The Amazing BBQ Man
Spotlight On
Clark Westfield
May 2014
Barbeque
1. Meat that has been barbequed or grilled in a highly seasoned sauce.
2. A cookout in which food is cooked over an open fire; especially a whole animal carcass roasted on a spit.
3. A rack to hold meat for cooking over hot charcoal usually out of doors.
Man
1. An adult male person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman.
2. A member of the species Homo sapiens or all the members of this species collectively, without regard to sex: prehistoric man.
3. The human individual as representing the species, without reference to sex; the human race; humankind: Man hopes for peace, but prepares for war.
4. A human being; person: to give a man a chance; When the audience smelled the smoke, it was every man for himself.
5. A husband.
The holy merger of man and meat is the real stuff of super heroes. Forget the X-Men, the Man of Steel and the Avengers. In New Jersey we have Tong Man, the Rotisserie League and Dr. Propane. As the summer season approaches, you can literally hear the sounds of grills being scraped, tanks being filled and meat being marinated (OK, you really can’t hear that but you know it’s happening). From the mountains of Vernon to the backyards of Vineland, along the Shore and the Delaware River, men are preparing to venture into battle with steaks, chops and seafood in an everyday skirmish to prepare the perfect meal for family and friends. And make no mistake about it – these are serious men – men with doctorates in physics and French literature, financial whiz kids and esteemed clergymen. There is honor in creating a masterpiece of meat with a charred outside and pink inside. The barbeque sauce on that chicken breast must be mixed with the precision of a master chemist. It’s Walter White without the illegal chemicals, Dr. Frankenstein without the lightening and Jonas Salk sans test tubes. In other words, we mean business.
And business it is. Sales of grills, large and small, simple and technologically advanced are at an all time high. There are mega-retail outlets like Lowes and Home Depot that contain rows and rows of state-of-the-art grills, as well as mom and pop hardware stores that sell compact backyard and patio grills that get sprayed with charcoal lighter fluid, old school. Believe it or not there are new grills that talk to you. You program the settings and it texts you when the meal is done. It’s just a matter of time before the meat has a page on Facebook and tweets pictures of itself on Instagram. Whatever your preference men, get out there and do it. Baste, Marinate and grill baby, grill. The men, women and children of New Jersey are depending on you.
More to Come…CW
More to Come…CW