Professional July 4th BBQ Tips
By PAT DOLENTE
Updated 10:54 AM EST, Fri, Jul 3, 2009
Barbeques and the Fourth of July go together like beer and baseball--Great by themselves, but magical when they get together.
But let’s be honest, not everyone can man the grill.
So we went to a true grill master in order to get the best tips to make your grill the envy of the neighborhood.
Chef Jack McDavid of Jack's Firehouse and the Down Home Diner in Reading Terminal Market shared these tips with us:
Tip #1: If you are grilling meat, make sure the grill is really hot and the meat is really cold so the meat won't stick on the grill and you can get those perfect lines on your steaks.
Tip #2: If you decide to use barbecue sauce, don't put it on until the very end. The sauce will burn and blacken your food if you put it on too early. The center of the meat also won't cook properly -- and let's face it, no one likes undercooked food.
Tip #3: Safety Tip-- When cooking on the grill don't put your cooked meat or veggies on the same plates you used for your raw meat. Cross contamination can happen where bacteria from raw foods infect your cooked foods that you are ready to serve.
Chef McDavid was also kind enough to throw in a quick recipe to help the ‘culinary challenged’ among us.
Jack's 4th of July Dry Rub
4 cups of brown sugar
4 cups of good kosher salt
3/4 cup of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of dry ground Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dry ground Cumin
Use the rub to tenderize chicken, steaks or pork prior to cooking. Rub this mixture all over the meat. Work it in deep with your hands and let the meat sit after rubbing for at least an hour in the refrigerator before cooking.
With these tips and the rub recipe, you’ll have the hottest grill on the block.
First Published: Jul 2, 2009 2:37 PM EST
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