Chef Trevor’s Barbecue Cooking Tips for the Summer of 2026
Trevor Phipps
I know this is the time of season when everyone gets excited about hosting get-togethers that involve firing up the barbecue or smoker.
However, while Teller County is currently in a Stage 2 fire ban, many outdoor cooking options like smokers and charcoal grills are illegal.
Under a Stage 2 ban, propane grills are allowed, but only if they are located far enough away from any combustible materials. And let’s face reality: Many of us in the high country may not have the best outdoor cooking setup in which we feel safe to do any kind of cooking in such dry and windy conditions.
But fret not, as you can produce some delicious barbecue and summer dishes without having to leave your indoor kitchen. During my 20-plus years cooking in restaurants, I learned several ways to produce good tasting barbecue meals from the confines of an air-conditioned, indoor area.
I like to cook many favorite dishes such as ribs, BBQ chicken, steaks, burgers and hot dogs – all inside my kitchen without firing up any grills. When it comes to grilling, I find that using a large cast iron with a skillet on one side and flat griddle on the other side is the best way to replicate outdoor grilling. And sometimes the heat source is easier to control.
When I worked at the former fine dining restaurant located in the Double Eagle Casino, called “Winfield’s,” we cooked our steaks using an infrared broiler. We would use the broiler to get good grill marks on the steak, along with a good “sear” on each side and then put it in the oven and heat it to the desired internal temperature. I use this method at home still, and sometimes I will finish the steak on low heat (like 175 or 200 degrees Fahrenheit) to make it extra tender.
Recently, I have been experimenting with the reverse sear method. This way, I cook the steak on low heat in the oven first and then grill it long enough to get good grill marks at the end. This method does a good job at making otherwise tough cuts of steak more tender.
Even when it comes to BBQ chicken, I will grill the meat on the cast iron grill on the stove, paint it with my favorite barbecue sauce and then cook the sauce into the meat inside the oven. For ribs, I like to cook them entirely in the oven while adding barbecue sauce in various stages. When I worked at the Outback Steakhouse, they boiled their ribs with a little bit of liquid smoke to make them tender, then finished them on the grill with barbecue sauce to get a crispy outside.
Cheers and cook responsibly everyone!
