Cook With Wood in Your Weber

       Every food magazine in summer does a piece about outdoor grilling. For good reason . There is nothing better than grilled meats and vegetables slathered with herbed and spiced olive oil and grilled outdoors over coals or subdued flame. The smoke adds a dimension of flavor that you get no where else.
       The debate is always gas vs charcoal. Which is better.
        Neither, really. I would choose charcoal over gas, but charcoal does require an expertise born of experience. If you are doing a dinner party or a picnic and you are not proficient on your weber with charcoal, by all means use the gas grill. I am in awe of those who have learned the indirect grilling technique for large cuts of meat like ribs and turkeys or chickens with charcoal on their weber. That is an art. Cooking it without burning it and getting it fork tender yet moist.Nothing better than that kind of slow cooking.
       But here's the rub. Just about anywhere you live, there is an abundance of local hardwoods. Either on your land or a friends or by a local wood purveyor.Wood is a lot cheaper than charcoal, and why in the world would you pay someone to burn wood to make charcoal when you can put real wood in your weber and burn it yourself till it is coals and then cook over it.Even softwoods work if you are grilling. Hard for longer indirect roasting.
      . Charcoal is expensive and has poisonous additives. Use local wood cut small and start your fire with paper, cardboard or birchbark and kindling.Cook as you would over charcoal. Enjoy the best meal of your life.
        Begin of course with quality ingredients,such as these jalapeno cheddar brats from Thielens Meats in Pierz, onions, sweet peppers and potatoes. The ethereal alchemy of burnt wood and food.