From gas to pellet, from electric and to charcoal options to new commonplace appliances from the likes of Blackstone and Traeger, it is hard to know where to start with barbecuing when the weather heats up.
When it comes to knowing how to fire up a “barby” and get creative, we connect with Sudbury’s Chris Mask, who recently returned from a barbecue competition with the Canadian Angus Association.
The event is for farmers and their families, and is tied to the yearly National Beef Conference.
Mask, along with a team of two others, brought three creative concoctions to the competition with the goal of using as much of the meat as possible.
“We are set up with a producer,” Mask said. “We were paired with a family farm going back six generations. They provided us with 50 pounds of fantastic meat from rib eye to sirloin cuts.”
The team, consisting of fellow paramedic Joseph Poirier and Brad Cauthers, a teacher in London, came up with an interesting concept to wow the local farmers and the judges.
“We went with the idea that Canadian beef should not be exclusive to Canada and it needs to be celebrated internationally with the three markets we are currently moving towards: South America, Asia and the United States,” Mask said.
Using Facebook Messenger to communicate, the far-flung team settled on a menu that was indeed out there.
The team concocted fusion dishes to highlight the Asian and North and South American flavours. They created a Vietnamese-inspired banh mi sandwich using bao, or steamed buns, with a layer of kimchi and beef liver pate. They also made a naan bread with bone marrow hummus and steak as the second feature. And finally, they capped off the trio of dishes with spears of New York strip, featuring beef bacon wrapped asparagus with a Kentucky black barbecue sauce.
While they came second in the People’s Choice category and have been invited back next year, the three judges weren’t all on the same page.
“Two of the judges came back for seconds and thirds, but the third judge hated our creativity, which dropped us in the judged competition,” Mask said.
The silver lining is that they left a good impression, were noted for pushing boundaries and have been invited back for next year’s competition.
“We were the smallest and youngest team there. I guess you can say we left an impression considering 30 teams applied to be there and only five get picked,” Mask said.
Mask is no stranger to pushing boundaries when it comes to food.
He’s appeared on MasterChef Canada and won the battle of Wall of Chefs in 2020. He was also commissioned to make YouTube cooking videos for the Greater Sudbury Public Library while people were home and cooking during lockdown.
Mask’s love of barbecue competitions runs deep in his veins having competed in food sport competitions for the last seven years.
This the first barbecue competition of the summer with two more to plan for in the coming months.
When it comes to what is used on Mask’s back deck, he admits he is all about charcoal and wood barbecues.
“Each variety of wood produces a different flavour in your meat,” he said. “Cherrywoods will make your cut more red.”
This season he hopes to continue blending flavours from different cultures using chuck meat as well as tiki-style beef combinations.
Mask will also be catering a fundraiser for the Timmins and District Hospital Foundation in August and he’ll be at the Ontario Maple Syrup producer event next month in Noelville.
We asked Mask to share a backyard barbecue recipe that goes with his trend of incorporating unique flavours from international pantries for readers.
Here’s his tropical spin on a Texas-style burger with elements of Jamaican Jerk and a pineapple relish.
Jerk Spice
- 1 TBSP powdered ginger
- 1 TBSP dried thyme
- 1 TBSP all-spice
- 1/2 TBSP nutmeg
- 1/2 TBSP cinnamon
- 1 1/2 TBSP garlic powder
- 1 1/2 TBSP onion powder
- 2 TBSP dried green onion or chives
- 1 TBSP scotch bonnet pepper (or what ever you have to add some heat)
- 1 TBSP paprika
- 1/2 TSP white pepper
- 2 TBSP dark brown sugar
- 1 bouillon cube (vegetable or beef)
Combine all ingredients into a food processor or coffee grinder and blend until you get a fine powder.
You can substitute the dry ingredients like garlic, ginger and onion for fresh, you just will make a paste vs a seasoning spice blend.
Jerk BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 C ketchup
- 1/2 C brown sugar (dark)
- 2 TBSP jerk spice blend
- 2 TBSP rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 TBSP dark cola
- 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBSP Lemon juice (fresh)
- 1 TBSP soy sauce
- 1/2 TSP cayenne pepper
- 1/2 TSP white pepper
Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer. Be very careful of your heat or you will burn the sugars. Reduce it until it achieves a desired thickness. This will keep for a few weeks in a sealed mason jar.
Pineapple Relish
- 1 pineapple (fresh, peeled and cut into thick spears)
- 1/4 C brown sugar (dark)
- 1 TSP jerk spice blend
- 1 small yellow onion (finely diced)
- 1/2 red bell pepper (finely diced)
- 1/2 orange bell pepper (finely diced)
- 1 TBSP cilantro (fresh and chopped)
- 1 TBSP parsley (fresh and chopped)
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 dash hot sauce (or cayenne pepper) for heat
Sprinkle brown sugar over pineapple spears. Lightly season with your jerk seasoning and let sit for 15 minutes.
Grill over medium heat until the sugars caramelize and spears look golden brown. Some charring is ok on these.
Remove the pineapple from the grill and chop into chunks. Place grilled pineapple into a bowl.
Add the raw onion, peppers, cilantro, parsley, and season with sea salt, black pepper, and a dash of whatever you are using for heat.
Stir to combine and refrigerate until ready to serve. This will keep for a couple weeks in a sealed mason jar.
Burgers
Grinding your own meat allows you to really control the fat content. If this is an option for you, this truly will elevate your burger game. Try for either an 80/20 mix to a 70/30 mix of lean meat to fat. Your fat can come from beef fat trimmings or bacon (or chorizo). No need for using egg or breadcrumbs as binders … you are making a burger, not a meatball.
Chop two pounds of chuck/blade roast into a manageable size for your meat grinder.
Coarse grind and add in your fat. Try not to over process the ground meat.
Shape into patties and season the exterior.
Let sit in a refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
Grill your burgers to medium rare 145F if you so choose, but keep in mind food safety guidelines recommend an internal temperature of 160F (if you are making poultry burgers it is recommended an internal temperature of 165F)
Assemble with a toasted bun, burger patty, BBQ Sauce, pineapple relish and consider fresh jalapeno slices plus some pickled red onions.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
