ENGL 1711 03

Matthew Oleson

Mary Crispin

ENGL 1711

6/9/2021

Tips for Grilling

There are many different ways to prepare and cook food. I could list them, but that could take up a paragraph by itself. I am no expert in the kitchen, but I have a good grasp on how to grill outdoors. I have worked in a few restaurants, as well as grilling at home for my family for a number of years. To me, grilling is the best way to cook certain foods. I can’t say the best all around, it may not be the best way to cook lasagna, but there is no better way to cook a steak than over red-hot coals outside in the warm summer sun.

The first step to any meal is preparation. This can be five minutes before going on the heat, but it can also start the day before. The most basic preparation is seasoning. Seasoning, or spice, is what you toss over the meat in order to give it an extra boost of flavor. Sometimes the spice you choose gives it an extra spicy kick, if that it what you are into. My wife is not a spicy fan, and I can’t quite prepare it that way for my kids yet, but I am a fanatic for spicy. There is no right or wrong when it comes to seasonings, after trying a few different combinations, you start getting a feel for your preferences. Good beginner mix would be some garlic powder, touch of paprika (more if you don’t mind spicy, or substitute cayenne if you do like spicy), onion powder, salt and pepper. This combination is a very basic one, that is very versatile in pretty much anything you want to cook. I suggest this as a start, then as you cook with it for a bit play around with more or less of a specific one, to really figure out which ones you like best. There are many a lot more different spices than what I listed; these are just staples. There are also plenty of pre-mixed types of shakers; these have a lot of what I just listed, and then some others, geared toward what you are specifically cooking. For example, at home I have a shaker called “onion steakhouse burger”. I am not exactly sure all of what is in it, but it is geared towards a more oniony taste for burgers, but probably not a great thing to put on chicken.

Next comes how to prepare. There are multiple ways to prepare meat for grilling. You can soak the meat in marinade, tenderize with a hammer, season, or combine some or all of these. A marinade is a type of sauce you put the meat (primarily chicken or pork) into, and soak it for hours to bring the flavor of the sauce into the meat. The longer you soak, the better the flavor will seep into, but it’s not necessary to go much past 24 hours. The sauce can be created by you (plenty of recipes found online), I like to use a good barbecue sauce and throw in some of the previously mentioned spices. Put the sauce in a gallon sized zip loc, put the meet in, close it almost the whole way, puff it up a bit with some air, then shut it tight. Shake the bag, turning and flipping it for a few minutes, then zip it up tight, pushing out all the air inside completely. Meat tenderizing is pretty simple. There are specific metal hammers used for this. It looks like an everyday hammer, only the top part has two sides. One is a flat square; the other has spikes on it, like a gridlock of small pyramids. This side of the hammer penetrates deep into the meat, flattening the entire piece to help evenly cook it. Last comes seasoning, which I explained earlier. Most people think this is as simple as taking the spice and throwing pinches of each one over the meat. While you can do that, there is a much better way. I prefer to shake all of my spices in a bowl and stir them with my fingers. This ensures that the spices mix well with each other, plus you can smash some more of the individual grain, drawing out even more of its aroma/taste. Then taking this mixture I pinch bits of it over each specimen.

Now that your meat is ready and prepared, it’s time to cook. Grilling can be done in two ways. There are propane (gas) grills or charcoal grills. Propane grills will give you a much easier grill. You will be able to regulate the temperature easier and it lights, or heats up, a lot faster. I do not prefer this method, the propane gives it a slight gas-like taste, and it can be more dangerous since there is a large combustible tank underneath. I always use charcoal. Charcoal gives off a sort of outdoorsy ambiance, as well as a much-preferred taste. It is a bit trickier though, the lighting process takes some time and experience to really know how to do it well. I douse my briquettes (coal) in lighter fluid first and let that soak in for a bit, not long. Then I find my matches and toss one in. It is very important that you use matches. Lighters or “aim-n-flames” are too dangerous. You will be too close to the flame when the coals ignite, which can cause you burns, but can also ignite the lighter itself, causing it to explode. The safest way is lighting a match and placing it right in the middle, then pulling your hand out as quickly as you can. Once the fire spreads, its just a waiting game. The fire will eventually go out, and what will be left are briquettes that have turned from black to white and/or red. If not enough of them have turned these colors, add more fluid and light another match. Eventually all of them will turn white, and you will start to see some real bright glowing reds in spots. This is the right time to put the grate on and start cooking.

Try not to overload your grill with too many different kinds of foods. Recently I cooked for my family, with the addition of some company. I cooked hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and barbecue chicken. It turned out alright; but it was slightly stressful, plus I made the chicken kind of dry and not great tasting. Basically, only put on what you can comfortably cook. Each different food comes with its own timing for when it will be done. For instance, the chicken was raw, but the hot dogs were fully cooked bought from the store. If I put the hot dogs on the grill the same time I put the chicken on, one of two things would happen. I would have hot dogs that look like the briquettes in the bag by the time the chicken was ready, or my hot dogs would be done, and sitting on a plate, cold by the time the chicken was done. You need to set up your grill based on the judgement of how long it will take to cook, then grill accordingly. You must also be very aware of the misnomers of cooking. The pasta you cooked yesterday for macaroni and cheese was not done exactly at nine minutes because your timer went off nine minutes after you put it on the stove. The pasta was done, because the water heated it up enough to soften to the right consistency you wanted it. The minute count was a general trial and error generated number they put on the box. That also will come into play here. There will never be two steaks that cook at the exact same time, nor will chicken, pork hamburgers etc. They all cook at their own pace, but there is a general timing aspect that helps you gauge when one will be done around the time of another.

Steak will take the longest to cook, depending on how the person wants it “done”. There are about five different levels of “doneness” a steak can be. Those are: rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, and well done. No matter how they want it, the steak cooks the same. The difference is what the inside looks like. When meat is raw, it has a very pinkish look. When it’s cooked, that pink goes away and is replaced by brown for beef, or white for chicken and pork. A rare steak means that the person wants it to be fairly pink still in the middle, then as you work your way to well done, the amount of pink decreases. Chicken has only one level, done or not done. You cannot allow chicken to have any pink still in the middle. This is was may cause salmonella poisoning which is very serious. Beef does not have such toxic bacteria, so it can be a little bloody and not really affect your digestive system too much. Steak should always go on first, then any chicken put on after a few minutes, then hamburgers a few minutes after that and hot dogs/brats are usually already cooked through, so only need about five minutes in total.

Apparently, I can ramble on and on about grilling, but it seems like I have gone far enough. Cooking comes in many shapes, sizes, tastes, and even looks. Cooking doesn’t come from any specific place; it doesn’t end anywhere specific either. Anyone with the right tools and the right experience can become a great chef. There is no right or wrong answer, only experimentation. Your hypothesis may not always be correct, but that means you try a different way next time. Get out there and try your skills, only then will you find out your capabilities.