• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons Worchester sauce
• 1 finely chopped onion
• ¼ cup of brown sugar or molasses
• 6 to 7 swipes of lemon zest
• ¼ cup of vinegar
• 1 finely chopped bell pepper
• 2/3 cup of catsup
• 1 stick of oleo or butter
• 1/3 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
  (Minced jalapeno optional)

Mix all ingredients in a 2 quart saucepan.  Simmer slowly from 45 minutes to an hour stirring occasionally.   Bottle and store in your refrigerator for use during the barbecue season.

GRILLED BARBECUE PORK STEAKS

Select your ingredients:

• 4 pork blade steaks with 1 inch or more thickness
• One half cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
• One third cup of natural honey (may substitute brown sugar or molasses for variations).
• One tablespoon of Worchester sauce
• One teaspoon of garlic salt
• One half teaspoon of favorite mustard

Directions:

Bring barbecue grill to acceptable cooking level. Place steaks on the grill grate about four inches just above the medium to slow coals and cook for approximately 5-8 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer indicates about 150 degrees internal temperature.  

As the steaks cook, combine remaining ingredients In a small mixing bowl, then continue to brush steaks with marinade sauce until cooking is complete (about five minutes). With cooking adjustments, pork chops will also work.

Serve:

Serve with a mixed salad and foil-wrapped sweet potato or fresh corn for a southern taste delight. 

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GRILLED MARINATED SHRIMP DIABLO

• Select your ingredients:
• Two pounds of peeled and de-veined shrimp with tails attached
• One cup of olive oil
• Fourth cup of chopped fresh parsley
• One lemon juiced
• Two tablespoons of hot pepper sauce (or to taste)
• Three cloves of minced fresh garlic
• One tablespoon tomato paste
• Two teaspoons of salt
• One teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• Two teaspoons of dried oregano
• Skewers

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then put a little marinade aside in refrigerator for use in basting the shrimp on the grill.  Pour ingredients from bowl in a large re-sealable plastic bag with the raw shrimp, seal and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for two hours.

Preheat grill for medium to low heat.  Thread shrimp onto skewers.  Marinade can be discarded at this point.

Lightly oil the grill grate to prevent sticking.  Cook shrimp on Skewers for about 4-5 minutes per side or until shrimp curl, and begin to change to a light-pink toasty color.  Baste frequently with the reserved marinade you saved from earlier.

Serve:

Can be served as an appetizer in smaller portions or as a main dish with a skewer-full per person.  Grilled bell peppers, onions, and potatoes compliment the entree alongside your favorite bean dish.

QUICK AND EASY CHARR0 BEANS = VIA CROCK POT

Select your ingredients:

• One pound of pinto or brown beans (fresher the better)
• One 8-ounce can Roi-Tel Tomato Sauce (mild or spicy)
• One coarsely-chopped green bell pepper
• One coarsely-chopped medium sized onion
• One to two cloves of minced garlic
• Two to three sprigs of fresh Cilantro
• Ham hock or four slices of 2 inch sections of bacon
• Salt, ground black pepper, chili powder for seasoning
• (add seasonings to your preferred taste)

Directions:

Cull and rinse pinto beans to remove unwanted debris.

Place beans in a four-quart crock pot and cover completely with about two inches of water.

Add other ingredients and season to taste.

Cover Crock Pot and cook on low setting for about eight hours or until beans are tender (mashing and mixing a few beans helps thicken broth).

Check taste for seasonings late in cooking process, adjust and enjoy.

Remember removing crock pot lid retards cooking heat.

Could not be easier for such a great result.

Serve:

With cornbread and your favorite smoked or grilled barbecue meat.

BARBECUE AND BEANS ARE A NATURAL COMBO

Preparing Your Beans (Recipe)

There is an art and process to preparing beans just as there is for barbecue, yet many folks express the need for tips on preparing lentils in a manner that reduces the familiar complaint about the discomfort that often follows. This article may help you avoid some of those concerns. The most common types of lentil associated with barbecue is, of course the pinto, red, and pork and bean legumes. Americans reportedly eat 7.4 pounds of legumes per year and growing. Yet, current dietary guidelines indicate we need to consume about 26 pounds a year to benefit from their fiber, vitamins and nutrients including their contribution to reducing heart disease and some cancers. However, there is always the un-enviable image problem beans have to overcome.

There is always the choice of preparing scratch dried beans or pre-cooked canned beans. Understand the time you have before serving, then choose the one you want. Of course this decision is always a matter of time and personal preference on your part. For the dried beans there are the decisions to pre-soak the beans or not.

To Soak or Not to Soak

For dried beans it is generally accepted that the fresher the bean, less or no soaking may be required. Some packages will have harvest dates on them, but most will not. One pound of dried beans equals to two cups, and will produce six cups of cooked beans. If you believe that soaking your beans will help, then:

1. First sort through them to pick out the debris or small stones that might have accidentally gotten in the mix.

2. Place in a large pot and add about 10 cups of water for each pound of beans.
   a. For a long soak such as overnight, allow the beans to rest in the cold water.
   b. For a shorter soak, bring the water and beans to a boil for about two to three minutes and remove heat and allow them to soak about an hour.

3. Drain the water from the beans and rinse to remove some of the starches associated with gas bloating.

4. Use fresh water to cook the beans.

Cooking the Beans:

It will require anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours of cooking generally determined by the size and age of the beans. To prevent the skins on the beans from remaining tough, avoid adding salt or any acidic ingredients until the beans are considered tender. Some folks like to mash up some of the beans to thicken the broth flavor. The longer the simmer time allows you to flavor the beans with your favorite ingredients such as smoked BBQ meat, onions, garlic, syrup, ketchup, tomatoes, peppers, beer, your secret seasonings, and don’t forget the salt and pepper you left out during soaking earlier.

There are many good seasoning recipes on the internet and various barbecue cook books.

Canned Beans:

A 15 oz can contains 1 ½ cups of beans. You should consider draining and rinsing canned beans before warming them prior to serving. This will also cut down on the likelihood of potential flatulence. There is little doubt that canned beans save you time and many brands are quite delicious as well. Whatever you choose, you must agree they are like ham and eggs with barbecue.

(Based on an article by Elizabeth Lee in the Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Triple J Ranch Coleslaw*
1 large head cabbage, shredded
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. celery seeds
1 Tbsp. salt

In a large bowl, toss cabbage and onion. Sprinkle with sugar but do not stir. In a medium saucepan, heat remaining ingredients, bringing to a boil. Pour hot mixture over cabbage and onion mixture, but do not stir. Cover and refrigerate 4 days, stirring only before serving. *Courtesy A-AS and Joe Sears’ Aunt Pearl character from Greater Tuna fame

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Aunt Pearl's Potato Salad*
5 lb. bag of brown Idaho potatoes
1 dozen eggs
Salt and pepper
1/2 can evaporated milk
1/4 cup sweet pickle juice
1 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles
1 cup celery, diced small
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 cups or more of Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. mustard

Boil potatoes in their skins until tender. Drain water and let potatoes cool down to room Temperature. Peel off skins and let whole potatoes sit in refrigerator. (They cut better cold and don't crumble.) Boil eggs, drain and let cool to room temperature. Separate white and yellow. Chop 2 cups of white and mash all the yolk with a fork. Mix the eggs with black 1/4 tsp. pepper and 1/2 tsp. salt. Mix evaporated milk with the eggs. Mix in sweet pickle juice. Stir in celery, Sweet pickles and onions. Mix in mayonnaise and mustard. This mixture should now be a thick, cake-like batter texture and may need more mayo. Let this mixture cool and marinate in ice box for 1 hour. Slice the cold potatoes into pieces the size of playing dice. Season potatoes with 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. (Salt is very important in this recipe and if you don't have enough, the flavor of the salad is flat.) Pour mixture over potatoes and stir with large forks. Large utensils used to stir can sometimes inhibit getting all the potatoes covered with dressing. You may need to add more mayo to cover all pieces with a thick creamy coating. Refrigerate salad until serving time. *Courtesy A-AS and Joe Sears’ Aunt Pearl character from Greater Tuna fame