Create the Perfect Barbecue with Chef Joe Sasso

Want to be the grill master at your Independence Day Barbecue on Monday? Executive Chef Joe Sasso, of Mount Vernon, with the New York Hospital Group, gives a tutorial on how to grill the perfect steak, hamburger and shrimp kabobs for your Fourth of July BBQ, from his expansive kitchen at Sam’s of Gedney Way in White Plains.

Sasso creates the Samburger, a special at Sam's. The Samburger consists of a handmade beef patty with Sam’s “special sauce," fresh arugula, mozzarella cheese, plum tomatoes, balsamic onions and crispy shoestring fries. Sasso grills shrimp kabobs, shrimp with three color peppers and pearl onions, topped with a Sambal sauce and mango jicama slaw. The third grilled item is a classic steak topped with onions, sautéed in Sam’s of Gedney Way’s own barbecue sauce.

Sasso, who currently lives in New Fairfield, Conn., graduated from the Culinary Institute of America located in Poughkeepsie in 1984 and has worked in the Westchester food industry ever since. The New York Hospital Group, located on 52 Gedney Way, incorporates three different businesses: Sam’s of Gedney Way, The Great American BBQ Company, and Caperberry Events Catering.

Sasso provided The Daily Chappaqua with a few simple tips on how to achieve, what he considers, the perfect barbecue:

1.  Keep grill clean and well-oiled to avoid meat sticking to the grill surface. Don’t turn the grill on high to cook faster, that will cook the meat too thoroughly and make it tough and dry. Cook on medium with one side off as a way to cook to the proper temperature and keep the food warm for serving.

2.  Use tinfoil on the ends of your kabobs to avoid burning the entire stick, creating a clean handle to enjoy your kabob.

3.  Place meat, beef or chicken, on the grill diagonally and flip in the opposite direction after a few minutes to duplicate the cross-crossed grill markers often found at restaurants.  

 

What do you plan on barbequing this Fourth of July? Let us know below or by emailing mesposito@mainstreetconnect.us.

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