Ok, I’m 3 for 3 when it comes to recipes from the new cookbook, Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes. I hope Jim doesn’t mind me posting another of his recipes but this one I used on some tuna turned out great. I highly recommend you check out his cookbook but don’t take my word for it.

I was thumbing through the July issue of Bon Appetit and what do I find on page 32? A great review of Jim’s new cookbook. Here’s what they say,

 “ We love the dogged focus, the obsession with flavor, and the sheer exhaustive nature of this barbecue book. Marinades, Rubs Brines, Cures & Glazes: 400 Recipes for Poultry, Meat, Seafood, and Vegetables by barbecue wonk Jim Tarantino delves deep into the science and practice of imbuing as much flavor as humanly possible into grilled food. And we’re not talking regional American “cue alone. He hits the Caribbean, North Africa, Asia, and every other corner of the glove in the recipes. This guy’s deep – mops, sops, gastriques, sugar substitutes, and flavor amplifiers with a thoroughness and enthusiasm rarely seen in a barbecue books.”

Buying and Grilling “Previously Frozen” Tuna

Normally, I wouldn’t do anything to fresh, never frozen tuna but sear the outside of it and serve it up with maybe a little wasabi & soy based sauce but this was different. I was checking out a brand new supermarket in the area and they had some “previously frozen” tuna on sale for around $8.95 per pound. It looked good and they were selling it off a big chunk of fish, not as individual tuna steaks.

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Now that I have this new Weber charcoal grill and the weather has been so nice, I am trying to learn how to cook all my favorite meats all over again. For years I only used a gas grill because I couldn’t be bothered with getting my hands dirty from real charcoal, starting a fire, waiting for the coals to get hot, deal with smoke in the eyes, etc, etc, etc.

What a mistake! There is no comparison. Sure I still heat up some dogs for the girls on the gas grill or when I’m in a hurry throw on some chicken breasts but charcoal seems so much superior in control and flavor.  More on this another time but let me tell you about the delicious skirt steaks I grilled up last night.

My cooking buddy Robert brought me two skirt steaks for my birthday from the Ardmore Farmers Market that he visits every Saturday morning. I stuck them in the garage fridge and forgot all about them until yesterday morning. When I was looking for something to serve the kids, I came across them and realized I needed to cook them that day.

I immediately reached for my newest, favorite cookbook, Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes written by my friend Jim Tarantino for a marinade recipe. I am new to this type of grilling so I picked one of his easiest marinade recipes for beef that turned out to be incredible.

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Last night I had an impromptu dinner at my friend, Barbecue Bob’s house, where he was grilling up some chicken and hot dogs for the kids. He grills on a Weber Kettle Grill and uses 100% lump hard wood charcoal and you can really tell the difference. I will get into this whole gas versus charcoal discussion another time.

What I wanted to mention is how great his barbecue sauce tasted. When asked, he told me he makes his own following an adapted version of William Sonoma’s barbecue sauce. He makes up a batch and it keeps in the refrigerator for the week.

His chicken took 30 minutes to cook and was delicious. Here is his adapted barbecue sauce:

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