Just for fun I did this design for a grilling apron. If you’re interested in picking one up hop over to my Café Press shop.
Although I personally like to grill nearly year round, we’re in what is traditionally the heart of the grilling season and I love it. My theory on grilling involves much more than just applying flame to food. For me, taste is king. I like to serve up something special and tastier than the norm to the people I’m grilling for. To accomplish this here are several hints that I’ve discovered can make grilled food a real treat for the partakers:
- Use charcoal if possible. The lovely wood-smoked flavor simply cannot be matched by gas grilling. But if you don’t have a charcoal grill consider using Mesquite or Hickory wood chips in your gas grill and allow the food to cook with the lid closed between turns and checks.
- Marinate. There are plenty of great bottled versions available now and the difference they can make in the taste of grilled food is huge. Even vegetables can benefit from marinating. 2-4 hours, refrigerated in a ziplock style bag is usually good enough but I will often marinate meats overnight. More than that is usually not recommended. Some of my favorites are garlic and herb marinades for porkchops and teriyaki for chicken or steak. Zesty italian dressing also works very well for vegetables, pork or chicken.
- For burgers, try a packet of dry onion soup mix in the meat and make the patties yourself from a good quality lean ground beef rather than buying prepattied burgers. Form the patties as flat as possible because they shrink in and bulge up. Resist the urge to flatten them constantly with your spatula as they cook. This squeezes all the juices out and makes for a much dryer burger.
- Don’t overcook. This comes with practice and experience with your particular grill. One of the most frequent mistakes I see is overcooked meat. This is usually due to a “play it safe” mentality and a fear of undercooking the food. But taste suffers as a result, often producing dry, charred food. Instead aim for “just right”. Until you get to know your grill and the proper cooking times by heart keep a knife handy to cut into the meat to visually inspect it. Make sure you don’t apply barbecue sauce to chicken or ribs before you grill. Instead, apply room temperature barbecue sauce to the meat on the grill only within the last 15 minutes of cooking time and turn the meat often. Its only at this point that you can really slather it on thick. Otherwise you will have a black, charred, burnt tasting mess.
Onward, Keepers of the Flame. Lets do some grilling this weekend!
