Grilling 101
Direct vs. Indirect Grilling
The first step towards achieving grill master status is to understand the difference between direct grilling, indirect grilling, and smoking.
DIRECT GRILLING
This is what most of the world means when it talks of grilling: the food is placed and cooked directly over the fire. Direct grilling is a high heat method used to cook relatively small or thin pieces of food quickly. Typical foods that are direct grilled include steaks, chops, chicken breasts, fish fillets, vegetables, and bread.
How to set up your grill for direct grilling:
Single Zone: the coals are spread in an even layer to make a single zone fire over which the food will be grilled. (On a gas grill, you’d simply light the appropriate burner.) This method is fine for cooking a small amount of food, say a steak or chicken breasts for one or two
Two or Three. You’ll get better heat control if you build a three zone fire, consisting of a hot zone, medium zone, and cool or “safety” zone.
To set up a gas grill for three zone grilling, on a two burner gas grill, set one burner on high and one burner on medium, using the warming rack as your safety zone.
INDIRECT GRILLING
Indirect grilling is designed to cook larger or tougher foods that would burn if direct grilled. As the name suggests, the food is placed next to, not directly over the fire. The grill lid is closed to hold in the heat, turning the grill into a sort of outdoor oven. Indirect grilling is used to cook large pieces of meat, like pork shoulders and whole chickens. It’s also used to cook tough cuts of meat, like brisket and ribs, that require long, slow cooking at a low or moderate heat. Indirect grilling allows you to work over a more moderate temperature (275 to 350 degrees) and makes it easy to introduce the flavor of wood smoke. This is the method used to cook ribs, pork shoulders, briskets, whole chickens and turkeys, and other large pieces of food.
A WORD ABOUT CHARCOAL
For charcoal grilling I prefer natural lump charcoal-made from pure wood and recognizable by its irregular shaped chunks-to briquettes. This is a natural product, containing no additives or fillers. Look for it at grill shops and natural foods stores
Of course, the vast majority of Americans use charcoal briquettes, which in addition to raw wood, often contain furniture scraps, coal dust, borax, and petroleum binders. This may sound off-putting — it is off-putting — and partially lit briquettes give off a strong acrid smoke flavor. The truth is that if you let the briquettes burn down to glowing coals, these impurities burn off and the food will taste pretty much the same as when cooked over lump charcoal. I prefer lump charcoal and use it whenever I can.
Ready to Grill!
1. Get It Hot!
Preheat your grill 15 to 25 minutes before you start cooking to make sure it reaches the right temperature (and to kill any bacteria). Your grill should be 400-450°F for high, 350-400°F for medium-high, 300-350°F for medium and 250-300°F for low heat. A properly heated grill sears foods on contact, keeps the insides moist and helps prevent sticking. While searing doesn’t “seal in” the juices (contrary to popular belief ), it does create improved flavors through caramelization.
2. Brush It Off
3. Oil It Up
4 . Safety First »
Food safety is a top priority, so keep these simple rules from the USDA in mind: avoid cross-contamination by using separate cutting boards, utensils and platters for raw and cooked foods; refrigerate foods while marinating; and never baste with the marinating liquid. (Make extra marinade just for basting or boil your marinating liquid first.)
5. Marinate Your Meat »
Marinating does more than infuse food with flavor; it also inhibits the formation of potential carcinogenics which form when grilling “muscle meats” like poultry, red meat and fish. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), marinating can reduce formation by as much as 92 to 99 percent.
6. A Chimney Starter
A chimney starter (weber.com, $14.99) makes starting a charcoal fire a breeze. Just place crumpled paper in the bottom of the chimney, fill it with charcoal and light the paper. In about 20 minutes the coals will be ready to spread evenly in the bottom of the grill—no kindling, no lighter fluid, no perfect pyramid required.
7. Is It Done?
The best way to know if protein is fully cooked is to check its internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
8. The Hand Test »
To gauge the temperature of a grill without a thermometer, place your open palm about 5 inches above the grill rack; the fire is high if you have to move your hand in 2 seconds, medium if you have to move your hand in 5 seconds and low if you have to move your hand in 10 seconds.
9. Tame The Flames
Flare-ups happen when fat drips onto the heat source and catches fire. This causes carcinogenics to form and accumulate on your food. Meat licked by flames also tastes “off” and flames may char the outside of food before the inside has thoroughly cooked. To reduce flare-ups, select lean cuts of meat, trim excess fat and remove poultry skin. And, keep a squirt bottle of water near the grill to quickly douse any unexpected flare-ups.
10. Give It A Rest
Let finished meats rest on a clean platter, tented with foil, for about 10 minutes before carving so juices can redistribute evenly.