Barbecue! Meat in fire. Nothing like it in the whole world. I think it's hardwired into the male brain to love throwing meat into fire. Probably something primal about it, something going back to those early hunter-gatherer ancestors. Go out in a group, run down a woolly mammoth, dispatch it with a few dozen well-placed spears and rocks (poor Og got stepped on, too bad about that), chop up the mammoth, drag the chunks back to the cave and throw them in the fire. Now that was living!
*insert primal grunting sounds here*
But it's true that guys love to barbecue. We also love baked beans and deviled eggs, which go right along with the whole meat-and-fire thing. I got me a great big charcoal griller, big enough to cook a side of beef on. (don't wanna hear anything about cancer causing toxins in charcoal either). I load that bad boy up with briquettes and fire 'em up. Once I have a good bed of coals going, the potatoes, onions and peppers go on the top rack and the lid is closed for about 30 minutes. Temperature goes up to about 400º. Then I slap on the meat - usually chicken or some great slabs of cow. Drop the lid again and close the damper to cool it down to about 275º. Chicken goes about 20 minutes on each side; stake about 4 minutes each side. And when it's done? A heavenly plate full of meat and potatoes and onions and peppers. Baked beans and deviled eggs if there are any on hand. A big glass of lemon aide completes the meal. This is the stuff that summer is made of.
We barbecue a lot in the summer - at least twice a week, sometimes more. And why not? It's a great way to do the cooking without heating up the kitchen. And you just can't beat that good carcinogenic smokey flavor. I may die young, but I'll die happier than those bean curd eating vegans.
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