There’s something about the summer heat that draws Southerners outside. It’s a regional conundrum. We reserve our provincial birthright to complain about the stifling temperature and humidity, though sweat and heat stroke would never deter us from hosting an out-of-doors party.

At gatherings held during cooler times of the year, guests hang out in the kitchen. In warmer months people gravitate to the outdoor grill. It’s more fun outside, there’s extra room, the backdrop is ever-changing, and the ceiling is higher. Summertime grilling is truly a communal culinary activity. It’s fun with friends and it’s great for families.

I wear a lot of hats: chef, restaurateur, author, and columnist, but first and foremost, I am a father. Grilling outdoors seems to make the father-child relationship richer. I find it easier to interact with my children while cooking outdoors. The indoor kitchen intimidates them. Being outside on the grill is comfortable. It’s not mom’s space or dad’s domain, it’s their territory—the backyard. They don’t have to know how to sauté, or julienne, or emulsify. As long as they follow a few simple safety rules, they can grill. And it’s safer and more fun than cooking indoors.

Outdoor grilling is universal. Lobsters and clams are cooked over open flames on the rocky Atlantic shores of the Northeast. On the West Coast it’s salmon roasting on a cedar plank. In the Heartland they’re putting the sear to corn-fed beef, and in the Southwest chilies and peppers spice up the pit. Down South, we have turned the oldest cooking method known to man into an art form.

South of the Mason-Dixon Line there seems to be a reverence and devotion attached to grilling that is not observed in other regions of the country. The first time someone dug a pit deep into the Southern soil and roasted a whole pig over smoldering embers, we were hooked. We have a longstanding summer love affair with charcoal and hickory and pecan wood, and nowadays, natural gas and propane.

The upshot of this love affair has been the recognition of Greenwood, in the Mississippi Delta, as the new outdoor-grilling mecca of the known universe. Greenwood is home to the Viking Range Corp., and Viking—one of the Deep South’s corporate crown jewels—is home to the finest outdoor grilling equipment, bar none

Viking is the originator of the commercial cooking-equipment-for-the-home segment of the appliance industry. These days foodies all across the country are cooking with restaurant-quality equipment in their homes thanks to the expert craftsmen and molders of all things stainless in the land of the Delta Blues. But outside of our homes—on the patio, near the pool deck, and in the backyard— Viking has become the undisputed king of the outdoor grilling market. No one does it better.

I live just a little farther than a Delta-drive-for-dinner away from the outdoor grilling headquarters of the known universe. My hometown of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Viking’s home base in Greenwood, are connected and bisected by Big Joe Williams’ Highway 49. Therefore, it made perfect sense to write a grilling cookbook.

When I told my publisher that I wanted to write a grilling book for seafood, he scoffed. “People don’t like to grill seafood. They won’t buy the book,” he said. That struck me as an odd statement as I have been grilling seafood all of my life.

“Maybe that’s true up in New York, but down here we grill seafood all of the time,” I replied.

“People don’t like to grill fish. It always sticks to the grill,” he said. His admonition had suddenly turned into a challenge: How can I make seafood not stick to the grill so that my friends in the North will be able to grill it. My thoughts turned to my youth and the summers I spent on the Gulf Coast.

At a fish camp, all of the customary culinary rules are thrown out of the window. I saw all manner of culinary oddities in and around the bayous of South Mississippi. Some were longstanding traditions passed down for several generations; others were developed out of spur-of-the-moment necessity when suitable ingredients weren’t in the fish-camp pantry.

The first time I watched my grandfather spread mustard on a redfish filet and then dredge it into cornmeal before frying; I assumed he did so because there was no egg wash available. That might have been the case at one point in his life, but somewhere along the way someone figured out that it was a pretty good way to fry fish. The mustard serves as an adhesive for the cornmeal and loses its tangy bite in the frying process. He always fried fish using that method.

There are several items in my larder which were passed down from several generations of sportsmen. The recipes had been developed out of necessity, boredom, or too much beer. The No-Stick Grilling Marinades I created for New South Grilling work under the same principle. They season food and, at the same time, keep it from sticking to the grill. Fish camp kitchens (and ones at home) might never be the same.

Summer takes us outdoors. It’s hot. Not just any old hot, it’s shirt-sticking-to-your-back hot—but we don’t care. We eat, we drink, we laugh, and we cook outside. So fire up the grill, send someone to the store for more ice, pull up a chair, and pass the barbecue sauce. Whether you’re preparing ribs in a smoker, or burgers in the backyard, things just taste better down here. It’s a fact.

The New South Grilling Basics:

1. Keep grill grates cleaned and oiled (Clean grates with a wire grill brush after every use, use an oil-soaked dish towel to grease the grates before turning on/firing up the grill)
2. Never use lighter fluid or charcoal already soaked in lighter fluid. For the best-tasting grill food, use only pure hardwood lump charcoal
3. Know in advance the grill temperature required for the dish you’re preparing
4. Whether cooking with gas or charcoal— always preheat the grill
5. Know where the hot spots and the cool spots are and use them to your advantage
6. Heat means hot coals, not high flames
7. Leave food alone while it’s grilling— turn over once
8. Don’t underestimate the value of the grill’s lid. A closed lid adds flavor, regulates heat, and prevents flare-ups
9. Don’t pierce meat with a fork or knife to check if it’s done. Learn how to grill by touch
10. Barbecue sauce always goes on at the last minute, if at all
Also, if you don’t have room for the recipes in the magazine, feel free to use them as web exclusives, too.

Bayou Redfish

8, 8-ounce redfish filets
1/2 cup No-Stick Grilling Marinade for Seafood (New South Grilling)
1 Tbl kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbl butter
18 shrimp, large, peeled and deveined
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2 Tbl red bell peppers, small dice
2 Tbl green bell peppers, small dice
1/4 cup red onion, small dice
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1 Tbl garlic,
8 ounces crawfish tail meat
1 Tbl Creole seasoning
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan Cream Sauce (recipe below)

Rub the fish filets with the marinade and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Season the fish with the kosher salt and black pepper.
Prepare the grill. Cook fish over direct high heat until it becomes opaque in the center, about 8-10 minutes. Turn the fish once while cooking. Do not overcook.
Season the shrimp with the Old Bay Seasoning. Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over high heat and sauté shrimp 2–3 minutes. Add the bell peppers and onion and cook for 3–4 more minutes. Add the garlic and tomato and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the Creole seasoning, cream, and Parmesan cream sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook 3–4 more minutes and stir in the crawfish tails. Once the crawfish tails are hot, remove the topping from the heat.
Place fish on serving plates and divide topping evenly over filets.

Yield: 6 servings

Parmesan Cream Sauce

2 cups heavy cream
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
4 oz. Romano cheese, grated
1 teaspoon white pepper
pinch Nutmeg

Bring heavy cream to a boil. Add cheese and stir well. Add pepper and nutmeg. Separately, make a light blond roux using 2 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons flour. Add roux to the milk/cheese mixture and continue cooling until thickened.

Yield: 2 cups

Redfish Orleans

6 Redfish Filet filets, 6–8 ounces each
1/2 cup No-Stick Grilling Marinade for Seafood (New South Grilling)
1 Tbl kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 cup green onion, sliced
3/4 cup Creole Cream Sauce (recipe follows)
1/3 cup Romano cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cream Sauce (recipe above)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup Romano cheese

Rub the fish filets with the marinade and refrigerate 20 minutes. Season the fish with the kosher salt and black pepper.
Prepare the grill. Place the fish on direct high heat and cook 4-5 minutes. Turn fish and cook another 4-5 minutes or until opaque in the center.
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Sauté shrimp for 2–3 minutes until they begin to turn pink. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add garlic and green onion and cook an additional 2–3 minutes. Add crawfish cream sauce and Alfredo sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat; stir in cheese. Divide evenly and spoon over fish. Garnish with fresh parsley and grated Romano.

Yield: 6 servings

Creole Cream Sauce

2 cups heavy cream
1 Tbl Crescent City Grill Creole Seasoning
2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbl Crescent City Grill Hot Sauce
1 tsp paprika

Place all ingredients in a double boiler over medium high heat and reduce by one-half until thickened.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups