Monday, March 16, 2009

First BBQ of The Year

The past few days here in Chicago have been absolutely beautiful.  So warm out that my girlfriend and I took all the plastic off of the windows so we could could open them all up on Sunday.  The air was so fresh and cool that there was no need for a long sleeve shirt.
That night I opened up the freezer to make myself a drink and saw a package of brats.  I pulled them from the freezer and asked my girlfriend to pick up some brat buns and beer for dinner tomorrow.  She asked why?  I said with this beautiful weather, I'm going to BBQ!!!!!!
Monday afternoon, i had my game plan.  I decided on something quick and easy, potato salad and baked beans to go with the brats.  I know its not much but, its something and I just really wanted to get the grille out.  I boiled my potatoes and eggs for the salad, and let them cool.  I had some red and white onion left from the potato salad that i had not diced up yet and thought it would be good to have some caramelized onions on my brat as well.  When the onions were just about finished, i poured about half a beer(312) into the pan and let it reduce to give them another layer of flavor.  I then finished the potato salad, simple, onions, eggs, mayo and Lawries Seasoning.  When all that was finished i opened up the can of beans and put them on the stove on low heat.
Finally, it was time to get the grille out!  I cracked open a beer, grabbed my smokes and headed outside.  I set the grille up on a little table we have on the back patio of the apartment building.  There i twisted on the small camping propane tank, turned on the gas and pushed the electric starter to get it going.  I needed to let the grille heat up before cooking the brats, so I drank my beer and had a smoke.  
Once it was warm enough i lowered the flame and placed the brats on the grille. The brats sizzled as i placed them onto the grille.  I closed the grille and let the magic happen.  Within minutes the grille began to smoke a sizzle.  The smell was breath taking,  made your mouth water and your eyes get big, realizing that spring is here and so is BBQ season!!!

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