On May 25,2012 I hosted a fantastic Grill Mates BBQ in Niagara Falls, NY. It was part of a challenge from www.Crowdtap.com (it's really worth checking them out if you want to influence companies that you deal with). Through Crowdtap, McCormick sent me a nice box of all kinds of grilling spices.

We had our BBQ at 5 PM and there was a good crowd of people of all ages. I did the grilling, but my son in law fired up the grill, since it was his grill. It was a little too hot at first and I almost lost a whole rack of ribs. Good thing I was looking after them really well.

The day started out with a threat of rain. Storm clouds kept gathering and the wind picked up. By 1 PM  there was thunder and a smattering of rain.












I kept an eye on the weather app on my iPhone4S, which promised me that by 4 PM the bad weather would be over and it would once again be sunny.

And true to it's word. shortly after 4 PM the clouds began to clear and the sun filtered through. You can still see the dark storm clouds in the background, but overhead it is clear blue and beautiful. So, let the grilling begin, with yours truly as the Grillmaster.

 Anddddd...here comes the blue skies












Now it's time to get to the "meat" of this story. The fantastic grilled meats.

The ribs were prepared with the Slow & Low Memphis Pit BBQ rub. Then they were grilled slowly on a medium heat. I lightly brushed them with the Brown Sugary Bourbon BBQ and they were perfect. Only 2 little ribs were left over out of 10 lbs.

RIB TIP: Never put raw ribs on the grill unless you like ribs that taste and act like shoe leather. My secret is to bring a big pot of water to a boil. Drop in the ribs and boil until the fat floats to the top (this should take less than 2 minutes). Remove from the pot and now it's time to put these babies on the grill. 

 This is the mouth watering chicken that I grilled. I used the Spiced Brandy and Herb Marinade. You make up the marinade and let the chicken soak in it overnight. I grilled all of the chicken and then tried adding a bread crumb crust to some of it and popped it in the over for 10 minutes. Both kinds of chicken were delicious. Every piece of chicken was devoured.

The pork chops were treated to the Molasses Bacon Seasoning. OMG.. they were so smoky, sweet and bacony (is there such a word?). I will be fixing these a whole lot at home. No left over pork chops this night.

The hamburgers were spiced up with the Montreal Steak Seasoning. Wow.. it sure gave some pizzazz to those old burgers. I brushed the hot dogs with the Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce and they were all devoured.

 I also grilled some corn on the cob in aluminum foil. Nothing fancy, just good food.

The marninaded chicken is also grilling in the middle of the corn.









The kids had a wonderful time in the pool, swinging on the swings and playing in the sand box. The adults hid out in the gazebo.

All of the guests had a great time. They teased me about the mounds of meat I planned on grilling. But you can never have enough meat. I had the last laugh when all that was left after everyone was full, was 2 ribs and a few hamburgers. And those made a scrumptious lunch the next day.  Here is everyone enjoying themselves.

Here's a nice panoramic video of the the activities. If you look closely you'll see all the grown ups hiding in the Gazebo. LOL.. it didn't do any good, the kids were in and out of there all the time.

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL, FULL TUMMIES AND ALL PLAYED OUT. Thanks Crowdtap and McCormick.