Come see Lynnae Oxley before her britches get too big

We've got a great class coming up this Sunday at Smokin' Pete's BBQ. Two of my favorite west coast barbecue people are joining me for a Backyard BBQ & Grilling Class. There still are a few spots open in the afternoon class, by the way, so if you are interested, sign up, why don't ya! It's only $100 for a fun-filled four hours of instruction, including dinner. You won't walk away hungry for food or inspiration, I promise you.

My fellow instructors are far beyond me but I'll enjoy basking in their limelight while humbly talking about rubs, meat prep, and mops. Barry "CB" Martin, aka Chef Barry is an amazing outdoor grillmaster. He's not too shabby cooking indoors either when the wife lets him in, but he's known for his outdoor chops on the barbie. He can grill and talk at the same time, for one, which is hard enough for me to do, but Barry can actually entertain you while grilling, on a TV show in a hurricane, for instance. He's that kind of guy.

Ms. Lynnae Oxley is the pitmaster of Sugar's Barbecue in OR, a competition team with plenty of ribbons and ridiculously large trophies. Seriously, the trophies barbecue comps are huge. They look like some male pre-teen with a lego fantasy designed them. I think there is some sort of formula in which the size of the trophy increases by a factor of 2.0795 to the average gut size of the competitors. But I digress...

Lynnae and I met through the writing of She-Smoke. I asked the president of the PNWBA what women BBQ'ers I should talk to for some of my She's Smokin' side bars, and he immediately said, "You have to talk to Lynnae!" So I tracked her down and did. She tells a great story of her very first Weber kettle that she bought at a garage sale for $10.

Over the years we've met, kept in touch and do the usual of "liking" things each other says on facebook. But beyond that I have a true respect for this woman and what she does. She's a pitmaster for her competition barbecue team and a caterer dedicated to quality barbecue. Her hard work has paid off because she just got filming for the upcoming season of BBQ Pitmasters! I can't wait to see her on the show.

This class might be the last time we get her, seeing as how her britches might be getting mighty big with all that TV fame. For those of you still sitting on the fence, you could say, "I knew her when..."

Coming up next: Barbecue Sauce and 7 Secrets

Two Char-broil posts of mine will be up soon. The first is an easy barbecue sauce you can customize according to your pantry and fridge. The next is 7 secrets of a Barbecue Restaurateur. Yep, I'm giving away all my secrets! Stay tuned for those two posts.

In the meantime, if you haven't signed up for our Grilling & Barbecue Class at Smokin' Pete's BBQ on June 2, do it now! It's a great class to take with a friend, or buy as an early father's day present (or a late mother's day present).You won't find any other class for four hours, three instructors, and lunch for $100. It's going to be a blast. To register click here.

Cinco de Mayo Skirt Steak Adobo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Here's an easy, healthy recipe that is a snap on the grill.

Skirt steak became the darling of the beef world in recent years because of its affordability and full flavor. Not the most tender of cuts because it is so lean, it is important to cook it hot and fast to seal in what juices it has.

Recipe: Cinco de Mayo Skirt Steak Adobo


Adobo PasteEvery family makes their Adobo a little differently. It really can be any spice mixture and oil, sometimes vinegar, to marinate a piece of meat. This paste is made of olive oil, 1 tablespoon each cumin, coriander, and chili powder, plus 1 teaspoon each of dried ground garlic, kosher salt and turmeric.

Step-by-step

1. Generously rub paste all over skirt steak. Let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour to let paste set into the meat.

2. Pre-heat gas grill on high, or make a hot charcoal fire with three layers of charcoal.

3. Once grill is fully hot, place skirt steak in center for about five minutes, then flip for another five minutes, then flip again for 1-2 minutes on each side. I know I often say "flip only once!" but skirt steak and other really hot and fast grilled meats are the exception.

4. Pull skirt steak while it is still rare or just a shade past and let it rest a good 10 minutes to medium rare. An easy way to rest meat on a gas grill is to simply turn off the heat and rest meat on the upper rack, if you have one.

5. Slice on the diagonal and serve with Mexican Rice (recipe follows), a simple salad, tortillas and your favorite salsa.
Mexican Rice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 small or 1/2 large onion, diced
2 cups of rice
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup salsa
Additional spices if you like it hot
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Get your pot hot, add oil (hot pan, cold oil!). Once hot, saute onion until clear. Add rice and stir a few times. Add chicken stock and salsa, stir.

Turn down to simmer and put a tight fitting lid. If your lid isn't tight, you can wrap a towel around it and tie it on top. Right before you serve, sprinkle in some Parmesan.

Tip: Get rice really close to done before you grill the skirt steak so it can all come up at once for dinner.