Friends, customers and grilling enthusiasts,

Welcome to the third issue of Hot Off the Grill! We created Hot Off the Grill! in order to share content that helps you maximize the joy and satisfaction of your outdoor grilling and entertaining experience. Thank you for your warm response to previous issues; please keep your stories, suggestions, and comments coming to hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com.

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November 2005
Inside This Issue...

Master Grilling

Grilling the Perfect Steak

Grill: Habanero Mustard Venison Chops

Bar: Spiked Spiced Cider

Grill Care

Seasoning Your Grilling Surface

Contact Us

1-800-868-1699

Hot Off The Grill! Email

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Product Information Email

Introducing Our New Grilling Rubs and Woods

Gourmet products to enhance your grilling experience

Following repeated requests from a number of our customers, we are pleased to announce our lines of gourmet grilling rubs and woods!

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Grilling Rubs
Each of our five Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Grill Rubs has been inspired by our friends and family, and uses only the finest ingredients, including sea salt, basil oil, roasted garlic flakes, whole coriander and fennel, and organic Oaxacan coffee.

We have taken generations of grilling expertise and packaged it for you to use at home. Our gourmet grilling rubs take the guesswork out of seasoning, and help expand your repertoire with less time preparing. All of our rubs are designed for seasoning food just 15 minutes before it hits the grill, and the narrow cans, with their wide-open tops, make it easy to liberally season your food in preparation for grilling.

We are offering our rubs as a complete set of five (one each of Za Za Barbecue Rub, our signature Kalamazoo Garlic Rub, Big Shoulders Steak & Chop Rub, Big Boris Pepper Rub, and Motor City BBQ Rub), or as your choice of any three. Either set would make a perfect holiday gift for the grill chef in your life. See our website or call 1-800-868-1699 for more details or to order.

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Grilling and Smoking Woods
Our wide variety of gourmet grilling and smoking woods has been chosen to provide you with a choice in the finest woods available for outdoor cooking.

We offer thirteen varieties of woods in four different product types (chips, chunks, planks and limbs). Choose from traditional grilling and smoking woods such as Mesquite, Hickory, and Maple, or experiment with the amazing flavors of some of our more exotic woods such as Apple, Cabernet, Cherry, Grape Vine, Peach or Pecan.

None of our orchard woods are harvested simply to fuel your grill. Our wood comes primarily from orchard pruning or, less frequently, when orchard land is being repurposed. We offer the highest-quality woods while working to ensure precious resources are not wasted.

Whether you're experienced with grilling woods, trying to expand your grilling techniques or simply looking for the ultimate source for woods for your grill, you can find what you need at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet. All of our woods can be shipped directly to your home by ordering on our website or by calling Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Customer Service at 1-800-868-1699.

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Special Thanksgiving Issue Coming Soon

Our special Thanksgiving Issue will include several recipes for turkey on the grill, as well as alternative recipes for those all "turkeyed-out."

Look for this special edition of HOTG! coming very soon to your inbox!

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Master Grilling

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet's Guide to Perfect Grilling: Steak

This is the first in our series of Guides to Perfect Grilling, and we hope you enjoy it. Although everyone's palate is different, we believe the following guide will help anyone grill a steak that family and friends will swear is the best steak they've ever had.

Step One: Selection
Perhaps the single most important step to grilling the perfect steak is selecting the perfect steak. No matter how masterful your skills at the grill, you can't turn a bad cut of meat into a great steak (of course, you can ruin a great cut of meat, but we'll try to share some tips on how to avoid that).

Select a USDA PRIME, dry-aged steak at least 1 1/4 inch thick. Steak preferences are a matter of individual taste, but…we at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet prefer bone-in cuts, and believe the most flavorful and tender steak you can grill is a well-marbled bone-in rib eye. However, some people prefer a strip steak or a filet. In those instances we recommend a porterhouse steak, which includes both a strip and a filet, divided by the bone. USDA PRIME, dry-aged steaks are available through good butchers and through high-end grocery stores. Allen Brothers, the source trusted by some of the top Chicago steak houses, also sells directly to consumers (www.allenbrothers.com). USDA Choice, the grade just below USDA Prime, is available at most fine grocery stores and can give you a more than acceptable steak.

Step Two: Preparation
To prepare, you will need to season the steaks and let them rise to room temperature. You will also want to get some wood chips ready. The smoke from the wood of orchard fruits adds fantastic flavor to steaks. Soak cherry or apple wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling.

If you have a Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Dual-Fuel grill, we suggest you grill your steaks over chunked hardwood or branches from apple and/or cherry trees (Kalamazoo woods available online). Using natural wood as your grilling fuel, you can ignore the directions regarding wood chips.

About 20 minutes before the grill is ready, rinse the steaks briefly in cold water and dry them with paper towels. Season the steaks with coarse sea salt, cracked pepper and garlic flakes. Or, for a rich and unique flavor, use Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet's Big Shoulders Steak and Chop Rub. Use your hand to rub or press the seasoning into both sides of the steaks, and then let the steaks sit until they have reached room temperature. Steaks should always be at room temperature before grilling.

Preheat the grill to 600°F (or see Pittsburg Style instructions below). About ten minutes before the grill is ready, remove all but a small handful of the wood chips from the water and put them in your grill's smoking tray. If you do not have a smoking tray in your grill, you can purchase one that sits on top of your grilling surface.

Thickness Temperature Time per Side 1" Rare 3 1/2 minutes Medium 4 1/2 minutes Well 6 minutes 1 1/4" Rare 4 minutes Medium 5 minutes Well 6-7 minutes 1 1/2" Rare 4 1/2 minutes Medium 6 minutes Well 7-8 minutes 1 3/4" Rare 5 minutes Medium 7 minutes Well 8-9 minutes Steak Grilling Times

Step Three: Grilling Again, be sure your steaks are at room temperature and your grill is at 600°F. The chart below recommends some standard cooking times. When you are about to put the first steaks on the grill, remove the remaining woodchips from the water and put them in a small pile at the center-back of the grill, directly on the grilling surface. This creates the need for a little extra cleanup, but the burning wood in close proximity to the steaks adds further to the flavor benefits of the woodchips in the smoking tray. Add the steaks to the grill. When cooking steaks to different temperatures, start the steaks that should be more-done first. Add the steaks that are to be less done at the appropriate intervals so that all of the steaks are finished at the same time. Turn the steaks only once at the appropriate interval, and keep the grill hood closed while cooking. Step Four: Resting the Steaks When done, remove the steaks from the grill directly to a platter. Do not cut into the steaks. Cover the platter loosely with a tinfoil "tent" and let the steaks "rest" for one and a half to two minutes before serving. Please note that the steaks will continue to "cook through" as you let them rest. The times on the chart above account for this factor.

Steak Temperature
The steaks should be slightly charred on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. While we have provided times for well-done steaks, we hate to see them cooked that way. It is more difficult to achieve a tender and juicy steak when it is grilled to well done. If you anticipate requests for well done steaks, select thinner cuts for those individuals and thicker cuts for those who like their steaks between medium and rare.

The times and thicknesses above are a guide, but you may find slight differences when working with your grill. The most experienced grill chefs use their sense of touch to determine the temperature or "doneness." In our September issue of the Hot Off the Grill! newsletter we describe how you can learn their technique…

Special Notes for Pittsburg Style Preparation
The best steakhouses know exactly what you mean if you ask for your steak "Pittsburg Style." If you try ordering your steak this way, and they don't know what you mean, you're probably better off changing your order than you are trying to explain it. For those who don't know, a Pittsburg Style steak is charred on the outside and rare to medium-rare on the inside. This requires proper heat and good timing. Follow the cooking times in the table above but with the following variations…

You need two cooking zones on your grill: one at 800°F, and one at 500°F. Start your steak in the 800° zone for one minute, then move it to the 500° zone (without flipping it) for the remaining time of the first side. Do the same for the second side.

Look for more in our series of "Guide to Perfect Grilling" articles in future issues of Hot Off The Grill!

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Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Featured Recipes

For the Grill: Habanero Mustard Venison Chops

This recipe has some real kick to it, perfect for a fall day. Try the same marinade on chicken or even quail. For less spicy palates, substitute 1 teaspoon of fennel seed for the habaneros.

Serves:	4	Habanero Chile
Ingredients:	4 venison rib chops, about 4 ounces each, frenched
	4 tablespoons dried garlic flakes
	2 tablespoons mustard seed
	2 habanero peppers, seeds and stems removed
	1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
	1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
	2-3 handfuls apple or cherry wood chips

• Soak half of the wood chips for one hour.
• Finely chop the habaneros. Mix in a bowl with the garlic flakes, mustard seed, sea salt and pepper.
• Preheat grill to 500°F (prepared for indirect cooking at 500°F).
• Place dry wood chips in the bottom of your grill's smoking tray and then layer the soaked chips on top of the dry chips. Put the smoker tray in the grill about 15 minutes before you will begin grilling the venison, as the grill heats up. If you do not have a smoking tray on your grill, you can make a smoking pouch. Wrap the wood chips (layered dry under wet) in a long, flat foil pouch. Pierce the top of the pouch with a fork to create vent holes. Make a lot of vent holes, piercing the foil pouch all over the top side. Place the foil pouch directly on your grilling surface about 15 minutes before you begin grilling the venison.
• Rinse and thoroughly dry the venison rib chops. Coat generously on all sides with the habanero spice mixture, and let rise to room temperature while the grill warms. Seasoned chops should sit for at least 15 minutes, but not more than 20 minutes.
• Sear chops for one minute on each side directly over the hottest flame. Move chops away from the flame for indirect grilling. For one inch thick chops, grill at 500 degrees over indirect heat for about 4 minutes per side, turning once and keeping the grill hood closed.
• We suggest service with wild rice and steamed fresh green beans.

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For the Martini Bar: Spiked Spiced Cider

This tasty hot spiked cider is a wonderful treat during the autumn months, particularly for those of you in cooler climates. For an interesting variation, substitute pear or cherry cider for apple.

• Pour water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat and toss in the orange spice tea bags. Cover and let steep 5 minutes.
• Remove tea bags and stir in brown sugar, apple cider, rum, and 2 of the cinnamon sticks. Heat just to steaming - do not boil.
• Ladle hot cider into 6 mugs and, for that decadent touch, drop 1/2 teaspoon butter into each.
• Garnish with a cinnamon "swizzle" stick.

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Grill Care

Seasoning Your Grilling Surface

"Seasoning" your grill's cooking surface doesn't (necessarily) mean adding spices to it, it means preparing your grilling surface for cooking. This is particularly important to do prior to using your grill for the first time, but can be done at any time to reseal the surface. If you have previously used your grill, make sure your surface is as clean as possible (follow cleaning instructions) before performing the rest of the seasoning procedure below.

Light your grill and turn all of the burner controls to "High." Heat your grill up to at least 400°F for a minimum of ten minutes, and then turn off the burners.

Using a clean, lint-free rag or cooking brush, spread cooking oil evenly on your grilling surface. Do this 3-4 times, letting the oil soak in in-between applications. After your final application has soaked in, re-light your grill, heat it up to a minimum of 400°F and leave at temperature for at least 10-15 minutes.

This process will seal your stainless steel surface and provide some non-stick properties.

Note: Extreme care must be taken when seasoning your grilling surface. Your surface will remain hot even after you've turned the burners off. Do not spread oil on the surface over an open flame.

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We Want to Hear from You

As we continue our efforts to help our readers maximize the joy and satisfaction of their outdoor grilling and entertaining experience, we would love to know what you think:

• Share with us your favorite grilling recipes or outdoor gourmet entertaining tips
• Provide us with pictures of your grill or grill setting
• Tell us what you like most about your Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet product
• Tell us which product features you would like to see added to or improved on our products
• Let us know if there are any services Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet should offer

Feel free to drop us a line at hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com with your thoughts on any of the above, or just to say hello.

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Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Bringing Gourmet Lifestyles Outdoors Since 1906™
www.KalamazooGourmet.com
1-800-868-1699
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