Yum! Barbecue trends

As the weather warms and daylight finally lasts beyond the workday, our thoughts turn to getting outside to barbecue. In the Test Kitchen, we plan and test our summer recipes during the winter (meaning, that come July and August we'll be preparing our Christmas issues -- but that's another story).

So, for the past few months we have been grilling inside, checking out new barbeque gadgets, sauces and spices and dreaming of summer produce and T-bone steaks. Since we're inspired to get grilling, we thought we'd share some ideas for barbecuing this summer.

The outdoor kitchen
Canadians are making the exodus out of the house and into the backyard for full meal preparation. Grill baskets and woks, pizza trays and side burners make it easy to bring the kitchen outside and create the whole meal on the grill.

Family-size steaks
When we talked to butchers across Canada for our June issue, we discovered their love of big cuts of beef. Family-size steaks (at least 2-inches/5 cm thick) are favourites because they are flavourful and need little preparation, slice beautifully for an impressive presentation and often have big, succulent bones. Giant T-bones, top sirloins and rib grilling steaks are their top picks.

Food Safety
Barbecue thermometers are essential for testing the internal temperature of poultry and ground meat. Our favourite new models (especially Weber's remote digital thermometer) attach to your belt and beep when the food is ready, allowing you the freedom to work in the garden or chat nearby while it keeps track of the food's doneness.

Next week:
Food trends for Spring 2006