Herbal Barbecue

I'm a man. Men cook outside. Women make the three-bean salad. That's the way it is and always has been, since the first settlers of Levittown."

This is how New York Times writer William Geist reveals the sexist roots of barbecue.

A British psychologist makes similar claims. "The root cause is more prehistoric and the man's obsession with controlling the barbecue could stem from a primeval obsession with fire as well as an attempt at regaining power in today's female-empowered society."

All I know is not one female Gilmer has ever grilled our famous Southern recipe for spare ribs.

But barbecue is as much about seasoning as it is fire and meat. Many of the female gender who cultivate their flowers and tomatoes also grow the herbs that send ordinary barbecue into the culinary stratosphere. These plants rich in oils are used to baste, rub and skewer meat.

If you're a kabob fan, take a fresh look at skewers from the herb garden. A certain rosemary bush found who-knows-where grew taller than the rest. Nobody thought that was a good idea until the wife of a barbecue junkie noticed its unusually long, straight stems. She figured these might make great skewers especially because they're free and because the wood contains oil of rosemary. Skewer your meat on a stick of fresh rosemary and it'll season from the inside out.

Look for strong, stiff stems that have hardened enough to hold up under the skewer routine. You might want to whittle the stiffer end into a point to make it puncture better. Rosemary skewers are great for portabella mushrooms and fast-cooking veggies.

Any good cook will attest to the benefit of using fresh herbs over dried ones. Even fresh-cut herbs from the produce section can lose their punch in the refrigerator. For the really serious barbecue aficionado, the only choice is to grow your own.

If you grill often, you'll need plenty of big sprigs for making skewers and herb brushes, which aren't commonly sold. An herb brush is used in lieu of a traditional sauce brush.

When the food is basted with an herb brush, the leaves are bruised and heat gets the natural oils flowing. Not only does it deliver sauce or marinade, a lingering hint of aromatic herbs adds a new subtle flavor. You'll have to make a new brush each time you barbecue, so it takes a lot of material if you're an avid griller.

To create a brush, you'll need large stems six inches long or more for a good sized handle. Bundle the stem end with wire or twine for a handle. The best plants for this are rosemary, bay, sage, oregano and tarragon.

Then you can tie in more fragile herbs like basil. If you made an all-basil brush without a strong framework it would get floppy right off. Just as with a paint brush, there should be some resistance so you can apply pressure to the surface of whatever's on the grill. Along with basil, you can tie in chives, dill, mint, thyme or cilantro/coriander.

The Brits have it going on with herbal barbecue. Check out their great herb section at www.barbecue-online.co.uk The page of BBQ herbs narrows it down to the top 12, which is easy for the beginner to absorb. Click on any of them and you'll find an extensive write up about how to use the herb, interesting factoids, growing tips, what oil grants its flavoring, and some neat serving ideas for indoors and out. The page on spices is equally detailed and well worth a look.

Despite the sexist roots of barbecue and that problem of men playing with fire, herbs used well can bring women back into the mix. And hopefully this will create new opportunities for unisex grilling that liberate us from the ongoing affliction of three-bean salads.