Here it is...The biggest Bar-B-Q ing day of the year. Every year, if we have the time, we ALL head out or throw some kind of bar-b-Q. No matter what your cooking, weather it be burgers, steak, chicken, fish, or ribs, we all come together as Americans and celebrate our Independence.
The list of things you DON’T need to grill great food to host a successful summer 4th of July of bash and is much longer that the list of things you do need. We don’t need that expensive grill with the built in fridge and sound system. You can also scratch things like lighter fluid, large spacious yards, brick ovens or secret spice rub. Honestly, you don’t even need me telling you what to do! Grilling is actually one of the simplest, most basic methods of cooking that there is. Technically all you REALLY need is the fire and the food, but other things can spruce it up such as having the right ingredients, equipment and last but not east the right recipe.
That’s the easiest part because that part is up to you. You don’t need anything fancy or exotic to be a great cook or make a great dish, but it sure helps. Your dish is only as good as your ingredients! So I would encourage you to pay attention to how fresh ALL the ingredients that you will be using are. This can be easily taken care of but shopping less and more often. Remember, even the spices in your cabinets tend to lose flavor after a while. Garlic loses its oomph and ‘FRESH’ fish is anything but unless you caught them yourself. Taking a little extra time and money to plan getting the fresh ingredients and meat will go a long way and I promise that you won’t be disappointed for spend a little extra time at the market.
Because of my prior career as a professional cook for 10 years I'm a little particular when I get my grill on, but here is my ‘PERSONAL’ list of the right equipment
1) A charcoal or gas grill (each has its own advantages so I use both) Gas grills are easy to light, control and not to mention clean. Charcoal grills area lot more work but it gives the food a smokiness a gas grill just can’t imitate. If you decide on a charcoal grill you also need a chimney starter. Don’t even get me started on the lighter fluid. (Also remember to clean the grates.)
2) A pair on tongs. I personally prefer to use stainless steel tongs for this. I find them easier to use for turning, flipping and picking up the food. The extra-long ones are ok but I find them hard to use and I feel like the food is just too far from me. The exceptions to tongs is if you’re making something like quesadillas and whole fish which are best turned by using a wide spatula, be gentle as these are they tend to break easily.
3) Brushes. Pastry brushes are fine but SO EXPENSIVE! So what I do is I use good-quality paint brushes from the hardware store. Since they do get harder to clean and time goes on don’t forget to replace them every so often.
4) SPACE! A MUST FOR THE MASTER GRILLER! Never ever under estimate the importance of having room to walk and work. Grilling can be stressful if you don’t have the room, plates piling on top of each other, bumping your elbows on the grill and burning it or knocking things over. GRRRRRR! It’s so annoying!!! Since grills ‘NEVER’ come with enough room I suggest setting up a table next to it every time to eliminate this headache.
5) And last but not least…The “RIGHT RECIPE”. Firstly, you should remember that books are only recipes, NOT instruction manuals. I promise the food WILL NOT blow up if you add too much or don’t put enough of one thing or another. Feel free to mix it up. Take a little bit of this and a little dab of that and ‘Ta Da!’ You just put your own pazazz on it making it yours! Remember to have fun, grilling is not a science, and cooks are always going to be different. You have to trust your own eyes, hands, smell and taste. A cookbook can’t do this for you… it’s a guide and will not judge your food. Leave that up to your guests!
Now for the challenging part, “When do I stop?” I’ve had a lot of questions over time and even from experienced grillers, the most common is about doneness. How do I know when the chicken and fish are ready? Do I need a meat thermometer? Anyone with the intention to grill should definitely master when it’s ok to remove the food at that not too much, not too little but “just right” and also allowing for a little more cooking to take place after it’s been removed from the heat.
So are there hard and fast rules? Not really? Like with all cooking, it’s a matter of taste, experience and staying cool under pressure. Here a simple ‘At the Grill’ guide that I tend to use…
Rule#1) Do not test the food as soon as you put it on the grill! Including picking it up to see if it’s done on the bottom, moving it around and turning it over every 10 seconds. Put it down and give the food a chance to cook. Plus this gives the food a chance to sear on the bottom so it naturally pulls from the grates without sticking. Moving the food early like a lot of people do it was causes the food to stick.
Rule #2) Don’t cut into your food to see if it’s done, First of all it doesn’t since we can’t get a good look at the inside, plus it lets all the good juices out causing the meat to dry out on the grill. So poke it with your finger. Rule on cooking meat is that it becomes firmer as it cooks. A rare steak feels squishy, medium is more springy, well-done feels taut like a trampoline so-to-speak. This rule also holds true for both fish and poultry as well.
Rule #3) Meat and poultry should rest for a few minutes before slicing or serving. I’ll explain without getting too technical. Cutting into the flesh as soon as it comes of the heat releases juices on your cutting board. Wait a few minutes and let the meat absorb them and it’ll thicken them up a little bit too. You’ll feel like your food is getting cold but it’s still cooking a little. So if you feel the need to you can cover up with foil while it sits for about 5 minutes. Fish is the only meat that doesn’t need to sit and should be served immediately as it loses heat quickly.
Rule#4) When in doubt it’s better to undercook then it is to overcook. You can ALWAYS put it back on the fire if you need to
Comments (1)Subscribe to CommentsComment