share! Everyone has a story, and we hope you will help us tell the tales of a variety of Des Moines cooks. Please send us your ideas. Tell us the names, contact information, and a little about your cooking friends. Send to Recipes@DesMoinesCooks.com. David’s Grilling Tips Keep it simple. For an all-purpose rub he uses on chicken, ribs, and beef brisket, he mixes equal parts of paprika, garlic salt, tenderizer, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Buy a good meat thermometer. “I cook with texture and temperature.” He likes the Thermapen brand. Easy steak trick: Rub a steak with pure maple syrup and roll it in kosher salt and the rub mixture. Don’t oversmoke the food. Keep practicing.         RECIPES Chicken “Lollipops” 8 chicken legs with knuckle bones trimmed and tendons removed Italian dressing Basic rub (see “David’s Grilling Tips”)      For each leg, form meat to joint end of chicken leg to imitate a lollipop with bone exposed.      Inject or marinate with Italian dressing (I recommend garlic basil dressing from Cafe Di Scala). Season liberally with basic rub. Let rub set for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.      Let chicken come to room temperature before putting on the grill.      Prepare grill with medium to hot fire (350°F–375°F).      For additional flavor, put some sassafras wood chunks or pecan wood in with the coals. Grill chicken legs, bones up, over direct heat for 5 to7 minutes. Move to indirect side of grill to finish until meat reaches 160°F.      Dip lollipops in your favorite barbecue sauce (I recommend Russ & Frank’s Mild or Fiery). Ribs 3-2-1 St. Louis ribs, trimmed until uniform and membrane removed Season all sides liberally with basic rub (see “David’s Grilling Tips”)      Let stand until rub sets, at least 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator.      To cook: Smoke ribs over lump charcoal and pieces of cherry wood at 250°F for 3 hours.      Remove from smoker and dust with light coating of basic rub and light coating of brown sugar; drizzle honey on meat side and wrap in aluminum foil.      Return to smoker for 2 hours at 225°F. Remove from smoker and unwrap ribs.      Gently roll ribs meat side up and reserve the liquid      Mix your favorite sauce with half of the liquid and return ribs to smoker.      Cook for 1 additional hour (or until desired tenderness), basting every 5 to 10 minutes with sauce mixture. Remove and let stand for 5 to10 minutes before slicing.      NOTE: For loin back or baby back ribs, cook for 2 hours instead of 3 hours in the first cycle. Rack of Pork      Purchase prepped rack of pork with 6 to10 ribs. Tie string tightly between every other bone.      Rub liberally with basic rub (see “David’s Grilling Tips”). Let rubbed meat sit for 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator.      Let stand before putting on grill to allow pork come to room temperature.      Prepare half of the grill hot (450°F to 475°F). Sear all sides of meat until golden brown.      Let meat finish on cool side of grill (250°F to 275°F) until a thermometer inserted in the middle of the rack reaches 160°F. Cut and remove strings      Baste entire rack with your favorite sauce. Place on serving platter and tent with aluminum foil for 10 to 15 minutes and let stand. Cut just before serving   Grilled Broccoli (Even carnivores will like this!) One bunch broccoli, cut to bite-size pieces ¼ cup olive oil ½ cup Parmesan cheese Black pepper to taste      Mix all ingredients in plastic bag and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Place on vegetable tray on grill.     Cook over medium coals. Remove when broccoli is bright green and slightly brown Do not overcook.

To some people, it might seem a bit of a stretch that David Hintz of Lambs Grove, which is attached to the west edge of Newton, sees his work as an aircraft mechanic totally in sync with his love for cooking competitive barbecue. “It’s not a big stretch at all. It’s all about being creative with my hands,” he says. The Des Moines native moved to Newton in 1991 to become an aircraft mechanic for the corporate planes owned by the Maytag Corporation. When Maytag closed, he felt lucky to get on with Des Moines Flying Service next to the Des Moines International Airport. He is not a Johnny-come-lately to cooking. “I come from a big family, and we each took our turn one day a week to cook dinner. That started for me in junior high, and it turned into something of a competition. I wanted to do something better than my sister prepared the day before me. Plus, I do believe it’s in my genes; three of my grandparents worked in the restaurant industry.” David’s foray into outdoor cooking was piqued when he went to Canada with a bunch of guys and had grouse prepared on a smoker. “I came home and purchased a smoker and a grill. I was hooked.” Then he started entering the National Pork Board’s Great Pork BarbeQlossal. “I was overwhelmed by the whole competitive aspect of it. I had a big ego and a small grill.” His journey has been an interesting one, and he has landed in the Top 10 competitors for the past 10 years. “I met David and his Pork County BBQ team in 2004, and with that team name, I just had to get to know him,” says Anne Rehnstrom, secretary of the Iowa Barbeque Society and coordinator of the Great Pork BarbeQlossal. “It has been fun to watch him grow in the world of barbecue over the past six years. He is a great person and would do anything for me or anybody else in the world of barbecue. He is personable and really enjoys showing folks what barbecue is all about. I have had him do several demos, and the guests have loved him and the pork he prepared.”   Family team His team is his family—wife Melissa, a media buyer for Strategic America in West Des Moines; daughter Sara, 11; and son Spencer, 7. “Melissa keeps me on time, which is so important, and is our food stylist with her careful attention to the acceptable garnishes of parsley, cilantro, and green leaf lettuce. Sara loves to clean, which is amazing, and Spencer provides not-so-subtle competition. On the circuit with the Kansas City Barbeque Society, Spencer has been a prizewinner in the Kids’ Qs competition for younger barbecue enthusiasts. He literally started out at the top, winning from his first ventures.” The family travels all over the Midwest with weekend competitions, as well as around Iowa with Iowa Barbeque Society (IBS) events. For competitions, the Hintzes have a special trailer with Pork County BBQ emblazoned on the sides. David appreciates the regional differences in barbecue. He enjoys getting to see the national chef scene up close and personal, too. One experience brought him the opportunity to cook with Adam Perry Lang, a French-trained chef who has brought barbecue to Manhattan. “He taught me so much about the science of food, and I honestly think he is the next Bobby Flay,” David says, referring to the popular Food Network chef. David explains that the Iowa barbecue style, which is greatly influenced by Kansas City tradition, usually has a sweet-based sauce. Texas style is based on a dry rub, while North Carolina offers a vinegar- and mustard-based sauce. Many on the East Coast prefer a mayonnaise-based sauce. Fan of Iowa meats The griller, who can only use charcoal in competition, enjoys barbecuing across the board. “I enjoy preparing chicken in various ways and, of course, pork. In Iowa we grow some of the best pork in the world, and I’ve been spoiled. With beef, the best I have had is from Majinola Meat in Panama, Iowa. It’s a cross between Waygu and Angus.” Besides meats, he loves to grill side dishes, such as pineapple and broccoli, and a dessert that his family has dubbed “bags of happiness,” which has walnuts and chocolate chips wrapped in pastry sheets formed into little bags. “Serve with vanilla bean ice cream, raspberries, and Grand Marnier sauce, and you can’t help but be happy!” While many cooks prefer hickory and mesquite wood chips, David opts for cherry for the flavor it imparts to the meat. He has learned a lot of detail from Chef Tony Lemmo of Cafe Di Scala in Sherman Hill, too. In fact, he incorporates the restaurant’s garlic basil dressing for flavoring a cut he calls “chicken lollipops,” made from chicken legs, which is always a hit at competitions. He is a huge fan of his home state’s barbecue reputation. “Truly, Iowa is a hot bed of good barbecuers. There are 25 to 30 really, really good teams. Plus, these are among the nicest people you will ever meet.” David gets home earlier than Melissa, so he often cooks dinner. He is, in fact, known for his “mean lasagna,” and the family loves to entertain. As Melissa says, “Talking with people over dinner is a wonderful way to get to know them better. We almost consider it our ministry.” Always learning Always trying to learn, David is voracious about cookbooks and cooking magazines. He also has a patent pending on a lightweight, nonrusting smoker and would like to write a cookbook someday. Along with other IBS members, he enjoys giving back to the community. The society’s Ribs for Kids program, for example, took a group of inner-city youngsters to Cookies Bar “B” “Q” Sauce at Wall Lake for cooking lessons, a contest, and fun. “The kids all got small grills and had a great time,” David says. “It was wonderful.” The group also enjoys putting on Senior Qs, during which they visit nursing and retirement homes to grill and share a meal with residents. “It’s really a lovely way of life,” David says.