Another one of the things I enjoy about cooking outdoors during the summer months is being able to cook at anytime of day or night.

Often I have friends drop over unannounced in the evenings after the sun has gone down. They may have been on a motorcycle ride, or in the neighborhood and decided to pop in.

As being such a gracious host, I almost always ask….are you hungry? They always say no, but I say, well, I was gonna fire up the grill and do a burger, dog, or some chicken wings and then they say…I might be able to eat a little something.

One of the things I do not have is good lighting outside. I have enough to get around, but not enough to light up my grill. I have been using a flashlight…..until recently!

I found this great gizmo, gadet, or however you want to classify it, you clip it onto your grill, it has a long adjustable goosneck and a lamp on the end. It runs off of batteries and lights up the whole grill…..I wish I would have thought of this a long time ago!

Here is what mine looks like.

It runs off of batteries and is ingenious!

If you like to BBQ after dark, do yourself a favor and get yourself one, make it a fathers day presnt to yourself!

Happy Grilling!

I am not a fish lover by any stretch of the imaginination. I have to eat fish with a ton of ketchup to cover up the fishy taste. However, a few years back I stumbled across Fresk Grilled Tuna and now I am hooked!

To me, a tuna steak done on the grill tastes like a steak!

Another easy recipe, one that is sure to impress!

I usually get 4 oz portions per person, they look small, but they are filling. Approx 140 calories and around 1.5 grams of fat with 25 grams of protein.

I use a Cajun Blackening seasoning and totally cover the thawed steaks in the seasoning.

The idea with blackening seasoning is to give it the burnt appearance without burning it. I like mine cooked well, this would mean white all the way through, some people like their steak a bit pink in the middle.

About 5 minutes on each side should do it depending on your heat. Maybe a bit more or less.

You can also sprinkle some lemon juice over the top, but I prefer to serve it with a wedge of lime so people can add to their liking. I serve with a nice chilled salad with tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegrette Dressing. This makes for a lite healthy summer time meal.

Chilled white wine works well also

Happy Grilling!

In this post I am going to give you my secret recipe for Buffalo Wings on the grill

It is so easy to prepare that anyone can make them.

You can use this from 1 wing up to as many pounds of wings you desire.

You can omit the hot sauce if you do not want them hot. It will make them more of a tasty, crispy chicken wing and are delicious just the same.

No measuring needed!!

I usually take a 5lb bag of chicken pieces (thawed) and rinse them off.

I then place them on a large dish where I proceed to sprinkle Durkee/Franks Red Hot all over them. Not so much as to cover them, but to get a few drops on each piece.

Then a sprinkle on them, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Paprika, Cheyene Pepper, Chili Powder, Black Pepper and a little salt. The key is to try and sprinkle on the same amount of each on each piece. Then I turn them over and repeat the process.

Now they are ready for the grill. Grill them until they are fully cooked and both sides are crispy. When I take them off the grill, I take half of them and cover them with the Red Hot. The other half I leave as is, for those that do not like them hot.

That’s it! Pour Yourself a Beer and Dig In!

Happy Grilling!

It’s my favorite time of year…Summer!  well, it’s not summer officially, but once I can uncover my BBQ Grill, it’s summer time for me!

I love cooking on my grill and have been found outside late at night cooking up a midnight snack by flashlight.

It is only may 7th and I have used my grill about a dozen times already cooking up the proverbial Burgers, Dogs, Chicken and Steaks. Mmmmm  I’m getting hungry already!

I will be posting BBQ recipes all summer long so be sure to keep checking my posts to get some really tasty and easy cooking recipes and tips.

BBQ’s are great for entertaining outdoors. Weather you are having a party, cook-out, or off camping somewhere, it’s good fun for everyone.

For today, I am going to share a few tips for your BBQ Grill.

If your grill sets covered all winter long, you will want to do some pre-maintenance before you fire up your grill to avoid injury, illness, and bad tasting food.

I use a propane grill to cook on. The first thing I do is take out the grate and clean it by soaking it in a plastic tub large enough to fit it in with warm water and a liquid dishwashing soap like Dawn. But feel free to use what soap you like best.

While the grate is soaking, I take out the burner (this is the long section with the little holes the flames come out of) and hook up my air compressor and blow air through it as spiders will use this to build a nest in and clog the openings. This could be very dangerous if you attempt to fire up your grill before cleaning it as the gas will back up and create a large pocket and one spark could cause an explosion. I also inspect the burner for rust and any large holes. Replace if needed.

Now I clean the inside of the body of the grill with warm soapy water and remove anything that may have accumulated inside over the past season.

Now I inspect the tank, connections and hose that runs to the diverter for any noticeable wear and tear, and any holes that may cause cooking to be dangerous. Replace any noticeable wear and tear parts.

I also check to make sure the ignighter works and sparks with the very first click. If you have to click 3,4, 5 times to get a spark, you may need to replace it, or at the very least, clean it.

If everything is ok, I reassemble the grill and then clean up the grate I had soaking. Depending on your grate, some have ceramic, some have steel, you will need to follow your grill guide for their suggested cleaning directions. I am able to use steel wool like an SOS pad and wire brush to clean mine. Rinse it good. Once it is clean I slip it back into the grill.

I then hang a clean empty can under the grill to catch drippings.

Now that everything is hooked up, and am ready to test the lighting of my grill. With the lid open, I turn the gas on from the propane tank and then the nobs on the grill to the lighting position and hit the igniter. If it does not light after 1 or 2 clicks, I turn of the gas and wait 30 seconds before reinspecting everything.  Once I have inspected it, I then try and light the grill. Hopefully you should have success at this point, if not, make sure you check your tank to make sure you have gas in it. If you do, consult your manual for further troubleshooting.

Once my grill is fire up, I let it on high flame for about 10 to 15 minutes to burn off any soap residue from the grill.

Even though I clean my Grilling Utensils after each use, seeing they have been stored away for the season, I was them them to make sure they are sanitary.

Every year I also buy myself a new funny cooking apron just to add some fun to my backyard parties.

Now that the grill is ready, you can start cooking.

I usually use olive oil on the grate to keep food from sticking.

I always make sure to clean my grate after I take food off of it with a long handled BBQ wire brush and scraper made just for grills. It is quick and easy, and they are not very expensive. They will make cleaning much easier for you.

I also keep a backup tank of propane around, I hate running out and need to get a refill when I am in the middle of cooking. 

I hope these tips help you have a safe enjoy BBQ this summer!

Chef Boy R ME

Hello Food Lovers!

Welcome to my Blog on Cooking.

I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes,  cooking tips, and other information related to cooking.

I hope you will enjoy my posts and visit my blog often.

Happy Cooking!