Do you love the taste of food cooked over a charcoal fire but don’t like idea of using a product with actual “coal” in it?

I know I love grilling over a charcoal fire. The smell, taste of the food, and just that type of heat alone takes me back to my time growing up, family functions, or just being out back with my father when he stoked up our old charcoal grill. The food just tasted better!

Today most of us are looking for a healthier way to do things and really watch what we put into our bodies. For a lot of people the idea of cooking over a charcoal fire using a product that consist of scrap wood, hardwood chunks and coal dust just doesn’t sound all that appetizing! Well there is good news, Humphrey’s Charcoal now has a 100% natural product that consist of hardwood chunks and instead of using coal dust, it uses a 100% natural binding agent that is even consumable when further processed. The actual mixture of course is an industry trade secret but was shared with us so we could verify the information. The 100% Natural Briquettes are uniform in shape and have a similar appearance to traditional charcoal but without any of the additives. The briquettes light relatively easy in a chimney starter or with an organic fire starter pack.

If you want to recreate those memories of cooking over a charcoal fire for your family but don’t want to use a product with coal dust in it we recommend Humphrey’s 100% Natural Hardwood Briquettes.

You can buy this at www.CountryLodgeGifts.com

Smokin' Hoggz BBQ

If you are in Vermont this weekend, you should try to get to the Harpoon BBQ Festival. I hear the Beer tent is even bigger this year. When you're there stop in and check out Smokin' Hoggz BBQ. They are all set up and ready to go. Check back here this weekend for some updated pics.

Trash Can Chicken

If you never have had the popular growing trash can chicken, you must try it. It will be the most moist and juicy bird that you've ever had. Here are step by step instructions.

Step #1 Buy an Apple Wood Chicken Roaster at Country Lodge Gifts

Step #2 You’ll also need a metal barrel, a bag of charcoal, and lighter fluid.

Step #3 Prepare your chicken. Rub a light coat of EVOO and sprinkle with your favorite poultry seasonings.

Step #4 Get your charcoal going so that it’s good and hot.

Step #5 Place the metal barrel over the chicken

Step #6 Surround the base of the barrel with the hot white coals. Cover the top of the barrel with hot coals.

Step #7 Cook a 10 pound bird for 50-60 minutes. Cook a 15-20 pound bird for 65-90 minutes.Check doneness with a meat thermometer.

Step #8 Carve and Enjoy!

The Perfect Burger

We made up some burgers this past weekend. I've got to say they were very good. They were loaded with fried onion rings, honey BBQ sauce and cheese. I thought I would post some tips on how to cook the purfect burger!

Step 1
Start with fresh ground chuck. Chuck is the most flavorful type of ground beef, and comes from a single cut of beef. Plain "ground beef" can include meat from all over the animal.

Step 2
Make sure the chuck has a fat content of at least 15 to 22 percent to ensure juiciness. If you prefer your burgers well done, ask your butcher for a higher fat content. This will allow you to cook them more without drying them out.

Step 3
Chill the beef well before forming patties. Wash your hands well, then form the patties.

Step 4
Make each patty by forming about half a pound of ground chuck into a tight ball about the size of a baseball. Firmly press ball into a flat cake, first between your hands, then onto a clean cutting board.

Step 5
Use a spatula or other straight-edged tool to "pull in" the sides of the patty so that they remain together and tight.

Step 6
Form patties about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick. Make the diameter about 1/2 inch larger than the bun to allow for shrinkage.

Step 7
Build a hot fire in the grill. Lightly oil the bars with vegetable oil - pour oil onto a paper towel, then hold the towel with tongs to wipe the oil onto the grill bars.

Step 8
Season the burgers on both sides with salt and pepper. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper give the best flavor.

Step 9
Place the burgers on the grill over direct heat. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning once. It is important to only flip over once. Do not press down on the burgers with the spatula during cooking - this only squeezes out the juices, encourages flame-ups and dries out the burger.

Step 10
Check doneness by peeking inside a patty with a spatula, or use an instant-read food thermometer inserted into the center of the patty. (See Tips for recommended temperature.)

Step 11
Serve on fresh buns with any toppings you prefer: cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, pickles and condiments such as ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard.


What do you like on your burgers?

The Summer Cocktail of 2009

Today we went strawberry picking at our local orchard and fruit farm and was pleased to see that the owners of that farm didn’t lose their whole crop to this long, soaking stretch of rainy weather we have been having here in Maine. It’s a nice, family run orchard with Apples, Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb, and cherries. Today we picked several varieties of strawberries and a few blueberries with every intention of eating a few now and freezing the rest. Today in Maine turned out a little sunnier and hotter than they predicted so my wife asked me to make her a refreshing drink after a long day of working out in the garden. Knowing that she was a fan of Cosmopolitans I decided to put a little, fresh twist on it for her. Here’s the recipe:

2 parts vodka
1 part triple sec
½ part lime juice
5 or 6 regular sized strawberries
5 blueberries
Splash of cranberry juice

In a bowl muddle the strawberries and blueberries together try to reduce the pulp to a minimal by muddling put in shaker with all other ingredients and ice. Cover and shake until well mixed and chilled. Strain into a glass, garnish, and serve.

She absolutely loved this drink and it did quench her thirst after a hot, summer day outside.

The Intriguing Art of Dutch Oven Cooking

I recently met a nice gentleman at a BBQ tradeshow and he introduced himself to me in our booth and asked me what I thought of the show, the competition and general chit chat. During our conversation he mentioned that he used to compete in Dutch Oven Cooking Competitions with his wife all over the United States. I was really intrigued by this. My only experiences cooking with Dutch Ovens was to make baked or bbq beans. I was totally in the dark to what these awesome pieces of cast iron are capable of! The gentleman went on to tell me about stews, roast, breads and even pineapple upside down cakes that they made and entered into competitions and have won with. I couldn’t believe the versatility of these units!

Dutch ovens typically are made out of cast iron but there are aluminum varieties as well. I will focus my recipes and concepts on the cast iron type. There still are a numerous manufacturers of Dutch Ovens. Rachel Ray, Emeril, Le Creuset, Camp Chef, Lewis & Clark. These are all new manufacturers of Dutch Ovens and the prices range depending on size and quality from $25 - $250. I purchased my Dutch Oven at a yard sale for .25 cents. It was a little rusty on the inside and looked like it sat in some ones basement for 20 years but I couldn’t pass up a good old pan like that! (I actually bought a box of cast iron frying pans too!) I brought it home and cleaned it out with white vinegar, heated it up and seasoned it with oil. I have cooked several batches of beans in it and each batch keeps getting better. The gentleman from the show said the more you used it the better the food would be that came out of it, he stated that all the flavors that you use in cooking get absorbed into the cast iron and just keep adding all that flavor back into what you are cooking in it.

I am looking at baking bread in mine soon and will keep you posted on how it comes out. If any of you have experiences with Dutch Ovens contact us with you story, recipe, or advice, we would love to hear from you!

TheBBQSpecialist.com sponsors BBQ Competition Team

Thebbqspecialsist.com and Humphrey’s Chips & Chunks are proud to announce their sponsorship of The Smokin’ Hoggz BBQ Team out of Massachusetts. They placed 8th overall out of 35 teams at the New Hampshire BBQ Championships this year and have a full competition schedule. We will keep you posted of their status. If you would like to know their upcoming schedule contact us

Creative Ideas for Plank Grilling

I love cooking with planks. The idea of it is exciting to me and the flavors that get released out of the wood are phenomenal. I have been experimenting with our planks and have found that it is fun to come up with different things to cook on them.

One of our recent guest, who is vegetarian, asked if she could use it for more than just meat or fish. I of course said “Yes!” Maple Planked Brie is excellent. Brie is a very good cheese that can be purchased in the fine cheese or deli section of your supermarket. The cheese itself is a grayish color underneath a white crusty outer shell. Some people remove this shell but if you have guest that are experienced with Brie they will be sadly disappointed that you removed this outer layer as that part adds a contrast flavor to the cheese that is wonderful.

Here’s my extremely simple recipe for Maple Planked Brie.

Soak a Sugar Maple Plank for a minimum of 2 hours in good, clean, low iron water. (If you have public water don’t use it, the chlorine flavor will hinder the performance of your plank).

Pre-heat your oven or grill to 375 or medium-high.

Place the plank on your oven rack or grill top

The plank will sizzle as it heats up. This is just the water evaporating out of the wet plank. Pre heat the plank on the grill for 5-8 minutes.

Place the Brie wedge or wheel on the hot plank and close the grill cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt.

Remove the plank from the grill and serve right on the plank! Be sure to let your guest know that this is melted cheese and is usually extremely hot when it comes off the grill!

Serve with small bites of French Bread for dipping!

This recipe makes a wonderful appetizer for your guest and don’t forget to pair it with a nice bottle of wine! Enjoy!

Did I mention you can even do this in your conventional oven.

Do you have a favorite recipe with using grilling Planks, we'd love to hear it. If we use your recipe on the blog we'll send you a gift certificate to www.CountryLodgeGifts.com