How to Be a Great Barbecue Chef

This good old boy from western Rowan County knows how to throw a barbecue. Everyone was quite impressed with his pork shoulders this weekend.

So - you want to be a great grill chef?

It's always nice to get a pat on the back when you take the time to make a meal - especially an outdoor meal on the grill. Face it. It does take a lot of work to put together a terrific cook out.

With this in mind, the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Assocation conducted a poll this fall. They asked a number of questions including, "What makes a great barbecue griller?" HPBA does surverys throughout the year, and they always send me an e newsletter. I really enjoy their questions and findings, and I'm glad they let me know what's going on in the barbecue world.

You can see an overview of the results and some of Grill Girl's thoughts on what people want from barbecue grillers. (Inside hint - I will tell you that guests especially love flexible outdoor cooks.)

Don't wait until you're perfect to have a cook out. You may never get around to doing one. Most of my barbecues turn out fabulous. I do remember one where nothing went right. I ordered in pizza. Everyone had a great time even if we didn't get to eat the grilled food which burned to a crisp while I was hanging clothes on the line. So, that's another tip - multitasking is not such a great idea if you want to be a wonderful barbecue griller.

Perfect Hamburgers on the Barbecue Grill

Yum! Burgers are Delicious Cooked Out on the Barbecue Grill.

Burgers are the top pick for outdoor cooks according to a survey by Weber. And, they sure are yummy. Of course, some burgers are lots better than others. If you have problems getting your hamburgers perfect, try out my Hamburger Grill Guide. That should cover any question you have about making burgers on the grill, and if you follow the steps, you'll have the best grilled burgers you've ever tasted.

If you have specific questions or have had problems with your grilled burgers like the burgers falling apart or sticking to the grill, check out my Hamburger Troubleshooting Guide at Yes You Can Grill. That should cover all your grilled burger problems, but if you come up with anything else, let me know.

Chicken Kabobs on the Barbecue Grill

I had some chicken going begging here, so I decided to make some chicken kabobs on the grill. Since the boys don't like much of anything with or on their meat, that kind of limited what I could thread on the kabobs. They figured the green peppers were big enough to pull off and put in my plate. I promised them that the grilled green peppers would not jump over on the chicken and change the taste.

The chicken kabobs turned out good. I just used a basic homemade style Italian dressing to soak them a couple of hours before tossing them on the grill.

One thing I'd say about kabobs is that it sure would take a lot of them to fill a body (especially boy bodies) up. You can't jam them too tight or they don't cook even. With the food spread out over the kabobs, there's really not much on each kabob.

I think I know why folks usually serve kabobs with rice or potatoes. You've got to fill up on something. We, fortunately, made some grilled tin foil potatoes. We also tried grilled olive oil bread, but that Bunny BBQ bread is too soft to throw on a fire. It was tasty, but it looked like heck. I'm going to try that again but with a European bread with more substance.