This just in:

VANCOUVER, BC – Barbecue Champion and cookbook author Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk and International Award Winning Hot Sauce maker Denzel Sandberg are proud to announce the launch of their “Ronnie & Denzel’s” line of all-natural barbecue sauces.

The newly formed partnership has produced four lip-smackin’ sauces that pay tribute to the unique barbecue regions of the Southern States and the Caribbean. They are:

•    Kansas City Style, a classic tomato-based sauce with a bit of spice and a nice tang;
•    Southwestern Red, a naturally smoky sauce with the flavours of New Mexico Chiles and spices;
•    Honey Mustard, which is loosely based on the sauces of South Carolina; and
•    Habanero Heat, a truly fiery sauce with flavours reminiscent of the Caribbean islands.

“Denzel is a great cook and it’s been a lot of fun collaborating with him to create this line of classic barbecue sauces,” says Ronnie. “They’re true to tradition at the same time as they reflect our unique styles.” The sauces are all natural and are made in small batches with high quality ingredients that are totally free of chemical preservatives.

Ronnie will be sampling the sauces at three launch events in the Lower Mainland:

North Vancouver: Saturday, May 17 from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. at Johnstone’s Barbecues & Parts, 165 Pemberton Ave, North Vancouver, 604-985-0234.

North Vancouver: Saturday, May 31 from 9.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. at Westlynn Meats & Seafood, 1199 Lynn Valley Road (in the Lynn Valley Mall), (604) 988-7644.
 
Langley: Saturday, May 31 from Noon to 3.00 p.m. at Well Seasoned, A Gourmet Food Store, 20771 Langley By-Pass, (604) 530-1518.

Rockin’ Ronnie has authored two cookbooks, Barbecue Secrets and Planking Secrets, and was named one of “America’s greatest grillers” in Food & Wine magazine.  His competition BBQ team the Butt Shredders are two-time Alberta champs and they also won the 2004 Canadian Nationals. Denzel’s hot sauces have won 14 international food awards including the coveted Golden Chile at the 2005 Fiery Foods Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas as well as several 1st place showings in the Scovie Awards held in Albuqueque, New Mexico. To get your fix of Ronnie & Denzel’s new barbecue sauces, visit www.denzelshotsauce.com or see your local grocer.

Contact: Ronnie Shewchuk, ron@ronshewchuk.com (604) 351-1999.

My year-long sabbatical from the world of barbecue is officially over and I'm back in the saddle.

Although I'm sure this blog hasn't had many visits in the time it's been inactive, I'm very gratified that people are still listening to and watching my podcast archive to the tune of about 600 views a month. In the coming year I hope to do a bit more podcasting, but in the meantime, I've got several pieces of news:

* I've partnered with international hot sauce champion Denzel Sandberg to put together a new line of sauces under the brand "Ronnie & Denzel's All-Natural Barbecue Sauce." Watch for the official launch soon.

* I've begun work on my next book, Barbecue Secrets DELUXE!, which will be, as the title implies, a deluxe version of my first cookbook that will incorporate the best of Planking Secrets, a bunch of new recipes, new colour food photos, and some extra surprises.

* Just a few days ago I started twittering under the name rockinronnie. If you don't know about twitter, it's an interesting way you can keep in touch with friends or follow news about a topic or person you're interested in. Some have called it micro-blogging. I'm going to use it to update folks on the progress of the sauces and new book, share barbecue tips and generally twitter about outdoor cooking. Check it out at http://twitter.com/.

So, get on board. The Rockin' Ronnie train is about to leave the station on a new round of barbecue adventures.

Yours forever in smoke,

Rockin'

I know, I know. I haven't posted here in ages. Fact is I'm taking a sabattical from barbecue. Four years of writing and promoting cookbooks, doing grilling classes and barbecue workshops, and competing on the barbecue circuit finally took their toll and it was time for me to make an honest living.

But I'm still cooking outdoors, of course, and I'm also doing a little food writing. Here's an article I wrote about beef steak for Calgary's great food publication, City Palate. Hope you enjoy.

As I did last summer, here's a little food-related distraction for you. This is the cover story of the latest edition of City Palate, a Calgary-based food publication I've been contributing to for many years. It's a long post. Hope you enjoy.

I. Love. Steak.

A lip-smacking tribute to the king of grilled meat, the glorious beef steak

As I write this, the giant rib eye that I just finished devouring is pleasantly stretching my overfull belly, which is throbbing happily as it begins processing its glorious, meaty cargo.

The after-effects of that super-delicious steak are still with me. My lips are greasy, the gaps in my teeth hang on to the remaining shards of flesh, and my taste buds resonate with a familiar peppery afterglow.

Licking my lips nostalgically, I have a steak flashback.

Cut to five minutes ago. There it is, glistening on the plate as it throws off the classic aroma of seared fat, mesquite smoke and charred spices. Atop the steaming slab sits a slowly liquefying daub of Gorgonzola butter. The dark mass of the steak is framed nicely by slices of ripe red tomato, a few spears of grilled asparagus and a handful of roasted nugget potatoes, all drizzled with fruity olive oil, spritzed with fresh lemon juice and dusted with a sparkling skiff of Malden salt.

That bite. That first bite! Sawn from a corner of the steak with the serrated edge of my knife, the freshly exposed surface shines with juice as I draw the slice to my mouth. Its warm red core is silky on my tongue, and the crusty, chewy outer layers give my teeth the most meaningful assignment in their lives.

I liberate another shiny slice from the beautiful hunk and ceremoniously drag it through the mixture of juice, savory butter and olive oil that has pooled on the plate. The next forkful includes a tangy chunk of tomato; the next, a creamy bite of potato. Then a lemony, palate-refreshing bite of asparagus.

Oh, yes, almost forgot the wine. A big, jammy Shiraz of course. A slug of that, and then back to the motherlode of a steak, which looms on the plate, its edge now jagged like a mine face, waiting to be carved away.

Many satisfying chews and gulps of wine later, I reach my final destination: the rib bone, with its familiar curve. Setting down my implements, I grab the meat-sicle with my bare hands and gnaw away at it, reveling in the fattiest, richest, chewiest bites, my cheeks shining in the candlelight.

Finally, I can wrest no more flesh from the bone. The job is done, and all that’s left is to release a meal-crowning burp and loosen my belt. Hallelujah.

So, now you know what I do when my wife’s away for the weekend.

A beef steak primer

And now for some advice on how you can replicate great steak experiences at home (with your spouse or not).

Okay. First, and perhaps most important, you have to get a perfect piece of meat, well-aged and nicely marbled. My favorite, as you just found out, is the rib eye steak with the bone attached. I like it because it has lots of fat, and it also has nice chewy connective tissue that makes for an interesting texture (and makes for a steak that kids often don’t like). But there are all kinds of great cuts:

• The king of grilling steaks the rib eye,  is one of the most marbled and delicious cuts. It's rich and juicy and because it's got so much fat it's hard to overcook. Even better when it's on the bone.
• 
  
•  Flank/skirt/hanger steak, from the diaphragm of the animal, is the most flavourful cut of beef in my opinion. It’s best when treated with an overnight marinade, seared quickly on the grill to a maximum doneness of medium rare, and then sliced thinly across the grain and served fajita-style in warmed tortillas with all the fixings.

• Strip loin or New York strip is the classic restaurant steak. With its perfect shape and thin edge of white fat, it’s hard to ruin one of these. No need for complex treatment; a quick dry or wet rub or a short bath in a soy sauce-based marinade is all you need. Or maybe just course salt and freshly cracked pepper.

• The filet mignon or tenderloing steak is the most expensive cut. This super-lean steak is a favourite among the ladies. Its mild flavour benefits from a wrapper of bacon, a pat of compound butter or a rich sauce but, as with all steaks, it also is nice with just salt and pepper. This one is also best served as rare as possible. Overcook it and it gets mealy.

• Sirloin is a less expensive cut. Like the flank, this sinewy steak has lots of flavour, but it’s relatively lean. This is a great breakfast steak, cut thin, fried fast and served with a couple of sunny-side-up eggs laid on top.

• The Porterhouse/T-bone is gloriously complex, with a tasty, more chewy piec of loin on one side of the bone and a round of filet on the other. This is a rich steak. I like to get one custom cut to about a 3-inch thickness, cook it over medium heat and then carve the meat off the bone and pre-slice it for my guests.

• Round steak is my least favourite cut of beef. Extremely lean, kind of tough, and not a lot of flavour. Acceptable if cooked quite rare, and, like sirloin, not bad for breakfast.

• Chuck. Not good for the grill, but this delicious cut is redolent with intramuscular fat and grisly connective tissue. Simmer or bake it for a long time and it takes on magical properties. But summer’s coming, so just never mind.

Steak your reputation on these tips

Cooking a steak is easy. Almost as easy as ruining one. Heed these words and avoid grill-related emasculation.

1. Turn it down. High heat is important to grilling a great steak because it makes grill marks, which give a nice charred taste to the steak and make it look appetizing. So preheat your grill on high, get some nice grill marks in the first couple of minutes of cooking, and then turn it down to medium-high or even just plain medium. Your steak will cook more evenly and you’ll avoid it being burned on the outside and raw and cold on the inside.

2. Pay attention. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Don’t walk away from the grill. Or, if you do walk away, set a kitchen timer to prompt you come back. Most steaks take about three or four minutes per side, which means if you want to pay full attention it might take eight minutes out of your day. The alternative: go watch TV and come back to the grill when your steak is ruined.

3. Don’t oversauce. I never use barbecue sauce on a steak because I prefer to taste the steak. But if you do use barbecue sauce, use it for the last minute or two as a finishing glaze. Slather it on at the beginning and you’ll have a black steak that tastes of burnt sugar.

4. Let it rest. Here’s a rule of thumb: if it’s done on the grill, it’s overdone on the plate. Take your steak off the grill when it’s almost done, then let it rest, tented in foil, for at least four or five minutes before serving. This allows the residual heat to complete the cooking process and lets the juices in the steak redistribute into the meat so they won’t spurt out when you carve your first bite.

5. Thick is better than thin. Most steaks you buy in the supermarket are cut too thin because they’re designed for people who cook on too high a heat. Get the meat cutter to cut a 1 1/2 to 2-inch steak, cook it a little longer and on a little lower heat, and you’ll get a juicier, more succulent result.

I could go on. But, really, cooking a great steak is pretty simple. Follow these rules and you will experience excellent steak flashbacks that will keep you licking your lips for days.

The latest edition of Podcast User Magazine has a nice review of this podcast by writer Phil Clark. Check it out.

Sorry I haven't posted anything in the past month. I've been on vacation and busy with various work projects. Expect an audio podcast soon, plus more video.

Ronnie

My friend Don Genova is a longtime radio personality specializing in food. His excellent blog, Pacific Palate, features an item on me and my latest cookbook, Planking Secrets. Check out the blog post, or download the mini-documentary and give it a listen.

Hey, barbecue fans. Welcome to another Barbecue Secrets video podcast.  This spring I was a guest on Vancouver's Global Morning News demonstrating plank cooking recipes from my new book, Planking Secrets. With the kind help of Sharron Bates of Global I'm re-broadcasting them on this podcast, and I'm posting the recipes from each show here on the podcast blog. This is the second of five segments.

Planked Pork Loin Roast with Whisky-Apricot Glaze (From Planking Secrets)

Serves 4 to 6

In this recipe the aromatic, spicy, mildly astringent flavor of the cedar smoke nicely complements the sweetness and richness of the pork. The trick with plank-cooking a roast this big is to get the plank smoldering on a high or medium-high heat, and then turn it down to medium as soon as you get the meat on. Serve slices of the pork with roasted vegetables on the side and, if you like, some Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

1 cedar cooking plank, soaked overnight or at least 1 hour
one 14-oz./398 mL can apricot halves in light syrup
1/4 cup/50 mL Dijon mustard
1/4 cup/50 mL Jack Daniel's whisky
1/4 cup/50 mL brown sugar
1/4 cup/50 mL apricot jam
pinch cayenne pepper
one 3-lb./1.5-kg pork loin roast with a 1/8-inch/3-mm fat cap
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
sprigs fresh parsley and thyme for garnish

Open the can of apricots and drain the syrup into a medium-sized saucepan, reserving the fruit. Add the mustard, Jack Daniel's, brown sugar, apricot jam, and cayenne to the syrup. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring to melt the sugar and the jam. When it looks like a smooth, fairly thick sauce (about 5 minutes), take it off the heat and set it in a bowl of ice cubes to cool.

Lightly score the fat cap of the pork loin in a diamond pattern. Season it with salt and pepper, and set the meat on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spoon half of the mustard-whisky mixture over the loin and pat it all over to coat. Wrap the foil around the meat, sealing it as best you can. Place the wrapped loin in the meat drawer of your fridge. Let it sit for a couple of hours at least, but overnight if possible.

Combine the remaining half of the sauce with the reserved apricot halves, cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the grill on medium-high for 5 or 10 minutes or until the chamber temperature rises above 500°C. Rinse the plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4 or 5 minutes, or until it's starting to throw off a bit of smoke and crackling lightly. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

Place the marinated pork loin on the plank fat side up. Cover the grill and cook for 1 hour, checking periodically for flare-ups.

At the one-hour mark, take the reserved apricots out of the sauce mixture and place them on the plank next to the roast. Baste the roast with some of the sauce and cook for about another 10 or 20 minutes, until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 140°C.  Take off the roast and lightly tent it in foil.

Transfer the apricot halves to a cutting board and coarsely chop them. Warm the remaining sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave and add the chopped apricots. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes (while it's resting, roast some vegetables on the grill). Carve the roast into 1/2-inch/1-cm slices and serve on warmed plates with a spoonful of the apricots and sauce. Garnish with sprigs of parsley and thyme.

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Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Planking Secrets: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor, and Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books. Find him, and more recipes, at www.ronshewchuk.com.

[Sorry if you had trouble viewing this podcast. I initially posted the wrong media file, and also, I think libsyn doesn't support video on its player in the right hand column of this blog. So, here's a link directly to the podcast download.]

In this edition I follow pitmaster Adam Protter of Big Smoke Mountain Barbecue in Whistler, B.C. as he prepares, cooks and serves a whole hog at a special event at Dusty's Bar & Barbecue, home of the Canadian National Barbecue Championships.

VIEWER ADVISORY: This podcast contains graphic scenes of raw hog preparation and is not for the squeamish.

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Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Planking Secrets: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor, and Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books. Find him, and tasty barbecue recipes, at www.ronshewchuk.com.

Hey, barbecue fans! Welcome to the first Barbecue Secrets video podast. A couple of weeks ago I was a guest on Vancouver's Global Morning News demonstrating plank cooking recipes from my new book, Planking Secrets. With the kind help of Sharron Bates of Global I'm re-broadcasting them on this podcast, and I'm posting the recipes from each show here on the podcast blog. This is the first of five segments.

Fred's Citrus Salmon with Sesame Mayo

Serves 6 to 8

Brian Misko is an enthusiastic barbecuer who recently took the plunge and started up a barbecue team, House of Q. Brian passed on this recipe, which he has cooked time and again for his family. "It was originally crafted after salmon fishing in Tofino with my in-laws," he says.  "I had never been fishing on the open ocean before, nor had Fred Kraus, my father-in-law.  Nonetheless, a nice side of salmon was decorated for the grill with whatever we had in the cabin." And they've cooked it that way ever since. "Serve with a wonderful fruity white wine and a salad and you have a nice west coast meal," says Brian.


Squeeze the juice from the three fruits into a nonreactive dish like a lasagna pan. Reserve a few slices for garnish. Don't worry about pulp or seeds in the marinade - it all adds flavor.  Add the zest, if desired, and the garlic and oil.  The volume of oil depends on how big your piece of salmon is. A larger one will take a bit more oil. Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over the salmon.  Marinate for a minimum of 1 hour at room temperature.

Preheat the grill on medium-high for 5 or 10 minutes or until the chamber temperature rises above 500°F/260°C. Rinse the plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4 or 5 minutes, or until it's starting to throw off a bit of smoke and crackling lightly. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

Remove the salmon from the marinade and season it with salt and pepper. Place it on the plank and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish has an internal temperature of 135°F/57°C. Halfway through the cooking time, spoon some of the marinade on top of the fish. When the salmon is done, serve it on the plank garnished with extra citrus slices.

Sesame Mayo


Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Use immediately or refrigerate. If you're using store bought mayo, it will keep for a week in the fridge.

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Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Planking Secrets: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor, and Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books. Find him, and more recipes, at www.ronshewchuk.com.

My thanks to everyone who attended the big Planking Secrets book launch event on May 16 at Vancouver's Hamilton Street Grill. What a great party, enhanced greatly by HSG chef Neil Wyle's hospitality, along with complementary food from Whitecap Books and delicious beverages from R&B Brewing and Appleton Estate rum.

The big thrill of the evening for me was a surprise visit from my planking mentor, famed barbecue chef Ted Reader, author of Sticks and Stones, a great book about planking and other things.

Thanks also to Johnstone's BBQs & Parts for providing the Weber Genesis grill that all the food was cooked on, and Johnstone's Bryan O'Connor for taking the fab photos of the event (see them here. Thanks, Bryan!)

Better late than never, I say.

First of all, a big thanks to all the participants in our big Secrets of Championship Barbecue workshop on Saturday, May 13.

For the first time in the ten-year history of the event, we staged a mini-contest at the end of the day, with two-person teams turning in their chicken and ribs to a group of judges provided by the Barbecue on the Bow Society, which held a judging workshop in conjunction with our event.

Good idea, and well organized by the wonderful Linda Matthie-Jacobs. Problem was, the turnout for the judging workshop was so high that we had 20 judges tasting each of 16 entries in two categories, so it took longer than expected to get the results tabulated.

So, thanks for your patience. Here are the winners...drum roll please.

CHICKEN

6th place: Kiss My Ash
5th place: Choke 'n' Smoke
4th place: All Ribs and Rooster
3rd place: Beavis and Pork Butt Head
2nd place: Our Butts are Glazed
1st place: Smells Like Smoke, Tastes Like Chicken

RIBS

6th place: Saucy Meat Masters
5th place: Porkaholics Anonymous
4th place: One Bone to Chew On
3rd place: Beavis and Pork Butt Head
2nd place: Kiss My Ash
1st place: All Ribs and Rooster

BEST TEAM NAME

Honourable Mention: Kiss My Ash
1st place: Porkaholics Anonymous

OVERALL RESULTS (COMBINED CHICKEN AND RIBS)

6th place: Choke 'n' Smoke
5th place: Saucy Meat Masters
4th place: Smells Like Smoke, Tastes Like Chicken
3rd place: Kiss My Ash
RESERVE GRAND CHAMPIONS: All Ribs and Rooster
GRAND CHAMPIONS: Beavis and Pork Butt Head

Congrats to the winners and thanks again for all who participated. I hope you all had fun!

Please note: first place winners in each category need to email me at rockinronnie@ronshewchuk.com with your mailing address so I can send you your cheap plastic trophy!

Also, those who either did not get a diploma please at rockinronnie@ronshewchuk.com with your correct name and mailing address and I'll get one out to you.

Yours forever in smoke,

Rockin' Ronnie