by Andrea Meyers of Andrea’s Recipes

Even though Memorial Day is the traditional start of the summer grilling season, my itch to fire up the grill and cook outdoors comes much earlier, usually in April in spite of the continuing cool weather. Come July and August when the days are hot, cooking on the grill helps keep the house cool and cleanup easy. After a long day outdoors playing with the kids and working in the garden, the last thing I want to do is heat up the house! My love of grilling comes from my dad who used to raise the garage door and pull the grill just barely inside, leaving the door open of course, so he could grill with a foot or more of snow on the ground in the middle of January.

Meat is a classic for cooking on the grill, and to me nothing tastes better than a steak or ribs hot off the coals, or gas if you prefer. Jaden of Steamy Kitchen shows off her grilling and drawing skills in her post “How to Turn Cheap Choice Steaks into Gucci Prime Steaks” which describes her experiments with salting and resting times to achieve tenderness and lock in lots of flavor. We tried her instructions last fall after she published them, and as a consequence we no longer go out for steaks because we can grill very flavorful steaks at home. Barbecued ribs are another grilling classic, and Grilled Prawns with Szechuan Peppercorn Salt is great for seafood lovers.

Chicken tends to dry out on the grill, but marinading it boosts flavor and keeps it moist. Try some flavorful Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce or Jamaican Jerk Chicken or a light Lemon Herb Marinated Chicken.

Grilling vegetables is one way to make them taste even better. Our Kitchen Sink shows how to grill baby bok choy, Kalyn teaches us how to grill zucchini perfect every time, and Elise shows us some beautiful grilled corn. Grilling whole or large pieces of vegetables works well if you grill directly on the grate, but if you want smaller pieces, you can use skewers or try using a grilling wok or skillet.

Grilled fruit takes on a smoky taste that balances the sweet flavors, and Susan of Food Blogga grills up some beautiful watermelon. Many other fruits do very well on the grill, such as pineapple, mango, apples, pears, bananas, just make sure they are firm and fresh, perhaps slightly short of perfectly ripe. Soaking some fruits before grilling helps retain juices, and adding some lemon juice to the water helps preserve color. Spicing the water with rum, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg produces a gorgeous pineapple that tastes great with ice cream, just watch out for the flare up from the rum!

Pizza is another food that does well on the grill, and the combinations of toppings are endless. Chef Craig Priebe has a great recipe for grilled pizza dough, and it works well for both main course or dessert pizzas. How about a savory white grilled pizza with spinach, feta, and sun-dried tomatoes? Or a dessert grilled pizza enrobed in cinnamon and sugar then filled with French vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce? You’ll never think about pizza the same way again!
Grilling is very easy, and the following tips will help make your grilling experiences even more enjoyable:

* Trim excess fat from meats, leaving no more than 1/4 inch. The meat will still have plenty of flavor and you’ll have less grease, which means less chance of flare ups.

* Clean your grill each time you use it. Use a wire brush to scrub the grates after it has preheated, then let the grill continue to burn for at least five minutes after you finish grilling and scrub again.

* Keep a bowl of vegetable or canola oil and a paper towel nearby, and use your tongs to rub the oil-soaked towel on the grill to keep foods from sticking. This is especially important for chicken, seafood, vegetables, and anything with a sticky sauce. Don’t use cooking sprays as you could have a dangerous flare up.

* Watch the heat on your grill and adjust as necessary. Use a grilling thermometer to keep the temperature just right. If you grill doesn’t come with one, you can purchase them at hardware or home improvement stores. You don’t want to eat a lump of charcoal when you were planning on a nice steak!

* Use a timer to help you keep track of grilling times. It’s easy to over or underestimate.

* Cooking times can vary depending on weather conditions. Allow more cooking time on cold days and less cooking time on hot days.

And here are some important tips for grilling safety:

* Before using an old grill, check it first for any uninvited guests, i.e. mice and hornets.

* Keep children away from the grill at all times.

* Keep a fire extinguisher nearby, just in case. A grill fire is basically a grease fire, so never use water to extinguish a grill fire.

Have fun grilling this summer, and be safe with your grill!

You can find more great grilling recipes on the FoodieView Search Engine.

Andrea Meyers is an instructional designer and education consultant with a passion for cooking. Her cooking blog Andrea’s Recipes has many recipes for the grill as well as tasty salads and desserts that go well with grilled foods.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 9:55 pm and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.