Books for Cooks
Barbara Burke
"Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue"
By Paul Kirk (Harvard Common Press, 2004, $18.95, paperback)
Barbecue champion
shares his secrets"I know I'm good. And I think I can help you get really good at making great barbecue," boasts Paul Kirk, hailed as the "Baron of Barbecue."
It's not idle talk. Kirk has won more than 400 barbecue awards, including seven world championships and the championship of the American Royal Open, reportedly the world's largest barbecue contest.
So whether you want to sharpen your skills to enter a local cook-off, or simply wow family and friends in your back yard, Kirk offers the secrets of the grill in his new cookbook, "Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue." His recipes for marinades, mops, sops, bastes, mustard slathers, seasonings, sauces and rubs provide dozens of flavor options for your favorite grilling foods.
The cookbook offers 575 recipes with chapters focusing on pork, beef, lamb, sausage, poultry, fish and side dishes. Some "local-style" recipes include Grilled Luau Lamb Ribs with Pineapple-Soy Marinade, Portuguese Chourico sausage, Hawaiian Smoked Turkey with Sherried Soy Marinade, Thai-style Burgers, Szechuan Ginger Tuna and Summer Macaroni Salad.
It's a plain, folksy book with plenty of tips, timetables and how-to's. Recipe directions are easy to understand. The few photographs are mostly of people rather than food, but that's the nature of barbecue. It's not just a meal, it's an experience.
Butterfly or cut pork butt in half and cut into strips 1-1/2 inches wide and about 10 inches long. Trim excess fat as you go and place pork in a 1- or 2-gallon zippered-top plastic bag.Grilled Chinese Pork (Char Siu)
One 4- to 6-pound boneless Boston pork butt, trimmed of excess fat
>> Marinade:
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup clover honey
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons gin or rum
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring paste
Dipping sauce, such as plum sauceCombine remaining ingredients in a medium nonreactive bowl and blend well. Pour marinade evenly over pork strips, seal bag, shake to coat strips, and let marinate at least 4 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
When ready to cook, prepare a medium-hot fire in your grill.
Remove pork from marinade. Transfer remaining marinade to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; let simmer 5 minutes, then set aside.
Place pork strips directly over coals, cover and grill 30 minutes. Turn strips, baste with reserved marinade, cover and grill 30 minutes longer. Baste, turn and cook 30 minutes longer, until just cooked through and still moist.
Slice and serve, hot or cold, with dipping sauce. Serves 12.
Approximate nutritional information per serving (without dipping sauce, using a 4-pound pork butt): 340 calories, 22 g total fat, 8 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, mg 950 sodium, 26 protein, 9 g carbohydrate.
Rating Scale: Best in its class /
Barbara Burke is a Hawaii-Pacific University instructor who teaches and writes about food and nutrition. Contact her at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail her at: features@starbulletin.com
