Dumb Grilling Questions

[jayfurr]

We just bought our first ever sizeable outdoor grill (read: not one purchased for $29.95 and powered by a bag of charcoal) with our tax refund. A big four-burner Kenmore propane grill. My family back home in Virginia didn't do a lot of grilling when I was a kid, though we did have the kind with lava rocks, and I was never allowed near the damn thing, so I have to admit, you could fill a book with what I don't know about proper grilling technique.

I stopped eating meat myself a while ago to get my cholesterol down and for vaguely moral reasons, but my wife made it clear that she wanted no part of that madness, so when we fired the new grill up for the first time yesterday we made her a salmon steak, a top sirloin, and some snausages while I made some grilled portabello mushroom caps and grilled tofu steaks for me. Yeah, laugh it up.

We used one of those super-duper intelligent grilling forks with the temperature probe built in to measure the internal temp of her steak and fish and everything came out perfectly. I'll have to take her word on the meat being excellent; I eyed her gobbling as I gnawed idly on my tofu and fungus. But that being said, I still have some dumb questions.

1) Are you supposed to grill with the top of the grill down or not? The instructions said to preheat it that way but we weren't sure what to do during the actual cooking process.

2) Do you spray Pam or something on your steaks and fish before putting them on the grill? We did, but .. are you SUPPOSED TO? We don't want to break any grilling codes and get scolded by the American Beef Council.

3) Is it wrong to use your grill out on a wooden deck, or are the repeated admonitions in the manual about not doing that just CYA on the part of the manufacturer? If we watch the thing while we're using it, it seems like it's unlikely to burn the house down, but we weren't sure if everyone else alive out there had their grill stationed on a concrete back yard pad or driveway or what.

Comments

[ffoeg.livejournal.com]

I'm no expert, but...

1) It will affect the kind of cooking that gets done -- with the top closed, you'll get a more even heat; with the top up, you'll get a more "seared" effect.

2) I usually spray the grate before I light the fire. Certainly it doesn't hurt to put some oil or other marinade on meat; in fact, for most meats this is preferable. (I tend not to marinate steak, though.)

3) Never really occured to me, but then we have it on our driveway. But I don't think it gets that hot or throws sparks or anything.

[lehser.livejournal.com]

1) FWIW, Cook's Illustrated (or its _New Best Recipes_ cookbook) has lots to say about grilling. Of *everything*, just about. (Maybe not tofu.) They always end up (it appears) at a 2-stage fire in the grill: a hot side for searing & general heat, and a cooler/lower/off side for indirect cooking. Oh, and lid closed. That way you avoid all that blackenened-outside, cold-in-the-middle effect. (Yum. Or not.)

2) I mostly scrub the grill very well with one of those nifty grill scrubbers (scrubby-pad-on-steroids-and-a-long-handle thing); occasionally I'll oil the grill or the stuff to be grilled.

3) We've been grilling on our wooden deck for years now, and are still OK. We keep it away from the house (mostly), and (I think) try to collect the grease that runs down so we're not spilling hot hot hot grease on our wooden deck. But that's us.

FWIW.

[birdnut.livejournal.com]

We have a little Weber baby Q gas grill that we use on its stand right on the deck all summer. We grill with the top down, unless it's something really quick--less than a few minutes. We don't spray the grill surface (as you use it, a fair amount of grease will accumulate anyway), but we dip chicken or fish in olive oil and seasonings. You could do the same with tofu and mushrooms or other vegetables. We love it because there are no pans to clean up!

[mr-mediocre.livejournal.com]

If you do have any concerns about the grill on the wooden deck, you can put a fire-resistant pad under the grill. We have one that seems to be made of rubberized cement or something.

[jacflash.livejournal.com]

1. On a gas grill, always close the cover when grilling. And always preheat with all burners at full blast (and cover closed) for 10 min or more before grilling, unless your recipe says otherwise.

2. If I have a very lean steak (some grass-finished beef can be quite lean), I will sometimes rub a little olive oil on it before seasoning and grilling. But not usually, and it isn't a requirement.

3. I have grilled and barbecued with gas and charcoal on wooden decks for years without so much as a scorch mark. Don't do it right next to the house unless you're standing there watching it the whole time, and don't grill under a low-hanging cloth awning or umbrella or something, but a modern grill should be completely safe on a deck.

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

Don't put the Pam on the meat - put it on the grill itself.
When you use Pam in the house, do you put it on the food,
or the pan?
That should have been your first clue! :-)

I agree with everyone else - top down: keeps the meat more
moist.

Also: Portobello mushrooms & tofu are absolutely fine on
a grill - you can marinade them, too, just like real food!
Seriously - they are every bit as "cuisine" as meat.

(& thanks for a perfect excuse to use the flamey icon!)