I'm Just Here for the Food (11 page)

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Keep seasonings to a minimum—a little kosher salt is all you need.

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Don’t make mega-burgers, a 5-ounce patty works great.

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Make sure your grill is hot before adding the meat in order to get that great crust.

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Don’t apply pressure to burgers when they’re cooking. It only serves to push the juice out of the meat. Plus, using a spatula on the raw meat can lead to cross contamination.

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Flip burgers only once.

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For a burger that’s medium-rare (130° F), cook 4 minutes per side. For a burger that’s medium (150° F), cook 5 minutes per side. Anything beyond medium just ain’t worth cooking.

FAVORITE GRILLABLE FRUITS

It used to be that once my steaks, chops, ribs, whatever, had come off the fire, I felt a little guilty—seemed like such a waste to let the fire just die without putting anything else on it. Now whenever I grill I make sure I have some fruit prepped to take advantage of those final BTUs. By the time dinner’s done, the fruit is soft with a little char—perfect for topping with ice cream or sorbet. Here are some fruits that work well on the grill:

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Peaches, halved, pit removed

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Pineapples, skin on, cut into long wedges

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Mangoes, the meaty cheeks only

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Bananas, whole in the peel (make slits to allow steam to escape)

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Grapefruit, halved and seared, then turned cut side up and sprinkled with sugar

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Honeydew melon, chunks can be skewered or long slices can be grilled Brush or spray the fruits with a neutral oil. This will prevent sticking, and the oil will help get high heat into the fruit.

Cooking times vary but I usually sear the cut sides over direct heat while I’m standing there, then turn the pieces cut side up, set them off direct heat, and leave them until the fire dies down. The sweeter the fruit the more I like to let it char… Ah, contrast.

HOW TO GRILL BY INDIRECT HEAT

On the surface, the use of indirect heat or grill-roasting would seem to be no more than an imitation of cooking in an oven. After all, we’re talking hot air and an enclosed space—sounds like an oven to me. So why is it that grill-roasted foods taste so much better than anything that ever came out of an oven? Well, I’m here to tell you why: magic!

Okay, there’s a little more to it, but we’ll come back to magic later. Here are some unique characteristics of grill-roasting to consider:

• It’s a truly dry method (as noted earlier, the burning of natural gas produces some water; electric coils do not).

• The heat source is mobile (so far, no one has come up with a home range or oven in which the heat source itself can be moved around).

• Smoke: Even if a great majority of the volatiles have been driven out of the charcoal there still are compounds being released. Add a few smoke-creating elements, and you’re really onto something.

Indirect grilling is suitable for just about anything that will fit on the grates. No, you don’t want to bake a pie here, but you should try a wide range of plant life from onions to bananas in the peel. Chiles are especially wonderful when their heat is tempered by smoke. Other veggies I grill are asparagus, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, leeks, and carrots.

RED, WHITE, AND WHAT THEY CHEW

Somewhere along the line “red” meat got a bad reputation, while “white” meat was deemed healthful. But should we really judge an animal by the color of its flesh? What makes red meat red and white meat white? Grazing animals, like cattle, eat grass. Grass contains iron, which fuels myoglobin, which in turn tints red meat red. Non-grazing animals, such as pigs, don’t eat grass; they primarily eat corn, and therefore their flesh is lighter in color.

Master Profile: Grilling

Heat type:
dry

Mode of transmission:
The metal cooking grate acts like a heat antennae, carrying heat to the food via conduction.

Rate of transmission:
high

Common transmitters:
Glowing coals, ceramic rocks, calrod, gas flame

Temperature range:
very low to very high

Target food characteristics:

• Meats, fruits, vegetables, and doughs that profit from some degree of surface browning and/or smoke exposure

Non-culinary use:
space heaters—but never inside

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO ADD TO THE GRILL FOR INDIRECT COOKING

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probe-style thermometer

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hinged cooking grate that allows coals to be added during cooking

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coffee can (for feeding in fresh charcoal)

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pocket timer

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various-size disposable aluminum pans to catch drips

When you want to cover some, but not all of the items on your grill, go for a disposable-foil roasting pan. They’re cheap, come in a dozen different sizes, and when you’re done cooking, you’ll have something sterile to carry the chow in.

Liz & Dick Rack of Lamb

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were always on again/off again, so I call any dish that swings from direct to indirect heat “Liz & Dick.” The goal is to develop a nicely charred crust and to cook the meat through without burning the outside. This method occupies the nether region between direct grilling and grill-roasting and could be applied to just about any food that has more mass than surface area.

Application: Grilling by direct and indirect heat

Hold the rack of lamb upright on a cutting board so that the ribs are straight up in the air. Cut in half by holding the center two ribs apart and slicing straight down between them. When you almost get to the board you’ll have to shift your knife around the bone.

Lubricate the mini roasts with oil and season with salt and pepper. Fold a strip of heavy-duty aluminum foil around the exposed rib bones so that they won’t burn.

Fill a chimney starter with charcoal and light. Arrange the coals on one side of the grill. (If you’re working with a Weber kettle, open the bottom and top vents.) Let it burn for 5 minutes then execute an ice cube test directly over the fire. It should melt completely in 20 to 25 seconds.

Software:

Rack of lamb (2 pounds; I prefer
domestic lamb)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 red potatoes
Crushed rosemary sprigs

Hardware:

Cutting board
Heavy-duty aluminum foil
Chimney starter
Charcoal
Instant-read thermometer
Serving platter
Small cast-iron skillet

Place the lamb pieces on the grill, bone side up and pointing inward, and grill them for 5 minutes, or until brown. Flip bone side down and put the cover on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes, then lift the lid and rotate lamb off the heat. Replace the lid and cook for 8 minutes more or until the internal temperature reads 138° F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the lamb to a platter and allow the meat to rest.

By the way, there’s a lot of room on that grill. So why not put something on the other side of the grate? Something that won’t mind being directly over the heat while the lamb is off to the side. Say, a small iron skillet full of red potatoes, cut in half, tossed in oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, and crushed rosemary, and placed cut side down in the skillet. (Or you could make classic hobo packs by constructing a pouch from a triple layer of heavy aluminum foil and filling it with cubed root vegetables, herbs, and butter.) Go ahead, play: it would be a shame to waste all that good heat.

Yield: 2 servings

The Cure for Salmon

Application: Grilling by indirect heat

Crimp together 2 sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil to form a sheet 1½ times longer and 3 to 4 times wider than the fish. Spread a single layer of plastic wrap over the foil. Pour the honey into the ramekin and microwave on high for 30 seconds or until it becomes thin. Brush the fish with the honey and set aside.

Combine the salt and the sugar. Spread ⅓ of this mixture down the center of the plastic wrap, roughly in the shape of the fish. Lay the fish on top and then spread the remainder of the mixture on top of the fish (see illustrations at far right). You should barely see the flesh through the rub. Finally, lightly wipe your hand from the fish tail to the head so the coverage will be lighter at the tail end than over the thicker meat of the flanks.

Pull the sides of the foil over the fish, then carefully crimp downward until you have a tight seal against the fish. Crimp the ends of the package in at least three turns. (Make the package as watertight as possible.)

Place the package on a sheet pan and cover with the second pan. Weight this down with a large, heavy book and place in the refrigerator. After 1 hour, turn the fish over, re-weight, and return to the refrigerator for 1 more hour.