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

Just a quick note to all who participated in the big Secrets of Championship Barbecue event on Saturday, May 13 at the Big Rock Brewery in Calgary. I will be posting the results of the mini-competition on this blog as soon as they are available. Thanks to everyone for the great barbecue spirit, and watch this space for the winners!

Ronnie

This blog doesn't allow me to post more than one photo per entry, so here's a picture of my friend Rocky Danner, who was interviewed in Barbecue Secrets #5, which you'll see below.

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Barbecue Secrets podcast, a show celebrating the many pleasures of outdoor cooking. E-mail questions, tips and suggestions to barbecuesecrets@ronshewchuk.com. In this edition:

• 2:20 An interview with World Barbecue Organizer Rocky Danner who talks about how the people of the West Indies used empty U.S. Army oil drums to make the precursor of the modern back yard grill (the photo at the top of this post is an authentic Jamaican barbecue grill made from an oil drum)
  
• 12:41 Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn of amazingribs.com and I answer a couple of questions about ribs from listener Craig Jolly one about marinades and rubs, and another about the infamous "Texas crutch"
  
• 33:24 Competition Corner -- Jeff of Light My Fire BBQ asks about the merits of wood pellets and Glenn Erho of House of Q wonders if there's a better way to clean the cooking grates of his Smokey Mountain Cooker.
  

Links

Rocky Danner is a reporter for the National Barbecue News

Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn is the creator of www.amazingribs.com and he has a special section on marinades at http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/marinades.html

For more information about hardwood pellets, visit Traeger Industries' Web site at http://www.traegerindustries.com/tips6index.htm

There's a section of The Virtrual Weber Bullet, a Web site for afficionados of the famous Smokey Mountain Cooker, where they talk about cleaning the cooking grates of the Bullet. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cleanup.html

Podcast #5  Recipe: Marinade for Pork

Since Craig and I talked about marinades, here's one of my favorites:

Pork tastes great no matter how you prepare them, but this sweet, aromatic marinade nicely offsets the richness of pork and gives it an exotic edge. You can use this for ribs, chops or tenderloins.

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved.  Cool before marinating meat in a sealable bag for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge if you want a stronger flavour.

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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.