Fort Collins – Steven Raichlen might be the dean of Barbecue University, but how does he handle a backyard test using another guy’s grill?
With the patience of a professor and the humor of a TV host. Before even looking at our grill, the barbecue guru took off his shoes to jump on the trampoline with the neighborhood gang, the first hint that the host of “Barbecue University” on PBS and founder of a cooking school of the same name would pass our challenge.
Getting down to business, Raichlen gave each child, friend and neighbor a job: shelling shrimp, shucking corn, measuring ketchup and Coke for sauce.
Some say he is shy and serious. Raichlen is certainly serious about grilling, but his calm demeanor and engaging way with kids put everyone at ease. Even after confessing that I didn’t really want to learn to grill, that it was the best way to pawn off cooking dinner on the man of the house, Raichlen patted me on the shoulder and said he hears that a lot.
Like a general ordering his troops, he organized the assembled volunteers into teams, lining up the ingredients for each recipe as he assessed our grill, a 2-year-old Weber Silver series gas model that was rated best by Cook’s Illustrated. It’s not the most expensive, nor the cheapest, but this day, it was definitely the cleanest on the block.
We quickly realized that there was no way to cook Raichlen’s whole menu on the one grill, so neighbor Neumann brought over his Kenmore gas grill and Weber charcoal kettle. The backyard took on the feel of theater in the round as Raichlen & Co. loaded the grates with chicken, ribs and corn.
“I’ve always been one of those people who likes to do more rather than less,” said Raichlen as he asked my husband to run to the store for a chicken and a couple of more slabs of ribs.
The man has grilled in the backyards of Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, so very little fazes him, even our rickety rib rack, which he dismissed in favor of stacking the slabs, dominolike, on the Weber kettle. Winfrey called him the “gladiator of grilling” and Stern said he was the “Michael Jordan of barbecue.”
“I am not a perfectionist. It’s about getting the job done. I love this. Beats working in a coal mine.”
Raichlen’s biggest fan (there are legions, just check the boards on his website, barbecuebible.com), our friend Steve Brown, raised the age-old corn debate: husks on or off?
“For me, it’s absolutely no question, husks off,” said the grill guru, showing Brown how to pull the husks up into a ponytail, smartly tied with a strip of husk.
“What sticks in my mind was how professional and comfortable he was,” said Brown later. “How he was constantly explaining what he was doing and why. He would hand the tools to whoever was watching and say ‘Here, you do it.”‘
Raichlen even got my 11-year-old daughter to skewer plums and mint leaves on cinnamon sticks and my 9-year-old son to peel shrimp, which he won’t eat. Raichlen then gleefully plunged his hands into a bowl of raw shellfish, massaging them with lime juice, garlic, cilantro and olive oil.
He handed off the shrimp to our Chilean babysitter to thread three at a time on doubled bamboo skewers (so they don’t twist around). He became so interested in talking to her about pebre, the salsa on every Chilean’s table, he asked for the recipe and a photo for his barbecue blog.
For his famous beer-can chicken, the only can we had was a Coke for the barbecue sauce. (This is Colorado, after all, where we drink local microbrews matched to each course.)
“The can’s half-empty, right?” asks Denver Post web producer Becky Risch, who is filming the whole event.
“Or it’s half-full,” answers Raichlen with a wink. Setting the bird onto the can, he said, “Then we practice a little poultry proctology.”
With all three grills fired up, Raichlen launched into his gillers’ mantra: “Keep it clean. Keep it hot. Keep it lubricated.”
Using a folded paper towel soaked in canola oil, he wiped down the grate and neatly arranged the shrimp skewers. “You have the food all lined up like tightly packed graves in a cemetery.”
I asked if it mattered that we grilled the plums for dessert right after the garlicky shrimp. Raichlen said “Every time fresh food goes on, you oil the grill. I’m pretty ecumenical when it comes to live-fire cooking.”
Amid the chaos, Raichlen managed to make all the food come out on time and ready for its close-up.
He seemed happy to be out of hotel rooms, saying he had left his home in Coconut Grove, Fla., on April 3 and had been home just seven days since then. He drove up from Denver in a rental Jeep, and marveled at the way the fields meet the sky.
But Raichlen is accustomed to long trips, having spent four years chasing smoke around the world for “The Barbecue Bible,” a chronicle of his 200,000-mile odyssey.
As we wolfed down the ribs, shrimp and chicken, Raichlen talked about what he wants to do beyond the backyard. Even though he has written 26 books, the Fulbright scholar who studied French literature and medieval cooking in Europe wants to write a novel and is working on “Raichlen on Ribs.” He has a new line of barbecue tools, is designing a grill and wants to open restaurants.
After his Fort Collins performance, Raichlen drove back to Denver for a grilling demonstration and dinner at Solera Restaurant and Wine Bar with chef Goose Soren-
sen. Then it was on to the Aspen Food & Wine Magazine Classic.
“As you’ve seen today, meat over fire can be only a small part of the picture.”
Kristen Browning-Blas can be reached at 303-820-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com.
Grilling methods
What you need to know about direct grilling and indirect grilling:
Direct grilling
The food is placed and cooked directly over the fire. Direct grilling is a high-heat method used to cook relatively small or thin pieces of food quickly. Typical foods that are direct grilled include steaks, chops, chicken breasts, fish fillets, vegetables and bread.
Set up your grill for direct grilling: The coals are spread in an even layer to make a single-zone fire over which the food will be grilled. (On a gas grill, you’d simply light the appropriate burner.) This method is fine for cooking a small amount of food, say a steak or chicken breasts for one or two.
You’ll get better heat control if you build a three-zone fire, consisting of a hot zone, medium zone, and cool or “safety” zone.
On a charcoal grill, rake half the coals into a double layer over one third of the fire box (the bottom of the grill). Rake the remainder into a single layer in the center. Leave the remaining third of the firebox without coals. Use the hot (double-coal) zone for searing, the medium (single-coal) zone for cooking, and the cool zone for warming or as a safety zone if the food starts to burn.
To set up a gas grill for three-zone grilling, on a two-burner grill, set one burner on high and one burner on medium, using the warming rack as your safety zone. On a three- or four-burner gas grill, set one burner on high, one or two burners on medium, and leave the last burner off.
Indirect grilling
Indirect grilling is designed to cook larger or tougher foods that would burn if direct grilled. As the name suggests, the food is placed next to, not directly over, the fire. The grill lid is closed to hold in the heat, turning the grill into a sort of outdoor oven.
Indirect grilling is used to cook large pieces of meat, like pork shoulders and whole chickens. It’s also used to cook tough cuts of meat, like brisket and ribs, that require long, slow cooking at a low or moderate heat. Indirect grilling allows you to work over a more moderate temperature (275 to 350 degrees) and makes it easy to introduce the flavor of wood smoke. This is the method used to cook ribs, pork shoulders, briskets, whole chickens and turkeys, and other large pieces of food.
Set up your grill for indirect grilling:
To indirect grill on a charcoal grill, light the charcoal in a chimney starter (see below), with an electric starter, or with lighter fluid.
When the coals glow red, dump or rake them in two piles at opposite sides of the grill. (Some grills come with special side baskets for this purpose.) Place a foil drip pan in the center of the grill, between the mounds of embers.
Place the grate on the grill and cook the chicken in the center of the grate over the drip pan. If using wood chips for smoking (see below), toss 1/2 cup soaked wood chips on each pile of coals to generate smoke.
Keep the grill covered, adjusting the top and bottom vents to obtain the desired temperature (usually medium, 350 degrees). Add 12 fresh charcoals or a corresponding amount of lump charcoal after 1 hour. Leave the grill uncovered for a few minutes until the coals ignite.
If you have a two-burner gas grill, light one side on high and cook the food on the other. If you have a three-burner gas grill, light the front and rear or outside burners and cook the food in the center. If you have a four-burner gas grill, light the outside burners and cook the food in the center. Adjust the burner knobs to obtain the desired heat.
A word about charcoal
For charcoal grilling, I prefer natural lump charcoal – made from pure wood and recognizable by its irregular-shaped chunks – to briquettes. This is a natural product, containing no additives or fillers. Look for it at grill shops and natural foods stores
The vast majority of Americans use charcoal briquettes, which in addition to raw wood, often contain furniture scraps, coal dust, borax and petroleum binders. This may sound off-putting – it is off-putting – and partially lit briquettes give off a strong acrid smoke flavor. The truth is that if you let the briquettes burn down to glowing coals, these impurities burn off and the food will taste pretty much the same as when cooked over lump charcoal.
I prefer lump charcoal and use it whenever I can. But I also want to go on record reporting that most of the competition barbecue champs use briquettes.
– Steven Raichlen, barbecuebible.com
More recipies
Dry Rub Ribs
You’ll need: a rib rack; barbecue mop; 2 cups hickory chips or chunks, soaked in cold water, then drained. Method: indirect grilling. From “The Barbecue Bible,” serves 6-8.
Ingredients
4 racks baby back ribs (8-10 pounds)
For the rub
5 tablespoons sweet paprika
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
For the mop sauce
1 cup distilled vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons rub (reserved from above)
2 teaspoons salt
Directions
Wash ribs and blot dry. Remove thin papery skin on back of each rack of ribs. (Pull it off in a sheet with your fingers, using a paper towel to gain a grip.)
Combine ingredients for rub in mixing bowl and stir with your fingers to mix. Rub 2/3 of this mixture on ribs on both sides. You can cook ribs right away, but they’ll taste even better if you let them marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours.
Combine ingredients for mop sauce in a bowl and whisk until crystals are dissolved. Set aside.
Set up your grill for indirect cooking. The heat should be medium (about 350 degrees). Place a drip pan in the center. If using a charcoal grill, toss half the wood chips on coals. If using a gas grill, place all chips in smoker box or in a smoker pouch and preheat grill to high. When smoke appears, lower heat to medium.
Place ribs in a rib rack on grill, over drip pan, away from heat, and cover grill. Smoke ribs until cooked 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, adding fresh coals as needed. Mop once or twice with a little mop sauce after 1 hour. The ribs are done when the meat is very tender and it has shrunk back from the ends of the bones.
Transfer ribs to a platter. Mop with remaining mop sauce and season with remaining rub. Serve ribs “dry” with any barbecue sauce on side.
Beer ideas: The sugary sweetness of the sauce is balanced by the palate-cleansing bitterness of Hazed & Infused.
– David Zuckerman, Brewmaster, Boulder Beer Company
***
All-Purpose Barbecue Rub
Makes about 1 cup.
Ingredients
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons celery seed
Directions
Combine the ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix. Store in a sealed jar away from heat and light.
Shrimp on Sugar Cane with Mount Gay Glaze
Sugar cane swizzle sticks are available from Melissa’s or Frieda’s specialty produce companies. Method: direct grilling. From “How to Grill,” makes 24 pieces, enough to serve 6-8 as an appetizer, 4 as a light entree.
Ingredients
24 extra large shrimp (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and deveined
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the glaze
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup dark rum (preferably Mount Gay)
3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground cloves, and black pepper
Pinch of salt
12 sugar cane swizzle sticks (or bamboo skewers)
Directions
Place shrimp in a mixing bowl and stir in the salt, pepper, garlic, cilantro, lime juice and olive oil. Marinate for 15 minutes in refrigerator while you make the glaze and light your fire.
Place ingredients for glaze in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer mixture until thick and syrupy, 3-5 minutes. Correct seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Cut each sugar cane swizzle stick in half sharply on the diagonal to make 2 pointed skewers. Using a bamboo skewer, make two starter holes in each shrimp. Insert a strip of sugar cane through the holes. Skewer remaining shrimp the same way. The recipe can be prepared several hours ahead to this stage.
Set up grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Brush and oil grill grate.
Grill shrimp kebabs until cooked, 2 to 3 minutes per side, generously basting each with glaze. Serve any remaining glaze as a sauce on the side.
Beer ideas: Singletrack Copper Ale, a medium-bodied copper ale, will not overwhelm this dish’s subtleties, and complements the light shrimp and sweet rum glaze.
-David Zuckerman, Brewmaster, Boulder Beer Company
Grilled Garlic Bread
Method: direct grilling. From “The Barbecue Bible,” serves 4-6.
Ingredients
1 French bread
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat grill to medium-high.
Cut bread sharply on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on a baking sheet.
Place butter, garlic, parsley, parmesan and pepper in a bowl and beat to mix. Using a spatula, lightly spread garlic butter on both sides of bread.
Grill bread until golden brown on both sides, 1-3 minutes per side. Stay watchful, as the bread will burn quickly. Serve at once.
Grilled Corn with Sesame Butter
You’ll need an 8 1/2-by-11-inch sheet of aluminum foil, folded in three to make a shield. Method: direct grilling. From “Indoor Grilling,” serves 4
Ingredients
4 large ears sweet corn, in the husks
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 scallion, white part minced, green part thinly slivered
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds
Directions
Strip husks back from the corn, leaving them attached at base. (The motion is a bit like peeling a banana.) Tie ends of the husks with butcher’s string or thin strips of husk to make a sort of handle.)
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and scallion whites and cook until fragrant but not brown, 1-2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, simmer 30 seconds, then remove pan from heat.
Set up grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Brush and oil grill grate.
Arrange corn on the hot grate, placing foil shield under husks so they don’t burn. Grill corn, turning frequently, until kernels are nicely browned on all sides, basting with soy butter. (Use a light touch as you baste to minimize flare-ups from butter dripping into the fire.)
Transfer the corn to a platter. Brush it with any remaining soy butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallion greens for serving.
Beer ideas: The balance of East and West in this recipe – garlic, sesame and soy sauce on sweet corn – is heightened by the aggressive bitterness and citrus-floral aroma of British-style India Pale Ale.
– David Zuckerman, brewmaster, Boulder Beer Co.
Beer-Can Chicken
You’ll need: 2 cups wood chips or chunks (preferably hickory or cherry), soaked for 1 hour in water or beer to cover, then drained. “When you present the chicken, always present it this way (showing the chicken facing breast and legs forward like a tripod), not this way,” says Steven Raichlen. Method: indirect grilling. From “Beer Can Chicken,” serves 2-4.
Ingredients
1 can (12 ounces) beer or pop
1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons All Purpose Barbecue Rub
(at top) or your favorite commercial rub
Coca Cola Barbecue Sauce for serving
(recipe included here)
Directions
Pop tab off the beer or pop can. Drink half the beer or pour it into the soaking water of the wood chips. Using a church-key can opener, make 2 additional holes in the top of the beer can. Set can of beer aside.
Set up grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place a large drip pan in center. If using a gas grill, place all the wood chips or chunks in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and preheat on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium.
Remove packet of giblets from body cavity of chicken and set aside for another use. Remove and discard fat inside the body and neck cavities. Rinse chicken, inside and out, under cold running water and then drain and blot dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons rub inside body and neck cavities of the chicken. Drizzle oil on outside of bird and rub or brush it all over skin. Sprinkle outside of bird with 1 tablespoon rub and rub it all over skin.
Spoon any remaining rub through a hole in the top of the can into the beer. Don’t worry if it foams up: this is normal. Holding chicken upright, with opening of the body cavity at the bottom, lower it onto beer can so the can fits into the cavity. Pull legs forward to form a sort of tripod, so bird stands upright. (The rear leg of the tripod is the beer can. Tuck wing tips behind chicken’s back.
When ready to cook, if using a charcoal grill, toss all the wood chips on coals. Stand chicken up in center of hot grate, over drip pan, away from heat. Cover grill and cook chicken until skin is a dark golden brown and very crisp and meat is cooked through (about 180 degrees on an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in a thigh), 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. If using a charcoal grill, you’ll need to add 12 fresh coals per side after 1 hour. If chicken skin starts to brown too much, loosely tent bird with foil.
Using tongs, carefully transfer chicken in its upright position on the beer can to a platter and present it to your guests. (Grab the bird by the beer can just under the butt.) Let rest for 5 minutes, then carefully lift chicken off beer can. Take care not to spill the hot beer or otherwise burn yourself. Halve, quarter, or carve the chicken and serve.
Cinnamon Grilled Plums with Port Sauce
Method: direct grilling. From “Indoor Grilling,” serves 4.
Ingredients
For the port sauce
1 cup port wine
2 strips lemon zest
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons sugar (or to tast)
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the plums
4 large ripe plums
8 cinnamon sticks
8 fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs of mint for serving
Vanilla ice cream or yogurt
4 sprigs fresh mint
4 large chilled martini or wine glasses
Directions
Make the port sauce. Place port in a heavy saucepan. Stick cloves in strips of lemon zest and add them to port with cinnamon stick and sugar. Gradually bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Boil mixture until slightly reduced and just beginning to be syrupy, 3-5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice and gradually stir it into port mixture. Reduce heat and simmer 1-2 minutes – the sauce will thicken. Strain sauce into a heatproof bowl and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, cut each plum in half to the stone through the crease. Twist plum halves in opposite directions to separate. Pry out seeds and discard. Cut each plum half in half again. Using a metal skewer, make a starter hole in the center of each plum quarter (from outside to pit side). Skewer two plum quarters on each cinnamon stick, skin side to cut side, placing a mint leaf between each. The recipe can be prepared several hours ahead to this stage.
Set up grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Brush and oil grill grate.
Arrange plum kebabs on grate. Grill until plums are sizzling and golden brown, 3-5 minutes per side, lightly basting with some of the port sauce.
Meanwhile, scoop vanilla ice cream into martini glasses or wine goblets. Place 2 plum kebabs on top and spoon any remaining port sauce over them. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve at once.
