Barbecue Secrets episode 5 - A barbecue history lesson, answers to listener questions and competition tips

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Barbecue Secrets podcast, a show celebrating the many pleasures of outdoor cooking. E-mail questions, tips and suggestions to [email protected]. In this edition: An interview with World Barbecue Organizer Rocky Danner who talks about how the people of the West Indies used empty U.S. Army oil drums to make the precursor of the modern back yard grill (the photo at the top of this post is an authentic Jamaican barbecue grill made from an oil drum) Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn of amazingribs.com and I answer a couple of questions about ribs from listener Craig Jolly one about marinades and rubs, and another about the infamous "Texas crutch" Competition Corner -- Jeff of Light My Fire BBQ asks about the merits of wood pellets and Glenn Erho of House of Q wonders if there's a better way to clean the cooking grates of his Smokey Mountain Cooker. Podcast #5  Recipe: Marinade for Pork Since Craig and I talked about marinades, here's one of my favorites: Pork tastes great no matter how you prepare them, but this sweet, aromatic marinade nicely offsets the richness of pork and gives it an exotic edge. You can use this for ribs, chops or tenderloins. 1/4 cup/50 mL soy sauce 2 Tbsp./25 mL dry sherry 2 Tbsp./25 mL honey 2 Tbsp./25 mL brown sugar 1 tsp./5 mL salt 1/2 tsp./2 mL crushed anise seed 1/2 tsp./2 mL  ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp./1/2 mL ground cloves 1 Tbsp./15 mL grated fresh ginger Combine ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved.  Cool before marinating meat in a sealable bag for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge if you want a stronger flavour. Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Planking Secrets: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor, and Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books.