Your Tips & Tricks for Grilling the Most Delicious Memorial Day
Yesterday I asked you to share all your brilliant thoughts, tips, tricks and recipes for making great food, and heck you got it all delivered.
You definitely have to click to read the 100+ comments , but these were some of my favorites:
Photo of my choice
Yesterday’s photo showed beautiful kebabs with meat and vegetables sliced on one stick. As somedouche points out , it might look nice, but this is not the best way to cook:
Grilling tip: The picture in the article is a poor way to grill. Your skewers look nice, but they will not cook evenly because the minced meat cooks at different speeds. Place identical items on skewers (for example, whole chicken skewer, cucumber skewer, etc.) so that the cooking time on a separate skewer is the same.
It is less beautiful, but tastes better.
On the topic of gas, charcoal and wood
As you might expect, this was a rather controversial topic as most people preferred charcoal because of its great taste. But Karl, who now has his own column on Sundays , has been very nice about working with what you have :
Each is better at some things than others, but if you can’t justify a $ 400 charcoal grill, you shouldn’t feel obligated. I’ve shrunk to a 15 year old Weber Genesis 1000 and I love it. The work continues, but is it much .. easier? I love chunks, briquettes, ceramic grills, and pellet grills, but heck, a good gas grill is essentially a reservoir if handled correctly. You never get the roast you make with charcoal or pottery, but I think 600 degrees is decent enough for 3-5 burgers on a weekday night.
There was also a very good discussion of the charcoal and wood chips brands that are probably worth looking at.
When equipped with accessories
While the grill is designed so that you can cook food without additional pots and pans, that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t. As Pete points out in his commentary , a cast iron grill skillet will give you a large surface for an amazing crust. You can also use it to do reverse browning outside, which means perfect steaks without smoky kitchens:
Using the reverse frying technique is ideal for this approach, as you can first cook the meat indirectly and then end it with a beautiful cast iron broil, which, if placed on the wire rack while cooking the meat, should be properly heated to the end. I get the best results when I remove one of the grates and put the cast iron directly on the burners.
About sunbathing
As bwong2 points out in his comment , this advice is pretty specific but very helpful, so I’ll share it here in full for those who will benefit:
My best advice only applies if you have both a charcoal grill and a side burner gas grill, so I apologize in advance that this is eliminating most of the population. But here it is: use the side gas burner to fire up the coal chimney. You will never have to mess with newspapers (too much ash) or paraffinic starter culture (too wet) again.
Just load the chimney with charcoal, light the side burner and place the chimney on top until the bottom coals are lit. Then move it over to the charcoal grates until everything is on fire and pour it out as usual. (Note from experience: Do not leave it on the side burner until everything is on. The heat from the charcoal is so great that it can melt some of the side burner.)
You will never light the chimney the old way again.
About the choice of food
Pretty much everyone agreed that pineapple is the king of fried fruits, but oyster mushrooms , sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts will definitely appear on my grill this summer (if I find a friend with a grill). There were also many great recipes including wings , burger and tofu .
Basically, you all did a great job, and I am very proud of you (and very hungry).