Grilling tips

Always use more charcoal than you think you need. If you have leftover heat, throw on a few extra vegetables for sandwiches, salsas, grilled ratatouille, or simple salads. There’s nothing worse than not having enough heat to give that good sear to the foods you’ll be cooking.

The fire waits for no one. Keep an eye on your coals and use them at their best. Coals are perfect when they have an even white ash around them. No black unburnt coal and not too much red-hot burn. Check the heat by seeing how long you can hold your hand 6 inches above the fire. As a general rule:

High heat (500 degrees) = 3 seconds
Medium high heat (400 degrees) = 5 seconds
Medium heat (350 degrees) = 7 seconds
Medium low heat (325 degrees) = 10 seconds
Low heat (300 degrees) = 12 seconds

Use an instant read thermometer to check doneness – always check the center of the thickest part of the item. Chefs rarely do this because they know by touch if something is ready, but if you don’t cook hundreds of meals a day here are a few guidelines.

Chicken and Turkey Breast: 160-165 degrees
Beef, Lamb and Duck: 115-125 degrees rare, 125-130 medium rare, 135-145 medium, more than that a waste of time
Veal and pork: 135-145 degrees
Fish: this is a tricky one. Good quality tuna just needs a sear on all sides, but in general the temperatures can be the same as for beef.

Don’t overcrowd the grill. A fire is like a living thing, it needs to be able to breathe or it will tire and go to sleep. Allow air to reach the fire so it will stay alive and happy.
Don’t move the food around all the time. Let it sit and color then move it to the slow side, or low heat side, of the grill. I try not to turn anything more than once or twice depending on size and shape.

Place wet onionskins on the coals under meat or fish to add a wonderfully sweet, smoky flavor.
Use lemongrass, rosemary, sugarcane, wild fennel and other types of flavorful branches as skewers for meat, fish, and vegetables. They add flavor and interest to anything on the grill.
Always build a fire to have a hot side and a warm side. You can “mark,” or sear, on the hot side and slow cook on the warm side. This maximizes flavor and prevents burning. Once items are “marked,” move them to the warm side and cook covered with the grill dome. This allows them to pick up more smoky flavor.

Make a brush by tying rosemary and other herbs on a chopstick or skewer of some type and use this brush to “mop” or apply marinades and sauces to grilled items. This adds both flavor and romance to you BBQ.

I like to tie up a clean cotton rag into rolled cylinder that I very lightly oil. I use this to wipe off my hot grill by holding it with long tongs. This cleans the grill wonderfully as well as leaving a light coating of oil which prevents things from sticking.

Large pieces of meat (like a pork roast) can be rubbed with garlic, spices, and herbs, rolled in aluminum, then pre-roasted in the oven until tender before finishing on the grill. When finishing I like to put the roast on the slow side of the grill, place wood chips on the hot side, and cover with the dome so the meat gets a good smoky flavor.

Keep an open bottle of beer or wine next to the grill so you can pour some on the fire if it flames up. It adds flavor as well as keeping the fire under control.

Always start cooking the largest and longest cooking items first and moving them to the warm side of the grill to finish. This way everything finishes at the same time.
Never place cooked items back on the trays that the raw food was on. You want your friends to have good memories of your party!

To add a touch of class to your BBQ, put fingerbowls out on the table. If some of your friends are like mine, you’ll have to tell them what it is before they try to drink it! Fingerbowls are dishes of water with lemon or lime slices floating in it. Guests can dip their fingers in and squeeze the citrus to remove the grease and sauce from their fingers before they go in your house and mess up the furniture! To add a little aromatherapy, add a splash of orange flower or rose water to the bowls.

Good things to have around when grilling:
1. Good quality long handled spring–loaded tongs.
2. Large wide spatulas for fish and other items that tend to flake.
3. Hot pad or dishtowels.
4. Long handled pastry brush for sauces and marinades.
5. Bamboo skewers- soaked so they don’t burn.
6. A good wire grill brush.
7. Plenty of zip lock bags – to use in place of bowls for marinating (saves on clean up time) and for storage of leftovers.