sporkife

Obviously you don't live in Maine.

Ferris Bueller

Well, like I said, I make a lot at a time, so its going to be huge measurements.
For my smallest batch, heres the basic lowdown:
2 quart bottles of cider vinegar.
1/2 full size bottle of worcestershire
1/2 lemon squeezed (i dont use pre-juiced bottled stuff)
4 cups of water, give or take a bit.
these are approximations. I eyeball everything from here on out.
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
4 LARGE cloves of garlic. blanched and minced as fine as you can get it.
1/2 tsp onion powder
pinch of dill
1/4-1/2 tsp ground mustard seed
1 tsp salt (kosher ground by mortar and pestle yields the best results)
pepper of choice to taste (i cant give you a read on this because the amount of pepper varies by kind and taste. if you want it mild, you can leave it out altogether, but i wouldnt recommend it. if you want it hot, throw in 1+ tsp of cayenne.)
3/4-1 cup brown sugar.

now, keep in mind, this is a recipe that i've been making for almost 20 years (yes, since i was a kid). it's like making macaroni and cheese, after a while you just dont need to measure anymore to get it right. so feel free to experiment around a bit. scale down the ingredient levels to something you wont have to bottle up and store, and find your own perfect mix. once you've got that, youre golden.

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|TG-6th|Ferris Bueller

Boot

Awesome, thanks Ferris! I thought I'd try it this weekend but instead am headed to Helsinki for a week or so. I'll report back in a couple weeks.

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gunjunkie

In South Africa, we have a great BBQ tradition called Braai. In general, its pretty similar to wood/charcoal BBQ, but the one subtlety I've picked up is that we tend to commit meat a little sooner, when the fire is hotter, and then ride the decrease in temperature to an awesome finish.

Personally, I use pretty much only Webers. I know them, and how the food reacts to them, and I've never had a problem producing a good meal on one. I only cook using charcoal. No gas.

Hamburgers are generally home made from chuck from a local butcher, a little pepper and the all important kosher salt. Dogs are generally brats from Ditmers, which are at least as good as the stuff I've had in Germany, if not better if you get in early enough. We also have a uniquely South African sausage called boerwors. Literally farmers sausage. You can get it in the US via here. ( No, its not cheap, but it is pretty authentic, and if any of you foodies want to try it out, I can promise you its awesome).

I have a second Weber just for veggies (living here in the bay area, this is kind of important). Which are generally kebabs made from peppers, onions and fruit.

I also do fish quite a lot, generally salmon or catfish. This is more of a seasoning deal, but I do get asked for more quite a lot. We grow rosemary in our garden, so my best recipe there, is salmon steaks, fresh ground pepper to encrust, then pick 3 fresh sprigs of rosemary per steak, and skewer the salmon with the fresh rosemary, this just gives it a nice lift. It's really simple, but once you figure out the heat and how it causes the rosemary oils to spread, its awesome.

Living here in the US now, and enjoying real BBQ as much as I do, I recently bought a Weber smoker. I've only cooked with it 2 times now, but each time has produced good results and I'm definitely into learning this uniquely American cuisine. First attempt was a pork butt, using apple smoke with water regulation, with an apricot glaze. It took about 8 hours but was awesome. I've done chicken too, with a mix of commercial rubs and one I made myself. Tomorrow is my first brisket attempt.

So far so good.

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Do or do not, there is no try....
-- Yoda, Dagobah

Gill

Probably the only food I'd bother firing up my dated charcoal grill for would be blackened tilapia, and that's only because it smokes the house out if I sear the fish inside. Other than that... steaks, burgers, fish, etc., all that crap is cooked on an iron skillet on the stovetop.