What's Cookin'? BBQ!

My son Zak’s handiwork a few Thanksgivings ago

My Monday got a little bit better when I leaned today is National Barbecue Day! Never mind it is not celebrated on a weekend, when most non-professionals do their cookin’, nor the fact that it’s just a few weeks away from Memorial Day, one of the “gold standard” bbq days. But maybe that is partly why, it’ll give you a chance to brush-up on your charcoal, gas or wood smoking prowess before you test your cuisine out on the gang at the lake.

I love the outdoors, so its only natural that I also love to cook and eat outdoors. I’ve been firing up some sort of outdoor cooking apparatus upon which to roast my meals longer than I can remember, maybe before Cub Scouts even! (To be truthful , some of those outdoor hijinks involving fire probably weren’t relate to meal preparation)

I was already pretty competent on the grill by the time I tossed my mattress atop my trusty ’72 Pinto station wagon, and left home to take on the world on my 18th birthday. To be sure, those hibachi meals when starting out where some of the most humble, yet best. Even when you can’t keep the lights or gas on in your apartment, you can afford a bag of charcoal and a cheese-master charcoal grill from the dollar store. A pack of weenies, generic chips and the cheapest beer they have wouldn’t set back a struggling dj much. Plus there’s the fact that nothing compares to foods cooked over the smoky heat of a charcoal or wood fire. That goes for meats, seafood and veggies, all better when whipped-up on the barbie. I’m also not averse to adding my favorite woods like hickory, mesquite, apple and cherry to a gas fire and slow-roasting using the “indirect” method. With practice, you’ll get the hang of great barbecue whether you do it over a campfire, on a humble Hibachi, or the six-burner mega-gas grill that’s the envy of the neighborhood. “Six burners, eh Mitch? You gonna start catering or are we compensating for something there, bruh?”

Anyway, I’ll be firing up the grill today in celebration. If the wife had other dinner plans, well, that’s the breaks. Here are some photos to whet your appetite, ’cause these days, you cook something pretty, you take a picture of it, right? Bon appetite!