The volume of tweets last week was down a bit but entrants made up for it with some great recipes, tips and tricks. Again, it was hard to choose.

Here are the best of them, with the winner at the end:

An easy, elegant dessert from @ruthlesscrab: Blackberries&Jim Beam Whipped Cream. Great after-bbq dessert. Whp 500ml(2c)crm w 2 T brn sug+2 T bourbon. Srv on fresh berries

Nice appetizer from @erlewilliams Mushroom Appetizer: Marinate mushrooms in balsamic vinager, seasame oil, soya sauce, chili peppers, S&P. Grill a few minutes.

Another lip-smackin' dish from @erlewilliams:  2 chick breast. 2/3c rum, grated ginger, 1/3c oj, 6 clove garlic, 2T worcestershire, 2T br. sug, selantro, Marinate 3h. Grill.

Excellent common-sense tip from @danklassen: make sure to have some extra propane handy in case you run out... unlike my last weekend

Simple and delicious spuds from @sbouchard: love grilling sliced potatoes (brushed with a little evo right on the grill. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Delicious!

This pork recipe from @denisyb got my juices going: roast pork loin smothered in maple and apricot jam glaze (with a little cider vinegar) + oiled & grilled apple slices = mmm

An over-the-top classic sausage log from @DivaQBBQ: 5lbsausage 5tbsponion 4japsdiced 3tbspfavBBQrub mx tologshape wrapw/2lbbaconbbqindirec-165glazew/sweetBBQsauce make friends

And, finally, the WINNER for this week, a lovely shrimp skewer, again from @DivaQBBQ: 32rawshrimp 8orangesliced 32skewers shrimponorange piercewithskewer sprinklewithvegeta grill indirect glazemandarinBBQsauce

Thanks to everyone who entered...and get your tweets in for this week, there are only two days left! Here are the contest rules and a rundown on the grand prizes. Get on it!

I picked up some great beef tri-tip at the supermarket the other day. It's almost impossible to find this delicious, juicy cut in Canada; I figure all our tri-tip, which is the bottom half of the sirloin, gets exported to the U.S., where it's one of the more popular grilling cuts. When my family was in Maui a couple summers ago I learned an old Sam Choy recipe that I'm happy to share with you.

Hawaiian Tri Tip Steak

2 1/2 lb tri tip steak (the one I got was cut into strips but it's also great grilled whole)
1/2 Tbs. salt (I used Hawaiian red salt but any good sea salt works well)
1/2 Tbs. cracked black peppercorns
1 Tbs. garlic, minced
1 Tbs. ginger, grated
1 Tbs. shoyu (light soy sauce will do)
white pepper
1 Tbs. brown sugar

Marinate meat in above ingredients for 30 to 45 minutes. Grill the steak to desired doneness, being careful not to overcook it. Tri-tip is quite lean and is ruined if cooked beyond medium rare. I basted the steak strips with the marinade that was left in the pan I marinated them in. Carve into thin slices and serve with a vegetable stir fry and some rice or mashed potatoes.

My friends Gary Johnstone of Johnstone's BBQs and Parts and Angie Quaale, organizer of BBQ on the Bypass, join me on a season-opening barbecue panel talking about outdoor cooking with broadcasting icon Terry David Mulligan, on his food and wine show, The Tasting Room.

Hey barbecue fans! The first week of the big BBQ Tweet contest ended Friday and I'm delighted to report that I received lots of great tweets and e-mail entries.

There were simple, delicious recipes like graemeb3's: "The easiest and most delicious BBQ salmon recipe: salmon covered in mild salsa placed on tinfoil. Great when camping too!"

Carib1028 had my mouth watering with this nicely condensed recipe for a stuffed burger: "saute onions, shitake/load on thin patty w/ cheese/top w/ thin patty/seal/grill w/ R&Ds BBQ sauce/serve on toasted bun/ooz'n."

GisellLaRose shared a delicious take on burger seasoning: "My secret weapon in my homemade bbq sauce or hamburgers is sesame oil and cumin. Sooo good, you have to try it!"

I also got some excellent tips, like this one from 8chocolate: "When cooking fish on barbq, wrap seasoned fillets in cabbage leaves. Protects fish, keeps juices in and can eat the cabbage 2."

All excellent, and worthy of honorable mention. It was a hard choice, but here is the winner, which is a very short but touching barbecue story from YVRBcbudz: "I had real BBQ from a southern grandma the day the LA riots started and it was a coming together of races over pulled pork." That pretty much captures the spirit of barbecue as far as I'm concerned.

CONGRATS! YVRBcbudz, e-mail me at rockinronnie@ronshewchuk.com with your address and Barbecue Secrets DELUXE! publisher Whitecap Books will get a copy in the mail to you right away.

Please keep the tweets and e-mails coming and I look foward to announcing next week's winner. Don't forget, there are great prizes for the grand champion and four runners up. Find out more about the contest at this Whitecap blog post.




 

Had a nice visit with Vancouver CKNW radio talk show host Christy Clarke and had a chance to take some great listener questions.

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On May 1 some friends came over for the first barbecue feast of the season. On hand was writer Laurie Cooper who captured some moments of brisket ecstacy on her Flip camera and posted it on YouTube. Thanks for sharing, Laurie!

Hey barbecue fans! Barbecue Secrets DELUXE! is now on bookstands across Canada and I've begun the big cross-Canada media tour.

My first TV appearance was May 2, when I visited Global TV B.C.'s Saturday Morning News program. Had a smoky and delicious time with anchor Sophie Lui, sports anchor/reporter Jay Janower and weekend meteorologist Kristi Gordon.

On the program I took the opportunity to announce the big Barbecue Secrets DELUXE1 BBQ Tweet Contest, and I got an instant response. Here are some of the first tweets that rolled in:

graemeb3@rockinronnie The easiest and most delicious BBQ salmon recipe: salmon covered in mild salsa placed on tinfoil. Great when camping too!

walkingpoles@rockinronnie Thank you for the Awesome demonstration on the News this morning. Nothing like a good BBQ. Don Marshall

dougflet@rockinronnie fav bbq appie: blanched asparagus with red pepper strips wrapped in prosciutto and grilled with maple bbq sauce.

dougflet@rockinronnie What an awesome concept--using social networking to build your business. Very impressive! Good luck with it.

carib1028@rockinronnie/saute onions, shitake/load on thin patty w/ cheese/top w/ thin patty/seal/grill w/ R&Ds BBQ sauce/serve on toasted bun/ooz'n

erlewilliams@rockinronnie Grilled Squid 1lb squid .5c evo 6 garlic, minced 2 tbsp parsley, minced Juice of 1 lemon .5c mustard .5 tsp S&P

wendylangridge@rockinronnie side dish of mushrooms, foil them with chunky onions, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce.

SusanMain@rockinronnie I am a big fan of the BBQ! My friends and fam have been @ my house many times. Still use charcoal - not propane

wendymcleod10@rockinronnie I do my burgers with Gorganzola stuffed inside, instead of your herb butter, love BBQing, the man does not touch the BBQ

CortneyLessard@rockinronnie just saw you on the news, def making those ribs for the canucks game tonight! 

GiseleLaRose@rockinronnie Hi Ronnie! My secret weapon in my homemade bbq sauce or hamburgers is sesame oil and cumin. Sooo good, you have to try it!

8chocolate@rockinronnie When cooking fish on barbq, wrap seasoned fillets in cabbage leaves. Protects fish, keeps juices in and can eat the cabbage 2

YVRBcbudz@rockinronnie I had real BBQ from a southern grandma the day the LA riots started and it was a coming together of races over pulled pork

mrkeithk@rockinronnie try marinating in Tequila, lime and chili poweder for some Mexican flavor

codias@rockinronnie Mediterranean Burger w/ cucumber, red onion, feta cheese (in core of burger), diced green+yellow pepper, tomato+sliced olives

Please feel free to join in the fun and tweet your own tip, recipe or story, or just post a comment (140 characters or less) as a comment on this blog post.