When I heard that Ken was going to fire up the Bad Boy, I knew there was no better place to be for BBQ. Continue reading →

In 2008, my coauthor of ten books, Nancy Gerlach, and her husband Jeff retired and moved from Albuquerque to Chelem, Yucatán. Recently my wife and I visited them for a whirlwind tour of the region. Continue reading →

Man, if summer school consisted of smoked brisket, ribs, and pulled pork, I’d have failed every grade. And often. To the tune of this being my 37th year of kindergarten often. Summer school didn’t have competition barbecue courses, however, and … Continue reading →

Happy National Barbecue month, everybody! If you're looking for a way to pay homage to the gods of 'cue, here's a list of Kansas City Barbecue Society competitions for you to chew on. Early next week, we'll follow up with barbecue class listings where you can polish your skill at the grill. Continue reading →

A fabulous, fiery brunch (that she doesn't have to prepare) is the perfect way to show Mom you appreciate all the hell you put her through growing up. Continue reading →

Upgrade your barbecue sauce with help from six legendary pit masters.

Memphis-Style Barbecue Sauce (pictured above)
Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous (52 South Second St.; 901-523-2746) is famous for its spice-rubbed ribs, and John Vergos, son of founder Charlie, still smokes them the way his father did when he opened the place in 1948: He cooks the pork ribs over oak charcoal briquettes, bastes them with a mix of vinegar and water, and seasons them with a paprika-heavy spice blend before serving with the sauce on the side. “Our sauce is not too heavy,” he says. “I like the little mustard and vinegar bite.” The recipe is a long-held family secret, but chefs in Food Network Kitchens ordered a few bottles and reverse-engineered the recipe.

South Carolina-Style Mustard Barbecue Sauce
South Carolina’s distinctive yellow mustard barbecue sauce is by no means ubiquitous — you have to go to Lexington County to get the real deal — and it’s not a universal favorite, either. Barbecue junkies are as divided on this one as they are on politics. Jackie Hite of Jackie Hite’s Bar-B-Q in Leesville (467 East Columbia Ave.; 803-532-3354) has been barbecuing in his corner of South Carolina for 60 years, and he’s a trusted source for honest-to-goodness mustard barbecue sauce. He smokes his pork over hickory, pulls it off the bone, then flavors it with his famous sauce. If you’re ever in town, stop by for a Friday pig pickin’: He roasts a hog for 22 hours and then lets everyone have at it.

North Carolina-Style Vinegar Barbecue Sauce
If you ask pit master Keith Allen what makes barbecue barbecue, he’ll always tell you: It’s the sauce. “Before that,” he says, “it’s just hickory-cooked pork.” Keith, owner of Allen & Son (6203 Millhouse Rd.; 919-942-7576) in Chapel Hill, N.C., fires up his pit at two o’clock every morning and smokes 700 pounds of pork a day, dressing it with a traditional eastern North Carolina vinegar-based sauce. His famous sauce is tart and spicy yet light enough to let the taste of the long-smoked pork stand out. “It takes 12 hours to cook this meat,” he says. “I surely don’t want to cover that up.” His recipe is a closely guarded secret, so our test kitchens ordered a ton of the stuff to come up with this close match.

Texas-Style Barbecue Sauce
Any Texan will tell you that barbecue isn’t about the sauce — it’s about beef and smoke. Wayne Mueller, of Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, Texas (206 West Second St.; 512-352-6206), agrees, to a point. “My grandfather [founder Louie] told me that if someone leaves talking about how good your barbecue sauce is, you’ve failed.” So Wayne smokes his beef ribs and brisket over oak with nothing more than a salt-and-pepper rub. But he serves sauce on the side, for dipping. He wouldn’t call it a traditional barbecue sauce — just a thin, oniony tomato dressing that complements the beef. “I’ve never tasted any other sauce like it,” Wayne says.

Kansas City-Style Barbecue Sauce
L.C. Richardson was born in Mississippi, but he has been making quintessential K.C. ‘cue since 1986, the year he retired and started doing what he really loves: smoking meat with hickory wood. The specialty at LC’s Bar-B-Q in Kansas City, Mo. (5800 Blue Pkwy.; 816-923-4484), are the burnt ends — fatty, blackened edges cut from smoked brisket — doused in his Kansas City-style sauce. It took L.C. years to perfect his sweet and tangy tomato-based concoction. “I threw it out by the barrel until I got it right,” he says.

Kentucky-Style Mutton Dip
Even some serious barbecue junkies haven’t heard of mutton dip: It’s a highly localized western Kentucky specialty, designed to pair with barbecue mutton (sheep). Patrick Bosley, of Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn in Owensboro, Ky. (2840 West Parrish Ave.; 270-684-8143), has been smoking mutton and making mutton dip all his life. His grandparents bought the Moonlite in 1963, when it was a tiny run down bar with a barbecue pit in the back, and Patrick’s business is still going strong, to the tune of 1,000 orders a day. The tangy house dip is acidic enough to cut through the rich, gamey meat, and the mutton gets a double dose: It’s basted while it is being smoked, then again when it’s served. (The dip tastes great with any strongly flavored meat.)

(Photographs by Andrew Purcell)

Keep tomatoes out of the fridge!

Summer is prime time for produce. While you may know how to cook and eat these seasonal goodies, are you storing them correctly? Here are 8 farmers’ markets finds that should stay out of the fridge.

Tomatoes
The chill of the icebox makes tomatoes dull and mealy. Store on the counter (under-ripe ones can go on the windowsill). If they begin to get too ripe, it’s time to make tomato jam or roasted tomato sauce.

Melon
Keep whole melons like watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew on the counter for best flavor. USDA research found that storage at room temp may even help keep the antioxidants better intact. Once cut, store in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Potatoes
Cold temps will break down the starches in potatoes, making them unpleasantly sweet and gritty. Cool and dry darkness is a spud’s best bud.

Onions
Uncut onions are happy out of the cold. The humidity of the refrigerator makes them moldy and mushy. Avoid direct sunlight and once cut open, place in a resealable bag in the vegetable drawer.

Garlic
Preserve the powerful flavor of garlic by storing in a cool, dry and ventilated container. Once the head has been broken open, use the cloves within 10 days.

Apples
Freshly picked apples will do well (and look pretty) on your counter. If they aren’t eaten after a week or two, make them last a little bit longer by then chilling them in the fridge.

Berries
Fresh berries from your local farm taste amazing at room temperature so it’s the sooner the better for munching. For long-term storage keep them in the fridge. To avoid soggy or moldy berries, rinse just before eating.

Stone Fruit
Allow peaches, apricots, nectarines and plums to ripen at room temperature. If you can’t gobble ‘em up right away, place in the fruit bin of the refrigerator for a few extra days.

The first week vote tally is in, and Team Giada has once again swept the top three spots of the Star Fan Vote. Laid-back Ippy Aiona took Martita Jara’s first place spot this week with 21% of the vote. Still in the top three — but down 2% from last week was Martita — followed by Linkie Marais at 13%.

Team Giada had something to brag about this week as they took home their first win. Alton must be feeling the pressure, having been in the bottom two the first two weeks in a row. After coming off a win in the first episode, Team Bobby needs to regroup for week three as the finalists face one of their toughest challenges yet: a Chopped basket.

Why haven’t we seen any members from Team Bobby or Team Alton in the top spots yet?

The in-season Fan Vote resets each week, so make sure to cast your vote for your favorite finalist up to 10 times per day.

Ready to eat in just 30 minutes, Food Network Kitchens’ creamy, vegetable-packed pasta salad (pictured above) is a no-fuss addition to your Memorial Day menu. This naturally meatless bowl boasts fresh parsley, crunchy celery and a touch of red onion and is tossed with a smooth mayonnaise-dry mustard-sour cream dressing. Easy to store, pack and serve, this traditional side dish is a must-have at holiday picnics or any other gathering.

If you’re hosting a backyard cookout or weekend get-together, complete your spread with Dave Lieberman’s grilled Veggie Skewers, strung with colorful bell peppers, fresh zucchini, squash and more. Before skewering, Dave marinates the vegetables in a simple olive oil-garlic mixture, allowing them to adopt that rich, bold flavor.

Get the recipe: American Macaroni Salad

Meatless Monday, an international movement, encourages people everywhere to cut meat one day a week for personal and planetary health. Browse more Meatless Monday recipes.

Robin's Cedar Plank Tilapia With Fresh Chimichurri

I thank Kyle, my 10 year-old son, for introducing me to cedar planks. If it weren’t for his palate, I wouldn’t have made a desperate dash to get the planks and learn how to cook with them.

Here’s what happened: Kyle discovered and immediately adored a meal in a restaurant: chili-crusted tilapia, cooked and served on a cedar plank and topped with chimichurri sauce. He cherished the dish so much, he jokingly nibbled on the plank once the fish was gone. We enjoyed many tilapia-filled evenings at that restaurant over the next two years. Then, one disastrous night, our server told us the tilapia was no longer on the menu. The news almost brought Kyle, and me, to tears.

The next day, I raced out and purchased cedar planks – one thick board intended to last for eons, and a package of thin planks designed for 3-5 uses. Both work incredibly well. The planks are placed in the oven or on the grill and food is cooked on top. By cooking directly on the wood, the warm, smoky flavor of cedar infuses into every heavenly bite. And you don’t need any added fat to cook all kinds of foods on a plank – meat, fish, poultry, vegetables – I’ve tried them all.

Here’s the tilapia recipe I created for Kyle. The fish is seasoned with chili powder, cumin and fresh lemon juice. I also add sugar for a caramelized crust. For the sauce, I learned how to make my own chimichurri, an Argentinean sauce and marinade made with fresh parsley, olive oil and garlic (recipes vary by adding vinegar, lime juice, cilantro and spices). It’s endlessly versatile and typically served with grilled steak, but it’s also amazing on fish and chicken. If you don’t want to prepare chimichurri from scratch, you can find prepared sauces in grocery stores and gourmet food shops nationwide.

Cedar Plank Tilapia With Fresh Chimichurri

4 tilapia filets (about 5 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Chimichurri Sauce:
1 cup tightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2-3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place tilapia filets on one large cedar plank or four smaller, individual planks and season the top with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, chili powder, cumin and sugar. Mix well to combine. Spread mixture all over top of tilapia. Bake tilapia (on plank) 10-15 minutes, until fork-tender.

Meanwhile, in a blender, combine parsley, cilantro, olive oil, vinegar, water, garlic, cumin and salt. Puree until smooth. Spoon chimichurri over tilapia and serve.

Nutrition Info Per Serving (1 tilapia fillet, 2 tablespoons chimichurri)
Calories: 189
Total Fat: 9 grams
Saturated Fat: 1.8 grams
Total Carbohydrate: 4 grams
Sugars: 1 gram
Protein: 24 grams
Sodium: 191 milligrams
Cholesterol: 57 milligrams
Fiber: 1 gram

Robin Miller is a nutritionist, host of Quick Fix Meals, author of “Robin Takes 5” and “Robin Rescues Dinner” and the busy mom of two active little boys. Her boys and great food are her passion. Check her out at www.robinrescuesdinner.com.