Fire and meat

My friend call me first thing Monday morning to goad me into grilling.  She began the conversation with, "so, is your meat marinating, or are you going to your Aunt Mary's?"  I said, neither.  My Aunt Mary cooks an excessive amount of food for every holiday, but I am conscientiously trying to avoid beef from unknown sources. 

I ended up going to Whole Foods and getting suckered into the Fill the Grill deal ($10 off a $40 meat purchase).  I bought lamb shoulder chops, chicken thighs, ground beef, and burger patties. I decided to keep it simple so I just made the burgers and corn on the cob. 

As the days progressed, I was unable to muster up the enthusiasm to make the Low Country sauce so I decided instead to marinate the meat yesterday morning.  Although many think of backyard grilling as an American tradition (with regional variation).  I think it diffused to America via immigrants.  It's reasonable to assume that any nomad/herder/rancher with fire would cook their meat over an open flame, hence the churrascos in South America and the kebabs across the "Middle East."  I must say that I have enjoyed my share of "mixed grills."

Bear with me - I might even guess that via the Islamic and Ottoman Empires, grilling diffused into many lands, including parts of Africa; this diffused with the transatlantic slave trade into the American south; and the rest is history.  The bbq I went to in UAE would put backyard bashes to shame.  You go to the souk to select a live lamb, have it slaughtered and butchered into a variety of parts.  At the location (in this case, Jebel Hafit) the women form the kebabs and we feast. 

That convoluted explanation was an attempt to explain my choice of marinade - I did my usual + garlic + bizaara - last night my husband fired up the grill (with hardwood charcoal) and we enjoyed our primitive meal, complimented by roasted yams and sauteed spinach.