Now, of course we will be cooking outside, and in honor of this, below is a great recipe for Beef Ribs, and Herb Crusted Potatoes.

But Lets first talk about some news;

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Have a Great Weekend!
BBQ Beef Ribs
1/4 cup brown mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
HomeBBQ.com Beef Rub
4 to 6 lbs beef ribs

Mix all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Liberally coat ribs with the wet rub mixture. Let marinate for a minimum of 4 hours (best overnight). Place in smoker (or indirect on grill) at 240 degrees for approximately 2 hours. Wrap in aluminum foil and cook for an additional 1 hour or until ribs are tender.

Herb Crusted Baked Potatoes
12 Yukon gold Potatoes (wash but do not peel)
1 cup EVOO
Herb Mix
2 tablespoons ground sage
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
rub EVOO over potatoes, then roll them in the herb mixture. Cook in smoker (or grill indirect) at about 350 until soft (approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours)

The most notable statistics, to me were as follows;

*More than 15,000,000 grills shipped in 2010, a staggering figure, but gas grills held 57% of sales, while Charcoal had 41%, while electric barely chimed in with 2%.

*82% of North American households own a grill or smoker.

*The majority of grill owners use their grills year round, this was 56%

*The meats that were said to be cooked (we have some work to do here), burgers a whopping 85%, steak 80%, hot dogs 79%, followed by chicken at 73%. What about ribs? They came in at 53%, and no statistics reported for boston butt, or beef brisket.

* The last, and most notable one for me was, Dry Rub usage was up to 44% from 36% 2 years earlier (this means a crusade for dry rub usage needs to be launched!).

In all seriousness, this is some great information provided by HPBA, and this was just the highlights. You can see the full report by going here: http://www.hpba.org/media/barbecue-industry/2011-state-of-the-barbecue-industry-report

And by the way,by using the coupon code “april” (without quotes) at checkout, you can get 15% off at the HomeBBQ.com online Store (www.bbqstore.co), until the end of April.

HomeBBQ.com Fresh Ham Recipe

Ingredients:
7 to 10lb Fresh Ham (shank portion, if whole ham increase the amount of brine by 50%, and go to max brine time)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
HomeBBQ.com World famous Rib Rub

Brine
8 quarts water
2 cups course kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup HomeBBQ.com World Famous Rib Rub
Easiest way to prepare the brine is to heat the water, dissolve ingredients
and cool the brine before using it.

Glaze
1 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1- 1/2 tablespoons Rib Rub

(mix until rib rub and brown sugar is dissolved)

This is a quick brine method.

The day before, score all sides of the ham, and place it into
the (cooled or cold) brine, submerged for min 4 and max 12 hours.
I find a 5 gallon bucket works best for this, you can then place
the bucket into a can cooler and surround the bucket with ice.

Remove the ham from the brine, and rinse thoroughly, and pat dry.

Coat ham thoroughly with extra virgin olive oil, then a liberal coat
of HomeBBQ.com World Famous Rub.

Heat smoker to 250 to 275 degrees, place the ham in the smoker, and cook to an internal
temp of 160 degrees. About 15 minutes before pulling from the smoker, coat
with glaze.

Let sit for a minimum of 10 minutes, slice and serve.

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But as usual, I felt this survey had some real interesting points to share, for those of us, that love outdoor cooking. The first and most important point is they say we are using our grill more. Another notable point is we are spending more on our grills, meaning more features, and higher quality grills are starting to get the nod over lower quality grills, driving this statistic. But it is also important to note that 58% surveyed still preferred the taste of food cooked on a charcoal over food cooked on a gas (no surprise here). Maybe one of these years they will include some statistics including smokers.

If your interested in downloading the survey yourself, you can see the results of the survey here http://weber.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=154

I don’t know about where your at, but the cheapest thing for us to buy right now down here is chicken leg quarters at $0.79 per pound, so go get some leg quarters and try this recipe;

Grilled Tangerine Chicken w/Tangerine Salsa

Ingredients:

* 4 Chicken Leg Quarters
* Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 3 to 4 Tangerines (diced for salsa)
* Green onions (diced for salsa)
* Cilantro (diced for salsa)
* 2 to 3 mediums Tomatoes (diced for salsa)
* Dried cranberries (for Salsa)
* 1/4 cup Honey (For Salsa)
* HomeBBQ.com Tangerine Pepper Seasoning
* dash Chile powder (for Salsa)
* 1 Tblsp – Tangerine Zest

Directions:
Preparation: Salsa; Mix green onions, cilantro, diced tomatoes, dried cranberries, and tangerines Add 2 Tablespoons Honey, and a dash of Chile Pepper Mix well, and let rest. Using EVOO Rub Leg Quarters well, and season with Tangerine Pepper Seasoning. Let marinate for at least 1 hour, and no longer than 4 hours. Lightly re-season leg quarters before placing them on the grill. Cook indirect, on a 350 to 400 degree grill. Should take 50 mins to 1 hour at 400 degrees. Check temp using instant read thermometer, and insert into the joint connecting the leg and thigh. This should read a minimum of 175 degrees. Remove chicken from grill and let rest for approximately 5 minutes, sprinkle zest over chicken and serve, with salsa on the side.

Now, lets get back to the article, and here are some of my opinions.

Gas Grills – Gas grills are the most popular grill owned, for various reasons, bottom line, they are easier to learn and to use.  One other point I want to bring out is, if you were used to having a grill, that had ample space between the actual burners, and the grate, with a layer of lava rocks in between, this is not the typical design anymore. The newer designs, use a deflector plate, just above the burner, and that is it. Unfortunately this newer design is more prone to fires! It is real important to keep your grill clean.

We want the best of the cheapest, and Ryan’s pick here was pretty much value based on cooking area,  BTU’s, and cost, and he picked the Char-Griller 3001. This is a pretty solid choice for this price range. However, CharBroil does have a couple in this price range that are pretty good performers as well, in case you do not see this in your Big Box Store.  If you intend on using this grill often,  I think you really need to  reconsider your price range (if you can).
I live in Florida, and I cook on my grill all year long, so longevity is a real issue for me, and if it is for you, you need to attempt to get into the $400 range and above and consider a Weber. Weber’s entry level Spirit line, is solid and the Weber E-210 is a great little Grill starting right at $400.

Charcoal Grills - Charcoal grills are a different animal entirely, here is where many get their first taste of fire control, a real outdoor flavor, and real satisfaction if, you have the time to do it! If your willing to take the time to get your fire going (the best method is using a charcoal chimney, and not lighter fluid), use either a hardwood briquet or lump charcoal. There is no doubt THIS IS the better way to grill food.

Back to the article, and my opinion..  Ryan’s pick here was the Char-Griller 2123, now I am not real sure I agree with that particular model. I really don’t want to appear that I don’t like Char-Griller because I do, they are very popular on this site,  but not necessarily as a grill.  Their popularity here is mostly as a low cost offset firebox smoker (with optional side firebox, and with some mods given in a tutorial on this site). But I know Char-Griller does work as a real solid charcoal grill as well.

My personal choice here though, is the Original Weber Kettle, you can still buy an 18.5″ Kettle for around $69 and a 22″ kettle for around $88 (you may have to look harder for these, but they are available on Amazon). I have had my Weber Kettle for about 16 years, and it still works just as well, and almost looks as good today as it did the day I bought it, and I have never even considered replacing it. Now I believe Ryan did mention the One Touch Gold, which gives an easier way to handle ash, but it is more expensive.

Whatever grill you decide on, please make sure you keep it clean, and it will be much easier to stay safe!

Let’s take some time think about those who gave their life so we can enjoy a weekend like this.

Next, let’s talk about grill/smoker safety, there will be literally thousands of out of control, on fire grills/smokers today, mainly because they are not kept clean.

A great idea is to line the bottom of the smoker with aluminum foil, and after each cook, just remove and throw away. Those using a gas grill, and using ceramic briquets, if you use that grill frequently it is a great idea to change those out every couple of months, for those not so frequently once or twice a year.

Most of all, enjoy the time off, enjoy the day..

We will be featuring, Grilled Soft Shell Blue Crab with some real nice Tarter Sauce made with a sweet Jalapeno Relish.

Fresh Salmon cooked a-la HomeBBQ.com style on a plank, a Zuchini Medley, along with grilled corn on the cob.

I believe as of this minute, there a couple of Seats left, class starts at 7:00pm!

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Kick-off is in a few hours, and I have been busy getting things ready.

My guests will not be here for a few hours but on todays menu will be as follows;

St Louis Spares, and there is only one way to cook those, and tht is with HomeBBQ.com World Famous Rib Rub! They are already on the cooker. Next we will be cooing wings, brine is ready to go, and we will be making them with 3 different rubs today. For the sides, its Baked beans, and potatoes, both our cooking class classic recipes.

Clara is getting in the act as well, she is cooking her classic Bannana Cake, and there are many who have tasted that and know what that is all about.  I know we can’t be the only one cooking today

I actually don’t really care who wins, since the Dolphins didn’t even make the playoffs, so I want to say good luck to both the colts and the Saints, may the best team win!