Man to Have BBQ Every Day for a Year to Raise Money to Adopt a Rhino

A South African man is planning to brave the wild weather of Wimbledon, south London, over the course of the next 12 months by holding a barbecue every day – come rain, wind or snow – to raise money to adopt a rhino.

Matt Hartley, 31, loves alfresco dining so much that, after his friends challenged him to continue BBQing even when the current warm weather ends, he decided to go ahead with his slightly bizarre plan.

However, although he admits he ‘loves a bit of steak’ he has been forced to take on a more varied menu under pressure from his girlfriend.

As a result, he’s taken to barbecuing meals such as pizza and chicken curry pie as well as prime cuts of beef – and he says any proceeds he raises through sponsorship money will go towards adopting a rhino back in his homeland.

‘I love to braai [South African barbecue] and, after many debates of whether or not it was possible to braai every day for a year in the UK, I have decided to take on the challenge,’ he said.

‘As a South African, we take our braai very seriously. I pretty much braai every day anyway, through the snow, whatever, and my mates said I couldn’t do it, but I’ll make it through to the end, no problem.’

Claiming he was taught to BBQ ‘just after learning to walk’, Mr Hartley said that after conceding ground over his menu his girlfriend has come around to the idea of eating outside in the rain.

‘She’s loving life – she doesn’t have to cook and there’s less washing up,’ he added to the Wimbledon Guardian.

The cost of sponsoring a rhino in the province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, is £200 a month.

“Texas BBQ”.

Okay, what makes Texas BBQ different from say, southwest classic?

I’ve got one from Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in Llano, but while it may pass as *a* Texas sauce, I wouldn’t know if there is a more traditional Texas blend around.

1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons American chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon bacon grease
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup lager beer
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons steak sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Hot sauce to taste
2 cups beef, veal, or chicken stock

Mix the paprika, black pepper, American chili powder, and cumin in a small bowl.

In a one quart saucepan, melt the bacon fat and gently cook the onion over medium heat until translucent.

Add the garlic, bell pepper, and the spice mix. Stir, and cook for two minutes to extract the flavors.

Add the stock and the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well blended. Simmer on medium for 15 minutes.

Now personally, being from Arizona, I would make several mods to this Texas sauce.

It’s a judgment call to use sweet paprika and blended chili powder, or hot paprika and cut back on the chili powder. If you use them both, then hot sauce should be added by the consumer.

I like the onions caramelized, with browned edges, to give it some extra flavor.

In addition to the cooked garlic, I’d throw in some sliced elephant garlic as an uncooked garnish. It’s really a leek, not a garlic, but it is grand to snack on as a side dish. It’s about as potent as purple onion. Some chilled jicama slices and lime wedges really cool the fire as well.

Adding steak sauce seems kind of redundant.

Instead of adding brown sugar, I’d use blackstrap molasses or sorghum syrup. Good question whether sulfured or unsulfured would be tastier.

And instead of meat or vegetable broth, I would use beef bone broth.

You, sir, have given this quite a bit of thought. But, as the songwriter said, less is more. Here is a Texas homerun. I have not shared this with anyone, but you seem to be a dedicated BBQ man. So....I am making this one exception. Listen-Up....

1 quart Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Pint Virgin Olive Oil.

1 cup Wostershire Sauce.

1 Cup granular Sugar

3 tablespoons Cayanne Pepper

4 Tablespoons Fine Milled Black Pepper

1 Cup Salt

Now....spend about $85 and get an entire Tenderloin, 2 sets of Spare Ribs (or St.Louis ribs if preferred), Brisket Flat

Salt and Pepper the meat. Get your fire with (I prefer Pecan, but Post Oak or Red Oak will get the job done) Bring the fire to about 275-300 degrees F. Do not put the meat over the fire. Cook slowly. The tenderloin takes about 5 hours...the meat should be basted often (about every 20-30 minutes with your bastings) Do not rush it.

Once cooked, rebaste with your basting concoction. Have a small bowl on the table so the eaters can baste while eating.

That, my friend, will be the best BBQ you ever eat.

This is a family heirloom. Do not tell anyone else. Remember, you are the only one I have told about this art.

You must have a big family. That’s pretty close to a luau. Much obliged for the recipe.

In exchange, allow me to present by far the best way to cook non-BBQ beef: Sous-Vide. It is beef heaven for beef lovers.

I didn’t kick down for a machine, instead checked a candy thermometer every five minutes for a few hours to keep the water at 135F. It kept all the beef flavor and odor in the meat, and was downright amazing when I finally opened the bag. A quick sear and it was everything I ever wanted in a steak.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/how-to-sous-vide-steak.html

A big deal was that cheaper cuts are actually more flavorful than restaurant cuts. Important now that the price of beef is jumping up. After the steaks, I used ordinary cubed stew beef and it tasted great, in beef stroganoff, beef goulash, and beef bourguignon. Beef week.

I do not wish to sound indelicate, ungrateful, or insensible to your suggestions. I am sure your prescription is fine fare. But I have taken you to the mountain top.

A few afterthoughts. Remember when the tenderloin is approaching done, due to the taper of the loin and as it thins toward the forward area, this is the part of the loin which can be sampled to make a determination of it being done. That is the best part of the cookout...you have an excuse to sample the food. It also is the most highly marbled of the loin and its taste and juciness is beyond description.

The same thing can be done with a pork loin, but it lacks the juciness...it seems to dry out quicker than beef. (When using the beef loin do not try to obtain a 'prime'. Most are graded choice and the tenderloin is naturally tender (if made into steaks it is the filet mignon). Now you may go forth and multiply your cullinary affections. I hope you enjoy.

P.S.

This is an art learned by my dad, who passed it on to me. He learned from some old black man who was a friend and cooked in a pit. He dug a pit in the ground. We would stop each year on the way to the Huntsville Prison Rodeo....probably the best rodeo in Texas at that time. We drove up from Baytown. As we approached Huntsville more and more people were selling BBQ out of their yards. Then the ACLU lawyers forced the the rodeo shut down because too many prisoners, who had never ridden a pleasure horse, and who were on death row, were seemingly without hope, had the opportunity to make some money, were silling to get up on some of the rankest bulls in Texas....broncs too. I did not see it, but my Dad told me, when he was a kid, one of the riders got hung in the riggin' of a wild bronc and the horse started circling the arena. The rider was centrifugally made into a weed-eater and as the horse passed each post his head would hit the railroad ties and after a few rounds...well, his head was mush. He did not get paid. They also had a wild cow milking contest. They brought in some wild bramah (bremmer) cow who would try to kill the team members. It was fun....but at times brutal.

But I digress...Enjoy your BBQ.

P.S.S.Go to Youtube and listen to Robert Earl Keens song...Bar-B-Que...you will like it.

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