CALF_News_October_November_2019

43 CALF News • October | November 2019 • www.calfnews.net GRILL H O T O F F T H E A C A L F N E W S B B Q P A R T Y GRILLING OR BARBECUING? G rilling is as old as the domestication of fire itself – over 500,000 years ago. Our Neanderthal ancestors would likely scoff at our modern and relatively luxurious Webers® and Traegers® in favor of their tried-and-true method of rubbing sticks together or being just close enough to a fortuitous lightning strike. That being said, grilling has been an important part of almost every culture, empire and family dinner ever since. Around here we make use of a number of different cooking methods and tools. We smoke, we grill and we occasionally sear our meats. The grill, however, isn’t for just meats anymore. Some of our best creations are things like grilled vegetables, greens, pasta and even pizza. Modern technology has made it easier to cook almost anything in an outdoor grill. As long as Mother Nature cooperates, you can realistically enjoy two kitchens in your home year-round! The funny thing about grilling is that people from different places think of it very differently, much like the foods they enjoy. Some people like to call it “grilling,” some call it “barbecuing,” and I’ve been part of more than one debate over what we should call it. While people have cooked food over fire for millennia here No Matter the Name, It's Delicious By James Coope Contributing Editor in America, the roots of modern Ameri- can grilling started in the Southeast and quickly spread west, picking up hints of culture and local flavor along the way. In many ways the meat itself is the same – it’s the sauce that makes the dif- ference. Carolina-style BBQ is known for its sweet sauces; Texas BBQ is known more for dry-rubbed and smoked fare; and Kansas City is nice mix of all of them. Wherever you call home, or choose to side with, we can all agree that a good BBQ meal is a memorable and delicious occasion! This year, one of our most memo- rable summer meals was a staple of the American diet, with a Southwest twist – Smoked Brisket with a Green Chile Mac and Cheese side dish. Brisket is a meal that is perfect for planners – a good brisket takes days, not hours, to properly prepare. For that reason, the Labor Day weekend seemed like the perfect time to plan this “slow-and-low” event, and we used all three days to get ready. Part of the magic of grilling is the rub and spices you use to season the meat, and for our brisket we chose a coffee rub. We mixed our rub with salt and water into a solution that we injected into the meat two days before our meal. We stored the brisket in the fridge, and we seasoned the exterior of the brisket with some of the extra rub before we put it on our Traeger grill. The coffee rub seemed appropriate at 5 a.m., which is when I had to get up to start the cook- ing process. The brisket cooked at 250 degrees for six hours, then 275 degrees for another three hours. We wrapped the brisket in foil and towels and moved it over to a cooler where it rested until it was time to carve. Accompanying the brisket was an incredible Chile Mac and Cheese dish that we created in the Traeger as well. We shredded cheddar and mozzarella and smoked it at a low temperature, and then we mixed it with the elbow noodles and green chilies. The green chilies are a local favorite, and late summer/early fall is roasting season. After about 2.5 hours in the Traeger, the casserole was a wonderful complement to the delicious brisket. We chose to offer three sauces to go with the brisket – a mustard-based Carolina sauce, a Memphis-style sweet and savory sauce, and a KC-style tangy sauce. Judging by what we had left, the Carolina sauce held a slight margin over the others. In the end, no matter which way you enjoyed it, we celebrated the end of a wonderful holiday weekend (and summer) just like our ancestors did – huddling around a fire, eating a great meal together.  We ' re Looking for Reader Submissions ! We're inviting our readers to send in photos and descriptions of your own favorite grilling parties/recipes. Send your entries to dgigot1@cox.net .