Get fired up
What does it mean to grill? Depends on whom you ask. To some it means everything – even dessert – gets cooked over hot coals or open flame. To others it means a main dish stars – usually meat, poultry or fish – but is accompanied by a strong supporting cast of salads and sides prepared off the grill. And to still others it means something in between.
Regardless of what type of griller you are, you’re not alone. According to a survey by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, nearly three-fourths of American households own a grill and the typical grill owner cooks outdoors 22 times during barbecue season.
Seventy percent of Americans grill at least once a week, according the 16th annual Weber GrillWatch Survey.
The survey also says Americans still flip more burgers on the grill than anything else. But several new grilling cookbooks aim to help outdoor cooks improve their techniques and expand their grilling fare.
Think you don’t need a cookbook to tell you how to grill? Think again. In a telephone interview from Los Angeles, Chef Jamie Purviance, author of “Weber’s Real Grilling” says the biggest mistake people make is grilling everything over the same flame instead of taking time to understand how different foods and different cuts of meat respond to heat.
Learning how to use direct (right over the flame) and indirect (off the flame) heat can mean the difference between a dry, charred piece of bone-in chicken and a perfectly seared, juicy and cooked piece, he says.
Purviance also says he thinks novice grillers tend to shy away from fish too much because they’re afraid it’s going to stick to the grate or fall apart. Because of these fears, he says, people make the mistake of thinking it should be cooked over a delicate heat when in fact cooking it on high heat better prevents the sticking.
He recommends the 70/30 rule for fish – cook it 70 percent of the way on the first side and only 30 percent on the second side.
“The grill (offers) a lot more possibilities than people give it credit for,” Purviance says, and he delves into those possibilities in “Real Grilling.”
“Weber’s Real Grilling,” by Jamie Purviance
This book is focused. If it’s in this book, it’s going to be cooked on the grill, including desserts such as Chocolate Brownie Cake.
“I wanted to capture a true sense of grilling today. That means simple and fun. The recipes here are designed to be easy enough to shop for and easy enough to prepare so that grilling never feels like a chore,” Purviance writes in the introduction.
The recipes, including the color photo of each one, are inviting. Purviance covers everything from classics such as steaks and ribs to lots of new grilling fare with ethnic twists. One of his favorites is the King-Size Beef Kabobs with Salsa Verde.
It took only a few pages to get me inspired to fire up the grill. What really did it was the Grilled Tomato and Onion Soup. The simple recipe relies on the unforgettable taste of charred tomatoes and onions bathed in chicken stock and balanced with fresh chopped thyme. I can’t wait to try it again when fresh local tomatoes are flooding the farmers’ markets.
At just $24.95 for the 300-plus pages, this cookbook is a real bargain.
“The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue”
For the griller who wants to understand why things turn out the way they do and use that knowledge to become a better griller, look no further than the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine.
Time and again they turn out cookbooks that not only answer questions that have perplexed many cooks, but they’ve produced recipes that have been so thoroughly tested there’s no way you can go wrong. The formula holds well for this “Practical Guide for the Outdoor Cook.”
The way editor Christopher Kimball puts it in the preface, “Outdoor cooking may be easy enough for a grilling expert, but for the rest of us there really is a lot to learn.”
Here’s the place to do it. The book’s strength lies in its basics – the best way to grill a steak, roast a whole chicken or grill vegetables. Then it takes these basics and embellishes them with more elaborate recipes, such as Spicy Grilled Potato Salad with Corn and Chilies. The beauty is you can definitely trust these foodies to deliver the truth.
The book also offers specific recommendations on grills and grilling equipment that the editors tested. And it’s the only book that offers advice on how to grill in the dark. “Simply put on a camping headlamp and you’ll be ready to fire up the grill. The contraption not only allows you to point the light directly where you are looking, but also keeps your hands free for cooking purposes,” the book states.
Food Network Kitchens “Get Grilling”
This book is less a guide to grilling and more an outdoor entertaining book. The first recipe in the book, Summer Rolls with Chili Dipping Sauce isn’t even prepared on the grill. But that’s not a bad thing.
The book, the third from the Food Network kitchen staff – the behind-the-scenes professionals who make everything on the cable TV show run smooth and look good – offers dozens of grilled entrees and rounds them out with sides, salads, desserts and beverages for a perfect outdoor gathering.
“We’ve got ideas for you on how to throw a party with menus ranging from burgers to paella, and sides going from good ol’ coleslaw to zippy Watermelon and Baby Arugula Salad – all washed down with drinks as homey as an old-fashioned limeade and as exotic as Pomegranate Margaritas,” the book’s introduction states.
If you’re the kind of person who loves to invite friends over to enjoy some fresh air and good food, this book offers a nice variety of unique dishes that guests will talk about. But be prepared to spend some time planning and shopping; many of the recipes call for ingredients that require a trip to a specialty market. But the editors do try to offer substitutions.
For example, the Zucchini, Poblano and Ricotta Quesadillas recipe calls for fresh ricotta, but a cook’s note explains how to drain off the excess liquid in typical grocery-store ricotta to make it work.
“The New Gas Grill Gourmet,” by A. Cort Sinnes
The nice thing about this book is that all of the recipes are designed for a gas grill. That’s great, of course, if you own a gas grill, not so great if you’re a die-hard charcoal lover.
Nonetheless, the book is packed with no-nonsense recipes that match the quick-to-get-going aspect of gas grilling. Take the Jamaican Jerked Chicken or the Old-Fashioned Barbecued Chicken recipes: Both call for only two or three ingredients, namely chicken and bottled sauce. Even the first recipe in the book for Grilled Pizza has a simplified ingredient list: cornmeal, pre-made refrigerated pizza dough, jarred pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. The Grilled Potato Skins look like a tasty twist on the bar-food staple.
These simple recipes make the book great for quick, weeknight inspirations. But mixed in with these simple recipes are more sophisticated ones, allowing you to grow as a griller with this book.
“The BBQ Queens’ Big Book of Barbecue,” by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig
Drawing the line in the charcoal dust, Adler and Fertig have taken their women-do-grill mantra all around the country, hoping to inspire more women to step up to the grill. They’ve also dabbled in gender studies, explaining how men and women grill differently.
“When we say we grill and smoke like girls, we mean that we like to grill or smoke more than one thing at a time and think about the picture – the whole meal – not just one part. We can grill great steaks and burgers and smoke divinely delicious ribs or briskets. But we also think about the rest of the meal – and actually prepare it,” they write in their book.
While each of the other cookbooks starts with appetizers and relegates sauces, rubs and marinades to the back of the book, the BBQ Queens dive right into these flavor boosters, which take up the first 50 pages of recipes in the book. They follow this with a section on grilled vegetables, which in many books lies somewhere in the back. In fact, the BBQ Queens book is nearly a flip-flop of most of the other books we’ve looked at.
The authors spend a good deal of time “talking” about being barbecue queens, which is great fodder for patio conversation.
Here are a few recipes from these books:
Grilled Tuscan Steak with Olive Oil and Lemon
From “The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue”
Bisteca alla Fiorentina, as it is called in Tuscany, couldn’t be simpler; a thick, juicy steak is grilled rare, sliced and serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
2 porterhouse or T-bone steaks, 1 1/2 inches thick (about 1 3/4 pounds each), patted dry with paper towels
Salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon wedges
For charcoal grills, light a large chimney starter filled with hardwood charcoal (about 6 quarts) and allow to burn until all the charcoal is covered with a layer of fine gray ash. Build a two-level fire by stacking most of the coals on one side of the grill and arranging the remaining coals in a single layer on the other side. Set the cooking grate in place, cover the grill and let the grate heat up, about 5 minutes. The grill is ready when the pile of coals is medium-hot and the single layer of coals is medium-low.
For gas grills, turn all burners on high, close the lid and heat the grill until very hot, about 15 minutes. Leave one burner on high and turn the other burner(s) to medium.
Meanwhile, sprinkle both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Position the steaks on the grill so that the tenderloin pieces are over the cooler part of the grill and the strip pieces are over the hotter part. Grill the steaks, uncovered, until well-browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the steaks; grill until well-browned on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes.
Once the steaks are well-browned on both sides, slide them completely to the cooler part of the grill. Continue grilling, uncovered, to the desired doneness, 5 to 6 minutes for rare, 6 to 7 minutes for medium-rare. Remove the steaks from the grill to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the strip and filet pieces off the bones and slice each piece crosswise about 1/2-inch thick. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Yield: 2 servings
Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate due to recipe variables
Peach-Mustard Pork Chops
From “Food Network Kitchens Get Grilling”
Pork chops:
4 (1 1/2 -inch-thick) pork chops
Safflower or corn oil, for brushing
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Peach-Mustard BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)
Prepare an outdoor grill with a high heat for both direct and indirect grilling. Position a drip pan under the grate on the cooler side.
Brush the pork chops on both sides with oil and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Grill the chops over the heat until brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Move them to the cooler side of the grill and brush with some of the Peach-Mustard BBQ Sauce. Cook the chops, covered, turning and basting with sauce every 5 minutes until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees, about 15 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings
Approximate nutrition per serving, with about 3 tablespoons of Peach-Mustard BBQ sauce: 437 calories, 22.3 grams fat (8.5 grams saturated, 46 percent fat calories), 22.5 grams protein, 35.5 grams carbohydrate, 81 milligrams cholesterol, 2.7 grams dietary fiber, 1,116 milligrams sodium.
Peach-Mustard BBQ Sauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup whole-grain mustard
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup peach jam or preserves
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and boil until almost completely reduced and the mixture looks like wet sand, about 4 minutes. Whisk in both mustards and the jam. Simmer, whisking, until jam melts, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bourbon and salt.
Yield: About 1 1/4 cups
Gorgonzola Toasts
From “The New Gas Grill Gourmet”
This is a variation on a wonderful hors d’oeuvre originated by the great Italian cookbook author Marcella Hazan. It’s a real crowd pleaser, so make plenty.
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted in dry skillet over medium heat until golden
1 garlic clove, pressed
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 loaf coarse-textured Italian or French bread
About 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the grill with all the burners on high for 10 minutes and the lid down.
While the grill is preheating, combine the cheeses, pine nuts, garlic and pepper in a small bowl, toss lightly with a fork, and let stand at room temperature until needed.
Cut the bread into 1/2 -inch-thick slices and lightly brush both sides of each slice with olive oil
Once the grill is hot, turn all the burners to low. Place the bread on the grill and toast on one side only, with the lid down. Watch closely because the toasting will take only a minute. Turn the bread and top each one with the cheese mixture, pressing down on it slightly with a fork. Close the lid and bake the toasts for a few minutes, until the cheese mixture has melted. Serve hot off the grill.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Approximate nutrition per serving: 298 calories, 15.3 grams fat (4.9 grams saturated, 46 percent fat calories), 10.5 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrate, 19 milligrams cholesterol, 1.6 grams dietary fiber, 510 milligrams sodium.
BBQ Queens’ Love Potion for the Swine
From “The BBQ Queens’ Big Book of Barbecue”
This is our version of the luscious, thick sauce that our barbecue team has used to win the Battle of the Sexes Barbecue Contest and also has sold for charity. We always tell people that this sauce has aphrodisiac properties, so we sell more bottles! … Give a bottle of homemade sauce to family and friends – or that special someone.
1 (24-ounce) bottle ketchup
1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup dry mustard
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 cup water
In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat for 45 to 60 minutes. After you pour the ketchup and chili sauce into the saucepan, turn the almost-empty bottles upside down and add the rest to the mixture. Use immediately, or store, covered, in the refrigerator for several months.
Yield: About 6 cups
Approximate nutrition per 1/2 cup: 207 calories, 1.4 grams fat (no saturated fat, 6 percent fat calories), 2.8 grams protein, 49.6 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 1,296 milligrams sodium.