"Now You're Smokin'!"

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Fran Fry is an award-winning food writer and long-time outdoor and barbecue cook, and beginning this month will be writing a monthly food column on the Austin National Smokers website.

His "The Frying Pan" column appears Sundays in the Erie Times-News in Erie, PA.

A resident of Franklin, PA, he and wife, Judy, and their faithful Golden Lab, Smokey, will participate this year in more than a dozen barbecue cookoffs nationally sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society in 10 states and Canada.

They also market a variety of award winning food seasonings, including the newly released Fran Fry's Frying Pan Chicken Chokin, Lip-Smackin', Bone Suckin' Wing De-Icer; Fran Fry's Frying Pan Award-Winning Dry Rub, Fran Fry's Frying Pan Steak-Burger Seasoning; Fran Fry's Frying Pan Voodoo Magic Cajun Seasoning; Fran Fry's Frying Pan Chicken Chokin' Wing Dust; Fran Fry's Frying Pan Hell 'n Back Hot Sauce and the award-winning Fran Fry's Frying Pan Butt Kickin' BBQ Sauce.

They are members of The Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS); Canadian Barbecue & Smokers Association and add these The New England BBQ Society, the Great Lakes BBQ Association and the PA BBQ Association.

Fran is a member of the board of directors of the PA BBQ Association.

For relaxation, Fran enjoys cooking at the Salvation Army's Soup Kitchen in his hometown.

The Frys won four first place awards last year; pork and chicken at the 6th Annual Official Ohio Smoked Meat & Barbecue Festival in Nelsonville, Ohio; dessert with a perfect 180 score at the Third Annual Summer Fest in New Holland, PA (they won first place with their pulled pork the previous year) and dessert at the 2002 Tennesse State Championship "Wild About Cooking" in Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

If you have a cooking or barbecuing question, you may contact him at frypan@csonline.net. Check out his website at www.fransfryingpan.com.

FRYING PAN SMOKED CHICKEN LIVERS

Ingredients: 1 pound chicken livers; 1/2 pound sliced bacon, slices cut in half; 1 can of whole water chestnuts; teriyaki sauce.

Method: Wrap a chicken liver and a water chestnut with a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place in smoker for 30 minutes at 250 degrees. Remove from smoker and finish cooking the wrapped chicken livers on a grill. Brush them with the teriyaki sauce and continue to baste them to keep them moist. Be careful not to burn them because the sauce has a lot of sugar in it. Serve when chicken livers are done and have a nice shine to them.

Caution your guests not to eat the toothpicks.

Until we meet again next month, keep your wood dry and your back to the wind.