(back)

Discerning Diner
Secret to grilling greatness: Pay attention

By Elan Head

In the rest of the country, Memorial Day marks the official start of grilling season. In the Valley of the (Infernal) Sun, it’s perhaps one of the last days temperate enough to brave the backyard.

In either case, it’s a great time to be outside, knocking back a beer, monitoring a big red slab of meat and basking in the most testosterone-ridden culinary environment outside of a professional kitchen.

Or not.

For many years I surrendered–or assigned–grilling duties to the men in my life (or those who happened to be within earshot of the kitchen).

Out went my carefully prepped platters of steaks, hamburgers, salmon and eggplant, to return after some alchemy to which I was not privy.

Finally I realized that a Y chromosome does not confer instant expertise upon its bearer. Sometimes the steaks came back beautifully done, but they might also return charred and black, or worse, moist and gray.

So I decided to learn how to grill.

Like most skills in life, grilling is part art, part science. Perhaps there’s also a grilling gene. My grandfather is hands down the best grill master ever, and I like to think--wishfully, maybe—that I inherited some of his aptitude.

Oh, I have years to go, though. I can make a good piece of meat great, but my grandpa can make a bad piece of meat even better.

Still, there’s something to be said for making a good piece of meat great. I’ve decided that there are two tricks to it: first, make sure your fire is hot enough; second, pay attention.

To take the fire first. Whether you’re using charcoal, gas or wood, don’t skimp. You want a fire that will burn hot and for a long time. (At our cabin in New Mexico, my husband makes me big oak fires in an outside pit. Nothing’s better.)

If you’re a fantastic griller, someone like my grandpa, you’ll know exactly how hot to make your fire. Anyone else should err on the side of heat.

Unless you’re cooking something tricky to move around, like salmon, make your fire hotter than it needs to be. Your primary fire, that is. You’ll get best results with a “two-level fire”: one side hot, one side less so.

This is easy to accomplish on a gas grill with two or more dials. If you’re using wood or charcoal, just push the coals into a pile in the center. Your cooler areas will be toward the edges of the grill.

Let your grill get very hot, then start your food over the main fire. What if it catches on fire? This contingency is covered by Rule Number Two: pay attention.

Most mediocre grillers aren’t really inept over a fire. They just seem to think that grilling requires less attention than other forms of cooking--that there’s no harm in ducking inside for eight or nine laps of the Indy 500.

When I grill, I hover near my food as though it were in a frying pan. Particularly if your steaks are on the thin side, letting them go up in flames can help develop a good crust. Just move them to the cooler parts of the grill before they scorch.

Cover the grill and check it every few minutes. Remove your food when it’s done to your liking --only experience can help you on this count.

I have one more hint, and that is to use plenty of salt. (Face it: even if you’re grilling veggies, this is not healthy cooking--you’re already getting a big dose of carcinogens.)

Mix it into your hamburgers; rub coarse salt on your steaks. For poultry and pork, try a brine: ¼ cup kosher salt per quart of water.

A 45-minute soak before grilling will keep your chops and chicken pieces flavorful and moist.

Elan Head is a former Kyrene Corridor resident who travels extensively with her husband. She writes regularly for Wrangler News.

(back)