ROUSES_Summer2022_Magazine.indd

SUMMER 2022

Peanut

But er

RECIPE INSIDE GRILLED POUND CAKEWITH PEACHES

BURGER BASICS EVERYTHINGYOUNEEDTO KNOW

We have Everyday Low Prices on more than 4,000 items up and down our aisles. An Everyday Low Prices tag designates a consistently low price, which means you regularly save money on that product every time you shop. everyday low prices

double ad wednesday

Our sales flyers overlap on Wednesdays, so you get double the deals. Sign up to get our weekly ad sent directly to your email at www.rouses.com/subscribe.

EVERYDAY LOW PRICE

Look for the logo!

rouses brand Our own Rouses Markets private label brand is

digital coupons $

guaranteed the best quality at the best price. These are products we believe in and want to share with you.

Digital Coupons are saved to your account — you don’t even need a smart phone, all you need is a phone number. You can redeem them at any register. We also partner with Ibotta and Fetch for even more digital savings.

budget friendly brands

Always Save, Best Choice and Clearly by Best Choice, which is an organic line, are store brands priced lower than any national brand.

weekend sales

Weekend Sale prices are so hot that we can only oer them for a limited time.

Save time and money! Shop our weekly specials and everyday low prices on the Rouses Shopping App. There is no curbside pickup fee on orders over $35, and you pay the same price for groceries that you pay in our stores. rouses shopping app

monthly sales flyers

Look for longer running deals in our Monthly Sales Flyers.

check out all the ways to save!

Rouses Low Price Commitment

Higher gas prices and higher prices for goods and services are what everyone is talking about right now.

You can be confident you’re getting the best value at Rouses Markets every time you shop, no matter how you shop. We are committed to keeping our prices low. Our Weekly Ad features hundreds of items on special. These are the items most important to your family, like beef, pork, chicken, seafood, fresh produce and everyday groceries. You can view our Weekly Ad online anytime; we’ll even email it directly to your inbox. You can sign up for that at www.rouses.com/subscribe. And don’t miss out on Double Ad Wednesday . Our Weekly Ad prices run Wednesday to Wednesday, which means we have double the deals on Wednesdays when the two ads overlap. You can also get extra savings with our Weekend Sales . These are prices so hot we can only offer them for a limited time. You’ll find longer-running deals — and some new things to try — in our Monthly Sales Flyer , which includes natural and organic, authentic Italian and specialty items you can only get at Rouses Markets. Make sure you also check out our digital coupons . They are a great way to help you save even more on store brands, as well as your favorite national brands. You can select and save digital coupons in-store — we identify them right on the shelf next to the products themselves — or online from our website. Digital coupons are saved to your account; you don’t even need a smartphone, all you need is a phone number. You can redeem them at any register.

PHOTO BY CHANNING CANDIES

price, which means you get a great price on it every time you shop without having to wait for a sale. We are able to get Everyday Low Prices on products you buy the most because we can take advantage of volume discount pricing. Our own Rouses Markets brand is also a great value, and I personally guarantee each item offers the best quality at the best price. These are products we believe in and want to share with you; we set higher standards while keeping the prices low. They are usually the top-selling brand in a category, so we know our customers love them. I am also a big fan of our store brands — Always Save , Best Choice and Clearly by Best Choice , which is an organic line. These save you money compared to the national brands, and are equal to or better than the national brands. Of course, you don’t have to shop in-store to get all of our savings. With our new Rouses Shopping App , you can shop our weekly specials and everyday low prices online from wherever you are. There is no curbside pickup fee on orders over $35, and you pay the same price for groceries that you pay in our stores. You can download the Rouses Shopping App on the App Store, or get it on Google Play. You’ll love how easy it is to order online — and save. — Donny Rouse, CEO, 3 rd Generation

Of course, you don’t have to wait for a sale or use a coupon to save every day.

You have probably noticed our Everyday Low Price tags on our shelves. We have more than 4,000 of them up and down the aisles, so they are hard to miss. Our Everyday Low Price tag designates a consistently low

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Coffee Bourbon BBQ Sauce

I NGRED I ENTS • 1 can tomato sauce (15-ounce) 1 can tomato paste (6-ounce) 3 garlic cloves grated or minced ¾ cup brewed Community ® Signature Blend co ee ½ cup apple cider vinegar ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ cup dark brown sugar packed 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon mustard powder 2 teaspoons paprika In a medium saucepan, combine the tomato sauce and paste. Mix in the garlic, Community ® Signature Blend co ee, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dark brown sugar, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, paprika, cumin, onion powder and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer until the mixture thickens, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon until blended. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy! 1. 2. 3. 4. D I RECT I ONS 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon salt ¼ cup bourbon • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Sweet, tangy and saturated with savory flavor, this co ee bourbon BBQ sauce made from our Signature Blend co ee makes the perfect addition to your next get-together. GR I L L WITH

THE BEST

2022 Community Co ee Company

Table of Contents In Every Issue 1 Donny Rouse Barbecue 29 The BBQ Trail: Pit Stops Along the Gulf Coast

Recipes & Cooking

Marketing & Advertising Director Tim Acosta

22 Hwy. 1 Ribs Twice Baked Potatoes 23 Smoked Chicken Alabama White Sauce Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings 25 Grilled Boston Butt Pork Shoulder Roast Grilled Artichokes Roasted Brussels Sprouts Dark Coffee Rub Grilled Vegetables with Tahini Dressing

5 Letter from the Editor by Marcy Nathan 7 Cookin’ on Hwy. 1 with Tim Acosta 9 Ali Rouse Royster Grilling & Smoking 12 Where There’s a Grill There’s a Way by David W. Brown 27 Nathan Richard Answers Your Burning Questions by Sarah Baird 51 A Fresh Take on Grilling by David W. Brown

32 Marcelle Bienvenu ‘Ques You In

Creative Director & Editor Marcy Nathan

Food & Culture 34 Something for the Corn-ivores by Susan Langenhennig Granger

Art Director, Layout & Design Eliza Schulze

Illustrator Kacie Galtier

37 Block Party by Poppy Tooker

Creative Manager McNally Sislo

Burgers 47 Spread the Word by Sarah Baird

Marketing Coordinator Harley Breaux

26 Grilled Salmon

49 Melts in Your Mouth by Marcelle Bienvenu

36 Chef Fredo Nogueira’s Elote

Copy Editors Patti Stallard Adrienne Crezo

59 The Grate Outdoors by Liz Thorpe 60 Where There’s Fire, There’s Smoke

Aioli

Desserts 52 Just Peachy by Sarah Baird 54 Cherry on Top by Sarah Baird

Culinary Editor marcelle bienvenu

43 Smash Burger

46 Elvis Burger

61 The Gouda Stuff by Liz Thorpe

Advertising & Marketing Amanda Kennedy Stephanie Hopkins Nancy Besson Taryn Clement Mary Ann Florey

49 Patty Melt

50 Grilled Pound Cake with Peaches Grilled Banana Split 55 Auguste Escoffier's Peach Melba Auguste Escoffier's Cherries Jubilee

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT When it comes to cooking with fire outdoors, you have three main options: Grilling

SUMMER 2022

Design Intern Peyton finch

usually means cooking something hot and fast.

Smoking involves cooking low and slow over indirect heat. Barbecuing usually means cooking low and slow over an open flame, usually directly, though sometimes indirectly.

Peanut

Food Prepared By Shantrell conerly

Butter

RECIPE INSIDE GRILLED POUND CAKEWITH PEACHES

60 Gouda Luck Dip

flip to page 46 for the cover recipe!

BURGER BASICS EVERYTHINGYOU NEEDTO KNOW

COVER PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

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A True Story , a rollicking adventure about a motley band of explorers on a quest to nd oceans on Europa, is in bookstores now. Brown lives in New Orleans.

Contributors

Great on the Grill

SARAH BAIRD Sarah Baird is the author of multiple books, including New Orleans Cocktails and Flask , which was released in summer 2019. A 2019 Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, her work has been featured in e New York Times , Washington Post , Saveur , Eater , Food &Wine and e Guardian , among others. Previously, she served as restaurant critic for the New Orleans alt-weekly, Gambit Weekly , where she won Critic of the Year in 2015 for her dining reviews. MARCELLE BIENVENU Marcelle Bienvenu is a cookbook author and food writer. A native of St. Martinville, in the heart of Cajun country, Bienvenu wrote Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic and Can You Make a Roux? and Stir the Pot: e History of Cajun Cuisine with Eula Mae Dora, and other books and cookbooks. She also co authored ve cookbooks with Emeril Lagasse. DAVID W. BROWN David W. Brown is a freelance writer whose work appears in e Atlantic , e New York Times , Scienti c American and e New Yorker . His most recent book, e Mission:

SUSAN LANGENHENNIG GRANGER

Susan Langenhennig Granger is editor of Preservation in Print magazine and director of communications and marketing for the Preservation Resource Center in New Orleans. Prior to that she was a news editor, reporter and feature columnist for e Times-Picayune and NOLA.com. LIZ THORPE Liz orpe is a world-class cheese expert. A Yale graduate, she left a “normal” job in 2002 to work the counter at New York’s famed Murray’s Cheese. She is the founder of e People’s Cheese, and author of e Book of Cheese: e Essential Guide to Discovering Cheeses You’ll Love and e Cheese Chronicles . POPPY TOOKER Poppy Tooker is a native New Orleanian who has spent her life immersed in the vibrant colors and avors of her state. Poppy spreads her message statewide and beyond via her NPR-a liated radio show and podcast, “Louisiana Eats!”

During college, my best friend and I spent a summer as hostesses at Lilette on Magazine St. in New Orleans. They had a seasonal grilled peach that we ate every single day! The spoonful of whipped goat cheese on the side was perfection.

I would still have it every day if I could! – Mary Ann Florey, Graphic Designer

If you're looking to take your grilling to the next level, look no further than Rouses Chicory & Garlic Coffee Rub. You may be thinking “why coffee?” — but it truly compliments a variety of proteins. I always sprinkle it over pork chops before grilling to add a craveable crust and depth of flavor. – Kacie Galtier, Designer & Illustrator

I brought home the extra cherries jubilee from our photoshoot (recipe on page 55) and made a delicious makeshift pie. The leftover possibilities are endless with the recipes in this issue! I imagine that leftover grilled peaches would be excellent in a pie as well... – Eliza Schulze, Art Director

WOMEN IN GROCERY: AN UPDATE ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Jennipher Landry , who was featured in our recent Women in Food issue, has been promoted to Store Director at our Clearview Market in Metairie. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Donna Madere-Dickerson was named Store Director of the Year by Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG), the country’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets and grocery stores. Donna is the store director at our Burbank and Lee market in Arlington Creek in Baton Rouge. This prestigious award recognizes exceptional store directors who generate sales growth, provide great customer service and are a vital part of the communities they serve. In 2018, Cary Robinson of our Denham Springs market was named AWG Store Director of the year.

I’m a huge fan of grilling! Any excuse to light a fire and get that delicious flame-broiled taste on whatever I’m eating, I’m taking it! Personally I’ve only mastered toasting marshmallows, but my boyfriend’s ribs are so good you’ll want to cancel

the cookout so you don’t have to share. – McNally Sislo, Creative Manager

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ROUSES SUMMER 2022

Letter from the Editor

By Marcy Nathan, Creative Director

When I first started working for Rouses Markets, I told Tim Acosta, our advertising and marketing director (and anyone else who would listen), that my family owned Nathan’s. “M y great-grandfather was one of the first hot dog vendors on Coney Island,” I claimed whenever someone at Rouses Markets mentioned hot dogs or July 4th. Every time another hot dog brand was in an ad, or on display in-store, I jokingly complained. There I was, Mira Sorvino (and Lisa Kudrow), lying about inventing Post-It Notes in 1997’s Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion . But in my case, I got away with it. I stuck with the lie, July 4 th after July 4 th , even going so far as to have a Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand at a birthday party. I got an old Lucky Dog cart that been repainted and repurposed; the vendor wore a crisp paper Nathan’s hat and a Nathan’s apron, which the company graciously sent me after I reached out. There were boozy snowballs at the party, too, which is something I highly recommend. My grandfather — not my great- grandfather — really did own Nathan’s. But it wasn’t Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs; it was Nathan’s men’s clothing, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Family-owned retail stores started by Jews who settled in the South were very popular in small towns. My great Uncle Sol owned Nathan’s, a women’s clothing store, in Jackson, Tennessee, which is near Memphis, and Nathan’s general store in Cotton Plant, which is the 261st largest city in Arkansas. Uncle Sol kept a taxidermy collec tion at the Cotton Plant store. When my Aunt Mildred’s dog died, Sol had the dog stuffed and mounted and displayed in the store. Really. The real Nathan’s Famous founder’s first name — Nathan — is my last name. Nathan

PHOTO BY CHANNING CANDIES

Handwerker, a Polish-Jewish immigrant, came to the United States from Poland when he was 19. He opened his first nickel hot dog stand on Coney Island in 1916, and quickly became a boardwalk legend. Today there are Nathan’s Famous hot dogs, condiments, pickles and chips — even a line of restaurants. Nathan’s hot dogs are primarily manufactured by Smithfield, which also makes high-quality pork products. They make it using the same original recipe cooked up by Handwerker himself over 100 years ago. Hot dogs are the first thing most of us put on the grill at a cookout. They are as American as baseball and apple pie. Nathan’s Famous is even the official hot dog of Major League Baseball — not to even mention that it’s the most famous hot dog in the world. (Okay, so I mentioned it. I can’t help it; I’m proud of my would-be forebears.) And then there is the July 4th Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is broadcast live on ESPN. Two million viewers tune in to see competitive eaters like Joey Chestnut compete for the famed Mustard Belt. Chestnut broke his own world record in 2021, eating 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, to win his sixth straight title. It was his 14th win overall. We put on the Rouses Markets World Crawfish Eating Championship for years, and I hope we bring it back soon. Our emcee, Richard Shea, is the co-founder and president of Major League Eating, the governing body behind the annual hot

Image courtesy Nathan's Famous, Inc.

dog eating contest, along with his brother, George. George is the contest’s longtime master of ceremonies. Before the first round of the crawfish contest, Richard would bring me on stage and introduce me to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen…the Queen of Nathan’s Hot Dogs herself, Marcy Nathan.” I just smiled and gave the crowd my royal wave, knowing no one was the wiser.

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get real

REAL LOUISIANAGOODNESS IS EASY TO FIND. Look for the Certified logos in Rouses Markets to support Louisiana businesses and families, and keep your dollars at home.

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MIKE STRAIN DVM, COMMISSIONER

certifiedlouisiana.org

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LOADED TO THE LAST BITE

©2022Wells Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Cookin’ on Hwy. 1 By Tim Acosta, Advertising & Marketing Director E very time I light my grill, I add a couple of links of our Rouses Markets Pepper Jack Boudin. On Sunday mornings, I sometimes light my grill so I can have boudin for breakfast. Though boudin is normally served steamed, I think it is particularly good when grilled, because then you get a crispy skin. Boudin is also perfect for filling in those spots on the grill between the steak, chicken or chops. Think of it like throwing hot dogs on the grill when you are making burgers. When you grill boudin, you want to use medium heat. If you put it on a too-hot grill, the casing will bust right open. I grill it over indirect heat — that will keep the casing from splitting — somewhere around 350◦F. Grill each side of the boudin for 10 to 15 minutes to heat it up. The skin will also get a nice, crisp brown. Boudin is one of Louisiana’s most celebrated sausages. But as any Cajun will tell you, boudin is not really sausage. It’s just another way to eat rice, which we eat and grow a lot of here. Louisiana is America’s third-largest rice-producing state. We plant more than half a million acres in the south western and northeastern parts of the state. Our own Rouses Rice is grown and milled in Crowley, Louisiana. Boudin is made with cooked pork, rice, seasonings and spices — without the casing, it resembles rice dressing. Sausage is meat-based, with seasonings and spices, and sometimes other delicious things, but not rice.

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

Conecuh also has a higher sugar content, which helps the sausage char and crisp well. I recommend grilling Conecuh over indirect heat to avoid flare-ups, or putting it higher up on the grill, turning often to get a crisp and crackling casing. Double D is another one with a higher fat content — 14 grams per serving — so keep it away from the flames. Smoked sausage is a must for several Cajun dishes — gumbo, jambalaya, white beans —and so is rice, by the way. We make our Rouses naturally Smoked Sausage with premium pork butts. It’s a denser sausage. I also like the local smoked sausages we carry. You know Best Stop for their boudin, but you should also try their andouille and smoked sausage; both are delicious. Lil Butcher Shoppe, which is out of Mississippi, has so many unique flavors. I go way back with brothers Tommy, Bobby and Steve Yarborough of Manda Fine Meats. Their grandfather and his brothers combined their Sicilian background and Cajun influences to start the company in 1947 — in much the same way Anthony J. Rouse, Sr., founded Rouses Markets in 1960.

Our butchers make our fresh sausage in-house, daily, as needed. Fresh sausage should be grilled over direct heat at up to 400◦F for 30 minutes. Turn fresh sausage occasionally so the bottom doesn’t burn. In May, we have a limited-time Taco Sausage made with fresh pork, cheese, salsa and our own Chef Nino’s Make It Mexican seasoning. You’ve probably met Nino before at one of his popular cooking classes and demos held at Rouses Markets locations all over the Gulf Coast. Or maybe you’ve seen him on our cooking segments on TV stations like WALA in Mobile, Alabama. Chef Nino is a bit of a ham, which is perfect for sausage. I like smoked sausage, too, because it has a delicious smoky flavor and smell. Smoked sausage grills differently than fresh because, for one thing, smoked sausage is already cooked in a smoker, so you are really just heating it up. Different brands cook differently. Some have a higher fat content. Conecuh (pronounced Cah-NECK-ah) sausage is made with pork shoulder and bacon trimmings, and when it’s cooked, that extra fat translates into a juicer sausage.

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Bring home a little taste of Italy.

As the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire! And where there’s fire, I surely hope there are firefighters around. My hometown of Thibodaux has an amazing, large, all-volunteer fire department. The volunteer fire service has a long and proud tradition in the United States. Thibodaux Fire Company No. 1 was officially organized in 1843. It may be the oldest volunteer fire department in the entire state of Louisiana. My great-grandfather, John Barrilleaux, and my grandfather, Carroll Barrilleaux, were longtime firemen in the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department, Protector Fire Company No. 2, which was formed in 1867. I grew up going to see Santa at the fire station and riding on the company float with all the kids in the Firemen’s Parade, which is a part of the annual Firemen’s Fair that takes place every spring. As luck would have it, I married a volunteer fireman who is in the same fire company as my grandfather and great-grandfather. I also have great friends who are very active in our fire department, including my buddy and classmate from K-12, Nathan Richard (see Page 27 for his grilling tips). The camaraderie, the brotherhood of the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department is something special, as I would imagine it is in many fire stations and emergency service centers in small towns and cities around the country. They meet regularly, cook and eat and have fun, but they also take their roles seriously. They do so much training and education behind the scenes. It takes a level of commitment that is not for everyone. And while I reserve the right to gripe a little or roll my eyes when there’s too much fire department “shop talk” at dinner — though Billy puts up with my grocery “shop talk” for that matter, but that makes sense since we both work at Rouses! — I really wouldn’t have it any other way. I am so proud of Billy, Nathan, and all the men and women in volunteer fire departments all across the Gulf Coast, who give so selflessly to keep our communities safe. - Ali Rouse Royster, 3 rd Generation

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR BRANDS AT WWW.ROUSES.COM

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rhyme to help you remember: Case or two? Smoke or ’cue. Six-pack to kill? Go for the grill. “You grill steaks, chicken, sausage and burgers,” says Tim Acosta, advertising and marketing director of Rouses Markets, and the best backyard chef you’ll ever meet. “Grilling is an active process. You get your grill up and running, and cook over direct heat with a medium-to-hot fire, and you’re not walking away. From start to finish, you’re turning things around pretty quickly. You’re tending to the things on the grill.” Smoking, though, is a different animal entirely, and you’re going to have to make some time for it. “It’s low heat, and it could be anywhere from several hours to 10, 12, 16, even 18 hours, depending on what you’re smoking,” he says. Some of the best meats for smoking include ribs, pork butt, beef brisket and beef short ribs. CHARCOAL GRILLING 101 Propane grills are a pretty straightforward affair: They’re clean-burning and fuel efficient, and you can get the grill ready at a moment’s notice. It’s the most stove-like of the backyard cooking arsenal. Charcoal grills, on the other hand, need a bit of TLC to cook at their best. First, you have to pick your fuel source. Usually, it comes down to natural lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes. Practically speaking, the primary difference between the two is temperature: The natural lump charcoal burns hotter, and will burn longer as well, if you are diligent with the air intake for your grill or smoker. A good burn that lasts longer is essential when used in a controlled environment such as a Big Green Egg, an American-designed “kamado” grill (which is, in turn, a stove typically fueled with wood or charcoal, first developed by the Japanese and in use for centuries). Lump charcoal is made from 100% hardwood, with no additives. Charcoal briquettes, on the other hand, are not natural, but were developed with the environment in mind. They were invented in the early 1900s as a way to recycle all the scrap wood from the manufacture of Model T cars in Henry Ford’s assembly lines. The idea for such a product was concocted on a camping trip taken by Ford, Thomas Edison and Ford’s relative, Edward Kingsford (for whom the famous Kingsford Charcoal is

F irst, we need to define some terms, and then talk options. When it comes to cooking with fire outdoors, you have three main options. You can grill. You can barbecue. You can smoke. They aren’t the same thing! Grilling usually means cooking something hot and fast. Think hot dogs. Smoking involves cooking low and slow over indirect heat. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. Barbecuing — or “barbequing,” when you are feeling fancy — usually means cooking low and slow over an open flame, usually directly, though sometimes indirectly. For that, think about Memphis-style ribs, which spend around five hours on the grill with the sauce-slathered meat practically falling from the bone. The choice of technique depends mostly on how much time you have and how much beer you plan to drink. Here is a little

By David W. Brown Summer is here and with it comes yard work, (more) mosquitoes, baseball and — best of all — cooking over an open flame. And though I have no solution for mosquitoes, haven’t been to a baseball game since an altar boy field trip over 30 years ago, and have hated yard work for at least that long, if you want information on cooking outdoors, you have come to the right place. By which I mean, I have asked the experts at Rouses Markets, and am sharing their responses here. (I don’t even have a backyard.)

12 ROUSES SUMMER 2022

named). Briquettes are cheap, versatile and, best of all, you can use them to build a fun little pyramid, douse it with lighter fluid and ignite a flame they can see from the Interna tional Space Station. For style points, however, never use a charcoal lighter fluid to start natural lump coal. I mean, you can do it — you could set your car on fire with lighter fluid, too — but my parole officer tells me that’s not what it’s made for. Lighter fluid is the exclusive domain of charcoal briquettes in a regular barbecue grill. Lump coal has its own special needs. Rouses sells natural starters that use paraffin wax to get a natural lump coal going, and you can adjust the ventilation of your grill to do the rest. THE HEAT IS ON Regardless of which type of charcoal you use, once you get a good flame going in your grill, ventilation is also how you regulate the temperature before or during cooking. After the coals get good and hot, the first step is to use a metal grill spatula to spread the charcoal in an even layer. If your grill is large enough, it’s a good idea to leave a little spot somewhere in the pit with no charcoal beneath that portion of the grill. That way, if you find you are overcooking a piece of meat, you can move it to a “cool zone.” After your charcoal is evenly spread and smoldering, you’re going to want to track how hot it is. When reading recipes, keep in mind that the surface temperature of a grill is not the same as the internal temperature of your meat. (Again, it seems obvious, but half of you are going to blow yourselves up next Thanksgiving by deep-frying a frozen turkey. I’m trying to save you, reader.) Eventually, you’ll develop an instinctive feel for how hot a grill is based on the ambient and radiating heat and the condition of the coals, but until then, a grill thermometer can take a lot of guesswork out of the equation. Medium heat is about 350◦F. High heat is 450◦F or higher. If you want to get your grill hotter, open the vent at the bottom to increase its ventilation. If you want it cooler, close the vent at the bottom. (One of the advantages of propane grills is the ability to be very precise in your heating. To make a propane grill hotter, turn the knob to “high.” To make it cooler, turn the knob to “low.”) Cook times and temperatures are going to vary based on what you are cooking and how thick it is. According to the U.S.

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

The choice of technique depends mostly on howmuch time you have and howmuch beer you plan to drink. Here is a little rhyme to help you remember: Case or two? Smoke or ’cue. Six-pack to kill? Go for the grill.

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flip to page 22 for this recipe!

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

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That’s how it happened for Tim. “A friend of mine got a Big Green Egg and I went over to his house the night he first got his, and it was great. I said, ‘I have got to get me one of those,’ and my wife bought me an extra large one!” That was quite a few years ago, he says. “Now I have three — an extra-large, a medium and a small one as well.” Believe it or not, you can even prepare your charcoal grill in such a way that it can be used as a smoker, though it takes a little effort up front, and for best results, sometimes requires you to brine your meat in advance. HOW TO MAKE A SMOKER To get the effect of a smoker without the expense of buying one, the first step is to soak wooden smoking chips in water. You’ll want to use a good amount of said wood chips for this — at least one cup. You’re doing this because the water that the chips soak up will create more smoke than if they were dry. Meanwhile, get your charcoal grill going as normal. Once they’re good and hot (it takes about 30 minutes), spread the charcoal as you normally would, but leaving half the grill with no charcoal at all. Because you do not want to cook your meat directly over the coals, when you spread the charcoal, do so off to one side, leaving half the pit bottom clear. Next, get a fireproof metal pan — a thick, disposable pan is perfect — and fill it with warm water. To regulate the heat of the grill, you’re going to place it carefully, wearing fireproof mitts, on the clear side of the grill, adjacent to the coals. After they’ve soaked for an hour, drain the water from the wood chips and enclose them in an envelope or sachet made from heavy-duty aluminum foil. Poke some holes in the aluminum pouch and set it directly on the coals. Note that you can use a propane grill as an improvised smoker as well. The process is pretty simple: Only turn on one half of the burners, let the grill get good and hot, don’t worry about the pan of water, and set the wood chip packet on the hot side of the pit, beneath the grill. In both cases, you want the grill to be at the appropriate low tempera ture, so be sure to get a grill thermometer if you don’t have one. When those wood chips start smoking and the heat is just right, you are ready to begin cooking by placing the meat on the non-flame half of the grill. Bear in mind that smoking can take all day, and the packet will have to be replaced every

Department of Agriculture, steak, lamb and pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145◦F. Poultry should be 165◦F. A meat thermometer, which is usually stabbed into the interior of meat, will take the guesswork out of all this, and can save you from the bracing thrill of botulism. As for choosing the meat you plan to cook, Rouses team members who work in the meat depart ment are trained to help you find the perfect cut of the perfect animal at the perfect price, and can give you advice on seasonings, sides and cook times to turn out the best backyard grilling experience imaginable. SMOKING 101 At its simplest, a smoker is a type of grill that uses a relatively low, indirect heat to slowly bring out the fullest flavor of a meat, and different types of smoking woods to imbue flavor into the meat. (See the sidebar on Adding Flavor to Your Smoker for tips and when to use them.) Grills excel at cooking flavorful foods quickly, and for getting a good, strategic char on certain meats, fruits and vegeta bles. Smokers, though they take time, have historically been the domain of backyard kitchen connoisseurs. The low heat of a smoker allows ample time for smoky flavors to insinuate themselves into meats being cooked, and for the tissue and collagens in meats to soften and tenderize into gelatin. The fat in the meat keeps it from drying out. All this makes smokers the best way to cook particularly tough meats. (You aren’t limited to tough meats, of course! It takes about an hour to smoke hot dogs, and 30 minutes to smoke hamburger patties.) Tim recommends using a Big Green Egg for smoking meats. This kind of grill looks like a big green egg. As the company’s website explains its success: “In the beginning, there were wood, dry leaves, lightning and eventu ally, fire. Early man soon learned the flavor benefits of cooking meat over this exciting discovery, which quickly gained acclaim as far superior to gnawing on raw Tyran nosaurus ribs!” While I would dispute the sentiment overall — tyrannosaurus tartare and stegosaurus sashimi are no-brainers, quite frankly — you cannot argue with the popularity and proliferation of Big Green Eggs. Their advertisement style is word of mouth. You go to a friend’s house, sit outside, smell the meat smoking slowly, and then finally taste it…and the next day you go to the store and buy your own.

ADDING FLAVOR TO YOUR SMOKER

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT When it comes to using your smoker, natural lump charcoal is going to give you a good smoky flavor, but you can really up the ante by adding smoking wood chunks to the heat to complement and highlight the flavors of the meat being cooked. If you are smoking pork, add chunks of applewood to imbue the meat with a certain sweetness. Smoked chicken, meanwhile, is just begging for pecan wood. Smoked beef does best with a heavier smoke and hickory wood chunks. Smoking a boneless leg of lamb? Get yourself some cherry wood and cook the lamb low and slow for six hours. The goal is to tinker with your flavor profiles to enhance the taste of meats. Flavored woods come in chip and chunk varieties. Chips are great for any grill, but if you are cooking with a smoker — which can take all day — consider using the chunks, which burn (and release the flavors within) a little more slowly.

two to three hours. Soak more chips while your food is cooking so that you can replace the packet at the appropriate times.

COOKING WITH SMOKE For beginners, says Tim, pork spareribs are a great meat to start with if you’re going to use a smoker. The key is to first lock your smoker into a low temperature — somewhere around 225◦ to 250◦F — and understand that, unlike with a grill, you will be cooking on indirect heat. (Different smokers have different ways of getting your temperature dialed in for the long haul. If you threw away your instruction manual, Google can help.) Flavor- and texture-wise, says Tim, “The longer period of time you cook, the better off

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you are.” If you’ve never cooked with indirect heat before, you might be surprised by how much it will elevate your backyard cooking game. (“It made me a believer,” Tim says.) For spareribs, the first step is to peel away the membrane from the back of the ribs, which makes it easier to cut the ribs at the end, once you have finished cooking them. Rinse them, pat them dry, and rub some yellow mustard on them. The mustard imparts a subtle flavor, but more important, it helps the dry rub stick to the meat, which is the next step in the process. Add your dry rub to the ribs — both on top and underneath — and do so generously. “You don’t want it too thick, but you want it everywhere, and rubbed well into the meat,” says Tim. Get your smoker to 225◦F, and be ready to smoke for about three hours before fiddling with the meat. At that point, pull the ribs from the smoker and spritz them with apple juice before wrapping them with foil, then back into the smoker they go. Let them smoke for another two hours. Next, unwrap them, and put them back in the smoker, uncovered, for one final hour.

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

hours, remove the ribs from the fridge and let them come down to room temperature. Then put the ribs in the smoker around noon. Around 6 or 6:30 p.m., dinner is served. That’s a pretty short day compared to some items you cook in the smoker. Boston butt will require between eight to 10 hours in smoke. Beef brisket is next-level — 14 or even 16 hours in the smoker, and it can even go overnight on low heat. So plan accord ingly. If you’re making it for a party, make sure everyone brings pajamas.

“I don’t like to use barbecue sauce or anything like that,” says Tim of his ribs. Instead, he reaches for Rouses Honey. “I squeeze honey onto the ribs, and brush them to spread the honey out.” In that last hour of cooking, the honey forms a glaze on top of the ribs. To take the flavor of the spareribs to the next level, apply the mustard and dry rub seasoning early in the morning — 6:30 a.m. or so — and let them rest in the refrigerator and really soak up the flavors. After a few

THE TEXAS CRUTCH ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Any die-hard fan of the deep-smoked arts knows the time-tested connection between patience on the pit and tenderness on the plate. Many of home barbecue’s showcase cuts — Texas brisket, Carolina pork shoulder, Memphis ribs — need plenty of time on the pit to slowly absorb flavorful smoke and break down the tough connective tissue that makes the cuts economical to begin with. Done right, a lot of time on the pit at low, obsessively controlled temperatures will yield the home pitmaster’s holy grail — smoke infused meats with a dark, spicy “bark” (outer crust) and melt-on the-tongue texture And while patience pays off, there’s a bit of a problem — extended time over the low fire evaporates the meat’s precious surface moisture. By the time the middle of the meat cooks to the desired tenderness, the outer layers can dry out to jerky-like texture. Enter the Texas Crutch — a clever technique popular on the competitive barbecue circuit that gets you the best of both worlds — smoky bark and tenderness throughout — with minimal compromises. In other words, a perfect hack for the home pitmaster. The Texas Crutch involves wrapping a partially smoked cut of meat (usually a brisket, pork shoulder or other roast-like hunk) in THE TEXAS CRUTCH ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Any die-hard fan of the deep-smoked arts knows the time-tested connection between patience on the pit and tenderness on th plate. Ma y of hom barbecue’s showcas cuts — Texas brisket, Carolina pork shoulder, Me phis ri s — need plenty of time on the pit to slowly absorb flav rful smok and break down the tough connectiv tissue that makes the cuts economical to begin with. Done right, a lot of time on the pit at low, obsessively controlled temperatures will yield the home pitm ster’s holy grail — smoke-infused m ats with a dark, spicy “bark” (outer crust) and melt-on-the-tongue textur . And while patience pays off, there’s a bit of a problem — extended time over th low fire ev porates the meat’s precious surface moisture. By the time th middle of the m at cooks to the desired tenderness, the outer layers can dry out to jerky-like texture. Enter the Texas Crutch — a clever technique popular on th competitive barbecue circuit that gets you

thick aluminum foil to concentrate heat, accelerate cooking and minimize evaporation. the best of both worlds — sm ky bark a d tend rness throughou — with minimal co promise. In other words, a perfect hack for the home pitmaster. The Texas Crutch inv lves wrapping p rtially smoke cut of meat (u ua ly a risket, pork shoulder or other roas -like hu k) in thick aluminum foil t co centrate heat, accelerate cooking and minimize evaporation. Add a little liqui to he mix (be r alwa s works) and let it sit for a spell. I basic kitchen terms, th essent al crutch technique turns a dry cooki g met od (smoking) into a w t-cooking m thod ( ssentially a braise). The “wrap and rest” technique gives you added control of internal temperature and overall moisture. You might lose a little crunch on the surface, but bite after savory bite, the deep-down meaty tenderness is definitely its own reward (and, usually, the reason you’re deep-smoking in the first place). — P. Johnson, Rouses Magazine , March-April 2017. Add a little liquid to the mix (beer always works) and let it sit for a spell. In basic kitchen terms, the essential crutch technique turns a dry-cooking method (smoking) into a wet-cooking method (essentially a braise). The “wrap and rest” technique gives you added control of internal temperature and overall moisture. You might lose a little crunch on the surface, but bite after savory bite, the deep-down meaty tenderness is definitely its own reward (and, usually, the reason you’re deep-smoking in the first place).

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Steaks Nick Acosta, meat director for Rouses Markets — and incidentally, Tim’s son — started at Rouses as a teenager stocking shelves and wrangling buggies in the parking lot. The job tided him over until he could get a job in the butcher shop, where he really wanted to work. After college, he rejoined the company, where he has been for the last 16 years. Rouses Markets maintains a robust stock of choice and prime beef as graded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Those are the best grades of beef out there,” says Nick. Grades are determined by marbling (fat spread throughout the beef), tenderness and cattle feeding practices. “USDA grading is different from U.S. mandatory meat inspections,” Nick explains. “Other grocery stores will sell you ungraded beef that has been U.S. inspected, but I seriously doubt it will be as flavorful or tender as our USDA graded beef.” Rouses also carries Australian Wagyu beef, and has its own dry-aged beef lockers in most of its stores. Grill-wise, he says, the best all-around steak is the ribeye. “It has got good marbling in it. You want a little fat in there, and it produces an outstanding flavor.” It is cut from the loin along the rib cage, and is well marbled with a lot of fat throughout. As such, it yields that textbook steakhouse flavor. Because of all this, the ribeye will cook evenly throughout, and will get that classic, crispy texture. T-bones are also great for the grill — if you don’t mind dealing with the bone. Boneless New York strip steaks, sirloin and beef tenderloin can also leave your grill thanking you for the pleasure of cooking it. The strip steak is a lot like the ribeye, found along the same muscle. The strip is nearer to the back of the cow, while the ribeye is found at the front. This is “middle ground” steak; not tender like the filet mignon, and not as marbled as the ribeye.

Nick, Tim and Chris Acosta PHOTO BY CHANNING CANDIES

“Any of those steaks are great when firing up the grill in the afternoon,” says Tim. All you need is olive oil, kosher salt, fresh-cracked black pepper and butter. (A little thyme or garlic can also take things up a notch.) They can be seared first in a cast-iron skillet, but that’s not necessary for a life-changing experience. HOW TO GRILL THEM The first step to grilling a perfect steak is to unwrap it and bring it to room temperature. “You don’t want to take your steak directly from the fridge and put it straight into the barbecue pit,” says Nick. You want to let the meat reach room temperature before cooking it. “If it’s still cold when you put it on the grill or cooktop, it will burn by the time you reach your desired doneness.” Meanwhile, get your grill at a good medium-to-high heat — around 375◦F to 400◦F. Apply the olive oil and sprinkle the steak with kosher salt and pepper on both sides. Grill on each side until you reach the desired doneness. If you have an internal thermometer (and if you don’t, you can grab

one at your local Rouses), use that to best determine how cooked the steak is. An extra rare steak is seared on the outside and red, cool and soft in the center, ready to pull from the grill at an internal temperature of 115◦F to 120◦F. A rare steak is ready at 125◦F, with a three-quarters red interior and slightly cool center. A medium-rare steak is good to go at 135◦F in the center, which is about half-red. Medium steaks are 145◦F on the thermom eter, pink in the center and have a firm, springy exterior on the touch. Medium well is 150◦F and pretty much cooked throughout. A well-done steak should be taken from the grill at 160◦F with a brown center, and usually comes with angry looks from the chef. Chicken If you are using a grill, whether propane or coal, you can go from nothing to dinner in 45 minutes flat. A boneless, skinless chicken breast is among the easiest things to slap on a grill. Season it or let it marinate for an hour, then cook and enjoy.

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chicken’s backbone. (Kitchen scissors work great for this.) Pull the backbone out. At this point, the chicken will just fall open. You’re not done yet,

Next-level grillers might consider grilled chicken wings, which take about 45 minutes on a medium-hot grill to reach an internal temperature of 160◦F. Doing this on game night? Marinate them first in Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Hot Sauce. (Frank’s was founded by Louisiana friends Adam Estilette and Jacob Frank of New Iberia, and has been in the hot sauce game for over a century.) Get your grill going while the wings sit for 45 minutes in the sauce, then cook. Smoked chicken is where the action is at, though. For that, grab a couple of whole chickens from Rouses and brine them just as you would a turkey on Thanksgiving. A traditional wet brine involves adding a cup of kosher salt and a cup of brown sugar to a gallon of water. If you have some favorite herbs and some peppercorns, add them to your liking. Two splashes of bourbon wouldn’t hurt either. (One for your mouth, one for the brine.) Let your chickens soak overnight. The next day, pull the chickens from the brine, dry them with paper towels, and put them in a pan and back into the refrigerator, where they can continue air-drying. Once they are dry through and through (a few hours should do it), pull them from the fridge and apply a dry rub to their briny bodies. At that point, it’s time to put them in the smoker. Whole chickens generally take two-and a-half to three hours in a smoker at 250◦F. They are done when they reach an internal temperature of 160◦F. If you want to smash the orthodoxy, rather than do a wet brine, you can do a dry one. For that, mix two parts kosher salt with one part each of rosemary and thyme, and rub the mixture generously onto a dried whole chicken. If you have extra seasoning at the end, rub it inside the chicken as well. Really get to know your chicken. “To me, chicken that has been dry brined comes out a little better,” says Tim. “It is dryer than a wet brine because it hasn’t been submerged in liquid, but the skin tends to become crispier and it produces a really great flavor.” If you love chicken, and also love breaking things, you might consider smoking a spatch cocked chicken. This is a pretty grisly affair that begins with brining the chicken overnight, or soaking it in a marinade of your choice. Next, you’re going to remove the neck parts and gizzards from the chicken’s cavity. Then cut along the entire length of the chicken, tail to neck, on both the left and right sides of the

though. Now you get to break its breastbone, which involves pressing down on both halves of the splayed chicken until you hear a crack. Because there’s no going back now, you should next cut the wingtips from the chicken, which you can’t eat and which are just going to burn anyway. The smoking process is pretty much the same as a fully consti tuted chicken, though for a shorter time: About an hour, though you should let the internal temperature of the chicken be your guide. The downside of this process is that now you are going to have to live with what you have just done. Briskets Among pitmasters, brisket is considered the ultimate smoked meat because of its supple flavor, and the time and challenge necessary to get it just right. “Brisket is the largest cut of meat most of us will cook at home,” explains Nick. “The cooking times are eight to 12 hours, and sometimes longer.” He says that advanced grillers can try making burnt ends, a specialty of barbecue pitmasters that involves separating the “point” and the “flat” — the two muscles that make up a brisket. Between them is a layer of fat that should be cut away. The point end is then seasoned on both sides and smoked at 250◦F for about five hours. Afterward, it is cut into one-inch cubes, placed in a pan, and slathered with barbecue sauce. The pan goes back into the smoker for another hour or so, until the sauce is caramelized. If that sounds a little beyond your skill level, Nick still has a plan for you. “We grind brisket for burgers, too.” Beef short ribs are another go-to items for backyard chefs. “My dad calls beef short ribs ‘brisket on the bone,’” says Nick, explaining that the texture of the meat is similar to a brisket. Short ribs are cut closer

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Be sure to check out the new Rouses Bayou Bombs , which are cream cheese stuffed jalapeños encased in fresh, in-house Rouses Cajun Sausage, then wrapped in bacon — grill-ready and delicious to the front shoulder, which is right by the brisket. “You can get a good heavy smoke on it in a shorter amount of time because they are smaller than a full brisket,” says Tim. BBQ Shrimp The best grilled barbecued shrimp of your life is only a few minutes away. To do it properly, you are going to need a pan that can go on the grill. Peel, devein and clean your shrimp. Next, add them to your fireproof pan and pour in a bottle of Wish-Bone Italian Dressing. Add some Cajun Power Garlic Sauce, some Worcestershire sauce (all available at Rouses, naturally), as well as chopped onions and some fresh-cut squeezed lemons. Add some Abita Beer (this pan is getting full, but man, those shrimp never had it so good) and put the pan on a grill that’s rolling along at 350◦F. After that, finish the rest of your pack of Abita and just let the grill go until the shrimp are cooked. Twice-Baked Potatoes The steps for making backyard twice-baked potatoes couldn’t be easier. You’re going to want to use the top rack of your grill if it has

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