Barbecue Secrets

SHOW NOTES In this episode I talk about building an authentic Jamaican-style jerk pit for this year's Brewery and the Beast in Vancouver, where I joined my friends from Johnston's Pork to serve up 14 delicious jerked pork bellies. A the same event, ninja chef Rob Belcham of Campagnolo restaurant outdid himself by spit roasting a whole 250-lb. farmed sturgeon using three whole octopi stuffed with chorizo as basting brushes. At the end of the episode I talk about an experience my wife Kate and I had a Jamaican resort a few years ago. Spoiler alert: contains nudism and vodka.

Here's a link to the recipe I talked about for Greek-Style ribs. 

Hey barbecue fans. I hope you enjoy this edition of the show. Here's a link to the recipes I talk about. Like Barbecue Secrets on Facebook and follow me on twitter. And if you haven't found me yet on iTunes, come here.  Get grillin'! Ronnie 

  I'm back with a new podcast! For some reason unknown to me, in the last couple of weeks the number of Barbecue Secrets listeners has jumped from about 40 to over 600 a day. Not sure what's going on, but I figure if there's that much interest in the show I'd better start producing some new episodes. I hope you like this one, and I'm looking forward to making more. For all you CKNW listeners, here are your recipes for this week. Enjoy! Beach-Friendly Snacks As soon as we get unpacked and set up at a picnic table, we like to put out an array of simple but delish appetizers. Obvious choices are a nice variety of stinky cheeses, cold cuts, pate and crackers, olives, fresh pita and hummus, sliced long English cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled herring and so on.  Grilled Fresh Smelt This works best with smelt that have just been caught, but you could thaw frozen smelt and do the same thing. If you’re squeamish you can gut and behead the fish before grilling but, in my opinion, why do all that fussing and make a m

Welcome to episode 19 of the Barbecue Secrets Podcast. It's the last episode of the season, and it's a doozie! If you're viewing this on the podcast blog, click on the little "pod" icon to the left of the episode title above to listen to the show. Hope you like it! SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 19 It doesn't get much better than this, my friends. This show starts out with an interview with my friend Brian Misko of House of Q, a barbecue champion many times over and maker of a great line of barbecue sauces and rubs. Brian tells some great stories from the barbecue trail and shares some killer techniques. Next up is a return visit from Meathead, the man behind the amazing website www.amazingribs.com. Meathead, who knows the art and science of outdoor cooking like no one else, has some fun busting another barbecue myth. Finally, I get to do a deep dive into the world of Kentucky Barbecue with Wes Berry, author of The Kentucky Barbecue Book. Wes is a university English prof who went on a journey of discovery through

Welcome to episode 18 of the Barbecue Secrets Podcast! Click on the little "pod" icon to the left of the episode title above to listen to the show. You can subscribe to it for free on iTunes here. You can also get a handy Android app to hear the latest show and dive into the back catalogue for only $3.99. Find out how at the end of this post! SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 18 In this episode I sift through the ashes of my team's spotty performance at the Canadian National BBQ Championships in Whistler, B.C. At some point I guess I'm going to have to start referring to myself as a former barbecue champion.  Although they can't ever take all those cheap plastic trophies away from me.  After a bit of post-Whistler soul-searching interspersed with some audio snippets from the contest, it's time to share my conversation with the Godfather of Zin, Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenswood Winery and California wine legend. Joel and I have done a couple of wine/food events together and he is one of the best storytellers I've e

Welcome to episode 17 of the Barbecue Secrets Podcast! Click on the icon to the left of the episode title above to listen to the show. You can subscribe to it for free on iTunes here. You can also get a handy Android app to hear the latest show and dive into the back catalogue for only $3.99. You'll need the free Amazon Appstore app, which you can get by visiting this link on your Android phone. From the Amazon Appstore, search for Barbecue Secrets, pay using your Amazon account, and you're good to go! SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 17 This show features a conversation with another barbecue icon, the wonderful, wise and funny Karen Adler, who has written some fabulous cookbooks, many of them in collaboration with her friend and fellow Barbecue Queen Judith Fertig. Their latest is The Gardener and the Grill: The Bounty of the Garden Meets the Sizzle of the Grill.  In the show I asked Karen to name some of her favorite cookbooks. She recommends: Michael Chiarella's Live Fire America's Best BBQ Homestyle: What the

Welcome to episode 16 of Barbecue Secrets! Click here to listen to the show, or subscribe to it on iTunes here. SHOW NOTES In the first segment I talk about brisket. Here's a link to my brisket recipe (along with a bonus lamb dish). The second segment of the show features highlights of my trip to Central Texas a few years ago that includes behind-the-scenes visits to Smitty's Market and Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que in Lockhart, Texas and Southside Market in nearby Elgin. I made a short YouTube video about my adventure that you can watch here.  I saved the best for last. Legendary pitmaster Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. Find Chris on Twitter @chrislillybbq, follow him on Facebook and buy his Big Bob Gibson BBQ Book. It's one of the best you'll ever see, full of great tips, stories and recipes.  I'd love to hear from you -- write me at rockinronnie at ronshewchuk.com, tweet me @rockinronnie, or post something on the Barbecue Secrets Facebook page. You can listen to this episode by cli

Hey barbecue fans, welcome to edition #15 of the show!  I'd love to hear from you -- write me at rockinronnie at ronshewchuk.com, tweet me @rockinronnie, or post something on the Barbecue Secrets Facebook page. You can listen to this episode by clicking on the icon next to the title of this blog post, but one of the easiest and best ways to listen to the show is to subscribe to it through the iTunes store. The latest show will automatically download to your Mac, PC or iPhone. It's convenient, and it's free. Find Barbecue Secrets on iTunes here.  SHOW NOTES This week's show features a call with Peter Kapler, Executive Director of Meal Exchange, to find out about Canada's National BBQ Day, plus interviews with two old friends, Gary Johnstone of Johnstone's Barbecues and Parts and Denzel Sandberg, my partner-in-sauce and owner of Denzel's Gourmet Foods.  RECIPES OF THE WEEK - Planked Salmon Two Ways MORE LINKS Here's the official announcement of our new Canadian Maple flavour of Ronnie & Denzel's NATURAL

Hey barbecue fans, welcome to the latest edition of the podcast! You can listen to this episode by clicking on the icon next to the title of this blog post, but one of the easiest and best ways to listen to the show is to subscribe to it through the iTunes store. The latest show will automatically download to your Mac, PC or iPhone. It's convenient, and it's free. Find Barbecue Secrets on iTunes here.  SHOW NOTES This week's show features talks with two legendary figures -- guitarist and blues icon Amos Garrett and fishmonger extraordinare Kosta Zogaris.  Please write me at ron@ronshewchuk.com with any questions or comments. I'd love to here from you! RECIPE OF THE WEEK Kosta’s Grilled Halibut Prepare your grill for direct medium heat. Make sure to scrape the grill before you put the halibut on.  A nice piece of boneless, skinless halibut Kosher salt or sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Olive oil Dried oregano leaves Lemon Season the halibut with salt and pepper and drizzle a little oil on each side. Just

Before I get into this week's podcast, I want to make sure you know about one of the best ways to listen to the show. Subscribe to it through the iTunes store and it will automatically download to your Mac, PC or iPhone. It's convenient, and it's free. Find Barbecue Secrets on iTunes here.  SHOW NOTES This week's show is a doozy. I have a long, boozy, smoky talk with Eric Lorenz of Lorenz Agave Spirits, along with another busted barbecue myth from Meathead Goldwyn of amazingribs.com.  Please write me at ron@ronshewchuk.com with any questions or comments. I'd love to here from you! RECIPE OF THE WEEK Oaxacan Daisy (Courtesy of Eric Lorenz) 1.5 oz Sombra Mezcal 1 oz. Cointreau .75 oz. Meyer Lemon juice Shake in iced cocktail shaker, then strain into coupe glass. Garnish with Meyer Lemon peel. Super easy but surprisingly delicious! BOOK OF THE WEEK This week I want to pay tribute to uberchef Rick Bayless for helping bring the flavours of Mexico to the North American home kitchen. Get his book, Mexican Everyday.

When I launched this podcast back in 2006, I had some superb guests. I thought it would be fun to re-connect with some of them and find out how they've been up to. It was great fun to get caught up with Jackie Weight, the first and only non-American, and the first woman, to win the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue, way back in 2004. Jackie recounts the story of the contest that changed her life and talks about the evolution of Southern-Style Barbecue in the UK. I also touched based with Meathead Goldwyn, the founder of amazingribs.com. When I first talked with Meathead he had just launched the site, which has grown over the years to become the most popular barbecue destination on the internet. Meathead is a true barbecue geek. Maybe he's the king of all barbecue geeks. Obsessed with the science of outdoor cooking, he's assumed the role of a kind of barbecue iconoclast -- think of a cross between Alton Brown and Discovery Channel's Mythbusters. He's sharp, he's funny, and he's opiniona

I'm BAAAACK! After a multi-year hiatus, the Barbecue Secrets Podast returns, better than ever. In this episode I connect with tech and barbecue geek Richard Campbell, who shares his recipe for Spanish-style Paella on the Grill and recounts his experience of regional barbecue in Romania, and I have an in-depth conversation with one of the leading lights in Canadian barbecue, Angie Quaale.  Here's a link to more about Richard, and here's the recipe for Paella on the Grill.  Here's more about Angie Quaale. If you'd like to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, click here.  You can buy my book, Barbecue Secrets DELUXE!, as an e-book or an old-school paper book in Canada at Indigo, and elsewhere on the net at places like amazon.com. One last thing -- send me your questions, comments and suggestions to rockinronnie@ronshewchuk.com, or post them on the Barbecue Secrets Facebook page and I'll respond in future editions of this podcast.  Hope you like it! Ronnie   One more thin

On August 11th I had a great time on the Christy Clark Show. In this episode I serve Christy the first-place winner in the Backyard Burger event of this year's Canadian National BBQ Championships in Whistler, B.C., my Beef Burger With Chile Butter Core. I also answer a bunch of great listener questions.

My friends Gary Johnstone of Johnstone's BBQs and Parts and Angie Quaale, organizer of BBQ on the Bypass, join me on a season-opening barbecue panel talking about outdoor cooking with broadcasting icon Terry David Mulligan, on his food and wine show, The Tasting Room.

Had a nice visit with Vancouver CKNW radio talk show host Christy Clarke and had a chance to take some great listener questions.

Here's the third installment of my interview with communications guru Steve Crescenzo.

Here's part two of my interview with old pal Steve Crescenzo (seen pictured on the right, with me and team mate Tom Masterson at the Nationals in Whistler in 2004). In this episode, entitled: Are You a Chicken or a Pork Butt, I get to the main courses of my barbecue-as-a-metaphor-for-communication theory.

In addition to my life as a barbecue fanatic, I am also a communication consultant. I have been working for years trying to find a way to put these two parts of my life together in perfect balance, and I'm coming close. This interview with me, in a recent podcast by my friend, communication guru Steve Crescenzo, has me talking about what barbecue can teach us about how to improve communication in the workplace. It's the first of three segments. Hope you enjoy it!

I recently had the pleasure of being part of a barbecue panel on Terry David Mulligan's new radio show, The Tasting Room, along with my fellow barbecue competitors Adam Protter (www.bigsmoke.ca) and Justin Kyllo (www.smokeandbones.ca). I've turned our segment into an episode of the Barbecue Secrets podcast.