A long, long time ago, just around half past the dawn of man, Oog was sitting near the fire choking down raw cold hunks of mammoth meat. Suddenly a particularly bloody, greasy piece of meat escaped his grasp and wound up in the fire. It took Oog several minutes to retrieve the meat, but when he did he was surprised to find that once he got past the ash and dirt, it wasn’t too bad. And so, anthropologists would have us believe, began man’s love affair with meat cooked over a fire.

With Oog’s experience now hardwired into the human brain it is no surprise barbecue is extremely popular.  There is no reason that anyone can't barbecue at home, after all it is just doing what comes naturally. Arizonans are particularly lucky in that it is always barbecuing weather; the only difference is in the summer one does not have to use as much charcoal.

Many stores haven’t caught on to the fact every day is a barbeque kind of day in Arizona, and shuffle their grills and accessories off to the warehouse to make room for the back to school racks. This is unfortunate, but if a wise shopper watches the sales floor carefully it is easy to snag a bargain on a nice grill. The most ubiquitous of these is the Kettle type grill and though there are many imitators, Weber leads the pack.

Weber also make gas grills and some prefer this method, but it is almost too much like cooking with a conventional oven, though there are tricks to introducing a smoky flavor. This brings up an interesting argument – the difference between grilling and barbecue. During the 50s and 60s the grill was a shallow round pan with a flat bottom on three long legs, and any food cooked on this contraption was called barbecue. Purists would say, not so, it has to be cooked low and slow over hardwood coals, a process sometimes taking well up to 10 hours, in order to qualify as barbecue. Tossing some bratwurst on the grill is therefore not barbecue, but “grilling.” Nothing to lose sleep over one way or the other…

Next Time: What to do with the new grill…

Unlike our hapless caveman, no one has to wait around for lightning to strike a tree these days to make a fire. There are several methods of ignition available to the griller and several types of fuel to choose from as well. No sense starting the fire without some fuel handy, so what to buy?

Charcoal briquettes are the most popular and can be found at almost any market. The problem is that many of the companies manufacturing briquettes use petrochemicals as binders in their product. Some grills can withstand the temperature produced by burning wood; this is great too – nothing like the smell of a trattoria in Italy firing up the woodstove to cook. Just remember to use hardwood, no pine. Another choice that is becoming easier to find is lump or all natural charcoal. There are no fillers or binders, just wood. Probably the best choice, though it burns quickly. Now to look at a couple of ways get the fire started…

The most traveled path is the use of starter fluid. While it is fun – who doesn’t enjoy a huge fire ball leaping off the grill, though it can set overhangs on fire at worst and at best imparts a fuel taste to the food. The best bet is a chimney style starter, similar to the one pictured above. Newspaper is stuffed in the bottom and charcoal is placed in the top. Light the newspaper let it go until the charcoal is all glowing. The best thing is no fuel flavor permeates the food.

So get the grill going, have a fire extinguisher handy just in case and prepare to grill!!!

Bratwurst and charcoal are a match made in heaven. They are so closely related with each other it is impossible to think of one without thinking of the other. To this day "Brats" remain the king of the backyard grill, plump juicy and full of porky goodness.

To enhance the brat experience, try simmering the sausages in a mixture consisting of two bottles of beer, one small quartered onion, and a table spoon of butter. This process can be done in a pan on the grill, the stove, or in a crockpot. Once cooked through the brats are slapped on to a hot grill until crisped up and ready for the bun, topped with kraut, or sauteed onions and peppers.Don't forget to save at least one bottle of the beer to have with the bratwurst!!

One basic way to get some extra flavor into meat is through a rub. The rub can be dry or moist and is best left on the meat overnight. There are a lot of recipes for rubs out there, but it is easy to make one in the home kitchen.

What flavors or ingredients work best with different meats? To best answer that question turn to a book such as “The Flavor Bible” or “Culinary Artistry” by Page and Dornenburg. Both books have tables showing “flavor affinities,” for instance Beef and bay leaves are good matches. These are essential books for any kitchen. Failing that, turn to shows on barbecue cook offs, there is a lot to be learned in the preparation of various meats on these shows. Try to stay away from commercial rubs as there seems to be a lot of salt in these. Remember the closer an ingredient is to the top of the ingredient list, the bigger part it plays in the whole.

One simple rib rub is comprised of a cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of paprika, ¼ cup smoky paprika, 3 TBS hot paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, 1 TBS garlic powder, 1TBS onion powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp celery seed – just mix well and it is ready to go. Don’t be afraid to experiment or adjust to personal taste.

To apply the rub, remove the silver skin on the backside of the ribs, and use spicy brown or plain yellow mustard to coat all surfaces of the meat. Sprinkle on the rub mixture on generously and rub it into the meat. There should be a good coating on all sides. Wrap in foil and let sit over night.

Some foods are flavorful in their own right, some benefit from a little help. Rubs and marinades are the way to enhance the flavor and turn up the heat of grilled meats. Rubs, or “dry rubs,” are combinations of spices that are patted on to meat while a marinade usually involves a mix of dry and wet ingredients the meat soaks in overnight.

Rubs are the most basic way of infusing flavor and are easy to put together at home. Brown sugar makes a good base, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, and celery seed make good additions. Add a little salt to the mix to help bring out the flavors. Why go to all the trouble of making a rub instead of buying a commercial product? Control over what goes in is the best reason, but it also allows the rub to be tailored to individual tastes.  The next time through the spice aisle at the market, pick up a commercial rub and gaze at the ingredients list.  Often salt is near the top of the list, while it is an important component, there’s no reason it should be the main component.

The following is a base recipe and it can be modified to suit specific needs. The fun of barbeque, besides eating it, is experimenting with the flavors. Be bold – remember the flavors of the rub have to be intense to affect the flavor of the meat.

1 Cup brown sugar

4 TBS sweet paprika

2 TBS  sharp paprika

2 TBS smoky paprika

1TBS   onion powder

1TBS   garlic powder

1TBS   cayenne pepper

2 Tsp Salt

Feel free to tinker, but remember the rub will be applied heavily, so make lots.  Keep the mixture in an air tight container or large shaker that can be sealed closed when not in use.

Next: Marinades