Recommended Recordings:

“American” Quartet
Talich Quartet (Calliope)

Serenade for Strings; Czech Suite
Prague Chamber Orchestra (Supraphon)

Slavonic Dances; Symphonic Poems
Bavarian Radio Symphony/Kubelik (Deutsche Grammophon)

Stabat Mater
Atlanta Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/Shaw (Telarc)

Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
New York Philharmonic/Bernstein (Sony Classical)

About the beef: Many supermarkets now package “sirloin strips” or “tips”--usually four to six per package--which are well-marbled cuts approximately 2” wide and 8”-10” long. They are perfect for skewering (in a kind of loose ribbon pattern) and grilling, the many pockets and edges ideal for hanging on to the barbecue sauce as the meat is cooked and turned.

BBQ SAUCE DVORÁK

Ingredients:
1/4 cup tamari
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 cup (8 oz.) Czech beer (or equivalent, if there is one!)

2-3 large cloves garlic, crushed & chopped
1 1/2-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

Makes approx. 2 1/3 cups sauce

Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl; mix together well. Add beer. When foam subsides, add garlic and crushed red pepper. Use immediately or refrigerate overnight. You will note that this is not a thick, glop-all-over-the-meat sauce. Its flavor, before grilling, is notably bitter, tangy, and sour (the beer, the tamari, the tomato paste)--but when cooked over the fire, caramelization of the sugars brings a pleasing, perfectly balanced sweetness to the taste without overwhelming the basic flavor of the meat. For the best results, follow the simple cooking procedure below:

Sirloin strips work best, but this also will work very well with any kind of grilling steak (or pork or chicken). For the strips, thread them on bamboo skewers--but not too tightly. Get the grill nice and hot and brown the meat on all sides. Then, begin basting with the sauce (don’t marinate the meat in advance!). It’s important to stay with the grill and continue to baste as the meat cooks, turning every couple of minutes so the sauce forms a nice well-carmelized coating without burning (unless you like that wonderful blackened flavor!).

Note: All of the above ingredients can be increased or decreased as your taste dictates. However, if you add more beer, it won’t improve the flavor and you’ll run the risk of diluting the sauce too much--and thus, you’ll have to accordingly increase the portions of the thickening ingredients. However, feel free to change, add, or delete as you wish. It’s a great sauce--you’ll think twice before picking up that store-bought stuff ever again