Wow, it’s already Monday and I am already looking forward to the weekend!  Partly because I have some friends coming in and I will be firing the grill up again to make some great food.  Also I was having a conversation with someone just last week about grilling and one of the main complaints she had is about the taste and I told her she can use beer. Of course the look that I got was one of puzzlement so…let’s have a quick 101 course here about what you can do with a few basic ingredients one of which is beer, to make the end result of your BBQ much more satisfying.

Before we talk about the beer, let’s consider what kind of grill we are talking about. While propane grills are great and fast, still nothing beats using a good old fashioned charcoal grill.   Add some briquets, some lighter fluids and off to the races, right?  Not always.  A rookie mistake that a lot of people tend to make is adding too much lighter fluid to the charcoal as well as not starting off with the charcoal piled up and as it whitens then dispersing thus spending too much time trying to keep the fire lit and winding up in the ER.  There are actually a few common sense ways around this for the new griller to accomplish a good result.  One of the best ways I have found is simply  using charcoal where all you need are the briquets in a pile and matches.

Put them in the grill in a nice pile, light it and in about 10 to 15 minutes when they start to whiten you are ready to go and no lighter fluid is needed.  If you do this part right on its own, you eliminate food that has that ‘gassy lighter fluid ‘ taste.

Another item you may want to consider adding is wood.   Yes, wood.  There are a few ways you can do this as well as a few types you can add but first and foremost do NOT run out in the woods behind your house and grab the first pile of sticks you see!  Many do not realize how toxic some plant life can be prior to just simply picking up sticks and adding it to a grill.  If you are so inclined to use wood, go to your local hardware store to the grilling section and see what your options are.

For new grillers, I would advise getting wood chips (not chucks) especially made for grilling.  What these chips do is shape how your food is going to taste. Wood chips are excellent in using to cut down the ‘gassy’ taste as mentioned earlier.  The best time to add is once the charcoal has turned white and has been spread across the grill.

And now here is where the beer plays a part.  As you see above there are many different ‘flavors’ of wood.  While you can always good with that, you can also use regular wood chips or even the flavored wood, combine beer equal to the amount of wood chips you are using  and put both in a container and allow the wood to soak for, at minimum, an hour prior to lighting your grill.  Once the wood has soaked, drain the beer off prior to adding to the fire.  You don’t want to put the fire out!   Once you go to add it in, liberally sprinkle it throughout until you have a nice coating  to maintain the fire.   Once you are comfortable that the temps are maintained, cook your food.  You should notice a distinct taste in your meats as you take them off.  I will add that there are different schools of thought around the soaking of wood chips and grilling but I have tried this many times and it works for me.

BBQ sauce

Something else I have gotten into is making my own sauces. To be honest, I don’t use a particular recipe or strict set of directions as I like the different results I have gotten from experimentation.  When it comes to alcohol, I have tried beer, whiskey and rum.  Again, alcohol gives a different texture and taste to the food that you are grilling  and when you add the alcohol infused sauce, the results can be amazing.  Now for those of you worried about whether or not you will feel any effects from adding alcohol to your sauces, please note that as you cook your sauce, the heat burns off the alcohol and simply leaves the flavor behind so no, it’s not possible to get drunk off of BBQ sauce infused with Jack Daniels or Budweiser.  Before I give you a basic recipe to follow, I will say this much.  Cook it to taste.  What I mean is, although you have a limited time to cook it (20 to 30 minutes should do) taste it occasionally to see if it’s right to you and keep in mind that once it has a chance to cool down, the sauce’s flavor could change slightly.

Other items you can consider for making your own sauce would be natural fruits, wines and beverages and with a quick google search you can find anything you want to make your own sauces.

Below is a basic recipe for Jack Daniel’s BBQ sauce, which, one of the ways I augment the taste is by adding a sprinkle of cayenne pepper to (as well as a few other choice secret ingredients) for a little extra kick.  So even as you get ready to grill this summer, keep in mind that liquor is for more than just drinking!

Jack Daniels BBQ sauce (recipe can be found on the web anywhere)

Ingredients:

• Jack Daniels, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup, or to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste

Preparation:

Combine onion, garlic and Jack Daniels in a 3 quart saucepan. Sauté until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to boil. Simmer uncovered until reduced and thickened, about 15 to 25 minutes. Add more Jack Daniels if a stronger flavor is desired.

Bonus!!!   If you made it down this far, another secret is after making the sauce, if you are making burgers from scratch, try adding a little bit of that sauce to your burger mix prior to grilling it to lock in that flavor!