License to Grill is a series that explores the enjoyment of backyard cooking, entertaining, and the barbecue. Each episode takes place over a day or two, but mainly on Saturdays. The host and chef Rob Rainford prepares a meal for the evening when guests will arrive.
The central theme is barbecue and with that, Rainford shows us tips and tricks for cooking on a barbecue. The recipes range from the typical barbecue fare, such as hamburgers, steaks, kebabs, to more ambitious meals such as leg of lamb, hot smoking sides of fish, grilled desserts.
Rainford has a philosophy when it comes to the barbecue: "It's pretty simple. Just start with the freshest ingredients you can find and then you've got two choices: long slow cooking over low indirect heat, or red hot and smokin' for fast grilling. If you cook low and slow then you can use all sorts of rubs and smoking agents to infuse the food with a depth of flavour you just can’t get out of an oven. As for high heat grilling, your barbecue puts out way more heat than your stovetop so you can get that wonderful charring and searing, just like in a restaurant."
