Firing Up the Grill
To kick things off, this section will cover a few basics, like choosing and setting up a grill, troubleshooting grill conundrums, and more tips that will improve your grill game so you can knock out a meal with confidence.
CHARCOAL VS. GAS: WHICH GRILL IS FOR YOU?
Before I dove into this book, my husband and I relied on a rustic grill that’s common in South Texas, a large, heavy round with a hinged grate that can be raised or lowered, and swung over or away from the fire. It’s an object that beckons guests to gather around to swap stories and watch logs burn to ashes, but without a cover, controlling the heat is a challenge. For that reason (and the fact that you’d be hard-pressed to find a similar model outside the land of armadillos and drive-through beverage barns), it wasn’t an option for Any Night Grilling.
It was clear that grilling on a Tuesday required a gas grill and/or a kettle-style charcoal grill with a cover. Our friend Aaron Franklin, the revered pitmaster and brisket whisperer behind Franklin’s Barbecue in Austin, turned me on to PK Grills (aka Portable Kitchen), an Arkansas-based manufacturer that’s been around since the 1950s. The PK360 is the right model grill for me because of its unique capsule shape, which maximizes cooking space and makes building a fire with two temperature zones easier and more intuitive; its four-point venting system, which helps to control airflow to maintain consistent heat; and a hinged cooking grate—super-handy when you need to add charcoal for longer cooking times.
To decide which grill is right for you, you’ll need to take a personality test of sorts to match up your priorities (speed and control or flavor and sport?) with the appropriate option. A top-of-the-line model is fun, stylish, and more flexible, but it’s not necessary. The truth is, with the right technique and fuel and the best ingredients, you can get great results from an inexpensive kettle (remember that much of the world grills delicious food every day on a rustic setup). For the most versatility, buy the largest grill your budget allows, and be sure it’s a model with a cover that lets you both grill-roast and smoke, two techniques that deliver awesome flavor.
Except for a few preparations—like the Smoky Ratatouille (this page) and Rebel Tomahawk (this page) which require hot, glowing embers—the recipes in this book can be prepared on either a charcoal or gas grill. Both create charred flavors that are hard to replicate indoors. But there are significant differences in the results.
Charcoal
What’s to love: deep smoky flavors, the excitement of a live fire
Once I started cooking on my PK Grill, my gas model was seriously neglected. I’m a charcoal junkie and love the interactive challenge and sport of cooking over a fire. Because factors like the weather, the wind, and the charcoal or wood make each fire unique, the process is slightly different every time, and that’s precisely why it’s fun.
Gas
What’s to love: speed, control, reliability
When it comes to fast cooking, gas grills are a true game changer. Turn a few dials, push a button, and whoosh—smoking hot grates in minutes. The process is so easy that sometimes I fire mine up just to char tortillas or grill late-night chicken breasts for lunch boxes the next day. But most gas grills don’t get as hot as charcoal grills, and the internal temperature drops dramatically when you raise the lid. The biggest difference in the outcome, however, is flavor: Gas grills just don’t infuse foods with the same deep, chargrilled goodness that cooking over a live fire provides. Sear a steak or burger on both grills and you’ll taste the difference.
If you choose a gas grill, there are ways to work with it for optimal results:
Keep it clean: A clean grill cooks more evenly and will deliver the best flavor—you want your food to be charred by hot grates, not blackened by a layer of soot that creates an off-flavor.
Preheat before cooking: To replicate the high-heat impact generated by a hot fire, heat a closed grill for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.
Keep it closed: To retain the intense ambient heat that cooks food quickly and evenly, open the grill only when necessary.
Enhance flavor: Low-and-slow barbecue isn’t an option on weeknights, but you can create a similar effect in a fraction of the time by allowing wood chips (see this page) or hearty sprigs of fresh herbs (in a smoker box or perforated aluminum foil packet) to smolder over the heat.
Grill Pan
Where does a grill pan fit into the pantheon of options? When the weather isn’t cooperating or you’re in a pinch, you can use a grill pan on your stove top to create similar results, with everything from breakfast sausage to vegetables. Your best bet is a heavy, enamel-coated cast-iron model, which cooks evenly and maintains an even heat. The ridges on the bottom create sear marks and elevate food above the drippings. Grill pans are particularly well suited for quick-cooking items like chicken breasts, lamb chops, firm cheeses, and vegetables. What you don’t get, of course, is the ambient heat and deeper flavors created by a live fire.
PICKING YOUR FUEL
The source of your fire affects the flavor of your food, so know your options (and read those bags carefully) to pick the one that’s right for you.
Lump Charcoal
Like most chefs, I prefer irregularly shaped lump hardwood charcoal that’s made by burning whole logs or large pieces of wood in a kiln without oxygen. The result is a pure product made from various types of hardwood (oak, mesquite, and hickory) that burns cleaner, hotter, and longer than products made with chemical additives or fillers. As a result, the subtle and natural flavors of food cooked over fire are allowed to shine. My favorite brand (for quality and vintage-inspired packaging) is B&B, which stands for Better Burning.
Briquettes
A buddy of mine prefers briquettes because they’re uniformly shaped and easy to light, and their burn is steady and consistent. Briquettes are made from charcoal and other ingredients like compressed sawdust molded together with paraffin or petroleum binders (though natural briquettes are made from pulverized charwood held together with natural starches). The added ingredients create an ashier burn, so they don’t get as hot, and briquettes lack the distinct flavor of lump charcoal.
Instant Charcoal
They start quickly because they’re soaked in lighter fluid and other chemical additives that affect the flavor of food (I don’t use them).
Gas
Gas grills run on liquid propane, available in tanks at supermarkets and hardware stores, and natural gas. Most newer models come with propane gauges, a handy way to know when you’re running low on fuel (and avoid last-minute dashes to the store for a replacement tank before a dinner party).
SETTING UP YOUR GRILL
What follows is a step-by-step guide to setting up a grill, from lighting the coals to oiling the hot grates. See this page for some handy visuals.
Step 1: Light the Fire
The best way to light a fire for a charcoal grill is with a charcoal chimney (also called a chimney starter). To do this, place some scrunched newspaper (or paper bags) in the bottom compartment and fill the top canister with coals (see following). Then tilt the chimney slightly to encourage airflow and light the paper with a match. Give the paper a few seconds to catch, then stand the chimney upright and let it do its thing. If the coals don’t catch, no worries; just add more paper and try again.
About 15 minutes after you light the paper, flames will appear at the top of the chimney. Your charcoal is now lit well enough to be dumped onto the bottom grate and spread or banked, depending on what you’re going to cook. For one-zone (or direct-heat) cooking, spread the coals evenly across the bottom grate (see this page). For two-zone (or indirect-heat) cooking—my approach for most recipes in this book—bank the coals on one side of the grill, creating a cooler zone on the side with no coals (see this page). When you dump the coals from the charcoal chimney onto the grill, they’ll be bright reddish orange. You’ll need to wait until they’re glowing embers covered with a fine, gray ash, 15 to 20 minutes longer, before you’re ready to cook.
All the recipes in this book begin with one chimney full of coal. Recipes that need additional charcoal during the cooking process are noted. A hinged cooking grate is super-helpful here (the hinged side should open above the coals). If you don’t have a hinged grate, you’ll need a couple of pairs of sturdy tongs to carefully remove the hot grate and place it on the ground (I usually lean mine against the grill) while you add more coals. The best way to have more coals ready when you need them is to start a second fire in the chimney about the same time you put your food on the grill (be sure to place the chimney full of coals on a concrete surface, not wood).
If you’re using a gas grill, check the propane level before starting and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your grill. Typically, this means lifting the lid (so unlit gas fumes don’t collect in the cook box), opening the valve on the propane tank, turning the dials to the flame symbol, and then pushing the button that ignites them. Once the flames appear, turn the heat to high, close the lid, and allow the grill to heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 2: Choose Your Cooking Method
There are two ways to lay a charcoal fire for cooking.
Direct cooking (hot and fast): The first approach (shown on this page) is to spread the coals evenly over the entire bottom grate of the grill, which gives you the same level of heat wherever you place the food; this is a one-zone, or single-level, fire for direct-heat cooking. This setup is my go-to when I’m cooking pizza on a preheated stone. To create one-zone cooking with a gas grill, turn all the burners to the same level of heat and rely on the built-in thermometer to gauge temperature.
Indirect cooking (slower and moderate): The other approach for laying a fire—and by far the most versatile—is to bank the hot coals on one side of the grill and leave the other side empty to create a two-zone fire for indirect cooking (shown on this page). This is my preference for cooking just about everything: It provides much more flexibility because the cooler “safety zone” allows you to manage heat. When you have flare-ups, for instance, you can quickly move food away from the fire (and/or close the grill to snuff out the flame), and the problem is solved. To create two levels of heat in a gas grill, simply turn off one side of the burners (or the middle burner if your grill has three). If your grill has an upper-tier warming rack, you can also use that as a cooler zone.
Indirect cooking is done over a cooler zone to manage heat.
Direct cooking is done over the hottest part of the fire.
Step 3: Clean and Oil the Grates
To ensure foods cook evenly and don’t stick to the grates and/or taste acrid and sooty, it’s essential to clean the grill grates before cooking. Cleaning the grates is a three-step process.
Preheat: After you dump the hot coals from a charcoal chimney onto the lower cooking grate or turn a gas grill to high, allow the grill to preheat for 10 to 15 minutes to burn off any food residue.
Clean the hot grates: Carefully wipe the hot grates with a paper towel moistened in vegetable oil (no need for expensive extra-virgin olive oil here). The towel will wipe away a significant layer of black, sooty carbon left behind from your last meal. Next, use a stainless-steel grill brush to scrub the grates free of any remaining debris.
Oil the grates again: Use a clean paper towel to carefully oil the grates a second time. Another option? My favorite way to oil the grates comes from a tip courtesy of the competitive barbecue circuit: Spear an onion half with a two-pronged carving fork, dip the cut side into a shallow dish of vegetable oil, then rub it over the entire grate. The onion releases the oil and its steamy juices, and the fork allows you to rub more firmly and longer than you can with a paper towel.
In addition to cleaning the grates, you’ll also want to empty cooled ashes from your charcoal grill on a regular basis—this allows for better circulation and a “cleaner” burn (i.e., not choked with ash). For obvious reasons, you’ll want to clean the cooking basin of a gas grill before you turn it on: Carefully remove the cooking grates, then use a stainless-steel grill brush to brush excess grease and debris from inside the cook box to the bottom tray, empty the tray, and wipe it clean with a moistened cloth.
Step 4: Feel the Heat
Cooking food over the right level of heat is just as important as how you lay your coals. The most effective way to gauge the heat of your fire is by using the hand test. Place your palm over the hot charcoals 5 inches (13cm) above the cooking grate. If you need to pull your hand away after 2 to 4 seconds, the heat is high. If you need to pull your hand away after 5 to 7 seconds, the heat is medium. If you need to pull your hand away after 8 to 10 seconds, the heat is low. Do this a few times and it will become an intuitive process.
High (450°–550°F/230°–290°C): 2–4 seconds
Medium (350°–450°F/175°–230°C): 5–7 seconds
Low (250°–350°F/120°–175°C): 8–10 seconds
If you’re using a grill pan, preheat it over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until very hot (a drop of water will sizzle and quickly evaporate). Oil the pan just before cooking; otherwise it will smoke and burn.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Until you’re in a regular groove, grilling can be intimidating. But it’s an easy and straightforward cooking method, especially when you know a few simple tricks for keeping your cool and maintaining control over the fire. You’ll find recipe-specific tips throughout the book, but here are three ways to avoid general mishaps.
Controlling Flare-Ups
Your goal is to cook over fire, not amidst flames that engulf and blacken your food. When fat drips onto hot coals (or the flame of a gas grill), it vaporizes and ignites, so flare-ups are inevitable. Luckily, there are two easy ways to manage them: The first is to always cook with a two-zone setup (see Step 2, this page). This creates a cooler area, or a “safety zone,” away from the fire where you can transfer foods when heat flares. The second way to control flare-ups is to starve them of oxygen. To do this, quickly close the grill for a few seconds and close the air intake vents—the fire should die down within seconds. Whatever you do, don’t squirt the coals with a water bottle; this will stir the sooty ash from the bottom of the grill up into your food.
Avoiding Sticky Situations
When a grill is clean, hot, and oiled and whatever you’re grilling is lightly coated in oil, food should not stick. As long as it’s had enough time to cook, that is. Most foods will stick to a grill initially, but after they’ve had enough time to form a charred crust, they’re easy to flip. (If you and your tongs start messing with delicate food too soon, there’s a good chance you’ll tear it.) If food is sticking to the grates, give it an additional minute or two of cooking time to form a crust. If you still need help, use tongs to gently lift one side of the item, then use a decisive thrust to slide a thin, slotted fish spatula underneath the food to release it from the grates.
Cooking Through Before Blackening Crust
You’ve got a gorgeous browned skin but your drumsticks are still pink at the bone? This is where a two-zone fire will save you every time. If an item is blackening too quickly, move it to a milder temperature zone to finish cooking through. If you have a perfectly bronzed bird but your chicken isn’t up to temperature, move it off direct heat, close the grill, vent accordingly for indirect cooking, and give it a few more minutes. The milder heat will allow the interior to cook through without getting too dark on the outside.
HANDY TOOLS
When it comes to getting weeknight dinner on the table, organization is everything. For the most part, fancy, expensive gadgets are unnecessary, but these basic tools will help you knock out dinner with a sense of ease.
Apron: Aprons protect my clothes from being ash-dusted, and ones with pockets can also hold extra matches, my phone, and my lip gloss. Loop an extra kitchen towel under the apron string, I promise you’ll need it (for oily hands after you sample a charred green bean, for instance).
Cleaning brush: Use this to sweep out the cooled ashes from the cook box of a charcoal grill (and use a metal pail to collect the ashes).
Grill basket: Sometimes called a fish or vegetable basket, this is typically a square, sided pan or a hinged metal grid that allows you to cook smaller items without them slipping through the grates and/or to flip the entire basket without having to manipulate more delicate items. (I use this type of model for grilling cauliflower steaks and potato rounds.) My go-to for smaller items like shrimp and mushrooms is a stainless-steel rimmed tray that allows me to use tongs to shake the basket (as you would shake a skillet to help foods brown evenly) or stir the items as they grill.
Long-handled metal spatula: A confident shove of a metal spatula flips food while maintaining its browned crust. A spatula is also helpful in securing larger items that need more support (e.g., whole fish) when you flip them.
Long-handled tongs: They help with everything—placing food on and taking it off the grill, rearranging charcoal, and lifting the grill grate to add more charcoal. Long-handled tongs help you work over a hot fire without burning your hands; spring-loaded models give you one less thing to manipulate.
Meat thermometer: It takes the guesswork out of gauging doneness. For the most accurate results, use an instant-read digital thermometer.
Metal trash pail: These are helpful for storing and protecting charcoal, wood chunks and chips, and even paper for the charcoal chimney from the elements.
Rimmed baking sheets: Use these for transporting bowls of mise en place, tools, and kitchen towels to and from the grill. I also use them to transfer hot-off-the-grill items to serving dishes or to a low oven, to keep warm while I finish the rest of the meal (such as when I’m grilling a lot of wings or drumsticks for a party).
Stainless-steel grill brush: This is essential for scraping debris from the grill grates.
Wooden matches: I fiddled around with small restaurant matches a couple of times before realizing life (and lighting charcoal chimneys) is much easier with sturdy wooden kitchen matches.
WAYS TO UP YOUR GRILL GAME
Once you’ve mastered the basic setup, attention to a few details will help you finesse the fire, maximize flavor, and have more fun.
Embrace the Experience
That means rolling with the occasional imperfections—you’ll learn from your mistakes. Relish in the fact that outdoor cooking allows you to unplug from your daily routine, engage with an interactive cooking method, and connect with your surroundings and your favorite people who gravitate to the wafting aromas of whatever you’re cooking. Also, never underestimate the added benefits of a playlist and cold beverage.
Season Generously—and in Advance
When it comes to cooking meat or fish, seasoning is the first task on my prep list. For the fullest flavor, you’ll want to season meat or fish generously up to an hour in advance (timing specifics are listed with each recipe), and then allow it to come to room temperature while you heat the grill and prep the rest of the meal.
Be Organized
Whether you’re grilling pizzas or greens, you’ll get better results and feel more confident during the process if you have everything you need (grilling tools, kitchen towels, ingredients) prepped and in place before you start cooking. Grilling is a hands-on process, and cooking times are often short. The last thing you want to do is scramble for, say, a kitchen towel when your food is over the fire.
Stay Engaged
Every fire is slightly different, and even gas grills typically have hot spots, so from the moment you place food—particularly quick-cooking items—on the hot grates, keep your tongs in hand and pay attention to the process (the sound of the sizzle, the color of the char) so you can respond accordingly. In other words, this is not the time to post on Instagram or weed potted plants—trust me on this. Managing heat to achieve the results you want—a perfectly charred juicy burger, crispy browned chicken skin—often means flipping food frequently and moving it around the heat several times during the process.
Make the Most of Your Fire
Once you’re in your grilling groove, it’s downright painful not to make the most of the lingering heat. Use the fire to cook something else, which will give you a jump start on flavor-packed meals for the following day or week. For instance, round out your meal or cook ahead for the week with a few quick-cooking items like grilled vegetables or bread. If your fire has gotten very low, simply remove the cooking grate and place the grill basket directly on the ash-covered coals. Or you can coal-roast onions, eggplant, or beets while you eat the dinner you’ve just prepared—they require very little attention. Then you’ll be armed with smoky, deeply flavored ingredients to make ratatouille, grain salads, or soups the next day. Of course, you can also use the lingering heat to fire up dessert—see loads of ideas starting on this page.
Grill Often
Just like piecrusts and biscuits, grilling requires a “feel,” both for managing heat and gauging doneness, that improves with repetition. The more you grill, the better you’ll become.