* HOST: Baltimore may lack the barbecue bona fides of a Houston or a Kansas City, but the town where I grew up boasts plenty of awesome foods for grilling.

Today, we fire it up for grilled rockfish with shallot, fig, and pomegranate sauce.

This is amazing.

Nice and rare, the way I like it.

A spectacular pit beef, triple decker.

Now that's a s'more for the record books.

And Charm City s'mores.

From the Pearlstone Campus in Reisterstown, Maryland, I'm Steven Raichlen and this is Project Fire .

* ANNOUNCER: Steven Raichlen's Project Fire is made possible by...

This is The Big Green Egg, where fire and flavor come together.

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Fire Magic, combining style with the versatility to sear, smoke, rotisserie cook, and charcoal grill, crafted in America for over 80 years... Green Mountain Grills, wood fired pellet grills... Blue Rhino...

Truly wireless temperature starts with Maverick.

And by the following... * STEVEN: Greetings from Baltimore, the city where I grew up.

My family wasn't really into barbecue, but Charm City had some terrific local specialties that helped inspire me to become a food writer.

There were briny Chesapeake Bay oysters and luscious crab cakes at Lexington Market, corned beef from the delicatessens on Lombard Street, and Maryland steamed crabs at landmark crab houses like Obrycki's.

And dessert always brought Berger's chocolate-top cookies.

I didn't realize it at the time, but Baltimore even had a barbecue tradition of sorts, the pit beef sandwiches served at simple restaurants on Pulaski Highway.

So in today's show, I return to my roots, inspired by the unforgettable Baltimore foods I grew up on.

And speaking of hometown roots, as a kid, I actually attended Milldale day camp, right here at what is now the Pearlstone Campus.

How's that for a homecoming?

* Eve Wachhaus, I am so delighted to have you on Project Fire .

We've been taping at Pearlstone.

It is a place of tremendous beauty, serenity, peace.

I just love it.

And today, we're going to make a fish that really takes me back to growing up in Baltimore.

We call it "rockfish."

The rest of the country, the rest of the world calls it "striped bass."

EVE: Uh-huh.

* I see, we have a lot of things here for the garden.

Tell me about your garden here.

EVE WACHHAUS: Of course, and welcome back home.

We're so glad to have you here.

There's many things here from Pearlstone's garden.

So, lots of beautiful herbs, and shallots, and garlic, and figs.

And everything that comes off of our garden is certified organic.

STEVEN: You're a sustainable farm.

EVE: We believe really strongly in the farm-to-table movement, and we want to make sure that everything we grow really respects and honors our land.

So there's beautiful bounty throughout all four of the seasons that's coming directly from our land into our kitchen, so that we can produce really, really beautiful food, but also have harvested it just minutes before we serve it.

STEVEN: That is fantastic.

And I mean, look at this.

The first thing I want to do is just trim the fish up a little bit.

So, I'm going to cut off these fins.

EVE: And this is good because I cook it differently.

I don't usually get it whole... STEVEN: Right.

Right.

EVE: ...and I don't always grill it.

STEVEN: Right.

EVE: So, I'm going to learn a lot today.

STEVEN: And these are very sharp.

So, you want to be super careful.

Then, I'm going to cut this fin off.

And finally, this one.

And then, I always like to make a series of slashes in the top of the fish, so the fish cooks more easily.

Just to the bone and through.

EVE: Nice.

STEVEN: Okay...like that.

And then, I'm going to open it up.

I'm going to ask you to help me season the fish inside the cavity.

EVE: You got it.

STEVEN: That's great.

And then, let's put a few lemon slices in.

EVE: Oh, fun.

And what will these do while it's grilling?

STEVEN: Just flavor it from the inside out and the fire will flavor it from the outside in.

EVE: Oh, that's so cool.

STEVEN: And let's put some of the herbs we have.

So, you have sage.

EVE: Mix in like that?

STEVEN: Great...yeah, and rosemary.

EVE: Yes.

STEVEN: A little thyme.

EVE: I have some beautiful basil... STEVEN: Let's put a little basil in.

EVE: ...from the garden as well.

Look at this.

STEVEN: Great.

EVE: And do you want some chives too?

STEVEN: Yeah...sure, if we can fit them in, that'd be great.

EVE: I might be able to put a couple of these in also.

STEVEN: Great.

And then, would you slice a pat of butter for me.

EVE: Sure.

STEVEN: And let's put a little butter in.

EVE: And you want that in whole or broken up?

STEVEN: In whole is great.

EVE: Awesome.

STEVEN: Yeah.

That's great.

EVE: Okay.

STEVEN: Okay.

We have whole fig leaves here from your fig trees and I thought, wouldn't it be great to roast the fish on the fig leaves cause they'll impart more flavor and the whole thing will kind of tie together in an organic fashion.

EVE: And it's really intentional.

It brings so much of what we're growing into the meal itself.

STEVEN: Fantastic.

Now, I think the next thing, let's drizzle the top with extra-virgin olive oil.

EVE: I have some of that for you.

Oh, it's so beautiful.

STEVEN: And then, season with salt and pepper.

Why don't you do that for me.

EVE: Yeah.

What will the olive oil do to the outside?

STEVEN: Well, it'll help crisp the skin.

EVE: Mmm.

STEVEN: Now, we have some beautiful garlic that's grown here.

What would you like to do with it?

EVE: I'd love to be able to put some into the fire and see if we can get some of that beautiful caramelized, soft garlic.

STEVEN: Let's do it.

EVE: So, I'm just going to take this edge off right here.

And then here on top of this we're going to just put... STEVEN: Look how beautiful.

That is so great.

EVE: ...I'm going to put a little bit of the olive oil on top of that as well.

I have a little bit of purple sage here.

So, why don't we just take that and put some of it straight on top here.

STEVEN: Mmm.

EVE: I know, it just makes it, so beautiful and you can get a little bit of that earthy, herbally taste.

And then, put this right on top and hand that over to you.

STEVEN: Fantastic...great.

Well, there's another reason that Pearlstone is so special.

When I was a kid, I came to a day camp here called "Camp Milldale."

EVE: Yes, what do you remember?

STEVEN: Well, I remember the swimming pool.

EVE: Yeah...cool.

STEVEN: And I remember the pond.

EVE: Yeah.

STEVEN: But it's crazy, I hadn't thought about Camp Milldale in a long time.

EVE: It's just a really beautiful place for people in the summer to come.

We still do hold some camp experiences here as well.

STEVEN: Do you?

EVE: Mm-hmm.

STEVEN: Cool.

I have a crazy idea.

Let's roast a... Why don't you grab a couple of figs?

Let's roast a couple of figs... EVE: Oh, awesome.

STEVEN: ...at the same time.

EVE: That's going to be so beautiful.

Will they get smoky too?

STEVEN: I hope so.

All right.

Now, last thing, let's drizzle the garlic and figs with extra-virgin olive oil.

And then, why don't you follow with me with salt and pepper.

EVE: I might eat an entire meal of these figs.

STEVEN: I know.

EVE: Look how beautiful.

STEVEN: Now, to cook the fish, I'm using a Kamado-style cooker.

And I thought, instead of using wood smoke, let's use urban fig smoke.

EVE: Sure.

How many do you want me to put in?

STEVEN: You can put the whole bunch, whole shebang in.

EVE: Oh, lovely.

It's going to smell unbelievable.

STEVEN: Right.

And then, let's you have rosemary and sage.

EVE: I do.

STEVEN: Just scatter them over the bottom.

EVE: If I owned a spa, this is how it would be scented.

That's beautiful.

STEVEN: Good.

Now this is called a "convection plate" or a "heat deflector."

What it does it diffuses the heat.

Right?

So, we won't burn the bottom of the fish.

We'll place the fish on the grill, close the lid... EVE: Yeah.

STEVEN: ...and then I'll adjust the vents, top and bottom, to obtain a temperature of about 400 degrees.

I think, we're looking at a roasting time probably, maybe 30, 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, you have a sauce, you'd like to prepare for us, right?

EVE: I do.

I'm so excited to make it with figs and shallots.

It'll really compliment what you've done.

Would you start by putting some olive oil into that hot pan for me?

STEVEN: Absolutely.

EVE: Oh, perfect.

You can hear that sizzling already.

We'll start with the shallots.

STEVEN: Okay.

EVE: Those will all go in.

And then, if we can put just a little bit of salt on top of them too and give them a good stir.

STEVEN: Sure.

What does the salt do?

EVE: It's going to get some of the liquid out of the shallots, so that they're going to get a little more crispy and caramelized for me.

STEVEN: Okay...great.

EVE: So now, I'm going to start to cut up some of these beautiful figs.

I'm just going to take the ends here off, and then I'm going to give these some slices.

STEVEN: How beautiful...wow!

EVE: Look how big they are, right?

STEVEN: And Eve, I assume that rockfish is kosher.

EVE: It is.

Everything that we cook here in Pearlstone is kosher and rockfish is kosher because it has fins, and scales.

STEVEN: Okay.

Are there any fish that are not kosher?

EVE: So, for example, any shellfish like lobster or oysters would not be kosher or ones that feed on the ground, on the bottom, on anything that's already dead, that would not be kosher.

STEVEN: So, there's kind of a bigger sense and purpose of kosher.

EVE: Yeah.

There is.

It's an intentionality.

It's a chance before anything goes into your body to reflect on it and to have that moment of real gratitude.

STEVEN: I always say where your food comes from and what it eats matters as much as how you grill it.

EVE: Oh, I love that.

That's looking like, it's starting to crisp up.

STEVEN: Yeah, caramelize nicely.

EVE: Great, give that a quick stir.

And then, I have pomegranate concentrate and I'm going to pour that on top.

STEVEN: Now, that's a very typical Middle Eastern ingredient.

Sometimes, it's called "pomegranate molasses."

EVE: Yes, exactly the same.

An alternative could be balsamic vinegar, but that's going to give it too much of that vinegar taste.

STEVEN: Okay.

EVE: I really want the figs and shallots to be front, and center in the meal, and really showcase the season, and the beautiful food.

I'm going to put a little lemon juice in just to lighten it up a little bit.

STEVEN: Okay.

EVE: I don't know how you squeeze yours.

I always put my hand under to catch the seeds.

STEVEN: I do exactly the same way.

EVE: And then, the next ingredient is going to be some thyme.

STEVEN: Some fresh thyme.

EVE: Yeah.

STEVEN: I'll take the thyme, pull off the little leaves.

EVE: Nice.

STEVEN: The aroma is so intoxicating.

Okay.

Is it ready?

EVE: We are close.

I always put a couple dabs of butter into my sauce to finish it off.

For kosher, that means that this meal is actually dairy.

STEVEN: Dairy.

So there's a distinction between dairy and meat-based.

EVE: And then, there's a third one called "pareve" and that's neutral and fish lives in the neutral camp, but I'm changing it by putting dairy into it.

STEVEN: Okay.

EVE: And you could decide to use something else, but I love butter.

STEVEN: Me too.

This looks amazing.

EVE: Thank you.

Let's get some spoons here.

I got a big one cause I'm feeling... STEVEN: After you.

EVE: ...I'm feeling it.

Great.

Let's try that.

EVE: Mmm.

STEVEN: Mmm, this is amazing.

Great acidity.

Fruity.

You get the fig, you get the sweetness of the fig, the acidity of the pomegranate molasses.

EVE: Exactly.

STEVEN: It's brilliant.

EVE: I am so glad you like it.

And I really think it's going to pair beautifully with our rockfish.

STEVEN: Absolutely.

Wow!

EVE: Wow!

STEVEN: That looks really awesome.

The way I check fish for doneness, you see in these cracks how you can see the bone, the flesh is cooked.

EVE: Yeah.

STEVEN: This is actually ready.

How do you want to finish it?

EVE: We're going to put some spices on and a little salt.

STEVEN: Okay.

EVE: So, a little bit of sumac is going to go on top.

STEVEN: And sumac, it's a purplish berry from the middle and near East.

It has a lemony flavor.

EVE: Exactly.

STEVEN: Right.

EVE: Salt.

And then, here is that beautiful za'atar.

STEVEN: Tell us what's in za'atar.

EVE: So it has cumin, it has coriander, it has sesame seeds, and it has sumac already in it.

And it adds an earthy, round flavor rather than a high-note spicy flavor.

STEVEN: Fantastic.

So here is a garlic... EVE: Yum.

STEVEN: ...for you, a roasted garlic for me.

And then, we've got a roasted fig.

Beautiful.

EVE: I can't wait to see how smokey that's going to taste.

STEVEN: I know, I know.

To fillet the fish, I just cut through the skin and kind of lift it off the bone.

Come in and do this one, lift it off the bone.

Great.

And then, using a fish spatula, we'll just come in like this.

Okay, piece of rockfish for you.

Piece of rockfish for me.

EVE: And then, I can sauce these.

STEVEN: Then, the sauce...great.

EVE: So, we'll just take some of this here.

I'll put that right here.

And for you.

There you go.

STEVEN: All right.

Let's see how we did.

EVE: With pleasure.

STEVEN: Mmm, mmm.

EVE: Wow.

STEVEN: Wow.

EVE: Mmm, your fish is cooked perfectly.

It's so beautiful.

And you can really get the shallot and fig right up at the front just like we wanted.

The za'atar just brings it all together.

STEVEN: It's a very sweet flesh, very mild.

EVE: Mm-hmm.

STEVEN: And you're right, that herbal smoke different than wood smoke, lighter.

So, I want to try a grilled fig now.

EVE: Oh, yeah...me too.

This is a first for me.

I've never had grilled fig.

STEVEN: Mmm, smoky.

Smoky.

Crusty.

Creamy inside, mmm.

EVE: It's so, buttery smooth on the inside with that wonderful smoke on the outside.

STEVEN: That's amazing.

EVE: Wow.

STEVEN: I'm going to try your garlic now.

EVE: Please.

See if there's any herbal scents in that.

Yeah.

Caramely, buttery, but so much smokier than when I make it at home.

This is a real lift.

STEVEN: Mmm, this is basically a sweet and sour sauce, but the sweetness comes from the figs and the shallots.

EVE: Right.

STEVEN: The sour from the pomegranate molasses.

It's fantastic.

EVE: Thank you.

STEVEN: Also, I love the little crunch of the fig seeds.

EVE: Right.

STEVEN: You know, it's a sauce with texture.

I can't imagine a meat, it wouldn't be great with.

EVE: Oh, I love that.

STEVEN: Eve, thank you for grilling with me today.

EVE: It has been a pleasure to have you here.

STEVEN: L'chaim.

EVE: L'chaim.

[wine glasses cling] [fire swooshes in] * [fire swooshes in] STEVEN: Austin is famous for its brisket, Memphis for its ribs, but what has Baltimore done to earn its place in the pantheon of American barbecue greatness?

Pit beef that's what.

Today, we're upping the ante.

I give you the pit beef triple decker.

* STEVEN: It starts with the pit beef rub.

Place equal parts dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika, black pepper, and coarse sea salt in a mixing bowl.

Mix them together with your fingers.

For the triple decker, I'm cooking two meats, prime rib beef and organic turkey breast.

Brush both with extra-virgin olive oil.

Brush the turkey.

Now, sprinkle the beef and turkey on all sides with the pit beef rub.

Stand the beef up on end.

Season one end.

Season the other end.

Finally, turn it over, turn the turkey over, and brush and season the other side the same way.

* Okay.

To cook the meats, I'm using a pellet grill.

I'll lift the hopper lid and I'm fueling it with hickory pellets.

Latch it, open the grill, and place your prime rib in the cook chamber.

And then, the turkey breast.

This grill has two temperature probes.

So, I'll insert one probe in the turkey breast and the second probe in the prime rib.

And I'll be able to monitor the temperature on my smartphone.

So close the grill lid, 400 degree cooking temperature, cooking time about an hour and a half.

I want to take the prime rib to 135 degrees.

The turkey to 160 degrees.

Pit beef is traditionally served with tiger sauce, a mayonnaise-based sauce fired up with horseradish.

For our triple decker, I'm going to add three hots.

First, wasabi powder and I'll add a little water, and stir this mixture to form a paste, and activate the wasabi.

The next hot is horseradish.

Freshly grated, it has more kick than prepared horseradish.

The finer you grate it, the hotter it will be.

My great-grandmother used to take the street car down to Lexington Market in Baltimore to buy fresh horseradish.

Next, our third hot, Thai sriracha.

Now add Worcestershire sauce for a tangy flavor.

Then, sour cream.

And finally, mayonnaise which will make the sauce creamy.

Now, whisk the ingredients together.

Finally, a little salt, a little pepper.

And there's your tiger sauce.

Whoo, it definitely has a kick.

Back to the meats.

It's been an hour and a half.

These guys are beautiful.

I checked my probes here, 135 on the prime rib, 160 on the turkey.

I'll take the probes out.

So, first the turkey and then the prime rib.

Mmph.

Now, with the turkey, you'll need to take this netting off.

* And just sort of roll the turkey breast out of the netting.

* Then, place your turkey on your cutting board and slice it as thinly as possible.

Oh, yeah.

* So, that's your turkey.

And now, the prime rib.

* Thinly slice the prime rib.

Oh, look at that.

Beautiful color.

Nice and rare, the way I like it.

All right...and now, I'm going to switch over.

I'm going to start carving this side.

Traditionally, pit beef is made with top or bottom round.

I like the luxuriousness of prime rib.

* And now...the fun part, putting it all together.

I have Kaiser rolls which have been buttered and grilled.

The lettuce leaf goes on the bottom to keep the meat juices from making the bun soggy.

Then, we'll take prime rib, then turkey, then corned beef, preferably from Attmans Deli on Lombard Street.

Next...tomato, pickled onion, and finally your tiger sauce.

* Now, place the buns back on top.

And there's your pit beef triple decker.

Let's see how we did.

This is outrageous.

The sanguine beef, the smoky turkey, the salty corned beef, the crunchy vegetables, the fiery tiger sauce.

I think, we knocked it out of the park.

The pit beef triple decker, now that's Baltimore barbecue.

[fire swooshes in] * [fire swooshes in] ELLA: Hi, Pop-Pop.

So, I love your barbecue, but I have a question.

Do you make anything for kids to grill?

[fire swooshes in] STEVEN: Great question, Ella.

How about a dessert that brings out the kid in all of us?

That campfire classic, the s'more.

Here's the Project Fire version and we're definitely going uptown.

* First, the skewer.

Instead of wood, I'm using a long cinnamon stick.

Then, instead of the traditional graham cracker, a cookie that originated in Baltimore, the chocolate top.

Instead of a common candy bar, I'm using artisanal chocolate.

And to up the ante, a slice of candied orange.

This goes together quick.

Watch closely.

If you blink, you'll miss it.

First, impale two marshmallows on the cinnamon stick.

One.

Two.

And I'll put on a glove cause that fire is hot.

And toast the marshmallows over the fire.

There are two schools of thought about roasting marshmallows.

One is to get them brown and toasty, and the other is to set them on fire.

I guess you know what school, I adhere to.

Next, take a chocolate-top cookie, place a candied orange on top, and then a square of bittersweet chocolate.

Now, place the marshmallow on top of it.

And finally, another chocolate-top cookie.

Squeeze and press, and pull out the cinnamon stick.

And there's your s'more.

Mmm, a double blast of cocoa from the cookie and the bittersweet chocolate, the citrusy orange, and the smoky, toasted marshmallow.

Now that's a Charm City s'more.

Thank you for joining me on my barbecue tour of the city where I grew up, Baltimore.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thanks for watching.

See you next time.

For recipes and more live-fire cooking, visit stevenraichlen.com.

You can also follow Steven Raichlen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Steven's book, "How to Grill Vegetables," and the classic, "Project Smoke," can be ordered online at stevenraichlen.com, or call this phone number for ordering and customer service.

ANNOUNCER: Steven Raichlen's Project Fire was made possible by...

This is The Big Green Egg, where fire and flavor come together.

You can roast, bake, and sear with the versatility of a grill, oven, and barbecue smoker combined.

Locate a dealer at biggreenegg.com.

Fire Magic, combining style with the versatility to sear, smoke, rotisserie cook, and charcoal grill, crafted in America for over 80 years... Green Mountain Grills, wood fired pellet grills... Blue Rhino...

Truly wireless temperature starts with Maverick.

And by the following... * [Steven plays guitar] * *