Thrill at the Grill, on a Shoestring!

Banana and barbecue. An unlikely combination.

But on "The Early Show Saturday Edition," one of the nation's leading grilling experts demonstrated how you can grill anything - even a banana split!

Not only that: She showed that you can do it inexpensively!

Elizabeth Karmel, executive chef of the popular New York restaurant Hill Country, accepted our "Chef on a Shoestring" challenge and sought to fire up a three-course summer feast, all on the grill, and all for under our recession-busting limit of $35!

Karmel has several grilling cookbooks and a top-rated Web site, Girls at the Grill.

In sharing her secrets for great grilling and making the ultimate barbecue, Karmel also automatically tossed her chef's hat into our "How Low Can You Go?" competition. At year's end, the "Shoestring" chef with the lowest total ingredients cost will be invited back to prepare our knock-your-socks-off holiday meal.

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Fire-Roasted Corn with Smoked Paprika Butter
Salt and Pepper Pork Spare Ribs
Grilled Banana Split Sundae

FOOD FACT

Spare ribs: a variety of pork ribs, cooked and eaten in various cuisines around the world. They are the most inexpensive cut of pork ribs. They are a long cut from the lower portion of the pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. There is a covering of meat on top of the bones as well as between them. Spare ribs are taken from the belly side of the rib cage above the sternum (breast bone) and below the back ribs which extend about 6" down from the spine. Spare ribs are flatter than the curved back ribs and contain more bone than meat. There is also quite a bit of fat which can make the ribs more tender than back ribs. St. Louis Cut ribs are spare ribs where the sternum bone, cartilage, and the surrounding meat known as the rib tips have been removed. St. Louis Cut rib racks are almost rectangular.

RECIPES

Fire-Roasted Corn With Smokes Paprike Butter

INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
6 ears corn, shucked
Olive oil
Sea salt
Lime wedges

METHOD:

Build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.

In a small bowl, mash together the butter, paprika, and garlic salt. Set aside at room temperature.

Brush the corn lightly all over with olive oil. Place it on the cooking grate over direct medium heat. Cover and cook, turning occasionally, until the kernels are lightly browned and blistered all over (8 to 10 minutes).

Spread the paprika butter evenly over the corn, and sprinkle it with salt and a squirt of lime just before eating.

Salt and Pepper Ribs

INGREDIENTS:
Wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes (optional)
2 racks pork spare ribs
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Barbeque sauce

METHOD:

Build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill. Set up the grill for indirect heat; if using wood chips, place the soaked chips directly on the charcoal, or in the smoking box of a gas grill.

Remove the silver skin from the back of the ribs, if desired.

In a small bowl, mix the salt, pepper and cayenne pepper together and sprinkle the ribs liberally with the mixture.

Place the ribs, bone-side down, in the center of the cooking grate, or in a rib holder or rack, over indirect medium-low heat. Grill covered (between 300-325°F, if your gas grill has a thermometer) for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the meat is tender and has pulled back from the ends of the rib bones.
Leave the ribs unattended for the first 30 minutes-this means no peeking; especially important if using wood chips. If the ribs start to burn on the edges, stack them on top of one another in the very center of the grill and lower the heat slightly. Twenty minutes before serving, un-stack if necessary and brush the ribs with the barbeque sauce.

Remove the ribs from the grill; let them rest for 10 minutes before cutting into individual or 2 to 3 rib portions. Warm any remaining sauce in a saucepan and serve on the side.

For the Grilled Banana Split recipe, go to Page 2!

Grilled Banana Split

INGREDIENTS:
4 bananas, unpeeled
1 tablespoon honey
8 small scoops vanilla ice cream
1 cup jarred chocolate fudge sauce or Chocolate Ganache, heated
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
Whipped cream (optional)
Maraschino cherries (optional)

METHOD:

Build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.

Slice the bananas, in their skins, in half crosswise and then lengthwise so each banana yields 4 pieces. Place bananas on a platter. Drizzle the honey on the cut sides of the bananas. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

Place the bananas, cut-side down, on the center of a clean cooking grate over direct medium-low heat and cover. Grill for 2 minutes or until grill marks appear. Using a pair of long-handled tongs, turn them over and cook 5 more minutes, or until the skin pulls away from the banana.

Let the bananas cool slightly, and then remove the skins. Arrange 2 banana halves on each serving plate or bowl. Top each serving with 2 scoops of ice cream. Ladle ¼ cup of hot fudge over each sundae. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

So, how did Elizabeth do in our "How Low Can You Go?" competition?

CORN
paprika $.79
garlic salt $.79
corn $4.00
limes $.78
total $6.36

RIBS
pork ribs $14.95
cayenne pepper $.79
barbeque sauce $1.99
total $17.73

BANANA SPLIT
bananas $.80
honey $2.19
vanilla ice cream $1.25
chocolate fudge $1.99
pecans $.99
whipped cream $1.88
maraschino cherries $.99
total: tal $10.09

Grand total: $34.18

Who are our current leaders?

1. Paul Liebrandt $32.35
Corton

2. Scott Peacock $32.60
Watershed Restaurant

3. Joey Campanaro $33.27
The Little Owl