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Memorial Day Barbecue

Jalapeno Popper Pizza with Three Cheeses

Quick Barbecue Ribs

Grilled Ranch Potato Salad

Spring Cleaning for Your Grill

We Want To Hear From You

About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

The Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Newsletter

May, 2008

Memorial Day — the official kick-off of the barbecue season, and possibly the biggest grilling holiday of the year — is just a week and a half away. With the following recipes, your barbecue will be the envy of the neighborhood, so start planning the guest list now.

We have created a Memorial Day barbecue menu for you that features the all-time classic dish, barbecued ribs. Our recipe, however takes several hours out of the cooking time without sacrificing intense flavors or tenderness. Also included is a tasty Grilled Ranch Potato Salad and a "Jalapeno Popper" Pizza.

To help you get ready for the big day, we also have a guide to Spring cleaning for your grill.

All the best to you from Kalamazoo for a safe and fun holiday weekend.

Cheers,

Hot Off The Grill! Archive

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Memorial Day Barbecue

This flavorful menu features the traditional barbecue favorites of ribs and potato salad, plus a "Jalapeno Popper" Pizza for the appetizer. Enjoy your holiday with good friends, good food and, hopefully, good weather.

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"Jalapeno Popper" Pizza with Three Cheeses

You can vary the heat of this appetizer pizza not only by the number of jalapenos you use, but also by the inclusion or exclusion of the seeds. Despite my leanings toward spicy food, I leave the seeds out per the recipe below.

The pizza is quick and easy to make with the Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven.

Directions:

Preheat your pizza oven or a pizza stone on the grill (instructions on our website) to about 550°F.

Roll out the pizza dough as thin as possible to form a crust about 17" in diameter. Leave a thicker rim for a nice, "bready" finish to each slice, which can help cool the effects of the jalapeno if needed.

Transfer the dough to a pizza prep peel dusted with cornmeal.

Place small dabs of cream cheese on the crust distributed somewhat evenly across the whole pizza. Sprinkle on the cheddar cheese and then the gorgonzola. Add the jalapeno slivers and bacon pieces.

Cook in the pizza oven for about 10 minutes until the crust is cooked and toppings slightly browned.

Slice and serve.

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Quick Barbecue Ribs

The only way to cook fall-off-the-bone-tender ribs is "low and slow." The traditional smoking method is done at about 225°F for many hours, but it can be difficult to find that much time on a busy holiday weekend.

This recipe uses a cherry juice and beer "sauna" to accelerate the cooking process as much as possible without sacrificing much tenderness. The intense, distinctive flavors of cherry, cinnamon and allspice will be remembered by your guests until next Memorial Day comes along and they ask you to make them again.

Directions:

Soak 2 cups of the cherry wood chips in water for about an hour.

Prepare your grill for indirect cooking at 325°F.

Rinse the ribs under cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut each rack into two half-racks (or have the butcher do it for you). If the butcher did not remove the silvery membranes from the bone side of the racks for you, remove them now.

Rub the "bone side" of the racks with about a quarter of the Not-So-Basic Barbecue Rub. Rub the remainder into the "meat side," and let rest for about 20 minutes.

About 15 minutes before you put the ribs on the grill, create two foil smoking envelopes (see instructions below), and put one on the grill to get started. If you have a Kalamazoo offset smoker box, use it rather than making foil smoking envelopes.

Add the ribs to the grill with the "meat side" up in the indirect cooking zone. If your grill is too small for all the racks to lay flat, use a rib rack to hold them on end. Cover the grill and cook for about 90 minutes at 325°F. Add the second smoking envelope after the first 30 minutes.

Place 1 cup beer and 1 cup cherry juice in the foil pan. Remove the ribs from the grill. Baste both sides of the racks with honey and place in the pan with the "meat side" up. Overlap the racks a little if necessary to make them fit, or use a rib rack. Cover with foil and return to the indirect zone of the grill.

Cook with the grill closed for another hour until tender and cooked through. Test to see that the meat pierces easily with a toothpick. Cook longer if necessary, adding more cherry juice if the liquid runs too low.

Transfer the racks from the foil pan onto the direct grilling zone. Baste with Barbecue Finishing sauce and cook for about 2 minutes per side. Baste with a little more sauce and repeat.

Cut the ribs apart for your guests convenience and serve on a large, pre-warmed platter.

Foil smoking envelope instructions: Spread a layer of dry wood chips in the center of a large foil sheet. Top with a layer of wet wood chips. Fold and seal the foil closed into a flat envelope, and then perforate the top with holes using a wooden skewer or fork. Place the smoking envelope directly on the cooking surface above the fire, or place it on top of the gas grill diffusers below the cooking surface and above the burner.

Note: This recipe is great for bringing to barbecues away from home. Cook the ribs in advance up to the point where they should come out of the foil pan. Wrap the racks tightly in foil and refrigerate until it is almost time to serve. Borrow your host's grill for a few minutes to reheat the ribs and baste with the finishing sauce as described above, but do it for a little longer to allow the ribs to reheat.

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Not-So-Basic Barbecue Rub

This barbecue rub combines sweet and savory with a surprising finish of cinnamon and allspice. The recipe omits some of the usual suspects, such as onion, garlic and thyme in favor of these earthy flavors more commonly associated with non-barbecue dishes. Great on ribs and other flavorful meats.

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready for use.

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Barbecue Finishing Sauce

This sauce is not a marinade, nor is it a condiment. It is well-suited to finishing meats cooked with the Not-So-Basic Barbecue Rub. Baste while cooking over direct heat for not more than a few minutes to avoid burning the sugars.

Directions:

Prepare immediately prior to use. Combine all ingredients in a pot. Stir over medium heat until it simmers and is thoroughly combined. Remove from heat. Baste meat with warm sauce over direct heat for the final few minutes of cooking or when reheating ribs on the grill.

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Grilled Ranch Potato Salad

We first shared this recipe in the August, 2006 issue of the newsletter. Although it has been published before, it is such a good compliment to the Quick Barbecue Ribs and Jalapeno Popper Pizza recipes that we are using it again. Besides, what would a Memorial Day barbecue be without potato salad?

Directions:
Mix together the Hidden Valley Ranch powder with the buttermilk and mayonnaise. The instructions will call for a full cup of buttermilk, but this can make the dressing a little too runny for the potato salad. Mix in the mustard powder, paprika and optional jalapeno powder. Cover and refrigerate to thicken.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (keep the heat out of the kitchen by using the side burner on your grill, if you have one). Add the potatoes and cook for ten minutes. The water may not return to a boil within the 10 minutes. This is not a problem. Remove the potatoes and strain. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

As the potatoes are cooling, preheat the grill to 350 degrees for direct grilling (you can cook the potatoes on the direct cooking zone of the grill that is prepared for cooking the ribs).

Toss the potato pieces in a large bowl with a small amount of olive oil to lightly coat. Put the potato pieces onto skewers for grilling.

Grill the potato skewers over direct heat, turning every couple of minutes until nicely browned. Remove the potatoes from the grill and let cool.

Discard most or all of the white portion of the green onions and thinly slice the green portions. Set aside.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skewers and put the potatoes into a large bowl. Add the green onion slices and crumbled bacon. Stir in the ranch dressing mixture. Season to taste with sea salt. (Hint - smoked sea salt helps emphasize the "grill flavor").

The potato salad can be served immediately, warm or at room temperature, or it can be served chilled. It will keep overnight tightly covered in the refrigerator.

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Spring Cleaning for Your Grill

If you are like me, you grill throughout the winter, but you neglect cleaning the outside of your grill during those cold months. My trusty and much loved K900HS looked absolutely embarrassing by the time the Spring thaw came this year. Since "How do I clean my grill?" is our most common customer service question, I thought I would share with you the steps and products I use to get the outside of my Kalamazoo looking new... well, if not new, at least looking good.

Step One: Shade the Grill

Make sure your grill is in the shade. This isn't for your comfort. Because stainless steel gets quite hot in the sun, cleaners tend to evaporate or become sticky before they can do their job. If you use a free-standing Kalamazoo grill and can move it to a shaded area, get started there. Otherwise I suggest sheltering the grill with a market umbrella.

Step Two: Clean the Inside

Clean your cooking surface and warming rack and empty out your hopper, hybrid drawers (if using a Kalamazoo Hybrid Grill) and ash/dripping pan. There is no sense in getting the outside of your grill looking good only to dirty it up with ash and other debris blown around while cleaning the inside of your grill afterwards.

Step Three: Lightly Clean the Outside

I use an all-purpose cleaner like Simple Green and plenty of paper towels to remove the environmental dirt that has collected on the outside of the grill. This is just the first stage of cleaning the outside of your grill. Don't worry about cutting through the stubborn grease and sauce deposits. That comes next using a more powerful degreaser.

Step Four: De-Grease and De-Gunk

I haven't tried them all, but I've tried about a dozen of the grill cleaners on the market, and none of them have cut through the grease, soot and grunge nearly as well as Goo Gone Spray Gel. I use it all over the outside of the grill. If a stain is stubborn, I just leave the gel on a little longer before wiping. A bit of elbow grease is required for some areas. But Goo Gone will remove at least 90% of the soot and grease on the outside of my grill. I first use paper towels. Once the grill is mostly clean, I use a microfiber towel to remove the remaining Goo Gone. You can polish the grill using the microfiber cloth only, but you will definitely want to remove all of the Goo Gone residue. An alternative is to use stainless steel polish to shine the grill and remove the remaining Goo Gone. Try to avoid using stainless steel polish on the hood, however, as the heat will often turn the polish into a hazy film.

Step Five: Repair Scratches and Remove Remaining Stains

There are always a few stains left — usually burnt-on sauce or drippings of some kind, or a spot or two of soot on a hybrid model or unit with a smoker box. For these areas, it may be time for the last resort: refinishing the stainless steel. We found a product last year that works very well for restoring the finish of your grill called Scratch-B-Gone. It removes both scratches and stains. We like it well enough that we have decided to make it available to our customers.

Below are before and after photos of a nasty burnt-on grease stain in the middle of the front of my grill. By restoring the stainless steel, rather than fighting with the stain, I was able to clean this spot in about two minutes:

The Scratch-B-Gone kit includes an assortment of different abrasives along with an ergonomic handle and a lubricant that also blends the finish of the restored stainless steel with the area around it. The lubricant is rated to over 2,000°F, so you can use it on any part of the outside of your grill (when your grill is cool, of course). I was initially surprised to see the kit work so well as a cleaner, but it really does makes sense — you are basically "sanding" off the stain. The use of the proper pad plus the Scratch-B-Gone lubricant allows you to match the factory finish of the stainless steel.

Less surprising to me was the way the product can be used to remove scratches. After all, that is the name, right?

I scratched the hood of my grill quite badly in the Fall. I finally fixed the scratches. Below are the before and after photos:

This also took about two minutes. Please keep in mind, Scracth-B-Gone is not a solution for cleaning your entire grill. It is suitable only for resolving isolated problem areas, but it is an outstanding product for those situations.

We hope these cleaning tips are helpful as you kick off the grilling season this Spring. Remember, now is a great time to change your electronic ignition system batteries, leak test your gas hoses and connections and treat yourself to some nice new grilling accessories.

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We Want to Hear from You

As we continue our efforts to help you maximize the joy and satisfaction of your outdoor grilling and entertaining experience, we would love to know what you think:

• Share with us your favorite grilling recipes or outdoor gourmet entertaining tips.
• Provide us with pictures of your grill or grill setting.
• Tell us what you like most about your Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet product.
• Tell us which product features you would like to see added to or improved on our products.
• Let us know if there are any services Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet should offer.
• Offer feedback on our website.

Feel free to drop us a line at hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com with your thoughts on any of the above, or just to say hello.

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About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet™ custom outdoor kitchen equipment delivers the ultimate in performance, luxury and quality. From hybrid grills that cook with any combination of wood, charcoal and gas — to powerful and energy efficient outdoor refrigerators, wine chillers, ice makers, keg tappers and freezers — to countertop pizza ovens — to weather-tight stainless steel kitchen cabinets — to the one-of-a-kind martini bar — the entire line is designed and built from the ground up exclusively for outdoor gourmet cooking and entertaining. You can learn more at www.KalamazooGourmet.com.

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Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
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