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Grilling Season Still Hot Beyond Summer: Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri Crowns Boldest Griller in America Posted by EditorChoice Friday, 05 September 2008
Celebrity chef and grilling guru Guy Fieri and The Other White Meat spent the summer encouraging America's "gratest" grillers to beat the blahs and go bold with the "Bring it t-ON-g! Pork Grilling Challenge," a nationwide search for America's boldest grilled pork recipe. Today, three finalists hit the grills and went tong-to-tong in New York City for the chance to take home $5,000, bragging rights and the coveted "golden tongs."

Fieri, who is known for grilling with gusto, awarded Steven Overlay of Henderson, Nev. the $5,000 grand prize for his recipe "Poppin Pork Burgers with Green Apple Slaw," a dish that was anything but blah with flavors of savory mustard and sweet, fruity apples and apricots.

"Steven's burgers were bold and I dug the flavor combination he used. Judging was no simple task -- each of these recipes was the bomb -- and I was impressed that they all used different flavors and ways to prepare pork," Fieri said. "I'm a huge pork fan. Nothing else blends as well with different flavors, plus there's so much variety to choose from, like lean tenderloin and loin chops to baby back ribs."

America's Boldest Griller

Overlay grills year round and entered the competition after seeing it on TheOtherWhiteMeat.com. Working in the food service industry for the past 30 years and a regular on the barbeque competition circuit, Overlay says that he is a full-fledged barbeque fanatic.

"Pork is one of my favorite meats to throw on the grill or in the smoker," says Overlay. "There are so many cuts to experiment with, it never gets old. I love it because I can do barbeque with ribs or a shoulder, or a twist on a traditional summertime staple like I did today -- burgers, but with ground pork and a delicious slaw topping."

Overlay and the other two finalists, Devon Delaney of Princeton, N.J. and Loanne Chiu of Forth Worth, Texas, were selected from hundreds of entries across the country. Delaney prepared a "Cowboy Pork and Texas Toast Salad with Horseradish Ranch Dressing" and Chiu prepared "Bangkok Bold Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Fruit." As finalists, they will take home a Char-Broil(R) RED(TM) Infrared Gas Grill.

Grilling Is Season-Less!

While summer may be cooling off, your grill doesn't have to! Fieri reminds great grillers that they don't have to put their grills in hibernation.

"The best aspects of grilling remain -- flavor, menu variety and lack of clean-up -- so rev up your grill, get sizzlin' and keep the spirit of summer alive all year long," Fieri said. "Pork is the perfect all-season partner when it comes to the grill, thanks to its versatile flavor and ease of preparation."

The Heat Goes On!

Want more ways to heat things up? The Other White Meat Tour continues criss-crossing the nation through October to share why pork is the best-kept secret to great grilling. The tour is making stops from coast-to-coast to sample sizzling pork, conduct recipe demonstrations and offer up fun and free family-friendly activities!

For dozens of bold recipes including those from Guy Fieri and the three finalists, as well as grilling tips and techniques, please visit TheOtherWhiteMeat.com.