“Barbeque is bragging food.” Bill Jamison

The grilling season is here! Time to fire up the old grill, be it charcoal, gas or smoker and celebrate our short summer season. Now Barbequing is an art that many take very seriously. They use their lucky spatula and goofy hat to turn out the best ribs ever. (You know one of them, don’t you?) But I’m here to tell you, you don’t need a Mickey Mouse hat to get bragging rights at the grill.

There are a few elements involved with grilling that make a huge difference. Number one is equipment and knowing how to use it. It doesn’t take expensive equipment. For example; there is a whole cult following of the simple charcoal BBQ. Just pick your type of grill and get to know it well. Knowing your meats and how to cook them is very important too.

My very favorite element to barbequing is rubs, marinades and sauces. (Probably ‘cause I love to make them!) Marinades can make or break a BBQ. One memorable time, hubby and I were asked to grill salmon that was so freezer burnt it was grey. (We would have tossed it and but we were a LONG way from a store.) I whipped up a marinade and hubby trimmed the grey off the salmon the grilled it. It was actually a pretty good meal. Be careful not to over marinate or the meat gets all mushy and weird.

Spice rubs have recently become quite popular on the grilling scene. They are available everywhere pre-packaged these days, unfortunately the first two ingredients are usually sugar and salt. Now these are REALLY easy to make my friends. I make up my favorite spice rub and sprinkle it on anything from roasted chicken to baked sweet potatoes on a busy night. Make sure and keep them in an air tight jar or you will have a lump of spices in quick order in humid climates.

Here are the recipes of my favorite marinade, spice rub and barbeque sauce. If you want to learn more a great book to read is “Spice and Smoke” by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. (This is the bible of barbequing!) Enjoy the summer with good food and big belly laughs.

Blue Sky Marinade
This marinade is inspired by a recipe given to me by Julie Barker, Chef extraordinaire and owner of ” Bread and Ocean” back in the “Blue Sky Restaurant” days. It is AMAZING on any fish, particularly salmon. Good for 2-3 pounds of fish.

1/3 cup Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of something sweet like orange juice concentrate, maple syrup, or agave. Sometimes I use the sweet, hot, chili sauce. Julie uses tamarind concentrate.
2 -6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons scallion or 1/4 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, (do not peel, the peels have a lot of flavor)
Cracked black pepper to taste
Whisk together aminos, orange juice concentrate, oils, garlic, scallion, ginger, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Add fish, turning to coat, and marinate, covered in the fridge 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from the marinade then discard the marinade, unless you heat it on the stove to a boil, then you can use it as a mop while you grill. Grill to perfection.

Dana’s very favorite spice rub
Good on everything! Almost. You can get all these spices at Mother Nature’s

1 tablespoon of salt, (I like Kosher)
1 scant tablespoon of cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon of dried onion
1 ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper
1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme
1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
1-2 teaspoons of ground mustard seeds

Combine all the goodness in a small bowl and mix well. Rub into your chicken, pork, fish, beef or tofu an hour to overnight before grilling to let the flavors infuse into the food. Then grill up a storm. (This is good on oven cooked items too!)

Tropical Barbeque Sauce
This was a brilliant idea that actually turned out! You can get smoked paprika at Amazon.

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A small can of crushed pineapple, juice and all
1/2 cup of dark rum
1 cup of ketchup, (use a natural, no sugar brand like Westbrae)
1/4 cup of Dijon mustard
1/3 cup of blackstrap molasses or regular molasses
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
Hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste

Pick out a nice deep sauce pan and sauté the garlic and onions in the olive oil till fragrant, about 3-4 minutes, on medium high. Add all of the ingredients to the pan, except the hot sauce and salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring often. Lower the heat to med-low and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and the flavors get to know each other well. Add the hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Use the last 10 -15 of grilling. Reserve some to serve with the food. Excellent over BBQ chicken.