I love to try new things so when the folks at Char-Broil asked if I wanted to test out their oil-less turkey fryer, The Big Easy, I responded with an enthusiastic YES! Within a week of our email exchange a very large box arrived on my doorstep.

Opening it up, I realized that some assembly was required, but with the help of my power drill and the instruction booklet, it came together in a snap. Once I had it put together I didn’t want to wait any longer to use it so I set about preparing a little chicken.

I bathed the chicken in a soy sauce marinade for a few hours before stuffing lemon slices under the skin and rubbing some spices on top. Not even the falling snow could keep me from trying out The Big Easy, (although this meant standing in the cold as using the infrared fryer requires a propane tank and is therefore an outdoor activity). In less time than it would usually take to roast a chicken in the oven, it was done.

And the results? Crispy, crackly skin concealed an unbelievably moist chicken. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. It was one of the juiciest chickens I’ve had in a long time and was simple to do. All I had to do was check the thermometer and remove the basket when the chicken reached the appropriate temperature, let it rest for a few minutes and slice away. With the leftover chicken I made a chicken salad sandwich on fresh Italian bread for lunch the next day and it was just as delicious. I’m looking forward to trying out a turkey next time and playing around with spice rubs. The Big Easy has currently taken up residence next to my smoker and BBQ and is a welcome addition to my toy collection.

This is not a recipe for those who are looking to get dinner on the table in a hurry. That being said, despite the fact that it takes two days to make, this brisket doesn’t require a lot of hands on time and the results are well worth the wait. Plus, unless you’re hosting a dinner party, chances are you’ll have leftovers to make fantastic sandwiches for lunch the next day, (with pickles and mustard). Did I mention I got to use the smoker? Oh yeah!

I find a lot of people shy away from recipes that require planning a day in advance to start marinating the meat but once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll quickly learn that it’s not hard to do and adds a lot of flavour to the final outcome. This particular recipe is a bit different in that it calls for injecting the meat with a meat injector needle, I had quite the adventure with that one. In trying to inject the meat I managed to spray my kitchen with marinade, multiple times… It’s all part of the fun of playing in the kitchen though, because if things didn’t get messy, I wasn’t trying hard enough.

Beef Brisket (From Grilled to Perfection: Recipes from License to Grill by Chris Knight and Tyler J. Smith)

• 8 lb beef brisket with ½ inch fat cap
• 12 cups apple wood chips
• Meat injector needle

Dry Rub

• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 T chili flakes
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 T ground black pepper

Marinade

• ¼ cup apple cider
• 1 T cider vinegar
• ¼ cup beef broth
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ¼ cup melted butter

Combine dry rub ingredients and rub into brisket.

Combine marinade ingredients in a large measuring cup.

Fill meat injector needle with marinade and inject the rub-covered beef brisket throughout.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

Soak 8 cups of apple woodchips in water.

Build a smoke pouch by squeezing the excess water from 2 cups of wet wood chips and place on a large piece of aluminum foil. Place 1 cup of dry wood chips on top and mix them together. Close foil around chips to make a sealed package. Using a fork, puncture holes in both sides of the pack to allow smoke to flow through and infuse the meat. Make a total of 4 foil pouches.

Place drip pan underneath one side of grill. Place smoke pouch on the opposite side. Turn heat on under the smoke pouch to 350F. Close lid and wait for smoke.

Place brisket on cool side of grill over the drip pan. Close lid. Allow brisket to slowly smoke for 8 hours, change smoke pouches when smoke dissipates, (approximately every 2 hours).

Remove beef brisket from heat, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Carve against the grain and serve on crusty buns with mustard & pickles.

Serves 8.

Stadium Hot Dog Griller

Sure, you could just roll your own hotdogs, but this little gizmo will do it for you. You’d have to be a diligent hotdog turner to achieve the kind of dog you can get at your favourite stadium, OR you could turn on your Stadium Hot Dog Griller and let it go to work. It’s battery operated and suitable for most gas or charcoal grill surfaces. I feel like it would also be pretty popular in any tailgating situation.

Monogrammed Barbecue Branding Iron

Don’t even try to tell me your friends wouldn’t think you were the coolest person on the block if you had personalized steaks. You can order up to three letters for your iron which has a stainless steel rust proof shaft and a wooden handle that doesn’t get hot. And you needn’t be limited to branding only your steaks, just think of the possibilities! Why not brand your baked potatoes, pork chops or even a whole fish? It’s going on my Christmas wishlist.

The Patio Fireplace/Grill/Smoker

Yes, that’s right, it’s a fireplace AND grill AND smoker. It’s 3 great things in 1, what more could you ask for? It has 1370 square inches of cooking space, the grills are removable so that you can hang a larger cut of meat and an exterior temperature gauge and adjustable vents allow you to control the temperature without having to open the doors and lose any heat. I’m drooling just thinking of all the possibilities. I’d better go clear some space on the back patio so that I’ll be ready when this arrives.

All photos are courtesy of the Hammacher Shlemmer website.

I think about food all the time. I’m constantly thinking of recipes that I want to try and combinations I’d like to test out. There are not enough hours in a day for me to make everything I want to. There is also not enough room in my fridge or money in my wallet to accommodate my cooking visions.

Consequently, even my best ideas sometimes take weeks or even months before I get around to trying them. Such is the case with my take on barbecued chili, it’s still in the conception stage and sadly not in the tasty evaluation stage.

I originally agreed to participate in Chili Week here at Get Your Grill On because I had tons of great ideas for how to make a grilled chili. However, time went by and instead of making grilled chili a reality, I just thought about making it a reality. So I’m going to share my vision with you in the hopes that someone will take it upon themselves to gives this a try and let me know how it works out.

My vision is for a hearty, meaty chili where the meat has first been barbecued and then added to the rest of the chili which is simmered in a cast iron pot on the grill until it’s done and is then served with grilled and buttered bread slices.

In order to make this a reality, I would suggest starting with a winning chili recipe, such as Flatlander Chili, which has received 4½ stars out of 5 on allrecipes.com and then simply adapting it to my BBQ chili plan. Instead of using 2 pounds of lean ground beef as the recipe calls for, I would opt to start early in the day and do a barbecued beef brisket like Barbecued Texas Beef Brisket from Bon Appetit. Part way through cooking the brisket, start the rest of the chili in a cast iron pot that you can put right on the grill alongside the brisket.

When the beef is done, pull it apart and add it to the pot and continue to simmer until all the flavours have had time to blend together. Seconds before you’re ready to eat the chili, butter some bread and throw that on the grill too. That way, every part of your meal has the golden kiss of the grill and is bound to be delicious. Eventually, I will get around to trying this out because I’m convinced it will be good. If you beat me to it, let me know.
**Chili photo by Kekoa from allrecipes.com and Brisket photo by Richard Eskite from epicurious.com.

I was in the kitchen with a friend once, making dinner and throwing this and that into the pan when while she stared at me incredulously before asking “how do you know you can put those things together?” Simple, I replied, it tastes good in my head.

Regardless of whether or not I’m cooking from a recipe I usually have a pretty good idea of what the final dish will taste like long before it’s on the table. I know what flavours I like so I figure I can’t go wrong by putting those together.

That’s what happened when I made up the marinade for these ribs. Originally I was planning on making honey garlic ribs, (because anyone who’s anyone likes honey garlic ribs) but then I wanted to jazz them up a bit so I started rummaging around in the fridge to see what else I could add to honey garlic.

Well I found all sorts of stuff and as I sloshed more and more into the marinade, I could taste the flavours coming together. You can too if you combine all of the ingredients below and pour them over a rack of pork side ribs. Turn to coat the ribs and then let them marinate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Remove the ribs from the marinade and reserve the liquid. Put the leftover marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil for at least 5 minutes. Then heat up your grill to low and let the ribs cook low and slow, basting periodically with the marinade, particularly at the end of the cooking time. These ones took almost 4 hours.

Usually when I make up my own marinade I don’t measure or write down ingredients but I had a feeling that this would be a good one and it was. I will definitely be making it again, especially for a honey garlic rib lover.

Bri’s Super Honey Garlic Ribs

• 4 T honey
• 4 T ponzu sauce
• 2 T black bean sauce
• 1 T oyster sauce
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch of garlic, grated
• Pinch of garlic pepper
• Pinch of Chinese 5 spice

Night comes more quickly now, the leaves are changing from soft and green to crisp and brown, anxiety is evident on the faces of children who are dreading the return of the big yellow school bus. Whether we want to admit it or not, fall is right around the corner and with it, comes change. Your grilling habits don’t have to change though. Although standing over the bbq may seem like the quintessential summer activity, the thrill of the grill needn’t be restricted to one season. If anything, fall is an even better time for grilling.

Think about it; during the summer months, standing over a glowing grill means the beads of sweat spring to your forehead immediately, almost uncomfortably, but come fall, the warmth of the grill is inviting, a place to warm your hands. And after a few minutes of warming your hands, you can warm your belly with a nice big hunk of steak.

While you’re at it, throw some oiled and spiced veggies on the grill too and then round out your meal with a nice pasta salad. To make that steak extra special, try this marinade from Grilled to Perfection: Recipes from License to Grill by Chris Knight and Tyler J. Smith:

• 1 cup red wine
• 1 T cracked black pepper
• 2 rosemary sprigs, coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup olive oil

Place marinade ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

Place the steak in a sealable plastic bad and pour the marinade over the steaks to coat. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Remove steak from the marinade and pat dry.

Allow steak to come to room temperature, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Grill until just pink in the middle, remove to a plate and then cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Grill, grill against the dying of the light.