Fire Up The Grill…. It’s not all about the food……

Often people will ask me for some good BBQ recipes – chicken, pork, steak, any variety of ribs, and I am always more than happy to offer some suggestions, send a recipe, give a few pointers, but more often than not, my response is something along the lines of, “do what reminds you of childhood….”.

For me it is simple.  In my own nostalgic and tradition accented mind, BBQs will always be defined by the smell of charcoal briquettes meeting lighter fluid back in Atlanta, while us kids played Kick the Can in our Crabgrass laden yard with the empty beer cans our parent’s have polished off.  For hours those flames which once shot bravely towards the sky, which have tattooed our burgers and Dogs with the beautiful color and aroma of the grill, will slowly turn into lingering smoke by the time the sun begins to settle for the night.  Fireflies begin to emerge as we chase them throughout the yard until our parents tell us it is time for bed.  We will sleep good with a touch too much sun radiating off of our skin, satisfied bellies with thanks to the grill, and a mason jar half full of fireflies that ever so slightly illuminate our rooms every couple of seconds.

In the end, when it comes down to it, the food is secondary.  I could eat those overcooked burgers in my mind for the rest of eternity.  So, my answer in a nutshell is pretty simplistic – What I love about grilling is that there really is no, right or wrong way to do things… Sure you can watch Bobby Flay on the Food Network and he will give you some great tips or you can read my work and pick up other tips, but is that what makes the food good?  Is that why we gather around the grill during the summer months?  I say no.  What’s important is the people we are with and the time spent with them.  To me, the smell of charcoal will always be more about family, friends, and memories than the food that comes off that smoky grill….  For once, it’s not all about the food……