The American way:
GRILLING AND BROILING
By Isaac Frierichs CIT
(Chef in Training)
and Stephen Block
|
Close
to my heart
Grilling is very close to my heart. When nice weather came,
the grill cover came off. My mom would prepare everything in
the house while dad grilled the items. I was constantly running
back and fourth from the house, getting my dads necessary seasonings
and spices.
We used to grill all sorts of meats, corn, and my moms famous
Susie burgers. I remember times during the summer when I was
younger were my dad would be grilling and we would play catch
together while things would be cooking. Sometimes we would invite
my grandparents over and it would be a feast.
Now, I am gone away from home, missing those times we would
fire up the grill. My brother has the grilling fever now, the
only way he knows how to cook. I hear he makes good steaks.
|
Everyone has something in common: if you cook you own a grill. They
are wonderful. The result of grilling or broiling is awesome. The
item will have a highly flavored exterior that is smoky in flavor
and slightly charred. Their interior should be moist and juicy. It's
a wonderful experience to eat a piece of meat that is grilled or broiled.
People have asked me often why sometimes there meats turn out tough
and then make the statement that they can't grill as good as those
chefs at that one restaurant in which they paid 35 bucks for a grilled
fillet mignon. I will tell you some of the secrets: I have been learning
at the school.
1. Choosing the right Cut
2. Preparing the Grill
3. Seasoning or marinating the meat
4. Grilling Techniques
5. How to cook well done steaks
Tenderness is mainly achieved in choosing the right
cuts of meat and making sure they have enough marbling (little white
specs) on them. That is the secret really. There are also some other
tricks that we will look at too later in this section.
The next time you go to a restaurant, pay close attention to their
grilling section of the menu and take note on which cuts they will
offer to grill. Then the next time you want to fire up the grill,
go out and shop for those cuts of meats.
Here are the basic ones for beef
Tender Steaks: Most come from the center (rib and loin sections) of
the animal and are usually cooked by dry heat methods. Tender steaks
can be categorized as premium steaks or as more affordable family-priced
steaks.
· Premium tender steaks include top loin (strip), T-bone, Porterhouse,
ribeye, rib and tenderloin. New York , or strip loin.
· Family-priced tender steaks include top sirloin, Flank Steak,
Tri Tip, chuck top blade, chuck eye and round tip.
· Less Tender Steaks: These are primarily from the more heavily
exercised fore- and hindquarters and are better suited for moist heat
cooking. Some may be cooked by dry heat after being tenderized in
a tenderizing marinade. I don't really recommend this though. It is
so worth it just to spend a little more money.
It's as simple as that. Lets now look at the basic
technique for grilling.
1- Before heating up your grill, clean it with a brush.
Now, fire the grill up and let it get hot, preferably with the lid
on to trap the heat. As soon as it gets hot (which might take a little
while), brush it down again. Take an old rag and dip it in oil and
rub it all down. Close the lid and led it get hot again.
2- Before placing the food on the grill, season with
salt and pepper and lightly with oil (such as olive oil) both sides.
Place on the grill at a 90-degree angle.
Chef note: it is important on which side you put down
first. Normally the best side (the presentation side) will go down
on the grill first.
3- After a few minutes, give it a quarter turn to create
nice criss cross marks. This will be very appealing to the guests.
Chef note: be careful when turning fragile items like
fish and vegetables. They might stick a little. I like to oil my spatula
and then tuck it under the fish carefully and give it a quarter turn.
It seems to work well.
4- After you achieved nice marks, turn it completely
over to let it cook on the other side.
Have you ever wondered how, when your wife or kids order their meat
well done, they turn out so juicy? Normally that wouldn't happen.
If you finished that well-done meat on the grill, you would get a
tough piece of meat. All the fat would be cooked out and that is why
it makes a well-done piece of meat tough. One of the things I like
to do is mark the piece of meat and then move it to a cooler part
of the grill or finish it in the oven. This assures that the piece
of meat will still be somewhat juicy. You can microwave steaks to
finish also. However only in 20 second intervals or you will toughen
the steak.
Finishing in the oven is a good trick to use when hosting a big party
at your house. Just mark the items on the grill earlier in the day
and finish them in the oven. How easy is that?
