Girl meets grill - a love affair

I am in the minority in my neighborhood, as I am one of the few girl grillmasters. All up and down our block it’s the men who rule the outdoor cooking, and whether or not it’s that way inside the kitchen I’ll never know, but when it comes to grill cooking, men seem to rule. Not in my house, however.

I love to grill, and love to get adventurous out there. Recently, I did quesadillas on the grill which turned out beautifully. I marinated the meat in lime juice, jalapeno peppers, canola oil, white vinegar, cumin and salt, then grilled it, shredded it and built the quesadillas with black beans, corn, cheese and chopped jalapenos. Barely 10 minutes on the grill and the shells were crispy with a smoky aftertaste, the filling was hot and the cheese decidedly gooey. We devoured them, and I instantly was dreaming about when I could make them again. Soon after that wonderful gastronomic adventure, we made pizzas on Boboli crusts, and I slipped them onto a piping hot grill to cook. They turned out fabulous, possibly the only shortcoming to them was that they seemed to cool down quicker than when I cook them (and serve them) on a pre-heated stone. I love all kinds of vegetables on the grill- carrots and yams turn out splendid, their sugars carmelizing to a sweetened flavor that simply melts on your tongue. Zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus and peppers turn out delicious as well. Some vegetables take to grilling so well. I have a grill plate to help facilitate cooking of smaller vegetables without the fear of loss through the grate. And talk about simple! A brush of lightly seasoned oil and your veggies are good to go. No need for anything real fancy at all.
Of course, all manner of meats go on the grill. Here is where I like to cook more simply, although you can really go to town too if you so desire. There are millions of marinades available, and a million more you can dream up out of your own pantry. Tough cuts do much better with marinade. The use of an acid, such as citrus juice, a vinegar or wine helps to break down the tough meat fibers and make them more malleable. Some say that the longer you marinate, the better the meat, but there is always a point of no return and meats can get mushy if over-marinated. If you ever are eating a meat that has been marinated and you feel a grainy texture in your mouth, you know what I mean. Too much of a good thing can ruin a cut of meat. And fish should never be marinated for more than 15-20 minutes or it will simply fall apart when you cook it, and for fish, that’s not pretty. Chicken breasts without bone or skin need only a short time also, as they are naturally more tender. I love to smoke meats on the grill too. If your grill does not come with a designated smoker attachment, you can buy small iron boxes that will work too, or simply use a disposable aluminum pan to hold your chips. Remember to soak them well, up to an hour I say, and put them on the hot grill to get them good and smoky first before adding the meat. I have refreshed them with water during the cooking too, although my culinary school buddy Travis, who is a Grillmaster with a capital ‘G’ said that it doesn’t do any good. Besides, it only works with the aluminum pan, as the smoker boxes have holes that won’t hold the water. Enough of this digression!! Let’s talk meat!! Pork loin roasts and tenderloins are some of my favorite cuts to grill and smoke. Soak me a batch of hickory chips, rub up that pork with some dry mustard and chili powder and toss it on the sizzling grate. Wow!! In a short time you can have the most mouth-watering, succulent piece of meat dazzling your tastes buds!! It’s like….well, it’s like……I can’t describe it, it’s like food-induced endorphins gone haywire. You wish you could suppress the ‘full ‘ section of your brain so you could just keep enjoying it. Turkey is another divine meat for the grill. I have done our Thanksgiving turkeys on the grill for the last three years, mostly because it saves room in the oven, but honestly, once you grill a turkey, with maybe some cherry wood chips for flavor, man alive…..you may never eat another oven made bird again. One year it was so cold outside that the grill was cranking out on high with barely any noticeable effect. You had to almost put your hand on the grill itself to feel any heat. The kind of Minnesotan wind in November that freezes your nosehair with one whiff. Ah…another digression!

Ok, so the secret, behind the rubs, marinades, wet wood and anything else in your quest for perfectly grilled meats, is indirect cooking. And yes, I am sure you have heard of it before but humor me a little here. (this is how it is done with a two burner gas grill- you can modify it for a three burner, or Google ‘charcoal grill indirect cooking’ for that answer) You light your grill and heat it up on high with the lid closed to get it good, good, good and hot. You have your meat ready, your chips soaked, everything on your mark. The grill is opened and the chip pan is placed on one side of the grill with both burners lit still. Close the lid and await the smoke. When it is pouring out of the grill, open the lid (stand back so you don’t get a faceful!) turn off the burner on the side of the grill without the chipbox, then place your meat on that side. Sear it on high so it gets that nice crust, then turn the burner under the chips down to low, close the lid and go enjoy yourself for a while. Depending on what you are cooking and what the internal temp has to be in order for you to safely eat it, this could take a while or it could be fairly quick. You can cook indirectly without chips too. Generally, larger cuts of meat work better with indirect heat. You can cook anything indirectly, but a chicken breast will take only about 10 minutes in the regular manner, and maybe 30 or more indirectly. When your hunger is leading you, stick to the tried and true. When you can plan, wait and savor, do it indirectly.

I love summertime when I can stand outside on a gorgeous late afternoon and smell the wonderful scents coming from my grill, enticing the neighborhood and making my cats crazy. We made steaks today, Griffin’s favorite. I marinated them in soy sauce, sesame oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and onion powder and white pepper. They were wonderfully flavorful and tender despite a little too much time in the marinade. And I am still full four hours later. Thankfully tomorrow’s meal is lighter. Now if I could only figure out how to make pasta on the grill!?!?