Cowboy Up Your Steak

You can tell who takes their grilling seriously by whether or not they barbeque year-round. For some people, a little snow and ice aren't enough to keep them from cooking meat over an open flame. Even if you're one of those people who prefer not grilling in subzero temperatures, you will want to have some cowboy butter on your next steak. Adding butter to steak adds richness and can soften a steak's charred exterior, making the meat more tender. Cowboy butter is great for grilled meats, perfect for chicken and fish, and can be stirred into rice or cooked pasta, or spread on crusty French bread or cornbread. So rustle up yourself some, little dogie.

Ingredients

85 g butter, melted (grass-fed butter if possible)
21 g parsley, fresh chopped
21 g chopped chives, fresh chopped
15 g Dijon mustard
12 g minced thyme
1.5 g crushed red pepper flakes
1.5 g teaspoon paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced
juice and zest of half a lemon
salt
black pepper, freshly ground if possible
cayenne pepper

1. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Whisk the sauce to combine everything.
2. Stir in the parsley, chives, crushed red pepper flakes, lemon zest, and thyme, and season everything with salt and pepper. For a thicker butter sauce, add more mustard.

This recipe can also be made into a solid piece of cowboy butter by using a stick of softened butter instead of melting it:

1. Place the softened butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Whip the butter until it's fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix everything until it's completely combined, scraping the sides as needed.
2. Lay out a long piece of plastic wrap and scoop the butter mixture in a long strip down the middle of it. Carefully pull one side of the plastic wrap over the butter, squeezing it gently to form it into a log. Continue to roll the log of butter into a roll. When it's all rolled up, twist the ends (like a piece of candy) until they become very taut (this means the butter is pressing together inside the plastic to form a cohesive roll). 
3. Place the roll of butter into either the fridge or the freezer so it will harden.

Father's Day Spice Rub

Kid Franklin's Special BBQ rub

A spice or dry rub is a great way to get a lot of flavour onto a piece of meat. They add a nice crust to the food and work well whether the meat is grilled, roasted, broiled, or baked. On this Father's Day, I'm going to share the recipe for the all-purpose rub my son made for me at elementary school.

Ingredients:

45 g sugar
30 g brown sugar
30 g smoky paprika
30 g Kosher salt
15 g cumin
15 g chili powder
15 g black pepper
15 g onion powder
15 g garlic powder
15 g celery salt
5 g oregano

1. Mix all the ingredients well. Rub on all sides of any meat you want to eat before cooking.

Common Sense BBQ Tips

It's that time of year when people leave the confines of the kitchen and go do some cooking outdoors. If you are about to fire up the barbeque for the first time or plan to make the most of your grill, here are some grilling tips to help make things go more smoothly this BBQ season:

• Make sure you have extra charcoal or propane. Seems obvious, until you can't get your fire started, or when your fire goes out.

• Take your meat or fish out of the fridge at least two to three hours before putting it on the grill if you don't want to deal with your food being cold on the inside.
  
• Mise en place isn't just for indoor cooking. Have your BBQ tools - tongs, spatulas, a sharp knife, basting brushes, fire extinguisher - cleaned and nearby before you head outside.

• Using a gas grill? Let it heat up for at least 10 minutes. Got yourself a charcoal grill?  Let it heat up for at least 20 minutes.

• If you’re using a charcoal grill, empty the ashes from your last grilling session. Check the grease tray as well for gas grills.
  
• Use only one cut of meat or fish. It's hard enough to get the right cooking temperature for one cut of meat, let only several.

• Go with lump charcoal if you want the best smoky flavour. Don't fret if you have a gas grill as you can still get some of the smoky flavour from the fat of the meat cooking at high heat if you don't have a smoker box.

• Don’t light your charcoal with lighter fluid. It's a fast way to start the fire, but it can make your food taste funny.
  
• Create gradations of heat on your barbeque by stacking your coals asymmetrically once they are hot. By doing this, you can move things that are charring on the outside across to the cooler part of the grill. Always keep an area of the grill with no coals under it at all – a place to rest food that is cooked and to move things to if you have a flare-up.

• Avoid squirting water on the flames when things flare up, as this will send ash flying over your food. Try moving the food over the part of the grill with no coals underneath it instead.
  
• If you are nervous about getting it right, use a meat thermometer to check it your meat is done. To make sure your meat is cooked to the right temperature, this is a link to a temperature cheat sheet.

• If you have any leftover marinade, cook it up on the grill in a metal bowl to kill off any bugs. or pour it over the cooked meat as a sauce.
  
• Consider rubbing in a separate marinade after you have cooked it. Barbecued fish is delicious if rubbed with very finely chopped parsley and garlic in olive oil. When cooking meat, smear some butter blitzed with herbs, salt, pepper and garlic on top of a chopping board. Place the cooked meat on the butter so it can melt and soak into the meat as you carve it.
  
• Be lazy and don't clean your barbecue after use. If you leave the fat on the grill, it will prevent rust from forming. To clean it, get your grill nice and hot and then rub the charred debris off with a coarse wire brush.