A Few Hot Tips On Your Mark, Get Set … Fire Up That Grill With A Few Tried-And-True Techniques

When we asked readers to send in their tried-and-tested grilling secrets, they sent us recipes for sauces, rubs and marinades, shared some unusual cooking methods and gave away their secrets for terrific ribs.

We also asked grilling cookbook authors and the experts at Weber-Stephens Co., makers of the popular Weber grills, for their advice. And although we promise not to get into the gas-versus-charcoal argument, we’ll just mention that most of the folks who wrote in preferred charcoal.

So if you’re feeling all fired up — and you should, because May is National Barbecue Month — read on for techniques and recipes to help make your grilling its best.

The Two-Song Steak

Greg Loumanis used to set the timer on his microwave to tell him when he should turn the steaks he was cooking on his balcony grill.

Good idea, right? After all, a timer is one of grilling’s “Three T’s,” according to Weber experts; tongs and a thermometer are the other two.

Trouble was, the 26-year-old substitute teacher at Summit Academy in Flat Rock, Mich., found that he was leaving the steaks on too long. One side would burn, and the meat would always end up overcooked.

Why?

Loumanis’ music was cranked up so high he couldn’t hear the timer.

So he decided to put his tunes to work for him.

“I figured a song was about five minutes, so I turned off the timer and turned up the music,” says Loumanis.

“Just put a CD in, put the steak on and hit `play.’ When the song is over, flip the steak and listen to another song.”

It worked. He proudly says he hasn’t overcooked steak or chicken since.

Demonstrating his “two-song steak” method recently, Loumanis also showed us another trick. He measures and lights his charcoal in a homemade chimney starter made from a 2-pound coffee can with a wire hanger wrapped around it for a handle.

“A friend told me about using the coffee can to get the charcoal started,” says Loumanis. “I poked some holes in it, and it worked.” For chicken, he measures the charcoal in a 1-pound can.

When the coals for his steak were ready, he dumped them onto the bottom grate and put the top rack on to heat. When it was hot, Loumanis placed a marinated sirloin on the rack, put the lid on and started the music. After listening to the alternative group Cornershop’s “Sleep on the Left Side” - about four minutes - Loumanis lifted the lid and flipped the steak. The top was perfectly seared with great grills marks.

“I never flip anything more than once,” says Loumanis.

When “Brimful of Asha” was over after about five minutes, Loumanis lifted the lid, checked the steak and declared it done.

Loumanis transferred the meat to a plate, let it rest a few minutes and then sliced into it, showing the seared, almost crusty outer edges and the pinkish center, cooked medium, the way he prefers it.

The two-song technique produces medium to medium-well steaks on Loumanis’ kettle-style grill with the top rack just a few inches from the coals. It also cooks burgers well-done and does a nice job on boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

But don’t try it with bone-in chicken - that’s a seven-songer. Place the pieces skin-side down on the grill for one song. You need six more songs to finish them after you’ve flipped them to the other side, he says.

Loumanis makes no bones about what cooking method he prefers. He’s a charcoal guy. “I used a gas grill and felt as though I should just cook it under the broiler in the oven,” says Loumanis.

No-fuss chicken and beer

Susan Lovay, owner of Teddy’s Pub & Bistro in Manistique in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, figures there’s so much to do in the summer, she needed a way to use the grill without having to keep checking on it. She came up with No Peek-A-Boo Chicken.

Lovay likes to cook with beer, and a few years ago she and some friends were wondering how it would work to set a whole chicken over the top of a can of beer and cook it on the grill. They talked about what they could mix with the beer and wondered whether the chicken would absorb the flavor.

Lovay experimented with removing the entire lid from the beer can, pouring out half the beer and replacing it with barbecue sauce. Then she set the beer can on the grill rack, set the chicken over the can - legs down, and let it cook.

“We kept lifting the lid and checking the chicken, but then figured we could leave it on,” says Lovay. “It doesn’t have to be watched, which makes it perfect.” The chicken is cooked using the indirect heat method with very hot coals for about 1-1/2 hours, she says.

(A word of caution if you’re trying this for the first time: You may need to peek just to make sure the chicken isn’t getting too done on one side and not on the other.)

“The coals need to be glowing and arranged in an arc at the rear of the grill. And have a drip pan directly under the chicken,” she says. She also rubs the outside of the bird with various seasonings.

“I’ve never had a problem with the chicken falling over and the result is a nice, brown and crispy chicken with very tender meat and a barbecue flavor,” she says.

Best heat for best ribs

Marty Rafal of Farmington Hills, Mich., uses natural chunk charcoal, an old-fashioned Charbroil grill and a special blend of two seasonings to prepare baby back ribs that his family and friends rave about.

Rafal, 78, should know a thing or two about seasonings. He owned Rafal Spice Co. in Eastern Market in Detroit for 38 years until retiring last year and turning the business over to his son, Don.

The senior Rafal’s grill is at least 48 inches long and big enough to hold seven sides of ribs, he says. The tray holding the charcoal can be raised and lowered beneath the food, allowing better heat control.

He’s a real proponent of natural chunk charcoal, which he says provides more intense heat and lights quickly. “Just wad paper, light it and in 10 minutes it’s hot,” he says.

To prepare ribs, he washes them and drains the excess water off but leaves them wet. Then he sprinkles both sides of the meat with two spice blends made exclusively for Rafal by Asmus Spice Co. in Clinton Township, Mich. He uses the Hot & Smokey BBQ Seasoning first and pats it in; then he does the same with the Detroit Steak Seasoning blend.

When the fire is ready, Rafal cuts the slabs in half and places them on the grill, bone side down, over medium direct heat. He turns them every 15 minutes during the one-hour cooking time.

“In between I’m watching the coals and adjusting the heat,” says Rafal. “The tray that the coals are in is real low at the bottom of the grill, and I can raise it to adjust the heat as I’m grilling.”

Why does Rafal like grilling?

“It’s so relaxing, and I don’t have to worry about washing pots and pans, and my family loves it.”

Simple sauces and spice

Mary Lou Grassel’s barbecue sauce has been a family favorite for a generation, and it couldn’t be easier. She starts with a commercial sauce.

The recipe came from her late mother-in-law, Louise Grassel.

“She took a bottle of Open Pit barbecue sauce, emptied it into a pan, and added a cup of ketchup and a cup of brown sugar,” says Grassel, of Redford, Mich.

The mixture is heated until the sugar melts. Then it’s poured back into the bottle and usually used on ribs.

“It makes more, of course, so an empty bottle is always kept handy,” she says. “I’ve been making it for 20 years and sometimes give it to my kids.”

Here’s the rub

The Hot & Smokey BBQ Seasoning Marty Rafal uses on his ribs is $1.39 for 4 ounces and includes salt, paprika, onion powder, spices and natural smoke flavoring. Detroit Steak Seasoning, $1.99 for 4 ounces, contains kosher salt, black pepper, minced garlic and other spices. For a catalogue and mail-order information from the Rafal family’s spice business, call (800) 228-4276.