Robert Brown Apopka, FL

Wow. I really do not know where to start other than as a life long BBQ/GRILLING guy. I have made many mistakes and have been able to learn from most of those and I have had several mishaps (or so I thought) that just became real good food. I have had the pleasure of using both gas and charcoal and I have to say I love the convenience of gas but MAN YOU cannot beat the flavor that lump hardwood produces on a good cut of meat. So needless to say I own both gas and charcoal grills/smokers and yes folks you can get good smoke flavor on a gas grill. All it takes is some good aluminum foil soak your favorite wood chips overnight and when it is time to cook take two parts wet chips to one part dry chips wrap them in the foil poke a few holes to allow the smoke to escape once you see smoke place your favorite food on the far side of the grill and cook to desired tenderness. Now let's talk about charcoal and smoking foods on a traditional grill or bbq pit. Some of my early mistakes were over smoking food and using the wrong types of wood. You have to spend time learning to balance the amount of smoke versus what taste right to you or in most cases your guest. You can only achieve great results through many tests. Turn your friends and family into your lab rats and let them sample everything you smoke or grill using hard woods or charcoals and keep detailed notes on how much wood, charcoal, temperature changes and so on and once you find the right combination you are off to the races baby. Alright, Alright I know you do not want to hear me preach and ramble on all day so I am going to share two of my grilling secrets. The first one I stumbled upon this spring and it has been met with great success. Grilling a wood fired Chilean sea bass. Let's start with the grill preparation we all know to use a clean grill right? Well in this case it does not matter. Fire your charcoal up and get your grill as hot as you can ( I prefer 500 degrees) you will need a large cast iron pan with a grated bottom ( for the grill marks of course) keep fresh wood chips nearby for when you start the cooking process. Let's talk marinated the Sea Bass this is a very light delicate flavored fish and you do not want to overpower the sweet flavor of the meat. Blend equal parts butter (unsalted) and extra virgin olive oil and several cloves of garlic pour over the fish and allow to stand for 15 to 30 minutes. no more than 30 minutes or the flavors become too strong and you lose the taste of the fish. At this point place your cast Iron pan on the grill and let it get as hot and steamy as a night in the Florida swamps in the middle of July. Once the pan is very hot add fresh wood chips to the fire and allow them to start smoking. As soon as this happens place the fish in the pan close the top for one minute ( the fish will not stick) check to see if the fish will move easily from the pan if so flip it and repeat now remove the pan from the direct heat open the grill and cook to desired temperature. I promise you the most finicky eater will love this and to just add a little color and great flavor just before removing the fish from the grill brush a little Cattleman's naturally sweet over both sides. Son that will make your tongue slap your taste buds right out of your head.. Well I see this has gone on longer than I thought it would so I will save my secret on how to cook a tender well done steak for those people who claim to eat only well done meat. We all know one or two and yes they are the last person we want to see standing around our grills.

Daniel Clark Landgraff-Eckman, WV

My wife calls me the Smoke King of Landgraff, WV, but the secret is TIME! I smoke racks of rib lamb chops for approx. 5 hours, for example, until they're pink, butter-tender, & smoky through-and-through. I first crust them in herbs, or herbs and smashed peppercorns, and then mop them while they smoke, periodically, with a mix of wine or apple juice, herbs and spices- it's different each time! The fun is experimenting with different combinations of herbs, spices, and liquids for the mop, as well as different kinds of wood chips for the smoker. The photo shows me doing a "wood planked" smoked salmon fillet, pretty much the same way: a crust of herbs, then decide on the type of wood plank and chips you are going to use, and soak the plank for several hours in wine or apple juice, and then smoke the fillet SLOWLY! The smoker needs to be HOT- you put the steaks or roasts on (but not over the coals), cover it, & let it SMOKE- not grill over the hot coals! Smoke your steaks and roasts SLOWLY! And I'm still using my trusty, old, inexpensive WalMart covered charcoal grill! Another trick, for really wonderful smoky "hot wing" appetizers (while everyone's waiting for the steaks and chops to get smoked), is to put the hot wings on the smoker with your steaks, but only smoke them for about 3 hours, mopping them with a spicy sauce. Then deep fry them for about 3 minutes, and you have a really great crunchy-smoky appetizers to tide everyone over until the main course!

Pam Correll Brockport, PA

For a fun and interesting way to serve up a BBQ, plug in your chocolate fountain! That's right! It's not just for chocolate anymore! Add five bottles of your favorite flavor of Cattlemen's, and one bottle of water. (The water thins the BBQ sauce down to just the right consistency to run through the machine.) Be sure to turn on the heat control as well as the motor. Serve up platters of bar-b-qued chicken, ribs, and anything else you can dip in BBQ sauce. Let the fountain run the whole time you're serving. Guaranteed to have your guests chattering! The only drawback is that you'll probably go through more meat than usual because this is SO much fun!

Christine Friesenhahn Boerne, TX

Sweet Hot and Smoky Pork Brochettes 1 C Cattleman’s Authentic Smokehouse BBQ Sauce ½ C Grainy Brown Mustard 1 12-15 oz jar of Apricot preserves 3-4 Habanero peppers, seeded and minced (or jalapenos) 2 lbs pork loin, cut into 1 ½ inch chunks 12 oz package bacon, thin cut, sliced in half crosswise Wooden skewers Mix first 4 ingredients well and set aside. Wrap each chunk of pork with a half slice of bacon, and slide it on a wood skewer. Repeat until all the pork is used, with about 6-8 of the brochettes on each skewer. Brush the mustard glaze over the skewers, and grill on med-high coals until done, basting with the rest of the sauce and turning occasionally—about 20 minutes.

G. William Morrise Westminster, CA

I'm just an ordinary Back Yard BBQ Sunday Chef that uses some seasoning on his Steaks/Meats. I do enjoy a Medium to Rare Steak ...., Most likely it'd be a New York boneless Beef Rib steak. Pre-preparation to Grilling: Purchase a Cut of meat that is a minimum of 1 & 1/2 Inches thick - Prefer mine to be! & 3/4s inches thick. Prepare upon a Clean Waxed paper - Cutting board. Season with - Laurie's (Garlic Salt) over entire cut of Meat. With Course Ground - (McCormick, or like quality) Black Pepper . Sprinkle both sides of meat liberally (to desired Taste), do likewise with Garlic Salt. Allow to Set - Approximately 40 Minutes ....... While setting up Bar-B-Q . Briquettes on your BAR-B-Q. Use a reasonable quality Lighter Fluid ........ Sprinkle Fluid generously over all briquettes to ignite all Charcoal items. Don't be stingy ..., use a good quantity of briquettes to finish cooking steaks. Wait until coals turn a lights Grey (they'll be extremely fire yin the center) Set meat on grill. Grill should not be higher than 2 &3/4's of an inch above coals. For Rare to Med- Rare Grill about 4 & 1/2 minutes per side. Not more than 10 minutes overall. Remove - Bone –appétit.

Faith Saunders Texas City, TX

I like to grill several different meets with the use of Cattlemen’s BBQ sauce as the base for that wonderful flavor everyone is looking for. For example I take a whole beef brisket , mix a marinade consisting of, cattlemen’s original sauce, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, and ground black pepper. I put the meat into a vacuum sealer bag with the marinade, remove all the air and vacuum seal the bag. I allow to marinade for two days. Once the meat is on the grill I take the marinade and boil it on the stove with a whole onion chopped in it. I then use the marinade to glaze the meat while I slow cook it with a mixture of pecan and oak chips for added smoke flavor. Another meat that is a favorite is my glazed ham. I take a spiral cut ham, grill with mixture of cattlemen’s honey sauce, frozen orange concentrate and pineapple juice. The ham is prepped with pineapple slices and cherries, and packed with brown sugar. This has to be done in a pan set on the grill as not to lose any of the liquids, foil is lightly wrapped around with the top open a little to let in smoke from the wood chips again a combo of oak and pecan for that sweet yet bitey flavor.

Tom Gibbons Maricopa, AZ

Here's an opportunity to put that often forgotten side burner to use. German Brats in a beer hot tub! When cooking brats I like to start by par-boiling them in a large stock pot full of beer & water. I typically mix in a rough cut onion (or two) and a few tablespoons of BBQ rub. After 20 minutes in the stock pot I move the brats to a warm grill (not too hot, you don't want the casings to split) and cook until I get the desired color/gill marks. I then move the brats back into the "beer hot tub" allowing the brats to rehydrate for 10 minutes before serving.