Full kettle of barbecue recipes

The Baltimore Sun

Mastering the Grill

By Andrew Schloss and David Joachim

Extreme Barbecue

Smokin' Rigs and Real Good Recipes

By Dan Huntley and Lisa Grace Lednicer

Chronicle Books / 2007 / $18.95

What's better than good food? A good story. This book tells the story of barbecue fanatics around the country - folks like Mike Shugart of South Carolina, who built a contraption that resembles a furnace to cook Boston butt, and Maximino Rios of Charlotte, N.C., who cooks goat meat over heated stones in his backyard the way the ancient Mayans did. And then there are Randy Campbell and Bob Fowler, a couple of Midwesterners who grill chicken and burgers on the scoop of a front-end loader, and Mark Doxtader of Oregon, who makes a pita-bread recipe in a handcrafted kiln.

Their stories and photos make for entertaining reading. And while the book contains nearly 100 recipes, the emphasis is on the fire, not the food. Not surprising, because the subjects of this book are such devoted grillers, their means and methods are not easily duplicated.

But some of the recipes have been adapted for stoves and everyday grills and smokers. Campbell and Fowler's blue-cheese burger recipe, for example, works as successfully on a charcoal grill as it does on the scoop of a front-end loader.

liz.atwood@baltsun.com

Roasted Onions With Gorgonzola Crumble

Makes 4 servings

8 cipolline onions, about 3 ounces each

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided use)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 ounce gorgonzola cheese

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

oil for coating grill grate

Heat the grill. (Gas: use direct heat, medium; charcoal and wood: direct heat, medium ash.)

Trim the ends from the onions and peel. Coat with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Crumble the gorgonzola with your fingers into a small bowl. Toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the parsley, the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

Brush the grill grate and coat it with oil. Put the onions on the grill. Cover and cook until the onions are charred in spots and tender, but not soft, about 18 minutes, turning halfway through. If your grill has a temperature gauge, it should stay at around 375 degrees.

Put the grilled onions in a serving bowl and scatter the gorgonzola mixture over the top. Serve.

From "Mastering the Grill"

Per serving: 156 calories, 4 grams protein, 9 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 17 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 6 milligrams cholesterol, 225 milligrams sodium

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