My Asian-inspired pulled pork sandwich...yes, I dared!

I finally did it. On Sunday July 4th, after a few weekends of barbecuing on my Weber Performer (the last time, smoking a chicken), I got up the courage to use their massive 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker. I must admit to have been a little overwhelmed by its appearance. Intimidating, it looks like no other BBQ equipment I’ve ever used before. The encouraging thing is that I’m in good hands when it comes to barbecuing, my pitmaster friends always ready to offer some good tips at a moment’s notice.

Taking the bull by the horns, I decide to tackle the task at hand on my own at first. Following the instructions in the manual, I study Smokey from the bottom up, building the fire in the pit, filling the water pan with equal parts water and 100% fruit juice, and placing the spice-rubbed pork butts (top part of the shoulder), fat side down on the grates directly above. There is nothing more simple, quite frankly. It’s maintaining the temperature at 250°F for 12 hours for each of the 9-pound butts that can be tricky.

Weber's 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker...inexpensive, efficient, and user-friendly!

An attractive, well-constructed cooker, the Smokey looks like something between a barrel and a bullet, standing vertically with 3 vents equidistant from each other at the bottom, and one on the lid at the top directly opposite the thermometer. Aside from refueling halfway through the low-and-slow cooking process, the vents are key in controlling the temperature at a steady 250°F. The more open the vents are, the more air feeds the fire. The more closed they are, the less air gets in, choking the fire and lowering the temperature. I’m amazed at how this relatively inexpensive cooker performs. The heat is steady, and I barely have to adjust the temperature using the vents; may be a half a dozen times throughout the duration of this 12 or so hour exercise.

For someone like me who is extremely tactile and curious, keeping the lid closed throughout the cooking is definitely challenging. I want to see what’s happening, but any pitmaster will tell you “if you’re looking, you’re not cooking!” That makes sense, because if I wanted to check out the butts, as often as I do, the meat would be raw after 12 hours of cooking, from opening the lid too often. I’m not used to not looking, but this time, I decide to be patient, which definitely pays off in absolutely delicious pork butts, buttery in consistency with meat falling off the bones effortlessly. Registering at 195°F internally, I pull the meat, chop it, and stack it on a bun, topped with my hoisin-based BBQ sauce and Asian coleslaw, for my version of the classic American pulled pork sandwich.

From L to R: raw, rubbed, and smoked!

CT’S ASIAN FIVE-SPICE DRY RUB
(enough for two 9 to 10 pound pork butts)

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
CT’s secret spice(s); every pitmaster has at least one!

Mix together well and sprinkle generously all over the pork butt or shoulder.

CT’s ASIAN BBQ SAUCE
(makes 2 cups; enough to moisten 24 pulled pork sandwiches)

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet sake)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons sriracha (smooth chili sauce)
1 ounce ginger, freshly grated
1 large garlic clove, freshly grated
1 scallion, minced
CT’s secret ingredient!

Whisk together well and drizzle over pulled pork sandwich

CT’s ASIAN COLESLAW
(makes a lot, enough for a small crowd!)

1/4 cup shiro-miso (white miso)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
2 pounds shredded green cabbage
One 12-ounce bag shredded broccoli and carrot mix
1 small to medium onion, minced
1/2 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
CT’s secret ingredient

In a large bowl, stir together the miso, vinegar, mirin, chili-garlic sauce, oil, and honey. Add the cabbage, broccoli and carrots, onion, bell pepper, and toss well. Let macerate for 2 hours, tossing occasionally to redistribute the ingredients and dressing.

I can tell you that the recipes above are delicious even with a few ingredients missing. This wasn’t my idea, but I was told it is necessary and just the way it is in the BBQ world. You just never know when I might compete, and I wouldn’t want to come up against you with my recipes.

Beverage of choice…a cold beer!

Enjoy, as always!
CT

First BBQ Chicken with my Original Asian White Sauce!

As soon as it gets warm outside, the grills get fired up, and aromas waft through the air, from one neighbor’s backyard to the next. On this July 4^th weekend, I’m going to enjoy the fireworks, the company of friends, and parties with lots of food and wine. Indeed, on my side of the fence, I’m experimenting with barbecue flavored with Asian spices and condiments.

My goal this weekend is to cook low-and-slow over indirect heat and create a new kind of barbecue, one incorporating Asian ingredients, omitting the traditional ones, and all the while staying with the basic principle of balancing spices and herbs over a canvas of salt and sugar.

My Weber Performer definitely performed!

Last night I created my very own white sauce based on Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q Original White Sauce in Decatur, Alabama, where it was invented and made popular.  While the original uses mayonnaise as its base, mine uses coconut milk, and the rest of the ingredients are just as different. The one basic rule still remains, however. It’s tangy, sweet, and salty and ever so slightly bitter and spicy. Otherwise said, it’s balanced!

CT’S ORIGINAL ASIAN WHITE SAUCE

coconut milk, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, shallot, curry, rice vinegar, oh my...

(about 2-1/4 cups and good for a 4-pound roaster!)

2 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon curry powder (or garam masala)
1 ounce ginger, freshly grated
1 large garlic clove, freshly grated
1 large shallot, freshly grated
1 teaspoon chili paste (optional)

Marinate the chicken in the white sauce for 12 hours, refrigerated.

Preparing the Weber Performer for indirect heat cooking, I’m preheating the grill to 325°F for 20 minutes, the charcoal baskets filled halfway up with Kingsford briquettes.

Once you see white ash, push the charcoal baskets off to one side of the grill, leaving the other side void.

soak apple wood chunks in the water-juice concoction...why not?!

For extra flavor, soak some apple wood chunks for a couple of hours and throw them on the hot charcoal. Place an aluminum pan filled with equal parts water and 100% fruit juice (apple, white grape, or pineapple, for example) underneath the grill grate, with the chicken skin side up on the grate and directly above the pan. Cook, with lid down for about 1 hour. Baste with marinade and return bird, turning it 180° (so the legs are now closer to the heat source) to the pit covered with lid for another 45 minutes to 1 hour until done, which means when the joints are loose and you can twist them easily. If you prefer, stick a thermometer in the bird and when the temperature reaches 160°F in the breasts and 175°F in the thighs, pull it out, let it rest for 15 minutes, and enjoy this succulent bird with a big salad on the side.

partying and barbecuing for the next few days...tongs in one hand, wine in the other!

Now my friend, well-known pitmaster and best-selling author Chris Lilly, always says “if you’re opening the lid, you’re not cookin’.” Well that’s true, but considering how tactile and curious I am, barbecuing “the right way” is challenging for me. Patience is definitely a virtue and I’ve been put to the test.

…and now off to buy more meat and charcoal! Pork shoulder is in my (and your) near future. Firing up Smokey tonight around midnight for some pulled pork sandwich tomorrow for lunch. It comes with a little of this and that, and a bit of hoisin BBQ sauce on the side, please!

Happy 4^th of July, y’all y’all…

CT

flipping meat back and forth every few minutes will ensure even cooking throughout, a beautiful golden color, and no burning! (it's almost there, another 5 to 10 minutes and I'm digging in.)

It’s lunch time and a rack of lamb, trimmed French-style, seasoned with a sweet and savory Chinese five-spice rub, sounds really good served with a mixed green and fresh herb salad. This is a perfect meal that is neither too light nor too heavy but just right and satisfying.

Charcoal baskets filled and set inside my Weber Performer, I fire up the grill and let the flames settle. Like all cooking techniques, grilling  requires some imagination and close attention. I don’t just throw a good piece of meat on a hot grate and leave. Any good meat has a fair amount of fat, which will cause flare ups, and I’m not really looking for an amazing cut like a rack of lamb to be engulfed in flames and charred beyond recognition. When grilling over direct heat I like to doctor the meat, meaning keep a close watch while flipping it back and forth so as to distribute the heat evenly throughout while crisping it to a rich golden color. (The alternative is burnt meat, which tends to taste bitter and is considered a carcinogen, which I would imagine is undesirable!).

I love grilling lamb, more so than roasting or braising it. Gamy in flavor, it’s enhanced with a

a refreshing summer salad helps digest the heavier part of the meal, in this case a delicious rack of lamb!

subtle smokey flavor that pairs well with the spices used. I have to admit that this Chinese style spice rub is something I am still developing, which is why this weekend I’ve applied it to a small portion of meat cooked over direct heat in preparation for the big July 4th weekend when I’ll be doing brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs. I’m a bit nervous because so far it’s an experiment. I’m playing with Asian spices, which for the most part, tend to be more pronounced than those used in classic American BBQ dry rubs. Additionally, in Asia, herbal pastes are used in combination with dried spices to flavor meats such as the popular skewered meats known as satay. While I test the waters, I’ll be light handed to make sure that at the very least I’m going in the right direction. Here I’ve combined both wet and dry ingredients. Nothing fancy, but definitely delicious! Check out the recipes below:

CT’s Simple Asian Dry Rub

(makes about 1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, salt, and five-spice powder thoroughly.

CT’s Five Spice Rack of Lamb
(serves 4, or less!)

2 racks of lamb
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated
1 ounce ginger, peeled and grated
CT’s Simple Asian Dry Rub (see above)

1) Preheat the Weber Performer for 15 minutes.

2) Meanwhile rub each rack with grated garlic and ginger, then sprinkle the dry rub generously on both sides. Shake access rub off and place racks over direct heat, fat side down. Turn every 2 minutes to desired doneness and until golden crisp. Lamb is best when cooked medium rare, or medium.

CT’s Leafy Green Mix
(serves 4)

1 cup tatsoy
1 cup arugula
8 large red oak leaf, each torn into 3 to 4 pieces (don’t tear them too small or they will wilt quickly)
4 leaves curly endive, each torn into 6 to 8 pieces
8 fresh herb leaves (cilantro, parsley, mint, tarragon, etc…torn if leaves are too large
1 ripe avocado, chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon or more dark honey
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

In a large wooden shallow bowl, toss the leafy greens and herbs together. Drizzle with rice vinegar, followed by olive oil. Dip a fork into the honey jar, letting most of it drip back in. Guide the fork back and forth over the mixed greens so as to distribute the honey all over. Season with salt and pepper and let stand for 15 minutes. Do not toss or the leaves will wilt quickly. Instead let the vinegar and oil trickle down in between the leaves.

This is an easy, elegant, and satisfying meal that can be thrown together in 20 minutes or less. I made this for a friend of mine who walked away with a smile spanning from one ear to the other. I think it’ll make yours happy too!

bon appétit!
CT

Block party over, we all gathered at Hill Country on Sunday night for some down time and a beer!

The Big Apple BBQ Block Party 2010 has come and gone. For pitmasters the event started on Friday night, setting up their massive BBQ rigs, firing them up, and loading tons of meat from ribs, to brisket, sausage, pork shoulders, whole hogs, and more. It’s a huge event that takes place during the second weekend in June on both Saturday and Sunday, with over 100,000 visitors eating their way through just shy of twenty BBQ stations. The wait can be long, but rain or shine, they stand in line hoping pitmasters don’t run out of the food. The best is when they make it to the front of the line and get served. The worst is when they see a man standing in line with them but holding that blue flag, signaling that the pitmaster is about to run out of “Q”, as was the case with Big Bob Gibson’s award-winning pulled pork sandwich.

Big Bob Gibson’s Chris Lilly at the 2010 Big Apple BBQ Block Party from Anthony Quintano on Vimeo.

full of historical and personal anecdotes...Chris Lilly makes you want to "Q!"

Sunday looked like last year’s Sunday. Gray! And when it finally rained, umbrellas went up, and business went on as usual. I’d been working long hours with Chris Lilly and his crew since Friday night and right through Sunday evening. My body is glad it’s over because barbecuing in a serious way for thousands of people can be taxing. The hard part is knowing that it’ll be a year before I see my Alabama friends. Like Chris always says, barbecue is about so much more than the food. It’s about being in the company of  friends and having a great time, and so I may have worked about 15 hours a day, but I never felt them.

Chris Lilly’s Injection and Dry Rub recipe  for his award-winning Pork Shoulder, adapted from his best-selling book Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book (Clarkson Potter, 2009):

For the INJECTION:

3/4 cup apple juice

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 salt

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

For the DRY RUB:

1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2-1/4 teaspoons garlic salt

2-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

***Both rub and injection liquid are enough for a 16-18 pound whole pork shoulder. Set your grill/cooker at 225°F. (The charcoal should be set to one side of the pit, leaving the other side void. While bringing cooker to temperature, inject the shoulder with the liquid using a syringe, then rub the shoulder with the spice mix all over. Place the shoulder, fat side down over the void side of the grill. Place lid, and cook shoulder for 14 to 16 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat has reached 195°F. Transfer meat to cutting board, let rest for 30 minutes, and using insulated rubber gloves, pull the bone from the meat and discard. Then press down the meat and watch it fall apart. Remove any visible fat, and start chopping.

I highly recommend getting a few bottles of Big Bob Gibson’s Championship BBQ Sauce. It’s to die for!

Next weekend…pork shoulder infused with my Asian-inspired injection and rub as well as a new kind of BBQ Sauce. Ingredients such as lychee juice, coconut water, hoisin, soy sauce, five-spice, and more will be used. I’ll be loading up “Smokey” for the first time and testing these new recipes in time for July 4th weekend. It’s going to be an all-nighter!

crowded by Big Bob Gibson's

It’s 1 AM and I’m finally home, showered and in bed “resting my trotters,” as pitmaster Chris Lilly would say. It’s been a long 15-hour day of pulling and chopping close to 200 pork butts (top of the shoulder) to make thousands of the famous Big Bob Gibson pulled pork sandwich. Down to the last few sandwiches at around 4:30 PM this afternoon, Don MacLemore, grandson of the late Big Bob himself, walked down the line of hungry patrons, counting heads and keeping the few lucky ones while turning away the rest telling them, “come back tomorrow early!” This is my second year on the team and in my experience, cookers loaded to the max, we’ve always run out of pork butt early. The meat is that special.

Chris Lilly squirting his secret spicy vinegar concoction and couldn't wait until I was finish chopping!

It’s truly an honor to be here and there’s not one part of my job I don’t love when working this event. Sure, it’s hard work—I’d be lying, if I said that my body didn’t ache right now—but the company is such that every aspect of it is fun as well. Our assembly line is solid. Some of us unload the pork, while others inject, or rub, or load the cookers. And when that’s done, we make the coleslaw. I like to do a bit of everything because every time I do, I learn something new.

chopped and ready for the pulled pork sandwich assembly line

Tonight I picked up on a detail that is almost foreign to me. My attitude has always been “a little bit of this and that” in the kitchen. Something I learned from my grandmother who never measured anything but whose food was sublime. When it comes to barbecue, however, Chris always preaches precision. And while he too goes by feel, his approach is to never leave anything to chance. The ingredients are always the same, and measuring them is key. “The only way you can hope to win in competition is if your product is consistently great.” He’s a champion several times over, so he should know.

after a long day of pleasing the crowd, more injecting and rubbing to be done for the next day...

As we prepare the meat for the last day of this event, Chris will call out “3 full syringes into each shoulder.” For rubbing he’ll make sure the rub has gone all over “except for the flap.” And when it comes time to chop, he’ll feel each hot butt in the cooker until he finds one that “gives just right,” meaning until the meat giggles and falls off the bone. It’s an art and he breathes it. Enthralled by this experience, I begin to imagine my own pork butt loaded with my special Asian-inspired BBQ injection liquid and spice rub. Soon, I’ll be doing more than imagining. Stay tuned!

…and if you haven’t had a Big Bob Gibson pulled pork sandwich, stop by 27th and Madison. It’s worth the wait, but like Don MacLemore says, come early. We start serving at 11 AM until we run out!

(photography © by Anthony Quintano. All rights reserved.)

Chris Lilly (in blue) injecting pork butts, me directly across occasionally squirting my neighbors...no syringe needles broken this year!

… here again at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party working alongside celebrity pitmaster Chris Lilly…

It’s that time of year when pitmasters from around the country gather at Madison Square Park to serve tourists and New Yorkers hungry for ribs, sausage, brisket, and pulled pork. I’m here again at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party working alongside celebrity pitmaster Chris Lilly of the legendary Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, AL, and best selling author of Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book (Clarkson Potter, 2009).

Reporting for duty last night, our assembly line was full of eager-to-learn friends. We unloaded pork butts from cartons. Weighing an average of 10 pounds a piece, we transferred close to 200 pieces onto our workstations where we injected them with a spicy and savory liquid concoction and rubbed them with a spice mix. By 9 PM, the cookers were fully loaded and I was on coleslaw duty, tilling shredded veggies including cabbage, carrots, onions, and peppers, with sugar and mustard dressing. Up to my elbows in sticky, creamy, deliciously sweet goo, my arms practically fell off by the end of the evening. I’m not complaining, and in fact I’ll be back at it again today, absorbing fine details of true barbecue, as I unload juicy, savory and sweet pork butts, chopping them for the much sought after pulled pork sandwich Big Bob Gibson is known for.

Now my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker is at home waiting for me to fire it up for some serious Asian-inspired BBQ. I’ve not forgotten you “Smokey,” I’m just here learning from the best, only to return with the tools I need to load you up with confidence, YA hear…

Vietnamese-inspired Surf 'N' Turf, lemongrass-infused head-on jumbo shrimp and pork chops with mango salad and Asian greens on the side...

Impromptu dinners are fun, especially when you can enjoy them outdoors. In a sort of “Iron Chef” fashion I go to my fridge and take a look at what I can throw together for dinner in the spur of the moment, and in a half hour with what is readily available. And since I never know who is going to show up at my door (family or friends, or both, and all with different food preferences), I always have a loaded fridge. For Asian-inspired meals, my arsenal includes ginger, scallion, and garlic, along with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, shiro-miso (“white” soybean paste), coconut milk, five-spice, and sriracha, a chili and garlic sauce. Lemongrass, cilantro, and mint, and when available Thai basil, I also have on hand.

mango salad and farm-fresh tatsoy...and Brett!

This summer, I’ll also be enjoying the farmers market every Thursday in Westport, CT. This week, the tatsoy was looking so good, I bought a little over a pound to complement a mango salad and Vietnamese-inspired Surf ‘n Turf, head-on jumbo shrimp with 1-inch thick cut pork chops. That’s right in Southeast Asia, seafood is so abundant and pork so inexpensive that they are often combined. And this is a protein combo that will not break the bank, unlike the classic (albeit, delicious) lobster and beef filet mignon version.

Weber's Touch-N-Go Ignition system...reliable and efficient!

My friend Brett is over for dinner tonight and is watching me cook, though like many guys, quickly notices the equipment. He walks over to the Weber Performer and starts drooling as he scans the apparatus. Meanwhile, I’m knee deep in fish sauce, sugar, and vinegar. “I don’t get it,” he says, “It’s a charcoal grill but it’s got a propane tank?” So in my how-to-impress-a-guy style, I confidently download the technical stuff. “Yep! You turn the gas knob counterclockwise one full turn, push the ignition button and voilà! It’s all fired up and ready to go!” And with that, my charcoal starts smoking in no time at all. “Then you turn the gas knob clockwise all the way to shut off the gas, and watch your charcoal continue to burn and turn whitish-gray. That’s what you look for before you put the meat on the grill.”

He also notices the Smokey Mountain Cooker next to the Performer, and says “that too?” and with a grin I say, “oh yeah, I’ll be smokin’ this summer. I can load up about 60 pounds of meat, no problem! You’ll have to come back for that “

And while taking a whiff of the fish sauce almost sent him flying over the railing of my deck as he uttered the words “What the heck…” Apparently, it was a scent he had not encountered before. “A nice chilled beer, perhaps?” I asked, and we continued our evening, sharing a delicious dinner en tête-à-tête. I even got him to suck the juice out of the shrimp heads. The pork chops were deliciously pink in the center and a nice counterpoint to the sour, sweet, and spicy mango salad and refreshing farm-fresh tatsoy. And, he cleaned his plate!

CT’s BASIC SOUTHEAST-ASIAN LEMONGRASS MARINADE (for all sorts of meats and seafood, especially delicious with pork chops and shrimp! This is enough marinade for 1 pound of shrimp and 2 thick cut pork chops. Serves 2 to 4)

1/3 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup palm sugar (or regular)
1 tablespoon grapeseed (or vegetable) oil
1 large garlic clove, grated
1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, outer bruised leaves removed, stalk grated (from purple to light green parts, about 8 to 10 inches)

In a bowl whisk the fish sauce and sugar until completely dissolved. Add the oil, garlic and lemongrass.

TIP: dealing with head-on shrimp. Cut through the back side of the shrimp to devein, but leave the shells and head intact. The shells will add flavor and keep the meat from burning. The head is full of delicious tomalley. Enjoy it!

Marinate for 20 minutes and grill over direct heat at first so as to crisp, then continue over indirect heat to finish cooking.

CT’s SOUTHEAST ASIAN SOUR MANGO SALAD (serves 2 to 4)

3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons palm sugar (or regular)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice, or rice vinegar
2 unripe, hard to the touch mangoes, peeled and shredded
2 red Thai chilies, seeded, and sliced into thin rings
a few freshly torn Thai basil leaves, or cilantro or mint leaves for the garnish
a sprinkling of freshly crushed roasted, unsalted peanuts for the garnish (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, citrus juice or vinegar, and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the mango and chilies, and toss. Let stand for 10 minutes and drain. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and garnish with the fresh basil, cilantro, or mint.

Enjoy these new recipes this Summer and don’t forget to come back next week when we explore lamb, Asian-style!

CT

I’m excited that Memorial Day Weekend is finally here. For me, it marks the end of a harsh Winter and wet Spring, and the beginning of the bright hot Summer ahead. It also means firing up the grill just about everyday from now until Fall.

I think it’s fair to say that BBQ is all the rage these days. It’s been in the news for the last several years in a big way, and touted as a culinary tradition that can be as complex and refined as French or Chinese cooking, for example. I’ve tasted, seen, and engaged in lively and passionate conversations, and agree that barbecue is no small subject with regional variations to satisfy just about any palate. In the Winter of 2009, TLC launched a new show, “BBQ Pitmasters,” which followed such industry greats as Chris Lilly, Harry Soo, and Myron Mixon in their quest for first place on the competition circuit, and heightened its popularity.

I’ve often dreamed of hauling a massive BBQ rig with an equally massive pick-up truck, but the cost can be prohibitive and unless I plan on competing several times a year (which may happen!), it’s just not practical. Besides, light, affordable, efficient, and reliable, I hear Weber does well in competition.

For well over a decade, I’ve grilled on Weber’s classic charcoal kettles including the One Touch Gold and Ranch, which I used to test the recipes in my cookbook, The Asian Grill (Chronicle Books, 2006). I keep going back to Weber because the equipment is easy to assemble, use, and clean. It’s also long lasting, readily available (check out your local hardware store!), and affordable compared to many brands on the market. I also love their huge line of accessories including skewers, mittens, spatulas, and pizza stone (yes, my Chinese scallion pancakes and Indian parathas will be cooked on one this summer), rib racks, roasters, and more. The product is solid on every level.

This weekend I’m grilling on The Performer for the first time. It’s similar to the 22.5-inch One Touch Gold kettle in construction, but features Weber’s signature “Touch-N-Go” ignition system, which requires no lighting fluid. A bit apprehensive at first about connecting the propane tank to the gas connection, I am surprised at how easy it is to install. Tight fitted, it’s perfectly safe not to mention convenient, with the charcoal lighting up in less than 5 minutes, and gray ash appearing in just 15 minutes more. It’s fast, if not faster than using my favorite chimney, and I only had to fill each baskets three quarters of the way with charcoal to cook a meal “serves 4 to 6.”

So here I am on the Friday night of this long holiday weekend, with Kingsford Charcoal Briquets (efficient and long lasting, you only need a few) burning hot in the baskets pushed off to the sides of the kettle, I start the drumsticks over direct heat to crisp them lightly, then move them to the center for some indirect heat action. The cover down to enhance the flavor of this soy-sauce ginger, and five-spice-marinated chicken, I’m now staring at the bok choy on my kitchen counter thinking, “grill them…” and I do using Weber’s Vegetable Basket. Seasoned lightly with sesame oil, salt and pepper, I serve the bright green, crunchy and tender leaves along with mushroom fried rice as sides. Check out the recipes below:

RECIPE 1: Five-Spice Soy Sauce Marinade (excellent for chicken, beef, pork, duck, venison, buffalo, and ostrich. You canalso include 1 teaspoon per 6-ounce burger…just mix it into the meat and shape the patty.)

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup palm sugar (or regular sugar)

1 ounce ginger, finely grated (about 1-inch piece)

1 large garlic clove, finely grated

1 scallion, trimmed and minced

2 Thai chilies, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon five-spice powder

1) In a bowl, whisk the soy sauce and sugar, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the ginger, garlic, scallion, chilies, and five-spice powder.

2) With a fork, poke holes all over the drumsticks. Add to the marinade, tossing every 10 minutes for 30 minutes.

3) Place on the grill directly over the charcoal for 5 minutes, turning the pieces often so as not to burn them. Then move them away from the charcoal, to continue over indirect heat until the juices run clear, about 15 minutes more.

RECIPE 2: Grilled Bok Choy (both white and green stem, the latter also know as “Shanghainese” bok choy)

1-1/2 pounds baby bok choy, or other leafy greens

2 teaspoons grapeseed oil

2 teaspoons sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, toss the bok choy with oils and salt and pepper. Transfer to the Weber Vegetable Bastket and place on the grill directly over the charcoal. Stir-fry as you would in a wok, so as not to burn the vegetables. Cook until tender yet firm, about 10 minutes.

RECIPE 3: Mushroom Fried-Rice with Shitakes

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

4 large dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water until soft, stems removed, and caps julienned

3 cups cooked brown jasmine rice

In a large skillet or wok over high heat, add the oil and stir-fry the garlic and mushroom until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and continue to stir-fry until hot. Serve with grilled vegetables and marinated chicken.

…and there you have it, a delicious first dinner grilled on my favorite equipment.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, my Friends! Come back next Friday for more recipes. I’ll be exploring a Vietnamese-inspired “surf ‘n turf!”

Bon appétit!

CT

making a home...

I’m in Westport, CT, a place I visited for the first time last Fall and instantly fell in love with. From the new deck of my charming little cottage, I see the Long Island Sound and the beautiful indigo sky over it. Beneath is the beach, a mixture of soft sand, tiny round pebbles, seashells, and algae. Brutal is the cold this morning, but I can’t help standing here. Leaning against the railing, I look out into the horizon, the view so calming I feel the weight of New York City where I’ve lived for the last 20 or more years slowly lifting off my shoulders.

There’s something about starting fresh. In short, it’s exciting. I like to ease into my day, waking up at 5:30 AM or so, looking at the beautiful sunrise against the puffy white clouds displaying a myriad of reflected shades of red, pink, orange and yellow and everything in between. My bed faces in that direction for the first glimpse of that stunning, painterly view. The tide is low, the birds walking on the basin’s ocean floor for hundreds of feet beyond the shoreline. Getting up, I have a good stretch, walk over to the porch and can’t believe that I have this, now, today.

oatmeal to warm the heart...

Opposite this amazing view is a most humble kitchen. Nothing like I’ve ever worked in or have had in the past, but somehow it feels right at this moment. And the old electric stove with a little boost from me puts out beautiful food. Perhaps, it’s because this new place is inspiring me to be open and create. This morning I have steel-cut oatmeal cooking in a small copper pot. And while most of my plates and bowls are still in boxes on the floor, I manage to get a bowl out for my first breakfast in my new home. Topped with crushed walnuts and goji berries, I’m enjoying every spoonful, following a few sips of hot, honey-sweetened, milk-stained Earl Grey tea to celebrate my new life. On the stove still, I have a Thai-inspired coconut milk-based bean soup, fragrant with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal simmering, waiting to be shared with friends at any given time. The heart of the home is warm!

it works...

Sitting out on the porch for now, enjoying my breakfast while scanning a most stunning view, I recall being enthralled in a similar fashion by my many trips abroad whether in Italy, Thailand, Sweden, Corsica, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, and so on. I’ve traveled the world and have always been captured in some way or another by the local culture and its people. Here in Westport, I feel similarly. I’m enthralled by my surroundings, excited to get to know this New England town. After a couple of months here, I’m ready to dig deeper into Westport and its neighboring towns that make up Fairfield County. My friends say that Westport is great, but New York City has more with regards to food. While that might be true, I’m still convinced that there are little pockets needing some serious exploring and I’m up for the challenge. I’ve already found a great Asian market in Norwalk!

me in my new office!

Everything is always exciting when it’s new and fresh, but I have a feeling that Westport will keep being just that for me for many years to come. Having loved the mountain air, with no desire to live near the water until now, it is interesting to me, at this moment, that it was a boat ride and fishing excursion that got me here in the first place. Well, fishing season is coming up and what better place to be than right here in Westport, CT. It seems to me that I’ve come home.

20.5" NITRO 898

I can’t wait to give the boat a closer look…

I love the outdoors and every opportunity to connect with nature. I’ve been into fishing for a long time, but have yet to catch a fish. Still, the idea of someday battling a fish at the end of my line is something I look forward to experiencing.

Last month, I was invited to go fishing in Connecticut’s Long Island Sound by my friend Frank who shared with me his passion for the sport. I remember him asking me “do you know how to swim?” as we headed out farther and farther away from the dock.  Giving him a curious look, I answered,

backing into the Tennessee River...

“well… yeah.” Hearing the words come out of my mouth, I quickly realized that I had taken his question for granted. After all we were not in a swimming pool with anything to hold on to, but rather surrounded by water with currents, not to mention bluefish, which I hear bite anything in sight. I started paying attention to Frank more carefully as he spoke, while enjoying fishing from a boat for the first time. Though there was no catch that day, I had but one desire…to keep trying!

I have some friends who fish on a regular basis and they know that when my number shows up on their cell phones, the conversation will eventually lead to fishing and eating the catch. Planning my trip to Alabama to visit Chris Lilly, a good friend, fellow chef, and celebrated pitmaster of the legendary Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q joint in Decatur, I mention to him in passing that I’m interested in going fishing in the area. Chris reminds me that his brother Owen loves to fish. With a couple of weeks left before heading to the airport for this adventure, I call Owen and inquire, “are they biting there?” I can feel his smile as he answers, “Come on down South! I promise you’ll catch a fish or two.” Two weeks later, life-jacket on and secured, I’m on a bass-boat riding high on the Tennessee River, fishing the Muscle Shoals area, a place famous for its music and history-”The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Brown Sugar’ here,” mentions Owen, well-mannered and soft-spoken with a charming accent only one would expect from a Southern gentleman.

L to R: Owen and Steve

We’re on the Tennessee River “flying…”

We’re in Florence, AL, where Owen grew up. It’s a beautiful sunny day as we pull up to the parking lot of a dock. Owen points to his friend Steve Humphries standing next to his massive “heavy-duty” white pick-up truck with a beautiful boat on a trailer attached to it. I can’t wait to give the boat a closer look and do. The fact that it’s a 20.5″ NITRO 898 means absolutely nothing to me, but it’s definitely cool looking. Tall and built somewhat like a quarterback, Steve says “Hi,” shaking my hand with a rather strong grip. “So you want to fish, huh?” he continues, noticeably smirking. “You bet,” I say with confidence, nodding a definite “yes,” to further express my enthusiasm.

Steve casting the net for bait.

Taking charge, Steve instructs, “Ok…Corinne, get in the boat! Owen, get in the truck and back it up slowly down the ramp.” I know instantly that I’m in good hands. The rear tires of the truck almost halfway in water, Steve unhooks the boat using a crank to lower and release the boat gently into the river. He gets in and sits to my right, steering the boat toward the landing where Owen jumps in.

We’re on the Tennessee River “flying,” the boat going so fast it feels like the bottom of our vessel is gliding on the surface of the water. It’s invigorating. Steve, our guide and an expert

la friture!

angler who manages to fish several times a week, heads toward the Wilson Dam to catch small bait. There, he casts a round blue net heavy with weights sewn in around the edge. Pulling it back a minute later, he releases the baby fish into a tank filled with water got from the river. Looking at the small bait, my taste buds fully activated and mouth watering, I can taste them, dusted with flour, deep-fried, and served piping hot drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice and sprinkled with cracked black pepper and sea salt. This is the way my French grandmother Jeanne used to prepare them when my uncles came home from fishing with several pounds of the stuff. Referred to as la friture, the tiny golden fish, no bigger than anchovies and served head to tail, were delicious and as crispy as French fries.

as easy as 1-2-3...caught a few that day!

“I bet you she wants to cast her own line next time.”

Snapping out of memory lane, water tank full of bait, Steve rides along the river and comes full stop to one of his favorite spots. I pick up my fishing pole and get ready to cast. Steve tells me to “swing the line.” “What do you mean?” I ask. Watching him demonstrate, he pulls the wire out at a 45° angle, a technique I recognize and associate with fly-fishing. Then rather than throw the line overhead, he swings it with a swooping motion, sideways and out far. I’m having trouble with this new technique. Concerned that I may not get it on this trip, rather than have me cast my own line, Steve does it for me, then hands me the pole and says, “let it sit there for a while. Don’t reel it in too fast. You have to give them a chance to bite.” (This is something he repeats to me on more than one occasion. Indeed, patience is a virtue.) Owen knows me and tells Steve, “I bet you she wants to cast her own line next time.” We laugh.

A day in the life of Owen...nice office!

Out on the boat, with our lines dragging in the water, we shoot the breeze, talking about everything and anything including life in general, food, and fishing of course. I ask Steve about his services as a fishing guide. Owner and operator of Fish The Shoals, he admits to having recently started the business because of the rising interest in the sport and this particular area, which is regarded as one of the best fishing destinations in the U.S.

…something big at the end of my line is fighting me.

my first catch

The fish are abundant here, full of catfish and bass as we finally get some action. Steve catches a bass, as does Owen soon after. As I’m waiting for a good tug at the end of my line, Steve offers a few words of wisdom. “Fishing is more than just catching. It’s about the time you spent with friends enjoying the day and a good beer, even if fish don’t bite.” And with that something big at the end of my line is fighting me. I’m reeling it in, then releasing the wire a tiny bit to “tire him out.” Negotiating with the fish, I repeat this exercise several times more until its head finally appears on the side of the boat. I smile. “That’s a flathead catfish right there,” says Owen, “why, it’s probably between 3 to 4 pounds. Good one!” My first catch ever. It’s a fine moment, one for the books. Excited and proud, I turn to my friends and say, “well boys, how about blackened catfish tonight?”