The Heat Beads^® Hawkers’ Market will be a treat for all the senses with noodle pullers and dumpling makers stirring up the tastes of Asia at the Queen Victoria Market. You’ll be inspired with the choice of  Melbourne’s top 30 hawkers’ dishes – okonomiyaki, gado gado, ikan penggang, bulgogi, fried ice cream and more – from 12 of Melbourne’s most popular Asian chefs and restaurants, cooking over Heat Beads^® BBQ Briquettes.

The market sessions will be a great night out for all the family, set in an atmosphere of glowing lanterns, clacking bowls and clashing woks and with a variety entertainment including Asian music and dancing and live coal cooking demonstrations.

The session times are Monday 15th, Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th of March: 6:00PM to 8:00PM and 8:30PM to 10:30PM.

On-line tickets cost: $45.00 (4 Hawker plates) or $20.00 for a Mini ticket (2 Hawker plates for children under 12) and can be purchased from www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

Admission at the gate is $48.00 (4 Hawker plates) or $20.00 for a Mini ticket (2 Hawker plates for children under 12).

Simply refer your friends to our BBQ News eNewsletter to try your luck. The more friends that subscribe to the eNewsletter, the more entries you will acquire!

How to enter
1. Refer your friends – they will need to subscribe to our eNewsletter here and make sure they name you as their referring friend.

2. You fill out this entry form.

NB: Entries are open to those who will be in Melbourne from March 15 to 17 only and close Friday March 5, 2010 at 5pm EDST. You must be a subscriber to the Heat Beads^® BBQ News eNewsletter to enter this competition. Subscribe here.

Come along to a Heat Beads^® Hawkers’ Market session, 8.30-10.30pm from March 15 to 17!

While we wonder about climate warming Down Under, the Northern Hemisphere has experienced an unseasonably cold winter. Memphis was no exception – even Graceland was closed due to bad weather for the second time ever!

“Every other restaurant in town was closed due to a snow storm and there was only one waitress able to make it to work at Rendezvous, to service a packed restaurant – the poor thing! These ribs were identified by our tour leader as a “must not miss whilst in Memphis” experience so we were happy to wait.

I ordered the famous Memphis-style dry rub ribs with a side of coleslaw and some chicken (see picture below). As someone who doesn’t normally eat pork I wasn’t sure what to expect but they were delicious and I was left wanting more!”

Source: Kerry Synot

Be sure to check out Rendezvous, if you’re in Memphis anytime soon!

They were interested to check out the Entertainer BBQ’s and Weber Kettle BBQ’s that they will be using at the event. Some practised cooking their own recipes, while others just sat back and enjoyed the opportunity to savour delicious chicken, prawns and seafood stir fry cooked by our friend and BBQ legend Julian Wu.

Diarise the Heat Beads^® Hawkers Market now:

March 15th, 16th and 17th

Two sessions each night: 6.00pm – 8.00pm & 8.30pm – 10.30pm

Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster.

At the Melbourne Food and Wine Heat Beads^® Hawkers’ Market 12 restaurants will be presenting a selection of tantalising menu items. Here’s a taste of their signature dishes to whet your appetite.

Chilli India
Beef vindaloo (Spicy beef curry)

Chillipadi
Chicken laksa (Spicy noodle soup)

Co ðo
Pho (Sliced beef noodle soup)

Cookie
Bbq chicken sticks with green papaya salad & rice

Dainty Sichuan Food
Sichuan bbq (Chilli chicken)

Dumpling King
Pan-fried dumpling combo

Hallah
Hallah bulgogi (Marinated barbecued beef)

Kenzan @ GPO
Maguro sushi sushi (Cooked tuna hand roll)

Laksa Me
Ikan panggang (Grilled fish)

Pan Asian
Húi guo róu (Twice cooked pork cheek)

Sake & Grill Maedaya
Tsukune (Chicken meatball with special sauce)

Warung Agus Balinese Restaurant
Babi guling (Roasted suckling pig)

This annual BBQ event is part of Interchange’s disability awareness campaign to get people talking about disability, Interchange and volunteering.
How does it do this? Through its popular initiative to have people register for a FREE Sunny Sizzle BBQ pack and host their own Sunny Sizzle BBQ during the month of March.

Interchange is an organisation that provides respite and social opportunities to young people with a disability and their families. Across Australia, Interchange programs provide services to over 4,000 families and hope to assist many more through the aid of volunteers.

How you can get involved in this worthy cause:

* Attend the all day Sunny Sizzle event at Federation Square on Friday February 26, 2010.

This will be a great day full of family fun and entertainment.

Get along to Fed Square between 10am and 7pm to see live bands, family entertainment, roving performers and to have a delicious BBQ lunch or dinner.

A celebrity sizzle off will also be hosted by Iain ‘Huey’ Hewitson at 12noon. Media including Mike Larkham, Cam Smith and para Olympian Katrina Webb will be there to pitch their tongs against each other.

* Hold you own Sunny Sizzle during the month of March
You can contact Interchange on 1300 300 436 to register for your FREE Sunny Sizzle pack which contains:

• An information booklet
• A chef’s hat
• Brochures for your guests to read
• A chef’s apron
• Registration and evaluation forms
• Balloons to decorate your event

Hold your own Sunny Sizzle to raise funds and awareness of disability amongst your family, friends or colleagues.

The Heat Beads^® Company is proud to support this event.

And who is playing? It’s the New Orleans Saints versus the Indianapolis Colts. So which team is the Heat Beads^® team barracking for on Sunday? We love an underdog here in Australia so Saints it is!

This may not be an event that we traditionally celebrate in Australia but across the other side of the globe in the US, the most popular football game of the year is usually accompanied by expensive commercials and a great excuse for a BBQ with family and friends!

Check out these suggested Super Bowl BBQ recipes:

* Rib sticking barbeque pork ribs with Bender’s special sauce by Ben O’Donoghue

NB: You can get baby back ribs from any quality butcher but you may have to order the day before your BBQ.

* Uncle Barry’s Magic Mushrooms by Anthony Milich – these would make a great side dish

* Tucson T-Bones by US Grill Master Steven Raichlen

Hurry, email your entry to heatbeads_news@auschar.com.au before 6pm Australian EST on Friday January 29, 2010!

WIN!!!

DVDs: Atonement – James McAvoy & Kiera Knightley

American Gangster – Russell Crowe & Denzel Washington

CDs: Brian McFadden – Set in Stone

Pens: Sheaffer Executive Collection

Remember, you must be a subscriber to the Heat Beads^® eNewsletter to enter and your entry implies agreement that your recipe could be added to the recipe section on the Heat Beads^® Website. You can subscribe the to eNewsletter here.

To give you some BBQ inspiration, the Heat Beads^® team has compiled the following suggested Aussie Day BBQ recipes:

1. You could throw another shrimp on the barbie or do it the truly Australian way with this recipe for Bronzed Ozzy Prawns.

2. Mini Maxim Beef Burgers – don’t forget to add the beetroot!

3. Lip-smacking Lime and Chilli Lamb Cutlets

4. And for dessert…Char-grilled Mangoes.

And if you’re looking for even more inspiration, you could also check out this video by the BBQ Guy on how to BBQ brisket.

The Heat Beads^® Team wishes you all a happy Australia Day!

We came across this mouth-watering recipe from Andrew Dwyer, The Cast Iron Cook, found in Bob Hart’s column in the Herald Sun. This is the perfect recipe when camping or having a backyard BBQ this summer.

Cajun Bush Spuds

Recipe by Andrew Dwyer

Ingredients:
(Cajun spice mix)
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon cumin

Method:
Place the camp oven on the Heat Beads^® BBQ briquettes. Add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and fry 6 cloves of crushed garlic for a few minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of Cajun spice mix and keep stirring.

Add a handful of washed kipfler potatoes, stir well in the mixture, season and close the lid.

Shovel a layer of Heat Beads^® BBQ briquettes on the lid and bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. And voila! Delicious camp oven spuds ready to serve.

How does meat cook?

We’ll try not to get too scientific here, but the process of raw meat converting to cooked meat, is called denaturation. The meat muscle fibers become weak when heated up, unwinding the protein molecule.

How does meat get its flavour?

Meat develops its flavour as it is being cooked (no trick question there). But it also receives its delicious taste from any fat surrounding it and from a process called the Maillard reaction.  This reaction occurs most readily when the meat reaches between 150C and 260C (or 300F and 500F). At this temperature the outside of the meat reaches a higher temperature than the inside which creates the strongest flavours on the surface. Marinating the meat with herbs, spices and oil also contributes to the amount of flavour.

What gives meat its colour?

Red meat contains myoglobin, which is a rich pigmented protein giving meat such as beef, that rich red look.

White meat contains glycogen, stored in the muscles, that turns the meat a whitish colour when cooked. This is found in chicken and fish.

What gives meat that juicy flavour?

The quality of your meat largely depends on how long the meat is cooked and the cut. If meat is cooked too long, it looses its juices and becomes tough. Others factors include the amount of fat and collagen.

The Urban Griller’s rack of beef recipe also speaks briefly about this ‘science’, breaking down the cells within the meat using slow cooking methods to the point where the juice is dispersed through the meat which allows it to become tender and moist.

Read more on the science of cooking meat here or view the Urban Griller’s rack of beef recipe in the premium content* section of this website.
*NB: You must be a subscriber to the Heat Beads^® BBQ News eNewsletter to login to the premium content section. Subscribe here. Once logged in, click on ‘Members area’ under ‘Premium Content’ on the menu on the left hand side. Click on ‘Premium content recipes’ and then ‘Rack of beef – the Urban Griller’.