Make Your Grates Last Forever - Season Them!

If you have recently purchases a high quality grill and haven’t seasoned your grates yet, do so as soon as possible. If you fail to do this simple task they will rust badly and you will find your food sticking to them like super glue. This will also prevent your grates from rusting. This is a very common mistake but a task that must not be put on the back burner…excuse the pun.

Well seasoned cast iron grill grates will add tons of flavor to your food and this will improve with age. Food will never stick to properly seasoned grates. Most importantly they will never rust, which is important for health reasons. Who wants rusty food?

Seasoning your grates is pretty easy. All you need is some vegetable oil or bacon grease. You will need enough to apply a thick coating to your grates. I used a basting brush for this. Once you have applied a thick coat to your grates you must bake them for 3 hours at 300 degrees.

Then remove the grates and re-coat them. Place back into the over for another 2 hours at 200 degrees. Remove the grates and allow them to cool and use on your grill as normal.

You can heat your grates in either the grill or the oven. If you use the oven and vegetable oil be sure to open a window or two and/or the ventilation fan. The vegetable oil will cause some unpleasant fumes, nothing harmful though.

This seasoned non-stick finish will last for a few seasons. They will absorb flavor and give you food a true grilled taste with every use. They will hold up well with normal use and occasional use of a grill brush. However, if you use the scrapper often on the grill grates then you may have to re-season as needed to avoid rust.

Barbecue Championship Series On The Vs. Channel

Coverage of the beginning rounds starts on May 5, 2007 and the final will air May 13, 2007. All times are EST. The first rounds will consist of three cooks matching up over three distinctly different dishes that will challenge these very skilled barbecue cooks. Things really heat up as the day moves along. The clocks are counting down while the judges' appetites are growing by the second. The cooks have to keep their cool and their sights on the $75,000 and to move into semifinal rounds.

As the series continues on in the semi-finals the cooking tasks become more complex. Only six cooks will compete in the barbecue championship semi-finals. Watch as the judges keep the cooks on their toes because although the competition is the same, 3 dishes and three cookers, the cooks will not now the type of meat they must cook. The winners move on to the final round and a shot at the $75,000 prize.

This is it, all the marbles. The top two barbecue chefs left will have to battle it out. They have made it through the other rounds and have completed the mission of moving onto the final round. They must cook some of the most challenging meals ever seen in any cooking competition. The winner will walk home with largest purse in competitive barbecue cooking history. Not only is this about the money, but it's about the owning the title as the first Barbecue Championship Series- Grand Champion!

Below are the TV listings for coverage of the Barbecue Championship Series.
All time are EST.

5/5/2007
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Round One: Bryon Chism vs Adam Perry Lang & James Britt

5/6/2007
2:00 am - 3:00 am
Round One: Bryon Chism vs Adam Perry Lang & James Britt

5/6/2007
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Round One: Johnny Trigg vs Mike Wozniak & Mike Zofchak

5/6/2007
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Round One: Bart Clarke vs Ernie Mellor & Emma Feigenbaum

5/6/2007
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Round One: Myron Mixon vs Jack McDavid & Sara Horowitz

5/6/2007
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Semifinal #1

5/7/2007
2:00 am - 3:00 am
Round One: Johnny Trigg vs Mike Wozniak & Mike Zofchak

5/11/2007
2:00 am - 3:00 am
Round One: Bart Clarke vs Ernie Mellor & Emma Feigenbaum

5/12/2007
2:00 am - 3:00 am
Round One: Myron Mixon vs Jack McDavid & Sara Horowitz

5/13/2007
2:00 am - 3:00 am
Semifinal #1
5/13/2007
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Semifinal #2

5/13/2007
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The Final

5/14/2007
2:00 am - 3:00 am
Semifinal #2

5/20/2007
2:00 am - 3:00 am
The Final

Spicy Barbecue Skewers

Barbecue skewers or sometimes called kabobs are a great staple of the American barbecue menu. These delicious delights are often left off the menu but they can offer great variety to any backyard barbecue.

Here is a great little barbecue skewer recipe that puts new flavor on an old favorite.

Here is what you need:
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (cooking wine)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp brown sugar 1/2 tsp red pepper shake (pizza pepper)
3/4 lbs. pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes.

Here is what you do with it:

First: Mix the teriyaki sauce,vegetable oil,sugar, red wine vinegar, and pepper flakes into a medium mixing bowl. Put the pork pieces in the mixture and toss to coat.

Second: Fire up you barbecue charcoal grill for high heat. Use a light coat of vegetable oil on the grates to make them non-stick.

Lastly: Put the skewers on the grill. Turn and baste with teriyaki sauce frequently. Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes or to your linking and enjoy!

Grilled Black Pepper Steak with Garlic

Here is a personal favorite steak recipe for the charcoal grill. This steak recipe has a very unique taste and tastes best if you use mesquite chips in your coals.

Here is what you will need:

4 lbs. Thick-cut rib eye steak or about 4 steaks.
2 2/3 Italian dressing. The thicker the better.
8 tbsp. butter
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp. of pure ground black pepper.

Here is what you do with it:

Let your steak or steaks marinate for at least ½ hour in the Italian dressing. Now melt the butter and add garlic into a small pan being sure to heat the mixture slowly until the garlic turns golden brown. At this time place the steaks onto your charcoal grill and sprinkle them with half of your pepper (about 1 tbsp.) When it’s time to flip the steaks over add the rest of the pepper. Then with a spoon add the butter and garlic to the steak or steaks still on the charcoal grill.

Once the steaks are cooked to your liking just serve and enjoy!