Gentlemen, to your barbecues!

Gone are the days of the little oxidized gray Hibachi that our fathers occasionally used to cook burgers. Modern BBQs are now essential and have carved out an enviable place for themselves in the culinary world. But that's just the beginning, because the real grill revolution is coming, thanks to our neighbors to the south. Exploration of a phenomenon that fuels testosterone.

For the love of fire

Festivals, recipe books, specialty shops, the world of grilling has been burning brightly for some time time in Quebec. And like their ancestors, it is men who have overwhelmingly reclaimed this age-old culinary art. With the difference that the humid cave has given way to a green sunny courtyard!

"People have a taste for new culinary experiences, they are beginning to see that there is something else in the BBQ universe," says Antoine Sicotte, who has just published a fifth Road trip BBQ recipe book. , this one entirely devoted to cooking on the fire. “There is still a long way to go, we still see a lot of hot dogs and burgers, but we are catching up. »

You realize this when you see the breadth of sections dedicated to barbecues in department stores, but especially when you note the recent appearance of shops mainly devoted to grills, smokers and other outdoor cooking accessories. Although cooking over the fire is universal, the explosion of barbecue cooking in Quebec is attributable to the fact that we have opened the door to our Americanness.

"There was a certain snobbery that associated rednecks with everything that comes from the United States," laments Antoine Sicotte. But hipster fashion has helped shed new light on mainstream Americana, educating people that this culture isn't just about guys with mullets and "12" cuts hanging in their pickup. »

“There is something friendly, familial and convivial about American BBQ cooking, and I think it goes very well with our own Quebec culture. »

Men's universe

Antoine Sicotte's book exults this Americanness, with multiple photos taken by the rebellious cook himself, in Arizona, Texas, Nevada. A universe populated by old rusty crates, vintage gas pumps, a very masculine universe it goes without saying. “There is something that joins the guys, recognizes Antoine Sicotte. Old garages, an old Telecaster, a chopper, an old hot-rod: all these things allow me to let my imagination run wild. It's an outlet, a universe which is mine, and which is not Madame's. Barbecue is another point on this map of typically male elements. It's metal, it's fire, it's raw. »

"There's a little Neanderthal side to it," admits Max Lavoie, author of the book BBQ au Max, co-organizer of BBQ Fest de Québec and co-owner of BBQ Québec shops. We've been cooking on fire for 500,000 years. Guys, deep down, we're a bit thick; we like it when there are flames. But we also want to impress our women! »

"The girls could very well take control of the barbecue, but it gives them the greatest pleasure to see their boyfriend take the lead," adds Antoine Sicotte. It's nice for them to see their boyfriend cooking. »

“You enjoy the pleasure of being outside with a cold beer, with your buddies and your kids playing in the yard. You oversee your little paradise, you are the alpha male behind your BBQ. »

In doing so, some guys have decided to go all out to impress their better half... but also all their guests. Cooking techniques have been refined with the resurgence of charcoal and the growth in popularity of smokehouses, which allow the slow cooking of otherwise ignored cuts of meat. “Smokers are becoming specialists in thermodynamics,” says Antoine Sicotte. There's a little geek side to it, it becomes mechanics beyond the kitchen. The fat which is transformed into collagen, perfectly melted, which comes to generate a juice in the meat, for me, it is as beautiful as a grain of sand which is transformed into a diamond! »

Obviously, all of this is linked to the final sensory experience, so far from that felt when eating an overcooked steak such as those we were still served ten years ago. “When I make food, I have tears in my eyes to see people tripping, admits Max Lavoie. It's like an art, like music to my ears. »

Three grilling enthusiasts

BBQ is obviously not just the business of professionals. Grill and smoker enthusiasts are increasingly found in backyards and on city and suburban balconies. Advice capsules.

Olivier Fiset, 26, musician, Montreal

Profile

Passionate about cooking on the flame for four years, he works on a propane grill, but takes advantage of his camping expeditions to perfect his cooking techniques over a wood fire. “I have developed another relationship with food when I cook it over the fire. Cooking depends on the flame, whether direct or indirect; in fact, one can adapt the taste to the flame. »

Fetish recipe

"When I receive people, I choose a good cut of meat, a one-inch steak, an inch and a half, accompanied by blue cheese or goat cheese butter, with fresh herbs. »

Tips

“You have to be patient, be consistent when cooking. And don't be shy about going "all-in" when you try something. If you hesitate and change your mind constantly, that's where you don't understand anything and you don't learn. »

Derek Elliott, 43, producer in the video game industry, Montreal West

Profile

A grill artist for over 15 years, he works as much on a propane BBQ as on a charcoal bell. “The BBQ brings so much more flavor to the meat. I also love the tangible side of the broiling, the handling of the meat, and the sense of accomplishment you get at the end. »

Favorite recipe

“I hit a home run with my ribs. Everyone who tastes them tells me they are the best they have ever eaten. I developed my recipe by taking inspiration from several recipes taken right and left. »

Trick

A pot filled with water in the center of the charcoal. “It normalizes the cooking temperature, in addition to adding a little steam to the cooking. In addition, I recover cooking fat that has fallen into the water to add to my sauces. »

Charles Patenaude, 45, project manager, Montreal West

Profile

A fan of slow charcoal cooking since 2006, while visiting friends in Georgia. “When I ate their ribs, I fell in love. Since then, I only eat ribs if I make them myself. »

Fetish recipe

“What I like is to see the reaction of my guests when they taste my pulled pork. Now that it's popular, it's fun to see people discovering real pulled pork, where the use of sauce is very minimal. It took me a summer, if not two, before I fully mastered my technique. »

Tip

“Keep your recipes simple. When making spice blends, you have to keep the key elements. Also, you have to invest in tools like a digital thermometer, it really helps to determine if the cooking is ideal. »

Competitions and festivals

Because BBQing is an art, here are some practical tips to find out everything you need to know about getting started grilling, competitions and festivals.

Invitation to the BBQ

BBQ is an art, and the most talented cooks often work on instinct. But it is nevertheless an art that can be learned, so that there are now courses to perfect its techniques. “When people buy Napoleon barbecues, for example, they don't know what to do with them,” says Max Lavoie, co-owner of BBQ Québec stores. We show people how to use it to the fullest. The self-proclaimed BBQ “guru” leads the training sessions himself, as does his brother Jean-Philippe. The guys from BBQ Québec have also set up more technical training on the proper way to use smokers, like the famous Kamado Joe shells. "We are also working on a BBQ 'university', where people would be taught how to prepare pork shoulder or briskets," adds Max Lavoie. As it is difficult to do this in an 8 hour training, it would take place over a full weekend where we can really do a 16 hour cooking. We are talking about a gargantuan feast, organized in a large resort. Somewhere in the Portneuf area, we are told. Other stores like BBQ Doyon, BBQ Labonté as well as the Culinary Academy offer demonstrations on what can be done with a grill. However, you have to act quickly, because places are limited.

Festivals

Popular in the United States and English Canada, events that celebrate BBQ cooking are just arriving here. In Richmond, in the Eastern Townships, the local chamber of commerce was looking for a theme to organize an agri-food festival; At the instigation of local merchants, the Wolfe BBQ Fest was launched last year. “We stand out from gourmet fairs because there is something rebellious around the BBQ,” explains Roxanne Labonté, co-owner of Le Gars de Sausages, which manufactures and distributes a wide variety of sausages. We thus hope to attract a public other than that of traditional agri-food fairs. The clientele is young and festive, with many small families, and this is also the case for the Grand RibFest - presented this weekend in Laval and next month in Montreal - as well as the BBQ Fest de Québec, organized by the essential Lavoie brothers. “The BBQ is a party, that's what makes people love it so much,” says Max Lavoie. As for the BBQ Fest, it is for three days the largest outdoor restaurant in Quebec. Several street food trucks meet here, and many chefs and restaurateurs come to present grilled and smoked dishes. »

Competitions

In addition to the festivals, there are also formal competitions, where teams compete whose sole objective is to make judges and visitors salivate. In fact, the Wolfe BBQ Fest is hosting this year a round of the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), considered the NFL of grilling. Several American and Canadian teams should be on hand to compete against the best from back home. This is the case of What the Pork?, a trio from Drummondville who have just become KCBS pros and who will participate in four events during the summer, in Quebec, Ontario and Vermont. “We started with good old hot dogs and burgers, recalls Jocelyn Martel. In 2009, I walked the Appalachian Trail, in Tennessee and North Carolina, in the heart of the birthplace of BBQ. I had the sting, and I said to myself that it was necessary to manufacture a smoking room. So we swapped burgers for ribs and pulled pork! Competitions reserved for amateurs and organized under the aegis of the new Association québécoise de barbecue will also take place at BBQ Fest de Québec as well as at the Fêtes gourmandes de Laval, among others.