Justin Fox Burks
You told me that you have developed more than 300 recipes. How in the world do you do that?
I go into a grocery store and see ingredients and kind of piece together a dish based on what I see. I do read a lot of cookbooks. I see ideas and tweak them. Somebody does mac and cheese in Bon Appetit magazine, and I’ll think about how I can translate that for the grill.
So you recently launched your new blog, Grillocracy.com, with a recipe for a Candied Bacon Cinnamon Roll Burger. That is over the top.
Grillocracy is about pushing the boundaries when it comes to outdoor cooking, and that recipe was a great “that guy is either straight up crazy or a crazy genius” way to debut. It begins with grilled candied bacon that is then incorporated into cinnamon rolls that act as the burger bun. The beef is seasoned with a coffee rub, then topped with a sunny side up egg and cheese — a sort of breakfast any time of the day burger.
You won the American Grilled television show last summer. Did the win whet your appetite for more television?
Yes, I’ve always been interested in doing television. I like being in front of the camera. I like being challenged in a setting where you are under the gun. I get contacted quite frequently about shows in progress, but it’s a long process. I’ve done five or six interviews in the last few months, but they may or may not come through.
Do you use a Weber at home?
Yes, I do. I have 14 or 15 Webers at the house. Each one has its own personality. I have a Weber kettle I got off of Craigslist that is 50 or 60 years old, but it’s still perfect. It has that nice age on it; it looks great in pictures, but I love using that grill.
