The Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival gets a little bit political this year, as it addresses the All-American debate that seems to be heating up backyards across the country – barbequing or grilling?

Lars Kronmark, of the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone, Napa and a longtime presenter at the 22nd annual festival, will delve into the differences and similarities of the two methods Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Village at Northstar. The four-day festival takes place at venues throughout North Lake Tahoe Sept. 13-16.

“You can actually achieve the same slow-cooked flavor of barbeque on a grill,” Kronmark said. “Many people actually use this technique without realizing it.”

While grilling is fast cooking over high heat (usually involving tender cuts of meat, such as burgers, steaks and sausage), barbequing is typically done over charcoal or wood, best for tougher, fattier cuts of meat, such as brisket, ribs, whole hogs and whole turkeys. Kronmark’s session The Outdoor Kitchen – Today’s American Barbeque will focus on how to achieve the rich, smoky flavors of barbeque on a gas grill utilizing wood chips, indirect heat, rubs, marinades and sauces.

“You can easily create amazing flavor outdoors, which is where people really want to be right now,” Kronmark said.

The Outdoor Kitchen – Today’s American Barbeque seminar begins at 11:15 a.m. Passport tickets for Saturday festivities are $45 and access a day-long program of food and wine events, including Today’s American Barbeque, the Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook-Off, Gourmet Marketplace, Big Kids’ Cooking Camp with Chef Lara Ritchie, a cooking demonstration with Executive Chef Roy Siegel of the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, and a sushi demonstration by Master Sushi Chef, Kitaro Arai of Mikuni Sushi. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased, along with lodging, by calling 1-888-229-2193 or going to http://www.GoTahoeNorth.com/foodandwine">www.GoTahoeNorth.com/foodandwine.

Attendees can also buy tickets at the North Lake Tahoe Visitor Information Centers at 380 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City or 969 Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village, as well as Nothing to It Cooking School, 225 Crummer Lane at South Virginia in Reno. The festival’s website, http://www.GoTahoeNorth.com/foodandwine">www.GoTahoeNorth.com/foodandwine, is home to a complete list of events and activities.

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Try it for yourself
Ingredients
2 (each) full racks of baby back pork ribs
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 ounces stick butter, melted
2 tbsp Tabasco or any hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Heavy duty foil

4 cups good root beer (Kempers)
2 cups your favorite BBQ sauce
2 tbsp cider vinegar

Lets get cooking
1. Melt butter and garlic together. Trim the ribs of any unwanted fat. Remove the transparent skin off the back of the ribs.

2. Brush both sides of the ribs heavily with the garlic butter. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Wrap each rack separately in heavy aluminum foil.

3. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Place the ribs in a roasting pan (foil seam side up) and bake for 2-l/2 hours.

4. While the ribs are baking, bring the root beer to a simmer and let it reduce until you have about 1-1/4 cups. Stir in the BBQ sauce and let it cook simmer until it reaches your favorite thickness that you like in your BBQ sauce. Add cider vinegar to taste to balance the sweetness of the root beer.

5. Remove ribs from the oven. Preheat your grill to medium or high.

6. Unwrap the ribs [you can cook the ribs in the morning or the day before] and pour the juice and drippings from the foil package and add to your BBQ sauce. This is optional, but the juices enhance the flavor of the sauce.

7. Brush the ribs with the sauce and start grilling. Caramelize both sides slightly, baste again and remove to a heated platter to serve.