Happy Holidays from all of us at BBQ Repair Doctor! We will be happy to do all of your BBQ grill repairs, cleaning, and maintenance in the new year!

Outdoor kitchens are becoming all the rage these days making family barbecues easier than ever! Cooking on the grill is an excellent way to entertain company or just feed the family without heating up the kitchen or making a mess of that fact. Running back and forth from the kitchen to the patio gets old. These days grilling is easier and more enjoyable by putting together an outdoor kitchen. Even the simplest of setups can make outdoor cooking more efficient.  The fanciest ones mean you will not have to go back inside until all your guests leave because everything is right at your fingertips! Charcoal was great in the beginning, but the gas grill took over because of its convenience. Today’s most advanced BBQ grills have side burners, storage space and work areas built right in. Everything is incorporated to your outside patio and entertaining is no longer a chore to prepare.

Installing an outdoor kitchen may be just the thing for you if you have frequent cookouts and everyone is intrigued with your barbecue skills. Maybe you grill in large amounts and need more of an easier way to do this. An outdoor kitchen also could be just for you if you have an unused patio or deck.  If you want to move past the burgers and dogs and experiment with some savvy dishes an outdoor kitchen may be perfect for you. Also if you’re tired of the outrageous electric bills due to your heating up the kitchen and your air conditioner working overtime.  If any of these suggestions resonate with you, it’s probably time to do some outdoor kitchen shopping.

An outdoor kitchen can be as small or elaborate as you want with the grill being the centerpiece. The most common grills come with wheels that you can take with you when you move and come in a wide variety of sizes, features, and price.  These are also fun to take to the beach as well.  If you are planning to incorporate the kitchen as a permanent part of your home, select a built in grill that will drop into space on a cabinet with countertops that are integrated on the site. This is much like your kitchen inside. Some of the accessories you will need are baskets for grilling fish, vegetables or hush puppies, a griddle, tongs and a reliable meat thermometer.  Side burners are included in most grills today, but a camping stove can get the job done.  Make sure your work space is sanitized for food preparation. There are a variety of lights for your outdoor kitchen, but a direct light is best for the work area.

Clip ons are available to clip directly onto your grill so you can get your meat perfect in the center! Another consideration is a patio heater or fire pit if you are going to use the space year round in chilly environments.  Insects can ruin the most elegant and well-planned parties so never forget to have repellents conducive to your location.  If bugs were not enough, smoke in your guest eyes is not comfortable so don’t forget the exhaust hood.  Other important things to remember is having enough electrical outlets, a refrigerator, sink and warming drawers to keep food heated till time to serve.  An ice machine is also convenient (no ugly, bulky coolers) and of course the wine storage.  Don’t forget the corkscrew!

Winter is over, spring has sprung, and summer is on its way. It’s the perfect time to take the cover off of the barbecue grill and get grilling. BBQ food is the perfect start to a great summer. As the smells of neighborhood grills begin wafting down the streets of towns all across America, there is a theme that permeates the breeze. Summer is here; itís time for fun in the sun.

There is nothing that takes me back to my childhood quite like BBQ food. The smells, the flavors, and most importantly, the feeling of quality time spent with family and the knowledge that we are building memories for our children to someday share with their children. If you think about it, you can have BBQ food of some sort, almost any night of the week. As long as you are willing to use your grill, which has the benefit of keeping the heat of cooking on the outside of your home.

Here are some great grilling ideas that will enable you to have BBQ food almost anytime you want.

1. Veggies taste better when cooked on a grill. You can also have fun mixing flavors and seasonings. Kraft had a great idea of butter mix-ins for vegetables, I also like to marinate mine in Italian dressing and grill them in foil packets.
2. Almost any meat you can purchase will taste better cooked on a grill. I even enjoy smoked sausage cooked on a grill with BBQ sauce.
3. Make it a great night by allowing family members to make their own shish kabobs.
4. Have theme nights for your BBQ food, you can do Italian BBQ, Mexican BBQ, Caribbean, be creative and have fun.

The real beauty of BBQ food is that it is an excuse we use to build lasting memories of good times with family and friends. There is no reason we canít make meal times special each and every day, not just during the summer months.

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The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first recorded use of the word in the English language in 1697 by the British buccaneer William Dampier. While the standard modern English spelling of the word is barbecue, local variations like barbeque and truncations such as bar-b-q or bbq may also be found. In the southeastern United States, the word barbecue is used predominantly as a noun referring to roast pork, while in the southwestern states; cuts of beef are often cooked.

Did you know this?

• There is no definitive history about how the word “barbecue” originated – or why it’s sometimes used as a noun, verb, or adjective. Some say the Spaniards get the credit for the word, derived from their “barbacoa” which is an American-Indian word for the framework of green wood on which foods were placed for cooking over hot coals. Others think the French were responsible, offering the explanation that when the Caribbean pirates arrived on our Southern shores, they cooked animals on a spit-like devise that ran from “whiskers to tail” or “de barbe a` queue.”
• Woods commonly selected for their flavor include mesquite, hickory, maple, guava, kiawe , cherry, pecan, apple and oak. Woods to avoid include conifers. These contain resins and tars, which impart undesirable resinous and chemical flavors.
• Barbecues have been a White House tradition since Thomas Jefferson. Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, hosted the first barbecue at the White House that featured Texas-style barbecued ribs.
• The most popular holidays for barbecuing are, in order, July 4th (71 percent), Memorial Day (57 percent), and Labor Day (55 percent). The most popular foods for cooking on the grill are, in order: burgers (85 percent), steak (80 percent), hot dogs (79 percent) and chicken (73 percent).
• May 16th and July 4th are both National Barbecue Day.
• The most popular barbecue utensils are long-handled tongs (77 percent), followed by forks (64 percent), long handled spatulas (59 percent), and then grill cleaning brushes (63 percent).
• Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania patented a design for charcoal briquettes in 1897. After World War I, the Zwoyer Fuel Company built charcoal briquette manufacturing plants in the United States with plants in Buffalo, NY and Fall River, MA.
• Competition barbecuing is one of the hottest hobbies in the country with hundreds of cook-offs held throughout all 50 states. The biggest and most famous are Memphis in May and The American Royal in Kansas City. Both cities stake their claim to being the barbecue capital of the US.

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