and gave up on doing a spatchcock comparison. The game was on when Bon Appetit Magazine arrives with a centerfold shot of what else? Butterflied turkey!

        Very nice rosemary rub from bbq.about.com
        Thanksgiving Links
        Customers and Friends First for a Grate Deal on Gift Bags!

        A Grate Gift for your favorite griller!
        We have 60 of the two-pocket bags left for this year and its only right to offer a grate sale to our customers and friends first.  We've added a four pack sku as well.


        3 GrillGrate panels, The GrateTool, Steaming Brush and Bag is $79.99 plus s/h
        4 GrillGrate panels, The GrateTool, Steaming Brush and Bag is $89.99 plus s/h

        A great gift for your favorite griller!

        Happy Thanksgiving!

        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.