412446e546109ba9d675002277f4121b.jpg

HILLSBOROUGH: Bring on the barbecue!

By Peter Sclafani, Staff Writer
   At Doug Keiles’ Hillsborough home, there is never a bad time for a barbecue, even when it means roughing through bitter winter days with forays into the back yard.
   In fact, when Mr. Keiles employs any of his 11 grills, he does not just cook, he creates art, which is why this Sunday at 9 p.m. he will be featured as one of four contestants on the Food Network’s “Chopped: Grill Masters Edition.”
   For 40-plus hours a week Mr. Keiles crunches data and makes maps for a company that delivers newspapers.
   In his downtime, he perfects recipes, including his own line of barbecue rubs and seasonings. Mr. Kieles has led a barbecue competition team, Ribs Within, to grand championships in both barbecue and grilling. Now he has his sights set on the $50,000 grand prize as “Chopped’s” next winning chef.
   Mr. Kieles has been grilling his entire life, and he claims anything someone can cook in an oven or on a stove, he can prepare without a problem on a grill. A former middle school teacher, Mr. Kieles used to go to Famous Dave’s Restaurant near Springfield on his lunch breaks to eat barbecue. One day, the manager asked him why he always ordered rib tips instead of a full rack of ribs.
   Without hesitation, Mr. Kieles wiped away barbecue sauce from his mouth, looked him in the eye and said, “Well, that’s because my ribs are better.”
   In 2003, Mr. Kieles became a grilling professional and began to compete against other barbecue pit teams from around New Jersey.
   Even after finishing in the middle of the pack in his first competition in Wildwood, Mr. Kieles knew he was hooked on competition cooking.
   ”I really enjoy it, and I like to cook and play with different flavors,” Mr. Kieles said. “I kind of thrive on the pressure of the competition.”
   Thriving under the gun is something that came in handy while he was cooking for “Chopped” judges Amanda Freitag, Marc Murphy and Aarón Sánchez and against some of the best chefs in the country.
   According to Mr. Kieles, normally when he cooks in a competition, he has weeks to prepare exactly what he is going to present to the judges. “Chopped,” on the other hand, is a bit different. In front of a panel of expert judges, the show challenges contestants to show off their culinary and creative side with ingredients they do not know beforehand.
   ”The idea of being on a set with three other ridiculously talented chefs and not having any idea of what’s coming next is frightening,” said Mr. Kieles, 48.
   He has put himself through weeks of preparation, using unannounced ingredients. Just like on the show, Mr. Kieles practiced cooking with baskets of odd combinations of foods that would leave most people scratching their heads.
   During one of his practices, Mr. Kieles opened his basket and found sausages, peppers, onions, blueberries and marshmallows. To him, the only logical response was to make sausage and peppers with a marshmallow topping and blueberry sauce.
   ”That’s the hardest part — making something cohesive out of noncohesive ingredients,” Mr. Kieles said.
   Mr. Kieles also will have a limited amount of time to make each of the courses in his meal.
   ”The clock is bearing down on you the entire time,” he said. “It’s like having your mother standing over your shoulder criticizing you while you cook.”
   No matter how intense the competition got, Mr. Kieles said he always had a smile on his face.
   Strange ingredients, the ticking clock, fierce competition and expert judges could not stop Mr. Kieles from having a good time.
   ”I kept imagining myself watching myself talking to the judge,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. How many people get to do this in their lives? I really enjoyed it. It was surreal.”
   No amount of practice and mental preparation could prepare Mr. Kieles to stand in front of a panel of expert judges who would be critiquing his dish from everything from presentation to taste on national TV.
   ”So many things go through your head when you stand up there,” Mr. Kieles said. “You question yourself and what you make. One thing, one wrong thing, can send you home.”
   With the pressure of the competition behind him, Mr. Kieles (who knows the outcome of the show but can’t hint at its outcome or his dish) can focus on competitions that lie ahead, knowing that he gave it his all on the Tucson, Arizona, stage set.
   ”I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what it looks like on TV.”