Back in the 70's when I was growing up, and barbecue was mentioned, we thought of hamburgers and hot dogs. Or if it was a special occasion, then maybe we would barbecue chicken or steaks.

Well, I have grown up and so has barbecue. You can inexpensively add a gas grill to any professional kitchen and use a variety of wood chips, like hickory, mesquite, apple, cherry, maple, pecan and even grape.

Barbecuing has gone well beyond burgers. You can serve seafood, lamb and even side dishes hot from the grill. Believe it or not, you can even serve vegetarian faire from the grill! Here's a great resource for vegetarian grill recipes:
http://www.vegsoc.org/Recipes/coals.html

Barbecue can add pizzazz to the menu of any restaurant. The best barbecuing web site I've found is:
http://www.barbecuen.com

Here are some of the menus that we used at our restaurant and catering company, The Glenwood Grill & Simple Pleasures in Raleigh, NC. There's only room to print a few recipes in this newsletter, so if you would like recipes for any of these dishes, feel free to e-mail me at scotty_b@att.net.

The All American Menu:
Chili-Rubbed Chicken with Barbecue Table Mop
Potato Salad
Coleslaw
Lemonade and Beer
Lemon Meringue Pie

The Pacific Rim Barbecue:
Shell Fish Skewers w/ BBQ Glazing and Dipping Sauce
Sesame Soba Noodle and Vegetable Salad
Iced Tea and Beer
Ginger-Macadamia Brownies

Vegetarian Grill:
Portobello Mushroom Burgers w/ Basil-Mustard Sauce
Brown Rice, Corn & Grilled Vegetable Salad
Herbal Iced Tea
Nectarine Cobbler

Provincial Grill:
Grilled Rosemary Lamb
Two-Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Grilled Tomatoes w/ Aioli
Breadsticks
Red Bandol or Beaujolais
Fresh Raspberries and Cream

You can see by these menus that the use of a grill can add a new dimension to your menu. And as I mentioned earlier, by implementing flavored woods, your creativity can really roll. Barbecued items give a real home comfort feeling to your menu.

Now here in Carolina, when we think of BBQ, we think of something completely different. While many states and regions say they have the authentic recipe for BBQ, North Carolina serves the best honest-to-goodness pulled-pork BBQ sandwich in the world. It would add a nice home touch to any menu; even a Yankee would like it.

Now the secret to a good Carolina-style BBQ is to slow-cook the pork. If you have the equipment, you can slow-cook it on the grill; if not, slow-cook it in your oven. If you use your oven and still wish to get the effects of wood chips, just buy the desired wood in plank form and soak it; then bake your pork on the plank in the oven.

This recipe will feed about 10-12 people.

Start with six pounds (2.7Kg) of pork shoulder. (That's Boston butt to you guys up north.)

Cut each pork piece in half and sprinkle with a dry rub made of ground pepper, dark brown sugar, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper. Cover and refrigerate, allowing the meat to marinate 2-6 hours.

The most widely used wood chip or plank for cooking is hickory. However, I prefer pecan. Soak the chips or planks in cold water at least 30 minutes. Make a barbecue mop and barbecue sauce (recipes below).

Cook the pork at 250'F (120'C). Every time you check the pork, (every 45 minutes to an hour) baste it with the barbecue mop. Do not check your meat too often. It needs to stay in the closed grill or oven so that the wood smoke can flavor the meat.

Cook the pork until it registers an internal temperature of between 165-170'F (74-77'C), turning occasionally. This will take about three hours.

Transfer the pork to a baking sheet and let stand at least 15 minutes. When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred the pork into bite size pieces, discarding any fat. DO NOT chop it up; pull it apart by hand.

Mix any pan drippings into the pork. Spoon the pork onto a bun and drizzle with BBQ sauce. Do not mix it up with a heavy sauce, just drizzle a bit on the pork and serve with coleslaw, steak fries or fried okra and a side of BBQ sauce.

Y'all have fun with your barbecue. And feel free to contact me if I can be of any help.
Living for Jesus,
Scott Brewer
scotty_b@att.net

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