Weekly Roundup: BBQ Edition

Another great week here in Western NY! Where else can you go that it snows on Monday and it's 80 degrees on Wednesday?

Obviously, I'm exaggerating slightly - we didn't get a ton of snow on Monday, but in May flurries or 6" seem one in the same!


Have you been following us on Facebook? If not, clickie that linkie and 'like' us so you don't miss all the fun! We're trying something new around here - each week we're going to focus on a new theme and then we're going to do a weekly roundup of posts for you on the blog!

This past week was BBQ week - in celebration of BBQ month! We posted some recipes, links to cool BBQ tools that we sell here at Make Your Own, and some tips and tricks for grilling!

BBQ Tools that are available at Make Your Own:

Stainless Steel BBQ Skewers


Marinade Injector

 

Marinade Injector Kit





 

We also have several marinades to choose from along with a wide variety of seasonings and spices.

 

Some of the recipes we featured:

 

Making Beer Can Chicken

 

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

 

Grilled Corn on the Cob

 

You can find more recipes on our Pinterest May is BBQ Month board!

 

We started this BBQ week with some Fun Facts about BBQ! Check it out!

 

What have you BBQ'd lately? Do you have a fun, unique recipe? Share it with us!

 

Be sure to follow us on Facebook because next week is Beer week! What ties in better with BBQ? We'll be posting information on making your own beer, recipes for craft beers and also, cooking with beer! Don't miss out!

 

 

Hobbies and Holidays

It's hard to believe that Independence Day is almost upon us! Where has the time gone? Soon we'll be talking about Fall and making fruit wines. But let's try to stick to the present rather than worrying about the future.

Will you be participating in the American tradition of grilling this 4th of July?  As of right now, the weather in Western New York is looking a little iffy, but we won't let that stop us.

Now seems to be the perfect time to explore a new hobby, doesn't it? Grilling food is a favorite pastime of Americans, but why not try smoking your meat this summer? I discovered this flavorful spin on grilling a couple of years ago and now, our grill sits in the corner of our garage collecting dust.

There's a popular show on TLC called BBQ Pitmasters that I watch faithfully in the summer months. People all over the United States get together and compete for the grand title and a big cash prize, but that's not why I watch. I watch for the amazing recipes and techniques these people use in smoking.

I think we've smoked just about every cut of meat available in the past two years and each one has turned out amazing with a unique flavor. It can take time to get used to cooking 'low and slow' as the BBQ'ers call it, but the combinations of flavors you can create is just about endless.

One thing we've tried new this year is injecting our meat before smoking it. Holy crow! What a great way to add flavor and tenderness to the meat! We have a great marinade injecting kit available here. I bought this to get us started with injecting and it's worked out great!

If you want to get your toes wet before going out to buy a smoker, you can try the smoker bag, which can be found here. It's a portable and easy way to try out some smoked foods.

We also have cedar grilling planks that work great on the grill and give you a hint of wood flavor. They can be found here.

Do you make your own sausage? If you do, did you know that you can smoke it? It turns out delicious! We have a variety of sausage kits here as well.

There is some great information on BBQ and Grilling here.

Whatever the occasion, we hope you find reason to enjoy the great hobby of grilling and smoking. Stop by and we'll get you going in the right direction! What's on your menu for the 4th of July? Share in the comments below!

Happy 4th of July!!

 

You can now follow us on Pinterest. Check out our boards for great recipes and DIY ideas!