In the current economy, we're all cooking on a shoestring budget this summer.  To jumpstart your summertime savings, Country Bob's would like to share some "Sizzling Summer Grilling Secrets" with our loyal fans and customers.

 For Beef Steak 

Preparation tips:

• Marinate in the refrigerator; never at room temperature.
• Marinate in a food-safe plastic bag or non-reactive container such as glass or ceramic, not aluminum.
• Marinate less tender steaks such as flank for 6 hours to 24 hours.
• Tender steaks such as sirloin can be marinated for 15 minutes to 2 hours, just to flavor the meat.

 Grilling tips:

• Grill steaks over medium heat about 5 inches from the heat source.
• Turn once during cooking using tongs or a spatula; do not use a fork, it could pierce the meat and allow juices to run out.
• Cooking can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness and desired doneness.

 For Ribs 

Preparation tips:

• Marinate in the refrigerator; never at room temperature.
• On slabs of ribs, remove the membrane on the bone side to allow marinades to penetrate.
• Boiling ribs for a couple of hours before marinating and cooking ensures tender grilled ribs.
• Both pork and beef ribs can be marinated for a couple of hours or overnight.

Grilling tips:

• Slow grilling over indirect heat in which the ribs are not placed directly over the heat source but to the side of it, with the lid closed, is preferred.
• Turn the ribs frequently using tongs.
• Grill 1 to 2 hours, depending on rib type and grill.

 For Seafood

Preparation tips:

• Marinate in the refrigerator; never at room temperature.
• Fish or shrimp need only 20 to 30 minutes to marinate; some larger thick fillets can marinate an hour or more.
• Over-marinating seafood can cause the flesh to become mushy.

 Grilling tips:

• Cook fillets until they flake easily with a fork and are opaque throughout, about 5 minutes per side per inch thickness.  An internal temperature of 155 degrees is desired.
• Grill baskets are great for delicate or small foods such as shrimp.
• Shrimp cook in about 4 minutes; baste with butter or oil to keep moist.

 For Chicken 

Preparation tips:

• Marinate poultry pieces 30 to 60 minutes
• If using tomato-based BBQ sauce, brush on during last 5 minutes of cooking to prevent burning the sauce.

 Grilling tips:

• Grill chicken over direct medium heat.
• An internal temperature for breast meat of 170 degrees and 180 degrees for legs and thighs is preferred.
• Estimate about 7 minutes per side for boneless breasts, bone-in legs about 20 minutes per side.

For Vegetables 

Preparation tips:

• All vegetables can be marinated in the refrigerator in an oil and vinegar based dressing or marinade for up to one day.
• If not marinating, brush grill grate with vegetable oil before grilling to help prevent sticking.
• Cut vegetables into uniform size pieces so they will cook evenly.

 Grilling tips:

• Grilling sweetens and intensifies the flavor of fresh vegetables.
• Grill over medium heath, turning frequently, until crisp and tender.  They should pierce fairly easily with a fork.
• If cooking hard vegetables like potatoes, briefly boil them before grilling to speed up grilling time or ensure they will be done at the same time as softer vegetables if grilling together.

 Grilled food tastes great.  But compared to indoor cooking, it's a little easier to make food mistakes.  To avoid these mistakes:

1.  Take your food's temperature.  Grilled food often browns quickly so you may think it's done when it's really not cooked enough inside.  The solution is to use a food thermometer to see if chicken breasts are cooked to 170 degrees, hamburgers to 160 degrees, pork chops to 160 degrees, and steak to 145 degrees.
2.  Snag a clean plate.  Never put cooked food on the same plate you used to transport the raw meat to the grill.

 One of the recipes from our cookbook, "The Original Country Bob's Cookbook" is for All-Purpose Marinade or Basting Sauce.  It is a great recipe that I wanted to share with our readers:

 You will need the following ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup vinegar
• 2/3 cup Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce
• 2 T. dry mustard
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 T. pepper
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ to 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)

 Combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, dry mustard, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder and Tabasco sauce in a blender and process until the parsley is pureed.  Use as desired for preparing beef, venison or chicken.  For best grilling flavor:  Marinate the beef, venison or chicken in a portion of the marinade in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.  Drain and discard the used marinade.  Place the beef, venison or chicken on the grill over hot coals and cook to the desired degree of doneness, turning and basting frequently with the remaining marinade.  Chicken should be grilled until its juices run clear when pierced with a fork.  Yield:  2 ½ cups. 

 For more great summer grilling recipes, visit the "Recipes" section on our website or order one of our "Original Country Bob's Cookbooks" for only $22.00.  Our cookbook is filled with recipes featuring the "World's Greatest Sauce", the history of Country Bob, Inc., and inspiring passages for living an abundant life.  It is a hardcover book that can also be a great gift for family and friends!

 Happy Grilling!

Big Al