Bar B Que and Beers

Fourth Of July BarBQue

2010-06-21T11:26:00.000-04:00

The Fourth of July is just around the corner so it must mean it's time to get ready to crank up the BarBque grill and chill some beer. Here at the Bar B Que and Beers Blog we have a great mune put together that will please a broad range of palates. First on the list is:

Grilled Corn with Malt

Grab a bushel of fresh corn with the husks still attached. We want to soak the corn for at least in hour. I use a cooler to soak the corn in and you want something heavy like a pan to hold the corn down. While the corn is soaking start the coals.

Now if you are an avid homebrewer, as I am, grab a can of malt extract (avaiable at your local home brew supply). Once the corn has soaked for at least an hour pull it out and let it drip dry. With my cooler I just open the drain.

What we want to do now is peel back the husk and sprinkle with salt and pepper then we are going to slather some malt extract on to the corn. Not too much! Then cover the corn back up with the husk and throw it on the grill. I say let it grill about 10 to 15 minutes turning occasionally.

Don'y worry too much if the husk starts to burn, this is why we soaked then first. Just keep an eye out for flare ups.

Once the corn is done let rest for a few minutes then it's off with the husks and into the stomach!

Now if you can't find corn with the hush then you can always apply seasonings and malt and wrap with foil.

Brewing this Weekend

2010-06-07T12:40:00.000-04:00

Looks like Max, Kim and I are going to be brewing beer this Saturday.

Max is attempting his Blonde Ale.

Kim will be doing a Blueberry Cider.

And I will be brewing a sour ale.

Home Remedy For Indigestion - The Natural Cure That Really Works.

2010-05-03T10:39:00.002-04:00

Natural cures and home remedies always come in handy after a cookout. Even the best meals can effect some people with digestive pains. I know because it happens to me every once in a while. Then I found what works for me. And it can work for you!

Now we can always just go to the corner store and buy that pink stuff, but why spend money, especially in today's economy, when that cure you need is hanging out in your kitchen.

Here is a common scenario I have encountered quite often and usually when we have a big party.

You just had a fabulous meal with home made flat bread, grilled steak, and roasted veggies all on the cooked on the barbie. You kicked back a few brews, light a hand rolled cigar then... burp!

Heart burn hell has just setup camp in your "paid for" beer belly. A great day just turned into a pain burning with an intensity of 10 flaming suns. You can swear that at any moment steam will shoot out of your ears and putrid odors will emanate from your lower digestive tract. What to do and fast?

Do what your fathers and their fathers did back in the stone age. Pray to the "Grill Gods"? No, that's so 1600's. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but my salvation has always been to grab that yellow box hidden behind all the spices you don't use.

Who knew baking soda had so many uses. But every time heartburn visits my digestive tract I down a tablespoon of baking soda mixed with a tall glass of water. Wait a few minutes and relief in the form of a belch will subside that sour stomach.

So never let BarBque heartburn ruin a great cookout. Keep that soda handy and kick heartburn to the curb.

For a FREE Report: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Digestive Pain! click here...

Vegetable Garden Too Small - Grow Down

2010-05-01T10:04:00.000-04:00

We happen to have a small backyard so I'm always looking for new ways and places to plant. We have all seen the commercial for Topsy Turvey Tomatoes right? We'll don't by one, make one!

A friend of ours gave us some black tubing about 6 inches in diameter and I was wondering what I could use it for. Then I thought why not make an upside down planter.

Well we took a 2 liter bottle, cut it in have and screwed it to about a foot of tubing.

Then we secured a wire to hang it with and inserted a tomato plant. Simple as that!

Home Brew A Sour Beer

2010-04-28T12:55:00.009-04:00

Sour beer, you have to be kidding me right? Who in their right mind would want a sour beer? Me, and millions of beer lovers.

Belgian Lambics, Weizenbiers and even the famous Guinness Stout are a few beers that have a higher acidity than your average lager beer. It's this slight vinegary aftertaste that sets these beers apart from the rest of the beer world. What causes this sourness is the ever-present bacteria that lives on malted barley grain. So, as home brewers how do we utilize this unfriendly bacteria for the good?

To read the rest click here
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If you want to learn to brew beer, check out this video course...

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Home Grown Hops For Home Brewed Beer

2010-04-09T15:24:00.001-04:00

Home Grown Hops For Home Brewed Beer

The hop plant (Humulus lupulus) has been cultivated for over 1500 years. Most people know of its use in flavoring beer, but it can also be used as an ornamental plant for your landscaping. This article is written for those who will use it for both.

The first order of business is to find the perfect spot to plant your rhizome. I recommend full sunlight for your plants. Hops can grow up to 20 feet in height when supported by a trellis but I opted to grow my hops up my backyard fence which is located next to my decking where I brew beer.

The hop rhizome can be planted either vertically or horizontally in a trench about 2 - 3 inches in depth. Surround the plant with a mound of soil to help direct water to the plant as you want to keep the rhizome moist until the first sprouts appear. After a few weeks you will want to train the plant on a trellis, I support my vines with some inexpensive wire fence screwed into my wood fence and I opted to weave my plants zigzag through my wire fencing in a 6ft by 6ft area. Most commercial growers will train 5 or 6 shoots on a trellis but I only train 2 at the most since I have limited space. Just cut back any unneeded shoots.

Like most plants don't over water your hops. If you water on a regular time table you may be hurting your hop plants. Keeping the soil moist all the time encourages only the top roots to spread. For a healthy plant you need the deep roots to grow so only water when the top soil is drying out. But don't wait for the leaves to turn brown or purple before you water just monitor the top soil. You will need to feed your hops on a regular schedule. I use an all purpose vegetable fertilizer that mixes with water.

Despite your best efforts, hops may be savaged by disease or pests. Downy mildew is the most common disease. Avoid the hot, moist conditions that favor spore germination. This is why I don't use sprinklers to water the plants. And I usually water early in the morning so the leaves can dry off.

The most common pest is the hop aphid. It is a tiny, soft green pest that sucks the juices out of the plant. They should be controlled before the hops produce cones, because once they get into the cones a black mold grows on their secretions rendering the cones unusable. Ladybugs are a natural enemy of aphids and will help keep them under control. Insecticidal soaps and diatomaceous earth are used successfully to control aphids. As a last resort, commercial insecticides might be needed.

Since hops are a hardy perennial once established they can be harvested for many years. And as a homebrewer this makes economical sense for me. And it adds a special touch using my own hops in my own beer. So why not enjoy both the looks and the uses of the amazing hop plant?

If you want to learn to brew beer, check out this video course...

A mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer

2010-04-08T12:27:00.001-04:00

A mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer

“A mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer.” After coining that phrase, you don’t think this anonymous Egyptian from 2200 BC kept it to himself. I can see him raise his drinking vessel to his Nile-side neighbors while repeating the words.

Every country in the world has some sort of traditional drinking toast, often dozens. Usually one or two words, common toasts are not in the same league with toasts to the bride (which can drone on for hours), or to the retiree who’s been with us for 30 years but would rather get to his food while it’s hot. All of these really should be briefer, especially if a meal is being served. The everyday, no black tie, corner pub toasts exist in every culture and the vast majority simply mean ‘I wish you good health’. Not surprisingly it is the English who have strayed from the norm. ‘Cheers’, ‘Down the Hatch’, ‘Bottoms up’ and many more. I always assumed the latter referred to the bottom of the glass, however the Hawaiians have taken this literally. ‘Okole Maluna’ means ‘buttocks up’. I am including a list of multi-national toasts to impress your friends and use as a sign of respect when in the company of people from different cultures.

Here’s a bit of etiquette to go with your cosmopolitan language skills. It is customary to toast the first round, and let the host go first. There is some controversy over the clinking of glasses. It is said that the tradition started as a sly way to test the authenticity of the host’s crystal. Whether the Vikings clinked wooden goblets or not, it is considered more civilized to ‘touch glasses’ rather than bash together in a resounding crash. And while you’re about it, serve on the left and remove from the right!

Toasts From Many Lands

This is just a sampling of simple drinking toasts from around the world. Some are impossible to find in language dictionaries as they are colloquial phrases, slang or in dialect. I apologize in advance for spelling mistakes: I’m no linguist. Meanings have been included when I could find them. Fill in the blanks if you can. Some are just a general ‘cheers’. If you were making a bet on possible translation, you wouldn’t lose money by suggesting that every one of these toasts is wishing the recipient continued health and general well being. My spell check is about to go wild!

za vashe zdorovye (Russian)
slainte duine a ol (Irish) to your health
genatzt (Armenian)
a sua saude (Portuguese) good health
a votre sante (French) to your health
banzai (long life) (Japanese)or
kanpai (dry glass!) (Japanese)
bud mo (Ukranian)
cin cin (chin chin) (cheers) (Italian) or
alla salute (in good health) (Italian)
proost (Dutch) cheers
vivat (Polish) revival, survival
tervist (Estonian) general greeting
skal (Danish) cheers
here’s looking at you (kid, optional) (American/Bogart)
kia ora (Maori) all purpose greeting
egeszsegedre (Hungarian) to your health
Iechyd da (Welsh) good health
I sveikas (Lithuanian) your health
kippis (Finnish) cheers
le’chaim (Jewish) to life
na zdravi (Czech) to your health
noroc (Romanian)
prosit (German) here’s to you (and your health of course)
wen lie (Chinese)
salud (Spanish)
bahkt tu kel (Romany/Gypsy) good luck and health be on you
oogy wawa (Zulu)
(wawa means ‘fell’, oogy wasn’t listed, any ideas?)

Now that we can toast, what do we toast with?

Here is the secret...

Grilling Your Steak The Right Way

2010-04-07T13:24:00.000-04:00

Grilling Your Steak The Right Way

No matter what you prefer in a steak, maintaining good moisture should always be your goal. When searching for a good cut of beef, look for a cut with marbling. Fat equals flavor so very low fat content in meat will tend to dry it out and have much less flavor. You should not have to coat a great piece of meat with sauce just to get flavor, in fact you should avoid using a sauce at all. You want to see visible grains of fat running through the meat but not large pieces of fat. If you do see larger pieces simply trim them off. As you cook your steak the fat will melt and naturally tenderize the meat.

Always season the meat with generous amounts of salt and pepper. Many other herb and spice combinations can be added to your taste just be sure you have plenty of salt and pepper in addition to any other seasonings. And always allow the meat to come to room temperature before grilling.

Before grilling your steak first make sure that you have your grill nice and hot. This will give the outside a nice crust
and will also help seal in its natural juices. If you fire flares up at any point, move the meat off the flame. While you want a hot grill, you do not want direct flame on the meat for any extended time period. The worst mistake that most grillers make is to continually flip the meat time and time again. Continually flipping the meat does nothing but cause the meat to dry out. Flipping the steak over and over does not make you a grill master, doing it right, does. In the end you will flip your steak 3 times which will mean you have cooked both sides twice for 3 minutes on each side. For cross-hatch marks on your meat simply turn it 45 degrees when flipping. Total cooking time should be roughly 12 minutes. This will achieve a medium rare steak depending on how hot your grill is. Because every grill it different you will need to experiment o get the desired results.

There is no exact way to tell when the steak is done. Without cutting the meat open and risking the release of its juices, the best way is to either press the meat to judge its tenderness or use a meat thermometer. If you choose not to press the meat, you can use you hand as a guide. For instance if you take you index finger and touch the fleshy part of your palm right under your thumb, that is what rare should feel like. Conversely if you touch you pinky to that same part of your palm that is the consistency of well done. So from finger to the next starting with your index finger and ending with the pinky it would be: rare, medium-rare, medium and well done.

Herb rub:
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Brush the steak lightly with olive oil and rub in herbs.

Always Some Backyard Action That Requires a Beer.

2010-04-03T13:47:00.000-04:00

Always Some Backyard Action That Requires a Beer.

Just sitting in the backyard this morning when out of the blue, all Hell breaks loose. Some low life wanna be criminal is being chased by the police. He jumps my neighbors fence and hides under his pool deck. All this is unbeknown to my neighbor and all of us. The neighbors son walks out back and hears this dude under his deck. At the same time a squad of Seminole County's finest come guns drawn. The cops take down the perp and dragged him to a waiting squad car.

Hope this neighborhood doesn't end up like the one we escaped a few years ago!

I'm sure a trip to the beer tap is in order.

Barbeque and Grilling Blunders

2010-04-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

Barbeque and Grilling Blunders | Learn to Eliminate Outdoor Cooking Mistakes that Kill Your Cookout
author:Billy Bristol

We all make grilling and barbeque cooking mistakes. Sometimes we don't even know what they are until we realize that the barbequed and grilled food you cook is not as good as you've had elsewhere. Make a mental note of these outdoor cooking tips and get in the outdoor cooking game.

Your average backyard cook is no expert in the barbeque or grilling field. He has no television shows on the Food Network. He has no grilling cookbooks out. Nor has any of those been part of his lifetime goal.

No, your average outdoor cooking enthusiast makes more mistakes with bbq grilling than you could ever imagine. The meat ends up dry and tough time after time, despite marinating for hours. Or the meat is burnt or cooked too long.

These mistakes are made time and time again because your average backyard cook usually does not know any different.

Here are some of the more common mistakes and do's and don'ts made in bbq grill cooking:

1) If you started with frozen meat, make sure the meat is thawed completely. Trying to cook the inside of a still-frozen piece of meat is next to impossible without burning the outside.

2) When using a charcoal grill, try to start the fire without charcoal lighter fluid. Lighter fluid taste will always get into your meat no matter how much you cook the coals down first. A chimney starter makes starting the fire a breeze. It also allows you to add charcoal along the way should should the coals burn out along the way.

3) Never poke the bbq meat with a fork after cooking has begun. This is one of the most common mistakes and one of the most deadly for your barbeque. When poking with a fork, the juices will run out of the meat and right into the bottom of the barbeque pit or grill. Your meat will be dry and less tender. Use a long set of tongs to turn the meat.

4) Lower the heat. Except for steaks, that need a quick searing, cook slow over low to medium heat. Lower heat is much more manageable and it will make the meat tender and juicy.

5) Quit lifting the lid to check the meat. Every time you do that it changes the temperature inside the bbq grill or pit. Air from you opening the lid acts like a sponge and dries the meat up. Opening the lid also increases your chances of flare-ups.

5) This is more of a food safety mistake. Do not put the cooked meat back on the same plate or platter that the raw meat was on without washing it first. Mixing the cooked with the raw just begs for someone to get sick.

Of course, these are not all of the mistakes made by the amateur outdoor cook, but are some of the more common. But if you will prevent doing these yourself, you will eliminate many of the things that cause barbeque failures.
Your guests and family will wonder how come your grilled or barbequed food is so much better then it used to be. And, who knows?...Maybe the Food Network will come looking for you.

10 Smoky Tips To BBQ Food Safely

2010-04-02T13:54:00.000-04:00

10 Smoky Tips To BBQ Food Safely

Here are some great tips by Terry Nicholls

Cooking outdoors was once only a summer activity shared with family and friends. Now more than half of Americans say they are cooking outdoors year round. Use these simple guidelines for grilling food safely to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying and causing food-borne illness.

1. Defrosting

Completely defrost meat and poultry before grilling so it cooks more evenly. Use the refrigerator for slow, safe thawing or thaw sealed packages in cold water. You can microwave defrost if the food will be placed immediately on the grill.

2. Marinating

Meat and poultry can be marinated for several hours or days to tenderize or add flavor. Be sure to marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. If some of the marinade is to be used as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve a
portion of the marinade before putting raw meat and poultry in it. However, if the marinade used on raw meat or poultry is to be reused, make sure to let it come to a boil first to destroy any harmful bacteria.

3. Transporting

When carrying food to another location, keep it cold to minimize bacterial growth. Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40° F or below. Pack food right from the refrigerator into the cooler immediately before leaving home. Keep the cooler in the coolest part of the car.

4. Keep Cold Food Cold

When using a cooler, keep it out of the direct sun by placing it in the shade or shelter. Avoid opening the lid too often, which lets cold air out and warm air in. Pack beverages in one cooler & perishables in a separate cooler.

5. Keep Everything Clean

Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters. To prevent food-borne illness, don't use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Harmful bacteria present in raw meat and poultry and their juices can contaminate safely cooked food.

6. Cook Thoroughly

Cook food to a safe internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature. Whole poultry should reach 180° F; breasts, 170° F. Hamburgers made of ground beef should reach 160° F; ground poultry, 165° F. Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts and chops can be cooked to 145° F. All cuts of pork should reach 160° F. NEVER partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking later.

7. Keep Hot Food Hot

After cooking meat and poultry on the grill, keep it hot until served -- at 140° F or warmer. Keep cooked meats hot by setting them to the side of the grill rack, not directly over the coals where they could overcook. At home, the cooked meat can be kept hot in a warm oven (approximately 200° F), in a chafing dish or slow cooker,
or on a warming tray.

8. Serving Safely

When taking food off the grill, use a clean platter. Don't put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry. Any harmful bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate safely cooked food.

9. Safe Smoking

Smoking is done much more slowly than grilling, so less tender meats benefit from this method, and a natural smoke flavoring permeates the meat. The temperature in the smoker should be maintained at 250° F to 300° F for safety. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature.

10. Pit Roasting

Cooking may require 10 to 12 hours or more and is difficult to estimate. A meat thermometer must be used to determine the meat's safety and doneness. There are many variables such as outdoor temperature, the size and thickness of the meat, and how fast the coals are cooking.

Copyright (c) Terry Nicholls. All Rights Reserved.