Barbecue University - Season 2

13 episodes

Episodes

1. High on Hog

The professor goes whole hog with a curriculum running from Bratwurst with Grilled Bell Peppers to an 18-pound Cuban Christmas Eve Ham called lechon asado, which emerges from the grill after 8 hours of slow cooking a beautifully burnished golden brown. He also demonstrates a classic Tuscan take on one of America's favorite parts of the pig: a spit-roasted Rosemary Grilled Pork Loin.

2. World of Steak

The professor takes viewers on an around-the-world tour of ways to cook steak. He begins with a Cuban recipe for thin steaks grilled with adobo, a garlic-lime marinade; next, from Mexico, a fiery recipe for Steak from Hell which features a fire-roasted salsa served over a perfectly grilled T-bone. And, finally, on to Viet Nam where grilled strips of sirloin are served in with fresh herbs and a spicy sauce in lettuce bundles.

3. BBQ from Soup to Nuts

Ever think you could cook a dinner from soup to nuts right on the grill? Steven demonstrates a whole meal cooked right there on a pair of Weber grills. He starts with a wonderfully smoky grilled corn chowder, follows with Goat Cheese Grilled in Grape Leaves, fires up a colorful Brazilian Stuffed Rib Roast and caps it off with Coco Loco Brulee - a coconut- and rum-flavored crme brulee cooked right on the grill!

4. Go Fish

Steven showcases seafood recipes from the around the globe. He starts with planked salmon, a slow-roasted salmon recipe popular in the Pacific Northwest; he then grills prawns with a spicy, yogurt-based Tandoori marinade. He follows with a coconut milk-based recipe for tuna steaks he learned in Brazil with a French-inspired sauce vierge (think salsa verde) over thick and juicy grilled swordfish steaks.

5. Where There's Smoke

Where there's smoke, there's flavor. And to many pitmasters smoking is the only thing they consider "true barbecue." In this master class, Steven covers the slight differences between smoking in a smoker, a kettle and a gas grill; the differences between chunks and chips as fuel; and the effect the variety of wood smoldering away in your grill has on the flavor of the finished dish. He demonstrates a range of recipes, from simple Smoked Brats to Memphis-style Pork Ribs, the epitome of barbecue to much of the country east of the Mississippi.

6. Grateful Bread

Grilled Pizza? Of course - everything goes on the grill at BBQU®! Grilled Pizza and four other recipes make up this lesson about bread and barbecue. GrillCam offers viewers a unique look at a grilled bread recipe - Naan, the delicious hand-stretched Indian specialty. The professor also includes three recipes perfect for weeknights or parties, including quesadillas, real bruschetta and Spanish pan con tomate.

7. Stuck on Skewers

Who knows why there's such a universal appeal to food cooked on skewers? Whatever the reasons, today's class offers ammo for the argument that skewered dishes just taste great. Steven demonstrates six recipes that use a variety of skewering techniques (toothpicks, double-skewers, sugarcanes) and talks about the wide array of skewers and kebabs available on the market today. Highlights include sweet and salty bacon grilled prunes, authentic shish kebab and an elegant recipe for grilled quail from Greece.

8. Fire Birds

Last year, Steven demonstrated Beer Can Chicken, certainly one of the most legendary recipes he's ever written. This year's all-poultry show starts with Iced Tea Chicken, a non-alcoholic version of that famous recipe that's infused with a sweet Southern flavor all its own. Silver Paper Chicken is a healthy update of a fried dim sum dish, made with five-spice marinated chicken breasts grilled in aluminum foil shu mai. And the professor shows off a pair of dishes he learned trekking the world's barbecue trail, Piri-Piri Chicken from Portugal and Grilled Game Hens with a marinade he learned from a grill master in Afghanistan.

9. Vegging Out

Man cannot survive by meat alone! In this episode the professor cooks a few of his favorite vegetarian dishes for the grill, including heart-friendly options like Tofu on Stilts and Robatataki (a mixed vegetable grill) that both come from the Japanese's rich yakitori grilling tradition. And even committed carnivores would have a hard time passing up delectably crisp Grilled Artichokes, basted with garlic-parsley butter during a long, slow roast on the grill. As Steven likes to say, "If you had trouble eating your vegetables as a kid, it's probably because they weren't grilled."

10. A Little Lamb

Two of the professor's recipes in this all lamb lesson play off the classic Turkish combination of lamb and eggplant - one where luxurious racks of lamb that get the royal treatment in a recipe Steven learned at the opulent Ciragan Palace Hotel. The second, Lamb and Eggplant Kebabs, comes from the kebab parlors that line the streets of Istanbul. He shows off spicy Australian-style lamb steaks, good enough to convert any committed beef eater, and caps it all off with a certified party showstopper, rotisseried whole leg of lamb.

11. What's Your Beef?

In this episode he shares a number of different recipes from places around the world where beef is the pitmaster's meat of choice: the Uruguayan rolled stuffed flank steak dish called Matambre, meaning "hunger killer"; Espetada, skewered Beef and Bay Leaf Kebabs from the island of Madeira; and a recipe he created that marries Chinese spices and America "dinosaur" ribs. Also, GrillCam provides a never-seen-before view of real Texas brisket cooking, with a time-lapse look at the delicious transformation of beef cooked for 8 hours over a low, slow fire.

12. Party Down

The grill is central to celebrations across the country - but the menus at most American backyard get-togethers need a little updating. Barbecue University¨ to the rescue! Steven lays out the basics for some American regional favorites, including Wisconsin Double Brats and a version of Cheese Steaks on the grill. And for the more adventurous, he demonstrates Bosnian hamburgers, homemade smoked Turkey Pastrami and a stunning adaptation of baked Alaska called Baked Hawaii that you've got to see on GrillCam to believe.

13. The Five Methods of Live Fire Cooking

It's kind of like the one class you have to attend right before finals - Professor Raichlen clearly outlining the five methods of cooking that every barbecued food on the planet falls into. Beyond the educational aspect, this episode features recipes like Stoned Chicken and Peking Duck, both impressive (and easy) dishes that could steal the show at any dinner party. And the camera angles - watching Peking Duck render and crisp on a rotisserie or unpeeled onions and potatoes roast to succulent tenderness in the embers of a kettle grill - make this an episode not to be missed.