One of the few competitors who cooked on-site, Wasi showed off his pitmaster skills, using a public park grill (the frustrating kind) in windy situations. His wife Muna’s recipe (see below) combined with his grilling expertise resulted in tender and juicy chicken with “perfect Asian flavor” per the judges. Wasi presenting his Korean Thunder Chicken to the judges Wasi is the type of pitmaster who can thrive with any grill. For this competition, he used this rusty public park grill at the competition site. As part of our ongoing series interviewing the competitors, below are Wasi’s answers and his award-winning recipe. ——————————————————————————————————————- What type of grill/smoker do you have? I have the Weber Charcoal Grill and a Gas Grill. What grills/smokers...
Only one competitor brought chicken wings to the competition. Neghae’s clever recipe (see below) and his pitmaster skills resulted in tender, juicy wings “with a kick at the end” per the judges. As you’ll read below, Neghae owns a multitude of grills and knows how to use them. His meals are outstanding, and I often find myself trying to figure out how I can get invited over for dinner 🙂 . Judges happily chowed down on Neghae’s Kickin Jalapeno Chicken! What type of grill/smoker do you have? Big Green Egg: L, XL and Small. Also have Weber Smokey Joe 14” Portable and a KitchenAid Natural Gas Grill with GrillGrates. What grills/smokers have you had in the past? Weber Kettle...
This was the lone non-chicken entry in our poultry competition. Rehan’s intricate recipe resulted in one of the most beautiful turkeys I’ve ever seen. Not just did it look good, the judges loved the flavor and felt it was “cooked to perfection.” As part of our ongoing series interviewing the competitors, below are Rehan’s answers and his outstanding recipe. ———————————————————————- What type of grill/smoker do you have? Kamado Big Joe What grills/smokers have you had in the past? SmokinIT Number 2, Electric smoker, Weber charcoal grill, Cajun Big Easy Oilless frier (this is like a dutch oven that cooks, chicken, turkey and I have even cooked a whole leg of lamb in it. Various other gas based grills. What...
The winning dish of this year’s Halal BBQ Pitmasters competition was Kamran Rizvi’s “Karachi Bam Chicken.” It was so good that he nearly got a perfect score from the judges (he lost one point on appearance). One of the judges (Rosie from our favorite halal Thai restaurant Noodle Wave) commented this dish reminded her of the street food where she grew up, evoking emotions of missing her hometown. Having tried Kamran’s dish myself, I attest that it bursted with layers of flavor. In fact, I’ll be trying to replicate it this weekend for my family. I’ve used the below marinade to make chicken wings too. Kamran presenting his dish to the judges As part of our ongoing series interviewing the...
Our 2nd place champion, Aamer Agha, exhibits an admirable passion for grilling, and is willing to share his wisdom (see below). The judges loved his presentation and the robust flavor of his chicken. Hanif ‘Mo’ Islam, owner of The Gyro Shop, commented “This was very different. Everything went well together. All the ingredients were phenomenal. My favorite!” Aamer’s recipe combines South Asian and Mediterranean flavors with only a few ingredients (kashimir red paste and Rajah tandoori masala) that require a trip to an Indian/Pakistani grocery store. Aamer presenting his dish to the judges. As part of our ongoing series interviewing the competitors, below are Aamer’s answers and his outstanding recipe. —————————————————————————————— What type of grill/smoker do you have? Currently I use a...
