SUMMER GRILLING

It’s summer, it’s July 4th, and it’s grilling time. In old days, grilling meant a metal box, some charcoal, a grill rack and some liquid fluids, you were in business. Today, grilling is a serious business, you can call it the “Pride of the King of the House”, since it’s mostly a man’s world. You can practically have an outdoor kitchen with all the apparatus they sell at the stores nearby. You still can go with charcoal, as a purist, or the convenient and fast gas, or both. Also, smokers are very popular. I am not talking just about the cylinder shape Brinkman type. They come in all sizes and shapes, extra heat and smoke control. Grilling has become an exact science that you can control time and preferred doneness. The day that your guests look at your piece of burned roast with disappointment is over, since nowadays you have all kinds of gadgets that digitally tell you when your foods are done.
I have a gas grill and a Brinkman cylinder type charcoal grill. The feature that I like most about my gas grill is the quick sear elements. It’s a new grill technology that will sear the meat quickly with both gas and infra-red heat. You have to be fast with this thing, since it burns the meats very quickly. The purpose of this element is to give the meats the charcoal look and taste. After, the meats are caramelized on all sides; you move them to the side and finish cooking them with indirect heat. As a matter of fact, no matter what type of grill you have, you should cook the meats on direct heat part time, then finish them up with indirect heat to prevent burning or overcooking. I use the Brinkman to grill a whole chicken or duck by hanging them inside the grill. The cylinder shape is perfect for this method of grilling. I found vertical grilling is the most effective way to cook a bird or a big roast, if you don’t have a rotisserie on your grill. Grilling the meats with a rotisserie or vertically, you don’t have to worry about turning the meat every few minutes. “Just set it and forget it!”, like they always say. Now a day, a beer can is very popular for vertical grilling. A metal trash can or a tall plant clay pot is also perfect for vertical grilling, either by hanging or with a stick.
You don’t have to limit yourself to just slap pieces of meats on the grill and watch them burn. Grilled hot dogs and burgers are still some of the best cook out foods. However, if you like some alternatives, there are plenty of them. Step outside of the border and suddenly you find a whole new world of grilling and bbqueuing.
Way down south, we find Argentinean and Brazilian’s Gaucho with pieces of meats skewed into a long metal stick and cooked vertically on the side of a fire pit. Closer, we have Mexican fajitas, and we can’t forget the jerk chicken from Jamaica, Cuban roasted pig. Across the Pacific Ocean, we have Japan’s Teriyaki, Korea’s Bulgogi, Chinese Chasiu, and Vietnamese’s Chả Cá, grilled fish marinated with turmeric and galangal.
No matter what your preferable style of grilling is, I found some good reasons for cooking outdoor: less cleaning, saving air conditioning bill, and your foods cannot be cooked healthier by any other way.