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For Evan Fogg, there is no such thing as barbecue season.

Or maybe more accurately, barbecue season never ends. The co-owner of Luxe Barbecue Company says any day is a good day to grill, and any time is a good time to better your skills.

There are a lot of ways to step up your barbecuing game, with companies making user-friendly grills that make the activity more accessible and less arcane, even for those who are at the “burn hot dogs and burgers on a gas grill” stage.

The idea Fogg and his business partner Phil Squarie had when starting Luxe — which has locations at 1290 Kenaston Blvd. and 33 Stapleton St. — was “to have everything.”

“Whether it be the average backyard griller to the person who’s barbecuing twice a day, seven days a week, we wanted to have something for everybody and accessories to match that,” Fogg said while leaning on a smoker at the Kenaston location.

The first step to barbecuing better, Fogg says, is an upgrade to a charcoal or pellet grill.

“A gas grill, the only flavour you’re getting off of it is any of the marinades, sauces, or rubs you’re using,” he said, as opposed to wood pellets and charcoal that impart additional flavour.

Kettle-style grills are a good starter for people looking to get into charcoal grilling.

People shouldn’t be intimidated by these types of grills, he says. They have a bit of a learning curve, but aren’t a time sink or too hard to get a handle on.

“Once you get the hang of it, it doesn’t take a significant amount longer than a gas grill does and, in my opinion, the flavour profiles you get from it make up for the maybe 10-15 minutes extra that it’s taking,” he said.

With a kettle grill, one makes a bed of charcoal under the cooking surface. Mesquite or hickory wood chunks can also be added.

A Big Green Egg grill, meanwhile, is “like a Weber, but just souped-up,” Fogg said. Webers are steel, but Big Green Eggs — which look just like the name suggests — are heavy ceramic. Adjustable airflow vents at the top and bottom control heat; the more airflow, the hotter the internal temperature.

Ceramic does an extremely good job of retaining heat, Fogg says. “It (retains) the heat so much, it doesn’t need as much of the charcoal to burn to hold that temperature,” he said.

A “convEGGtor” or “plate setter” insert allows for indirect cooking, with the Big Green Egg acting like a convection oven.

“You could cook anywhere from, I would say, 150 degrees to 1,200 degrees if you wanted to… there’s a vast array of things you could do on a Big Green Egg that you don’t really necessarily get from a lot of other units.”

Big Green Eggs come in many sizes, with some Luxe customers owning multiple for different quantities of cooking, Fogg says.

Traeger pellet grills are the best sellers of that ilk. “They’re very versatile and easy to use,” he said.

One pours pellets into a side hopper, then sets the temperature on a digital display like setting an oven. For example, if one sets it to 200 degrees, the grill will go to 200 degrees exactly. If or when the temperature drops below 200, the grill will feed more pellets into the fire pot, which is under the cooking chamber. A fan makes the pellets combust.

“I always tell people it’s actually easier than a gas grill because on a gas grill you have no idea what temperature you’re setting it, Fogg said. “You’re just turning the knobs and it’s either high, low, medium or somewhere in between… it’s like an oven in the sense that you are setting the temperature and it is doing everything it can to hold at that temperature.”

Most Traegers are even Wi-Fi controlled, so temperatures can be changed from afar.

Many grill manufacturers have apps with recipes and instructional videos, which can be great resources to new users, Fogg said.

Another popular item of late is pizza ovens. One could spend $5,000 or more on a full-sized wood-burning one at Luxe, but there are also mini countertop ovens fuelled by charcoal, gas, pellets, or wood.

At 9,800 square feet, Luxe’s Kenaston store is quite the mecca (the Stapleton store is even bigger at 12,000 square feet). Each brand has its own dedicated section, which includes all the accessories.

“We wanted to be able to show everything, and the large space we have certainly helps with that,” Fogg said. “Whether somebody wanted a $300 barbecue or they wanted a $15,000 or $20,000 barbecue, we wanted to offer that, and so far, so good, I think we’ve done a decent job of that.”

In addition to equipment, Luxe has a lengthy wall of shelves dedicated to condiments, marinades, rubs, and sauces, some local and some sourced from other places in Canada and the U.S.

One meaty resource for those who want to talk barbecuing online or connect with local grilling gurus is the Facebook group Backyard Barbecuers & Enthusiasts of Manitoba.

The group has only existed since mid-July, but already has nearly 300 members. They not only post pictures of sumptuous meals — from burgers, steaks, and whole chickens to entire pork butts, briskets, and slabs of ribs — but also discuss equipment, cooking techniques, and recipes. Chatter about reverse sears, best rubs, and proper timings abound.

Many members cook over charcoal and wood, owning Big Green Eggs, Traegers, or Webers. Still others have their own rotisseries, flap-top griddles, and backyard smokers.

Lisa Palleva, founder of the Facebook group, decided to step up from gas grill to the “charcoal grill life” and hasn’t looked back.

The St. Francois Xavier resident sings the praises of her Big Green Egg and the smaller version, the MiniMax.

“(They) are so versatile; you can smoke, grill, bake, rotisserie, anything an oven can do, it can do,” she said. “But you get an amazing charcoal/smoky flavour to your food. I love it.”

Her gas grill, meanwhile, hasn’t been used for two years except for storage, she laughs.

Brad Biehn is one group member with plenty of gear and experience. A former IT director for a Winnipeg school division who’s now retired, Biehn has a Blackstone, a Bulldog — from Bulldog BBQs, which his stepson founded — a few Webers, and a pizza oven at his disposal at his cottage north of the city.

He also owns a Santa Maria, an elevated adjustable grate-style grill set over a pit of coals and wood, which Luxe installed.

“It’s been a 30-year journey,” Biehn said, which has included being on a Kansas City Barbecue Society competition team and organizing barbecue events in Manitoba.

His “barbecue awakening” came when he was doing some consulting work in South Carolina and Texas, specifically at a mom-and-pop joint in the latter state. “As I tell my friends,” he says, “one bite and I heard the angels sing.”

His only experience with “barbecue” prior was eating ribs his mother would boil, sauce with ketchup and brown sugar, then broil in the oven.

“Southern low-and-slow barbecue is steeped in a long history filled with tradition, something we don’t have in Canada,” he said.

Biehn enjoys cooking traditional cuts of chicken, pork butt, tri-tip, and ribs, but also enjoys trying new techniques. He uses his pizza oven not only for pies, but also breads, roasts, stews and tapas.

Biehn stresses the importance of owning a good instant-read meat thermometer, saying one should always “cook to temp, not time.” It’s not the end of the world to overcook or undercook a steak a little bit, Fogg says, but with meats like brisket or pulled pork, “a few degrees can make a world of difference.

“If you undercook brisket by six, seven degrees or overcook brisket by six, seven degrees, it can totally change the texture of it, it can totally change the final outcome of it,” he continues. He added thermometers are often built right into grills now.

Technique is one thing, but “it’s all about the quality of your product,” Biehn said, adding a “good old-time local butcher” who will provide custom cuts and will work to source what you want is key.

Palleva says it’s her preference to barbecue good-quality meats but adds that a cheaper cut — a chuck roast, for example — when treated properly can be great in a stew, as pulled beef, or as burnt ends.

“It’s a bit of technique, and a bit of patience, and a lot of practice,” she said.

Fogg agrees, naming flank steak and pork butt as two inexpensive meats that can still give wow-factor if properly prepared.

Biehn has a gas grill at his condo in Winnipeg, but like Palleva’s, it doesn’t get much use. “I’m really not a push-button guy when it comes to cooking,” he said.

His stepson’s company, Bulldog BBQ, has a tagline: “turn BBQ back into the experience it was meant to be.” Biehn lives by that credo.

“Over-fire cooking is an event that brings family and friends together,” he said. “To gather around a fire eating, laughing, and hanging out — it’s pretty primeval, if you think about it.”

As for Fogg’s setup, he has four main grills: a Delta Heat gas grill, a Kamado Joe (the same style as a Big Green Egg), a Traeger, and a Louisiana.

He’s big on cooking pork back ribs, ribeye steaks, and pork tenderloins. He often experiments with how he’s cooking something — changing the method or the grill — rather than what he’s cooking.

“There’s a lot of time I’ll fire up more than one grill,” he said. “I’m always looking up different ways to cook a steak or different ways to cook ribs.”

Fogg doesn’t actually get to barbecue much during summer because it’s Luxe’s high season. He’s more active in fall, winter and spring, and unsurprisingly, when he goes to friends’ houses and they’re cooking, he often ends up being the cook.

More people are grilling year-round, Fogg said. The ways barbecues work now allow for that, even in a climate like Winnipeg’s.

“It’s not like you have to stand out there at the grill for an hour, you can just put it on and go outside, so you don’t have to worry about the – 40 as much,” Fogg said, adding Luxe stays steady during the winter.

Palleva is one of the year-round grillers, with steaks, burgers, pizza, beef stew and chili being some of her favourites. She also enjoys making smoked cream cheese for jalapeño poppers, and it’s on her “to cook” list to try grilling romaine lettuce.

Fogg certainly concurs with Biehn that barbecuing is about togetherness, and adds he’s looking forward to an upcoming event Luxe is holding at the Stapleton location on Sept. 17 — the Weekend Warrior Barbecue Showdown.

“One of the things I’m looking most forward to is the camaraderie,” he said. “Everybody comes, everybody gets along, everybody loves what they’re doing, it’s about having fun, right?” Palleva will be competing in the event. She and a friend entered a competition last year for the first time and loved it.

“What I enjoy most about barbecue is the community,” she said. “There are so many great people you meet in the groups and even at events. Everyone is so helpful.”

declan.schroeder@winnipegfreepress.com