Chill About Grilling! More Handy Grilling Tips

Gas or charcoal? Charcoal or gas? Charcoal probably gives your food a better flavor. But gas... it's just so easy and when you are in a hurry, gas heats up fast. I have a gas grill...a beautiful, sexy gas grill. Still, charcoal grills aren't that hard to get going. Have a cold drink. It'll be ready soon. I would like to add a small charcoal grill to my backyard collection.

You can grill just about anything over direct heat...right above the coals or the flame, but sometimes, indirect grilling is better. Large/thick cuts of meat, whole chickens, anything dripping with fat — for these, shove all the coals to one side of the charcoal grill and use the opposite side, or, on a gas grill, use less flame and don't cook the food directly over it.

A covered grill is a hotter grill. Food cooked in a covered grill tastes smokier. This is usually a good thing, but not always. Also, it's easier to overcook food when the grill is covered. Why? Because you can't see the food.

"Barbecuing" usually refers to cooking big things like pork butt, beef brisket, and whole hogs over low heat for a long time. Grilling hamburgers is not barbecuing. That's grilling.

This is my sexy grill!

A good way to oil your grill's grid before using: Chop an onion in half, dip the cut side in vegetable oil, and rub it all over the grid.

To clean your grill grate, use a little soapy water at the beginning of the season. Then hit it with a wire brush, when it's still warm, after each use. That's it.

To test food for doneness, a cake tester or metal skewer can make you look like a genius. Stick it into the middle of whatever meat you're grilling, then hold it to your chin. If it's cool, keep cooking. If it's warm, you're at medium-rare. If it's pretty hot, yank the food off the grill. Careful with tongs. Squeeze too tight and you squeeze the juice out. Same goes for maneuvering using a fork or knife.

Gadgets: Baskets, toppers, rib racks, vegetable holders, drip pans...all good tools, though not all essential. Save money, only buy what you'll use. The basics are a good pair of tongs, a spatula, and a wire brush. A pot holder is not the same thing as a grilling mitt. Pot holders are for ovens.

A cool gadget for charcoal grills: the electric charcoal igniter. You plug it in, set it in the grill, top it with charcoal, and within about eight minutes the coals will be on their way to readiness. No lighter fluid needed. But nothing beats the chimney starter.

Charcoal is ready when 80% of the coals are ash-gray. If the fire gets too cool (you can hold your hand just above the grill for four or five seconds), try pushing the coals closer together. If it's too hot (two seconds, max), spread the coals out and move your food to the edge. If the coals start to burn down and disappear, add more — but remember, that brings the temperature down, too.

You can put barbecue sauce on just about anything. Remember, only do so in the last ten or fifteen minutes of cooking...the sugar in the sauce can burn.

Strawberry BBQ Sauce

• 1 cup Strawberry Puree
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp allspice

1. Season to taste (3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper)
2. In a small saucepan, over med heat bring above ingredients to a simmer. 
3. Then reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Makes 1/2 Cup

Add just about anything to mayonnaise for a sauce or a spread. Hot sauce, lime zest, basil, mustard, A1, or whatever. It's hard not to make it taste good. An interesting steak sauce: Dijon mustard, melted butter, and Worcestershire.

The basic marinade: an oil (olive, canola, grape seed, etc.), an acid (vinegar, lime juice, yogurt, wine, etc.), herbs, and spices. Experiment. And a smashed garlic clove never hurts. Don't feel like making your own? Italian or balsamic dressing works great.

If you forgot to make a marinade...food has to sit in the marinade for a few hours to, you know, marinate...make a rub real fast. About a half-hour before grilling (or even at the last second), massage it into the meat. Use what you like; pepper, cinnamon, dried herbs, cayenne, chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, paprika...

The Ziplock bags were made for marinating (not really but it sounded good, but they do work great.) Basting meat with leftover marinade during cooking is a good idea. Using leftover marinade as a finishing sauce is not. Because of the raw-meat juice, of course.

Always salt beef a good half-hour before grilling. You're not flavoring. You're tenderizing, and tenderizing takes time.

Don't over mix or manhandle your burgers. You want them just barely formed into a patty. Otherwise, the meat will get tough. Please don't press the burgers down with a spatula as they cook, unless you like a dry hamburger. When to add the cheese: After flipping (obviously), a minute or two before the second side is done. Then close the cover.

To grill fresh sausage: First, precook it by poking it with a fork and simmering it in water until just about cooked, ten minutes tops. Then grill it till it's browned and a little bubbly, probably five minutes.

The kebab was a wonderful invention. It's like a whole meal on a stick. A kebab secret: If you want the meat medium-rare, pack it tight on the skewer. For medium-well, space the pieces out. Don't forget that skewers get hot!

One inch is the best thickness for a steak (including fish steaks) or pork chop. It's the easiest to get a nice exterior crust and a juicy middle. That goes for lamb chops, too, if that’s your thing. A little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and throw it on over high heat.

Chicken is tricky. It dries out, it burns, it's susceptible to slight differences in grill temperature. If you have a bunch of chicken pieces on the grill, flip them frequently and move them around the grill a lot according to which pieces are cooking fastest and where the grill is the hottest.

Don't forget about vegetables. Toss some thin asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper, throw it on, and it'll be done before you can grab another beer. Delicious. Wrap small vegetables in a foil packet and rest it over high heat. Poke a few holes in the foil to let the smoky flavor in. Slice zucchini and yellow squash long ways, brush with olive oil, season, then throw on the grill. When it comes off, hit it with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese...YUM.   It's the only way I will eat zucchini.  

There is no fruit you can't grill (I don't think). Pineapples, bananas, plums, cantaloupe, oranges, peaches sliced or cut in half, brush with melted butter and if you want, brown sugar, and grill. There are few tastier desserts than grilled fruit, and somehow, it always surprises people.