Here are three recipes you may want to use to enhance the menu of grilled foods you are serving!

Injection Marinade
Contributed by reader Susan Hensley

Ingredients
1 cup apple juice or cider
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons pork rub (used Char-broil Memphis Rockin’ Rib rub; also rubbed on meat)
2 tablespoon corn syrup (I omitted for fear of over browning)

Directions
Mix together and use injector to flavor pork, poultry or whatever you like!

Here’s one you might enjoy…I don’t use wings, I use chicken legs and thighs!

CB’s EZ Hot Wing Sauce
per 1 dozen fried or grilled chicken wings & drumettes

Ingredients
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 large cloves garlic – smashed and minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground Chinese-style mustard
1/4 cup hot sauce – or more to taste – (I use Tapatio brand – but you might prefer another)
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

Directions
Melt olive oil, butter and garlic – I use the microwave
Mix with hot sauce in large metal bowl
Add grilled, fried or roasted wings and drumettes when they are HOT fresh from the cooker
Toss and mix so sauce lightly covers everything
Add cilantro and green onions – toss
Serve immediately on platter and prepare more

And for those who enjoy dipping their chips – here’s something substantial!

CB’s EZ Roasted Veggie Dip
per large bag of tortilla chips

Ingredients
3 cups mixed sweet cherry, plum or grape tomatoes
1 medium (7-9″) zucchini squash cut into quarters
1 medium yellow or sweet onion
1 red pepper sliced and seeded
2 medium shallots chopped roughly
1/4 cup thawed frozen or canned sweet corn, drained
1/4 cup cilantro or flat-leafed parsley
4 cloves garlic whole and unpeeled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil – (I prefer Kalamata because it has a very fruity flavor and you will not be cooking with most of it.)
1/4 cup hot sauce (optional)

Directions
Place all of the vegetables (not cilantro or garlic) on large baking sheet and lightly toss with some olive oil, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
roast in oven -OR- place on pre-heated grill with hood closed
Roast until tender – about 20 – 30 minutes at 355F degrees) or until onion and zucchini soften to touch with fork. (If you sense something is burning remove it and keep warm while remaining veggies roast)
Remove tray from oven or grill and peel roasted garlic, smash the roasted clove and mince
Combine all ingredients together in food processor or blender and “pulse” the machine to get a rough chop that is easy to dip with a tortilla chip or toasted bread – but not a puree.

Serve with toasted bread, chips, or a spoon if desired to use for side sauce with seared meats like tri-tip or lamb.

Do you have a favorite recipe or grilling idea to enjoy while watching the “Big Game?” – Send it along via email or post it in the Comment section below! – CB

I always enjoy hearing from Terry “Way Down in Alabama” and this week he offers up two great dishes. If you are a hunter, or know one, then you know the taste difference between a wild and domestic duck. If you are lucky enough to get a duck that navigates the inland flyways, chances are it will have an almost exotic taste to it – unlike other game birds and certainly different than the domestic bird. Terry experiments with cooking wild duck and also provides an excellent recipe for stuffed mushrooms – that would be great food to prepare for the football fans in your house. You can use either the full-size Portobello mushrooms or their junior-size called Crimini. Either way – a tasty treat you can prepare on any grill.

Happy Grilling!

Hey CB -

Well we had a wet weekend! Got some badly needed rain and more is on the way. Due to the inclement weather my wild duck cooking project ran a little long. I got started with all good intentions on Saturday morning by cooking a vegetable brine. When it cooled I placed the duck in a plastic container, poured the vegetable brine on it, covered and stored in the refridgerator – AHEM – where it stayed for an unintentional long time, Tuesday evening. I decided to “fry” the duck in The Big Easy and it turned out pretty good. I definitely learned some things and can improve on it. Next time, I believe I’ll pull the wild duck out of the cooker a little early and give it a good rest period. Wild duck has so little fat (compared to domestic farm-raised duck) that it needs this special attention to keep it moist and tender.

Duck Preparation

• After removing from the longer-than-normal brining time the duck was stuffed with apple and onion slices for the aromatic flavor these provide.
• Inject the duck with Creole Butter – primarily the breast but also the thighs and legs
• Using a Char Broil chicken stand in the cooking basket to hold the duck I filled the stand with a mixture of brine and beer. (Similar to a beer can holder)
• Placing the cooking basket in the cooker, I fired up the Big Easy with the top on.
• When the skin of the duck began to brown some I removed the top. (I believe this step helps to rapidly cook the skin and helps seal in moisture)
• At about 30 minutes the thermometer was reading an internal temp that instinct told me was about 1/2 – 3/4 of the way done, so I put my mushrooms on top of the cooker using a vegetable grill tray. (Since The Big Easy doesn’t use all that hot air to cook – I thought it would make a great “oven” by which to roast the mushrooms – it worked!)
• When the thermometer reached the poultry indicator – 165F degrees (A little too long for wild duck) I removed the cooking basket.
• This was approximately 45 minutes from the start.

The mushrooms needed a few more minutes so I placed aluminum foil loosely over them for a couple minutes. They turned out great. Have fun with the mushrooms… Try anything and everything on them. They are easy and almost everyone likes them. I think bacon always gives them a meaty kick!

Mushroom Preparation

• Large portobello mushroom caps
• Turn the caps upside down and
• Pour a little balsamic vinegar in each mushroom ( a table spoon or so) let that sit for 15 to 20 minutes
• Place a few thinly sliced onion slivers on the caps
• Spoon sweet pepper relish over the surface until covered
• Sprinkle on a little shredded cheese Italian blend or 5 cheese blend is good
• Place a few strips of Gouda (or your favorite) cheese over that
• Cook on low heat on grill, or on warming rack of grill until the cheese is melted and the mushrooms are hot all the way through

Enjoy Y’all!

A regular reader of Sizzle on the Grill sent me an email with pictures of one of his favorite dishes – Stuffed Bell Peppers. I thought it looked so good I decided to try it myself – great! I hope you enjoy them as well.

Happy Grilling!

CB, I don’t know if anyone has tried this yet, but last night I cooked stuffed bell peppers in The Big Easy. It was very easy. The pepper skins were roasted exactly to our liking & the meat was done all the way through. Simply delicious & done to perfection. And we didn’t have to fire up the oven & the peppers were done approximately 20 minutes earlier than when we cook them in the oven. Bill

Preparation
Cut off the tops of peppers & remove seeds
NOTE: We like our peppers a little on the roasted side and always put them in the microwave in a glass dish, with a bit of water, cut end up & covered with plastic wrap on HIGH for 2 minutes just to give them a head start.
Stuff peppers with a favorite meatloaf recipe – the amount depends upon the size of each pepper.

Cooking
Place stuffed peppers in the bottom of the wire cooking basket.
NOTE: I’ve made for the basket in the cooker at about the mid-point of the basket.
Insert the thermometer probe in one of the peppers & turn on the burner.
TIP: After about 10-15 minutes into the cooking I put the mesh lid on the cooker to help give the tops of the stuffing a little crispiness.

When the thermometer shows 160F degrees (approximately 45 minutes) remove the basket and set on counter or cooking tray inside on counter.
Let cooked peppers rest for about 5-7 minutes

We served them with a salad & baked potato.

Do you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share? Whatever type of grill you use – please send it to me via email HeyCB@charbroilgrilling.com and digital photographs are always welcome!

Living in the Pacific NW I have access to a wonderful variety of fresh seafood. Just about anything I desire is fresh and available throughout the year. Most grocery stores carry a range of selections that include shellfish (clams, mussels and oysters) and all manner of edibles that swim (salmon, halibut and even squid.) I certainly enjoy grilling most of em! So I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am when I see someone lay a beautiful piece of fish on a sheet of butter-coated aluminum foil that’s placed over the grates of their grill. Uh — folks, that’s called “frying.” All I can say is you are missing out on something wonderful if you don’t grill the fish on the grates with direct heat – because the taste of properly grilled fresh fish will deliver a savory goodness in every bite! I encourage you to take a little time to learn about your grill and experiment grilling fish and I hope you’ll find that grilling fish is as tastefully rewarding as grilling your favorite burger, chop or steak!

This week I’m visiting the good folks and grilling enthusiasts at Char-Broil headquarters in Columbus, Georgia. One of the benefits of visiting here, besides the great people, is the outstanding choices for local barbecue they serve. Yuh-um-mmy! To repay my hosts for their warm hospitality, I decided to treat them to a sampling of my favorite grilled seafood from the Northwest. I called Wild Salmon, a fish market located in Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle – if you’ve ever watched the TV show called “Deadliest Catch” many of the boats featured in the show use this as their home port. The knowledgeable fish mongers there hooked me up with an overnight shipment containing 5lbs of freshly caught wild Sockeye salmon, 2lbs of fresh halibut and 1lb of meaty spot prawns – all fresh off the boat.

As I prepped each item I was mindful of the limits of my kitchen facilities…I’d be cooking outdoors in a ‘tailgating’ situation.

Spot Prawns
The spot prawn has a sweet, delicate flavor and firm texture.

A favorite way to prepare prawns for grilling is a marinade of 4 Tbsp olive oil, 4 Tbsp minced garlic, 3 Tbsp packaged curry powder and a dash or two of dry white vermouth. I let them marinate for about 2 hours.

Grill ‘em HOT and fast – just until the shell turns pink and use tongs to turn and grill until pink on the other side…

…remove and toss with parsley butter. I recommend you eat spot prawns cooked this way in the shell as they have a texture similar to that of a soft-shelled crab. You will taste all the sweet flavor of the curry and tang of the garlic in each meaty bite!

Wild Halibut
Halibut has a white, flaky and firm flesh that is low in fat with a delicately sweet flavor and lends itself to just about any kind of recipe from broiling to grilling.

I prepped the fish by first rinsing under the tap and drying it with a paper towel. Lightly coating the skin side with canola oil spay and seasoning the flesh with 1 Tbsp each of freshly ground sea salt, freshly ground pepper and dried ginger. Oh and a dash of dry white vermouth.

On a HOT, clean grill that I oiled with a paper towel soaked in olive oil and held with tongs – I placed the fillet skin down and covered the top with aluminum foil – to hold heat and cook the top. I won’t tell you exactly how long to cook the halibut because there are too many variables. [i.e. Thickness and temperature of the fish when ready to grill. Outdoor temperature and grill type.] The total cooking time for this piece was about 18 minutes.

I plated the halibut and splashed it with lime juice and served it with basil. I would enjoy an Asian-style spicy-hot sweet & sour sauce with this – but didn’t have one – served with Thai brown rice.

Wild Sockeye Salmon
The #1 eating salmon in the world has a full flavor and is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. Wild sockeye salmon is recognizable by the ‘natural’ bright orange flesh that contains the antioxidant pigment (astaxanthin) and is a wonderful fish for grilling.

I prepped the two fillets (total 5lbs) by rinsing, drying and spraying the skin with canola oil before seasoning the flesh with sea salt, pepper, a dash of olive oil, a dash or two of dry white vermouth and stripped tarragon leaves that I tore to release their oils.

The salmon marinated for about 2 hours before grilling and was about room temperature when I placed it skin-side down on the HOT clean grill that I’d oiled as with the halibut. I covered the salmon with aluminum foil to hold the heat near to the flesh and cooked it for just under 18 minutes. The tarragon gives up a deliciously sweet fragrance that also lightly permeates the flesh. The skin gets all crispy and toasty tasting.

I plated the grilled salmon with herbs and lemon. The aroma drew even the most ardent fish “avoider” who was compelled to try it and ask for seconds. For those who were able to step out of their comfort zone the crispy skin was delicious!

Seafood requires some handling that’s different than red meat. Most seafood has a natural moisture content and can be cooked to a ‘tipping point’ after which it gets dry and tough almost immediately. I find it’s best to cook on a HOT grill that’s been turned down to MEDIUM just as I place the fish on the lightly oiled grates. I do use aluminum foil – not between the fish and the grates -but to cover the fish on an open grill. I believe it holds heat next to the flesh and helps to speed the cooking. I also am not afraid to remove the fish from the grill, cover and hold for a few minutes before checking to see if it’s done to my liking. If not done, I can always add a bit more time on the grill – but if it’s over cooked, I can’t undo it!

Because I think seafood is best when grilled at higher temperatures it was very fortunate I grilled this menu on the new Commercial Series Grill with Quantum infrared inside. The infrared heat is perfect for searing the fish and sealing in moisture. And the heat control of the Quantum burner allowed me to adjust and reduce heat as necessary with almost instant response. I’ve been very pleased cooking in The Big Easy Oil-less Infrared Turkey Fryer and my third experience cooking with this new Quantum infrared heat was very satisfying. I’ll go one better. It was great – because my food was prepared the way I wanted and my guests enjoyed it with smiles on their faces, some good words and they asked for seconds – even those who confessed they “don’t like fish so much.” I certainly give most of the credit to the fresh wild caught fish and the rest to the Commercial Series with Quantum infrared!

Happy Grilling!

CLICK HERE
Learn more about the new Commercial Series Grill with Quantum infrared.

This week I finally got a chance to assemble the new Quantum infrared gas grill from Char-Broil. I’d been looking forward to this day since getting an opportunity to see the demonstration models in New York at Bryant Park press day and again at Char-Broil headquarters in Georgia last Fall. This is an exciting step forward in grilling. Combining the recognized value and consumer award winning quality of the Commercial Series Grills with the next step in bringing the power and pleasure of infrared cooking to regular guys like me – this Quantum grill is pretty darn cool.

Hood temperatures can be deceiving. The temperature at the GRATE is what counts when grilling. The outside temperatuer and even breezes can foil the best thermometer in the hood!

Assembly took a couple of hours – because I’m methodical. And it all made sense. I turned on the grill today and heated it on high for about 20-30 minutes to make sure any residue from the manufacturing process was well taken care of. I turned down the heat to Medium and went inside to finish prepping dinner. When I returned outside and approached the grill the hood thermometer reading was 450F degrees. Considering it was about 42F degrees outside with no wind, that seemed pretty much OK and what I’d expect from my previous Commercial Series grills.

Then I opened up the grill and took a look at the thermometers I’d placed between the two pairs of grates that correspond to burners beneath (that’s right it’s got four burners and a side burner with griddle)

I placed the analog thermometers directly on the grates.

and I was blown away.

That reading of more than 600F degrees was WITH the hood open!

Both were reading just a bit more than 600F degrees. I didn’t even have the controls turned up to HIGH! Sheese! That’s power and great even heating!

I left the hood open, adjusted the control knobs and watched as the grill thermometers slowly moved back into the perfect searing range of 400F – 550F degrees.

Placing the veggies I’d prepped with a light coating of olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on the hot grates – it was easy to sear the yellow onions sections, white and green asparagus, green onions, crimini mushrooms and skewers of sweet hot-house tomatoes. Oh the aromas were wonderful!

Mixed grill of veggies - the aroma was wonderful - and the SIZZLE was music to my ears!

Then I transferred the veggies to a tray and placed it on the right side of the grill, with the heat turned to low. On the left side of the grill I placed two 2 inch New York Strip steaks that I’d seasoned lightly with kosher salt and ground black pepper and a light spray of canola oil. The sizzle on the grill and smoke – but not heavy smoke – were immediate. I turned the steaks about every 3 minutes, getting nice cross-hatch grill marks.

Just look at those grill marks! The infrared cooks the meat when it hits it and the grates are so hot they really REALLY sear!

I plated the steaks with the grilled vegetables and a baked potato I’d wrapped in aluminum foil and placed on the upper warming rack for the entire time I’d been using the grill.

Delicious folks. Simply delicious. I like this new grill. Tomorrow I’m going to cook chicken thighs and see how it handles fat flare-ups!

Happy Grilling!

Understanding and managing “heat” is a critical skill required of any good cook, outdoor or indoor. Oddly enough, heat is often poorly understood by many backyard cooks. I can’t provide every fact about heat here – and my knowledge is not complete – so I’ll restrict this post to basic descriptions about the heat used in the most common grilling, barbecuing, smoking and other outdoor cooking situations. Hopefully this post will get the conversation started and you’ll continue it with friends – to expand and improve your knowledge, understanding and mastery of heat.

For our purpose in this post, let’s agree that most often, fire is the source of heat we use in outdoor cooking on grills and in barbecues. Fire requires combustible material, a supply of oxygen and a source of ignition. Be it charcoal in a fire chamber, propane or natural gas in a burner or logs on a camp fire, heat is produced and we can harness that heat to cook foods to our delicious delight. There are numerous combustible materials yet only a few are suitable for cooking food. Learning about fire – source, intensity, duration and temperature – and using this knowledge to manage the heat produced is a basic skill-set of good backyard grilling. But more on that later.

First let’s talk about two terms most often used in association with outdoor cooking – because they describe how ‘heat’ issued to cook the the food.

Direct & Indirect Heat

Direct heat is a term used to describe grilling on the grates directly above the heat source and it is usually hot. Steaks, chops, burgers and fish fillets are usually cooked by this method. Generally when you are cooking food over direct heat you are grilling.

Indirect heat is a term used to describe cooking with the heat source produced in another part of the grill – usually at a lower temperature and the food takes a bit longer to cook. Whole chickens, briskets, roasts and other larger cuts of meat are usually cooked by this method. Generally when you are cooking food using indirect heat you are barbecuing.

Grilling, Barbequing & Smoking – What’s the difference?
Although most Americans generally refer to cooking outdoors on their grill as ‘barbequing,’ technically that isn’t correct – but not a big deal. I’ll provide a brief explanation of the three terms here. [With respect for those folks who have dedicated their waking moments to the pursuit of one or more of these activities; understanding any of them could wax poetically for hours about their pursuit, leaving my humble reasoning in the dust!]

Grilling is fundamentally simply cooking food over a direct heat source – like fire. Generally this is done with smaller cuts of meat at higher temperatures and fast. Smaller cuts of meat sear on the outside from the higher heat, sealing in the juices that would be lost if the meat was cooked slowly. Our distant relatives used this method by placing a chunk of meat on a stick and holding the stick in the fire. There is something in the way the heat affects the meat and crisps the outside surface to create a taste that seems to appeal to the deeply routed DNA of most folks, me included! When you place a grate to suspend the food over the fire or heat source, you are adding the conductive heat of the grates to the cooking process. When you suspend the food over the heat source using a ’spit’ and rotate it to cook evenly, you are rotisserie cooking.

Barbequing is an evolved version of grilling – slowly cooking meat using an indirect source of heat and keeping it at a lower temperature, usually between 225F -250F degrees. If the meat is placed in a position away from the heat, yet ‘bathing’ in the hot air from the heat source, you are barbecuing. If the addition of wood or herbs is made to the fire for the purpose of generating smoke you are beginning to ‘Hot Smoke.” I s’pose you could describe it as “roasting” at a lower and slower temperature – often with cuts of meat that benefit from this type of cooking method. Some cuts like pork shoulders and beef brisket have a high ratio of collagen in the meat, due to their intended use, slow cooking with indirect heat tends to work magic on these cuts and the dense collagen will render into the meat adding tenderness and flavor.

Smoking If you cook on or near an open fire of combustible material like wood, hay, herbs, charcoal or coal – you are going to add flavors of that material to the meat when the chemical reaction of fire releases particles and they impact the food. [Note: In the case of coal - that would not be the best flavor!] If you introduce any of these elements into a cooking situation where they can smolder and generate an excessive amount of smoke, even more flavor particles are added to the air that will come into contact with the food. If you perform this task at a temperature of between 225F – 250F degrees you are essentially “HOT” smoking and the food is slow cooking. Most folks prefer to HOT smoke food in their home equipment so it’s more like a Smokey Barbecue. If the smoke passes through a cooling chamber and comes into contact with the food near or below a temperature of 45F degrees or thereabouts, you are essentially “COLD” smoking and the food isn’t cooking, just being flavored.

Searing & Grilling

Searing is the act of using the direct method of cooking over high heat, upwards of 400F degrees. The higher heat quickly affects the proteins and sugars in the meat causing it to brown and seal. My mother did this before placing a roast in the oven and I do it every time I cook a steak in a cast iron skillet – I sear it. If you are cooking outdoors using a highly conductive metal grate like cast iron, then you may be searing meat using a combination of direct heat from the fire as well as the conductive heat from the metal grates.

Grilling is as described above, and it is also an overall term describing a cooking ‘technique.’ In most “grilling” situations the cook first sears the meat on a very hot area of the grill and then continues to cook it with lower intensity direct heat on another part of the grill, using the convection heat of the hot air produced by the heat source, the conductive heat of the grates and (possibly) radiant heat from either charcoal or infrared burners.

[NOTE: Please read the comments about Searing and Grilling below. There is some useful information provided by readers and the conversation may help you come up with what works best for you. - CB]

Low & Slow

Talk to any long-time outdoor cooking enthusiast and you will hear this phrase as if it were the official motto of all barbecue. “Low” refers to the temperature, generally between 225F – 250F degrees. “Slow” refers to the time it takes. Simply stated, ‘Good Eats come to those who cook ‘Low and Slow.’ When you are cooking “Low & Slow” you are usually barbecuing or smoking.

Now let’s talk about the three basic categories of heat you will use in cooking outdoors:

Convective, Conductive and Radiant

Convective Heat is best explained by example. Hot air is convective heat. The air is warmed by a source and carries the heat (with some loss during the transfer) to the food to be heated. Most common indoor ovens are convective – and manufacturers will add a fan to circulate the air and call it a ‘convection oven’ when, in fact it already is. A grill with the hood closed is a convection oven. A barbecue is a convection oven. A smoker is a convection oven. They all use heated air to transfer heat to the food. That’s why during long barbecue and smoking processes the cooks will use a mop to add moisture to the outside of the meat – or add a tray of water to help control the hot air to keep it from drying out the food. Oh – and now for the head-spinner for some of you: Frying is Convective. The hot oil is heated and transfers the heat to the meat.

Conductive Heat is also best explained by example. Placing food in a pan on a burner is using conductive heat transferred from the burner through the metal pan and directly in contact with the food. In a previous description I said that metal grates over a heat source can also be conductive – because they collect heat and transfer it directly to the food. When food cooked on the grates gets grill marks it’s because of conductive heat at higher temperatures.

Radiant Heat For the purpose of this post I’m only going to describe Radiant Heat as it pertains to outdoor cooking and the use of ‘infrared’ energy. Infrared energy is emitted from any number of sources in our lives – the most influential being the Sun. If you use a mirror to collect and reflect sunlight onto a piece of meat, you are using infrared energy to cook it. Infrared is easily demonstrated (but not fully explained) by describing how the sun feels on your arm when you place it in direct line of the sunlight on a cold day, with something to block the wind that minimizes the sensations, for instance in the window of your home or car. The sun warms the skin because the infrared energy emitted by the sun activates your skin on contact. Charcoal fires have been used in cooking for centuries, before being contained in a backyard grilling chamber, but I bet most folks who use them and comment on the great taste of charcoal fires, don’t know it’s that charcoal fires also emit infrared energy – but only a small amount due to inefficiency – and that’s what actually contributes to the taste of the meat. Any outdoor campfire will produce a percentage of infrared, that’s the feeling on your face when it’s cold outside but the light from the embers of the fire hits your skin and it warms – it’s actually light energy and infrared energy. The more fuel being burned, the greater the amount of infrared energy being generated – but not necessarily an efficient production – and thus the intensity of heat on your skin. Infrared energy is a great way to cook on a grill because it can generate high temperatures and provides all of the convenience of gas with the taste of charcoal.

Charcoal, Gas or Infrared?
These are the three main fuel sources for most outdoor cookers. There are a few others, but for the everyday backyard cook these are the primary choices. Interestingly when using one of these three terms to describe your cooking technique, it also provides a hint as to the amount of heat the cooker will be generating.

Charcoal
Charcoal generated heat is often referred to as “live fire.” Igniting and managing the charcoal fire is a skill-set learned by experience. Charcoal tends to burn hotter than gas cookers and may also provide additional flavor from the smoke byproduct. Charcoal also emits a low level of infrared energy. Charcoal comes in two primary forms that are marketed in general retail stores: ‘briquettes’ & ‘hardwood or lump.’ Briquettes are more common and can be purchased in various size bags at just about any store in the summer months, and year-round in most grocery stores. Briquettes are manufactured using real charcoal and binder materials (which may include flavor or smoke enhancing ingredients like wood) and are formed into sizes which are easy to store, ignite and manage. Some ‘briquettes’ have additional ingredients which accelerate the briquette catching on fire. Hardwood or lump charcoal was originally used by most outdoor cooks and is actual hardwood that has been partially burned, effectively removing the sugars and other flammable materials – leaving behind only the material that makes great embers – perfect for producing cooking heat. If you burned a pile of wood down to the glowing chunks of embers and then instantly starved the fire of oxygen, you’d pretty much have charcoal. Charcoal grills are generally excellent for hot and fast grilling of steaks and chops, while charcoal fires can also be managed to deliver low & slow heat for barbecuing and smoking food.

Gas
Gas is available as liquid propane in various size containers, ranging from small and portable to the large and permanent. Natural gas is available from utility companies and is generally available only through pipelines in municipalities. Essentially both have the same properties when it comes to outdoor cooking with only slight variances in performance. Gas provides the outdoor cooking enthusiast a convenient and clean form of fuel that is easy to control volume and thus the intensity of the heat. Most gas cookers do not generate the intensity of heat that charcoal fires will – and are primarily useful for direct grilling using convection.

Infrared
Infrared energy is produced naturally by the sun and by fire. Some electrical lamps produce infrared energy. Infrared energy does not require air (convection) to transfer energy nor does it require grates (conduction) to sear food. Infrared energy impacts the food and reacts at that precise moment, generating heat and with more infrared energy the meat or other food is seared by the energy, locking in moisture and it continues to cook as more infrared energy penetrates and affects the proteins and natural sugars in the food. While all charcoal fires generate infrared energy, it is highly inefficient and nearly unmanageable as well as low level.

More than 15 years ago TEC introduced the first outdoor grills using infrared energy to sear food on outdoor grills. Char-Broil introduced the first affordable infrared grills in 2007 using a newly patented TEC searing burner. In 2007 Char-Broil also introduced The Big Easy, an oil-less infrared turkey fryer. In 2008 Char-Broil is introducing several new infrared systems including Quantum and RED.

Heat is good – and basic to good grilling.

Does this help you with your understanding of heat? See something you want more information about or do you disagree with something I’ve written? Let me know by posting your comments and questions below!

Happy Grilling!

These are just a few of the food aromas that “turn on” my “meal memory:”

1) the smell of coffee in the morning
2) the smell of bacon frying
3) the smell of a camp fire
4) the smell of fried rainbow trout

And if you can combine all of these aromas – well, sir – I am in heaven. I remember the last time I had all of these delicious memory smells was a cool spring morning near Whitefish, Montana. Friends and I had a chance to enjoy breakfast together before heading out for a day of work. Just thinking about it gets me smiling.

Well today in the fish market I saw a fresh rainbow trout – I know it is farm raised and I’m OK with that, since I can’t get a rod out and catch one right now anyway. I asked them to fillet it, cause I’m lazy sometimes and they will, just ask. On the way home while I was day-dreaming about how it would taste I decided I wanted to try preparing it in The Big Easy. My doctor would be proud of me for not frying it in butter!

As you can see I rigged up a basket designed for use on the rotisserie spit. It worked just fine and held the thin trout fillets very tightly without squishing them. I sprayed the wire of the basket and the fish with canola oil before placing them together. I placed the basket with the fish into the cooking basket of The Big Easy and put it in the cooker; turned it on for about 15 minutes.

When I removed the cooking basket from The Big Easy and placed it on a tray; the basket came apart with virtually no sticking of the fish. Meanwhile I’d sauteed some fresh spinach in olive oil seasoned with thinly sliced shallots, garlic, a piece of chopped bacon left over from breakfast and a splash of water to steam the spinach down a bit.

Fillets of rainbow rout “fried” in The Big Easy oil-less infrared fryer, served over sauteed spinach. The shallots were just barely crisped and I enjoyed mouthfuls of the tasty trout and spinach together.

Happy Grilling!

I make no apologies for enjoying the flavor of grilled meat. I especially enjoy rib bone chops like a “cowboy cut” rib-eye beef steak, and other chops from lamb or pork. If you are a regular reader you know how much I like to grill veal chops. This past weekend I happened upon several rib bone veal chops at one of my favorite grocery stores. They looked delicious so I picked up a couple along with some small russet potatoes and a tray of sweet cherry tomatoes.

I wanted to season the chops in a limited way – I do enjoy the “au natural” flavor of grilled veal! – so I placed them in a plastic bag with some freshly smashed garlic, sprigs of rosemary from the garden that I also smashed a bit and some very fruity Kalamata olive oil – adding just a pinch each of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and ground ginger along with a splash of balsamic vinegar. I left the chops in the sealed bag on the kitchen counter to marinate for 2 hours where they also warmed just a bit.

[CB's Rule: Don't grill cold meat! save for hamburger]

On a very hot grill (conventional gas) that I turned down to medium, I grilled on each side for just under 3 minutes. Removing the chops from the grill and placing them into a preheated cast iron fry pan on the warming rack, they continued to “finish” until the internal temperature reached 155F degrees or Medium – in a method I describe as more like “roasting.”

Served the veal chops with any pan drizzle along with a simple baked potato seasoned with fresh creamy butter, salt and pepper and cherry tomatoes. Oh and a glass of merlot!

Happy Grilling!

“Shiny clean is overrated.” – dick

That’s a comment submitted by a regular reader of Sizzle on the Grill who just happens to be an expert at outdoor cooking. Calling him an expert is my idea, because in my book anybody who can say “I’m at best a rough and ready ‘Camp Cook’ having cooked on hunting and fishing adventures from Newfoundland to Alaska several times a year EVERY year since 1954″ certainly earns that title! You can read his sage advice in the “Comment” sections on various posts, especially in the Users Forum identified only with this simple signature ‘dick.’

For the most part I totally agree with his sentiment. Once a grill is used for the first time it begins to build up a certain amount of discoloration from smoke and heat that even the most obsessive of clean freaks can’t remove without completely disassembling, scrubbing and polishing every part and rebuilding the unit. Some normal discoloration is OK. But let’s once and for all discredit the notion that the grates and grill should never be cleaned because they are “seasoned.” Not only is that foolish and just plain wrong – it’s unhealthy. Any surface that comes into contact with either raw or cooked food must be cleaned after each use. Grates in a grill should be cleaned using a wire brush on both sides to ensure leftover food and drippings are removed every time the grill is used. Built-up gunk adds unwanted flavors to your food and to the best of my knowledge neither “rancid” nor “carbon” are spices in any recipe.

A cast iron fry pan is seasoned – but you still need to clean food residue from it!

My point is pretty simple. The best cooks in restaurants, kitchens, backyards or otherwise insist upon clean equipment. You wouldn’t think of baking bread in an oven that was dirty from grease and build-up! And you certainly wouldn’t want to eat in a restaurant that never cleaned the griddle upon which your eggs and pancakes are cooked!

Clean is important for flavor - and is critical to good grilling..

Clean the fire box
The fire box collects drips and splatters of grease from cooking foods. At least once a season and more often if you grill regularly – remove grates and burners (as appropriate) to give everything a thorough cleaning. Use the product guide that came with your grill (Or get one online at CLICK HERE) to help you in taking things apart and putting them back together. Use the appropriate cleaning solutions and materials as recommended in your product guide to clean all surfaces – and don’t forget the inside of the hood! If you allow grease to accumulate in your grill you are creating the scenario for a grease fire. This is totally preventable and is your responsibility as a conscientious person concerned for the safety of persons and property!

Clean the cooking grates
A rule-of-thumb for successful grilling is not basting food with sauce prior to grilling. Sauced food on the grill increases the chance of flare-ups as it drips either into the coals or onto the drip plate above the burners of conventional gas grill. And all that excess sauce can build up and turn into some nasty gunk! I recommend adding just a bit of sauce to glaze the meat near the final minutes of grilling. That said, many folks seem to appreciate the tangy taste of burnt sugar on their grilled food, sugar that’s in their favorite BBQ sauce. Subsequently a build-up of residue occurs on the grates and in the firebox each time they grill. If they clean the grates at all it’s with a metal brush the next time they grill - days or weeks later – usually only scraping the top side of the grate. The gunk has festered and rotted and really accumulated on the bottom side of the grates. And they excuse this by saying with a smile – “it’s seasoned.”

Yuck! Clean your grates before you shut down your grill! In most cases (see below for exceptions) use a wire brush like the Brush Hawg – even between courses while you are cooking.

For thorough cleaning

Some folks put grates in their self-cleaning ovens and clean them that way – I don’t have an opinion on this and recommend you think this process through before doing it.

Clean & Hot
When you’re grilling food a clean grate will help you create the attractive grill marks on the food as well as provide conductive heat to cook the food. Food will be less likely to stick on clean grates and an overall clean unit will not impart unwanted flavors to food and you drastically reduce the chance of a grease fire.

Here are some links you may want to check out to help you keep your grill running in top condition as possible this year!

Trouble Shooting

Product Manuals

BRUSHES to keep your grates clean

CLEANING & Repair

RESTORATION

UNIVERSAL Repair Parts

Clean is good - and basic to good grilling.

Happy Grilling!

I’m certainly going to date myself here…

When I was growing up a sure sign of a quality restaurant was a menu with the phrase “Surf & Turf.” This may not seem at all sophisticated to the well-heeled diners of today – but for my family that phrase was the sign of a classy establishment. After toiling in the relative obscure motel restaurant for years, when my step-dad finally got the call to become manager of a soon-to-be famous steak house in Yakima, Washington – he moved the entire family in one weekend to take advantage of this great career opportunity. Of course his new job also came with a bus boy on-call for any shift on any day of the week — me.

One thing I learned in the kitchen of that steak house (it’s still there some 38 years later) was the practicality of preparing hundreds of lobster tails. After a bit of practice it became almost automatic to use a sharp knife to cut the shells of countless lobster tails, then pull the meat out to place on top of the shell and position side-by-side in the tray for roasting.

As I was thinking about our New Year’s Eve meal this past week I was reminiscing about the many meals I’ve enjoyed over the years on that celebratory night. And I still recall “Surf & Turf” as one of the best. So I decided that I’d grill NY Strip Steak and Rock Lobster Tails for our celebration this year! (more…)