Growing up the only time we “grilled” was on the big summer holidays; Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Occasionally, there were Saturday night steak dinners.

I remember us having the standard charcoal grill back in the sixties to the mid-seventies. Then both my parents and I had the ever-popular Hibachi grill, which was great if you were only cooking for two. It did make a great camping grill.

When I met Darrell, he had the standard “Charbroil” and we used it occasionally. Then I had a client who owned a barbeque store and owned me money. He offered me a grill called the “Broilmaster” in exchange for payment. At first, I was hesitant; more than likely, I needed the money, and I just didn’t grill that much and couldn’t see the value swap. He was persistent, “This isn’t like any other grill you’ve ever used. It’s as close to a professional grill as you can get.” I finally agreed to the deal. I was never sorry I did.

I don’t remember what I cooked first on that grill, but more than likely, it was a steak. I do remember shortly thereafter, Darrell’s grill was put in the driveway with a FREE sign taped to it. My client told me I could cook anything on it, “You’ll never have to use your oven again.” That was another one of his selling points, as I hated turning on the oven and heating up the house no matter what time of the year it was in South Florida.

When he delivered the grill, he also gave me a V-rack roasting pan, “It’s great for roasting your turkey, prime rib, and pork roasts,” he said. I had tried a few pork roasts and we loved them, so when Thanksgiving came, I decided to give the grill a try. I haven’t cooked a turkey in the oven since.

For Christmas that year, I cooked our prime rib on it. Like the turkey, I haven’t cooked a prime rib in the oven since. But there is a funny story to one of the primes I cooked. I can’t remember what the celebration was, but we were having a couple of other couples over for dinner.

Whenever I’m having a dinner party, I always cook everything that day. I usually start with the dessert and then move on to the potatoes and vegetables. That day, I had everything ready and had the prime on the grill early in the afternoon, so I jumped into the shower.

Once I had my clothes on a went out to check on the roast, I saw twelve-inch flames coming out of every side of the grill. I ran out and opened the grill, and everything was on fire. Panicking, I ran into the house and grab a plate and meat fork to rescue my roast. With one quick stab, I got my roast; the strings had burned off, so the bones stayed in the rack. The fire was still going, so I ran back into the house and grabbed a glass of water, and threw it on the fire. Suddenly my brain started to work, and I remembered you aren’t supposed to pour water on a gas fire and turned the burners off. Starting to breathe again, I looked at my roast and decided it was savable. Turning the grill, back on I placed the meat back on the bones and kept a close eye on it.

There was one feature of the V-rack I didn’t like; the width of the drip pan was too small. This is what caused the fire. Much of the grease was dripping right onto the flame of the grill.

While looking out to make sure I didn’t have another bonfire going, I see Darrell looking up, and I started laughing. He had a grey plastic trap over my grilling area for rain and sun protection. Most of it had melted away. All I could say was, “You don’t want to know what happened.” Dinner that night was a success, and everyone got a good laugh.

I had that grill for about fifteen years. About every four years I replace the burner and grates. Finally, I decided I had put enough money into it and was looking for something different. Darrell wanted me to get a Weber Q3200. I didn’t want to spend $500. Then one morning, while I was out walking Hank, neighbors were having a garage sale and had a Weber Q3200 on sale for $99, and it looked like new. It also came with a full tank of gas. I said, “SOLD. Let me take Hank home, and I’ll be right back.”

At a hundred miles an hour, I tell Darrell, “Hey, the guys who live next to Dave are having a garage sale, and they have a Q3200 for sale for $99; it looks like new and comes with a full tank of gas.” “Wait, slow down and start from the beginning,” one of his favorite statements to me. We go over all the details, and he thinks I should only offer them $85. I’m not someone who likes to haggle but I agreed to see if I could get it for his price. The neighbors and I agreed on $90, and they delivered the grill later that afternoon.

I’ve now had that grill for four or five years just order new grates for it and got ready for another snowy winter grilling season. It turns out grilling in the snow is just as much fun as grilling in the heat.

So, why do I like grilling so much? I think it’s the smells. Besides, no piece of meat, be it chicken, beef, pork, or fish, has the flavor you get from the grill. I’m not one for sauces as they all tend to make too much of a mess of my grates. When I grill ribs, I only put the sauce on the top and I don’t turn them over.

I much prefer to use rubs or dry spices. My favorite is Borsari’s Original Blend. It’s a blend of “Fresh herb and spices infused into sea salt. I also like Trader Joe’s Everything Seasoning and their Lemon Pepper. Although I will marinate chicken breasts and sirloin steak in Italian dressing.

Also, how else can you have a bonfire and not burn down your home? From so much grilling, now then when I try and cook something in the oven, it rarely comes out right.