Ed Wilson

Ed Wilson is one of the most respected pitmasters in the Northeast, having competed in numerous barbeque competitions around the country. He's been seen grilling at such prestigious competitions as Memphis in May and The Royal. His Carolina Vinegar sauce won the "Award of Excellence" at the National Barbecue Association annual convention. Last spring, he was one of 10 pitmasters invited to cook at the annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party fundraiser in New York's Madison Square Park, where he served over 3,100 pounds of brisket in just two six-hour periods. When not competing or grilling his award-winning recipes for customers at Wilson's Barbeque, his Connecticut restaurant, Wilson serves as a certified judge at the Kansas City Barbeque Society competitions. Wilson is also the Connecticut representative for the New England Barbecue Society and sits on the Board of Directors at the National Barbecue Association. Wilson's restaurant will be featured on the Food Network series "Diners,-Drive-ins & Dives" in the winter of 2009.

Ed's Tips:

• Maintaining a clean gas grill is very important for life extension of the grill and best practice for safely cooking on the grill. Check the burners to ensure they are clear of any clogging material and clean inside the hood as well as any surface that might come in contact with the flame or food. Use a good household grease cutter and sanitize with an anti-bacterial solution on areas surrounding the grill that are not necessarily in contact with food. Be sure to keep your charcoal grills clean, too.
• Do a "burn-off" to ensure the grill is extra-clean before cooking. Bring the grill up to a very high temperature to clean grease off the grates and then use a wire brush to remove residual material. If you don't have a wire brush, use crumpled up aluminum foil, protecting your hands with heat protected gloves, or a long handled tong.
• Use Crisco® No-Stick Cooking Spray before and after grilling to maintain a non-stick surface which makes it much easier to move food on the grill while cooking.
• For an inch- to an inch-and-a-half thick steak, heat the grill as high as possible (my grill gets to 500 degrees) and sear steak for two minutes per side. Turn the steak 180 degrees in the second minute to seal in the juices.
• Cook steak based on firmness for your particular preference.
  • For rare, the meat should give little resistance when pressed and the meat juices should run red.
  • For medium-rare, the meat should be more firm when pressed and the meat juices should run pink.
  • For well done, the meat should be firm and the meat juices should no longer be pink.
• To improve your skills, use a Log Book to track your grilling. For example, note the outside temperature, grill temperature, length of time the food took to cook, thickness of steak, hamburger, fish fillet, etc. Track the details, outcome, yield and people fed so you can figure out what works best.