A Conscious Feast by Nicole Aloni

photo Manny Rodriguez

Once you have done some research (read How to Get the Thrill from Your Green Grill ) and selected the grill you can live with, both as a conscious cook and grill-meister, these tips will help you get the most successful results every time.

Techniques

• Make sure the grill is very clean every time you use it.  The best cleaning method: use a wire brush to scrape the empty grill right after you’ve finshed cooking and it’s still very hot.  What doesn’t get scraped off  will incinerate.  This also sterilizes the grill and removes any lingering flavors or aromas.
• If you are using charcoal, always use a Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter instead of toxic lighter/starter fluid.
• If grilling a brochette of large chunks (like a lamb and vegetable kebab), use two skewers side by side (parallel) through the entire kebab. This will give you a secure lock on the food and ensure that it won’t spin when lifted from the grill. You can pick up the ends of both skewers and flip them like a solid piece of meat.
• Don’t overload the grill with food. If cooking a variety of foods to different degrees of doneness, put on one type at a time ( i.e., do all the chicken breasts, then all the burgers, all the rare steaks, and then the medium steaks).  This is how a professional kitchen manages their grill and it gives you a much more reliable, less stressful result.
• Monitor the grill at all times. Even the best grill may have hot spots and it’s easy to overcook food over an open flame.

Timing

• Pre-heat your gas grill for the least amount of time possible to come to temperature (usually about 10 to 15 minutes). Don’t waste fuel by letting it burn away after it’s hot enough to use.
• When using lump charcoal, start the fire at least 20 minutes before you plan to begin cooking. The coals are ready when covered with gray ash.
• A well-laid charcoal fire in a medium-sized (say 22-inch) grill, will maintain a high temperature for up to 30 minutes.

Tips

• Add water-soaked wood chips (from hardwoods like oak, maple or mesquite) on top of the hot coals to imbue your food with a wonderful smoky flavor.
• Tangy marinades and dry rubs can be used to create dishes with a satisfyingly robust flavor while adding little or no fat.
• Never re-use a marinade in which you have soaked raw meat unless you first bring it to a boil. This will kill any potential bacteria left behind by the meat.
• Whether using a gas or charcoal barbecue, always use a portable oven thermometer placed on the grill (not the coals) to accurately measure the temperature of the unit.
• Keep a spray bottle of water near the grill to douse unwanted flare-ups that may char the food. Your goal on the grill: even heat, no big flames.
• Lay the charcoal across an area about 10% larger than the area the food will take up on the grill.
• Your bed of coals should be about 3″ deep in the center and thin to about 1″ at the edges.

Use the search function on this site to find wonderful grill recipes, or click on the barbeque/grill below.