DEBORAH CROMBIE: We are creeping towards the middle of July. Can you believe it??? (Why do summers go so fast?) And we all know what that means--whether you are north or south or in between--it's time to grill! But the big question is, do you go with charcoal (you purists!) or gas?
Back just before Memorial Day there was a piece in the New York Times asking well-known chefs to weigh in. The upshot was that while most things taste better cooked over charcoal, nothing beats gas for quick and easy week night dinners. This got me thinking (a dangerous thing, admittedly.) We got a new gas grill in the spring, plumbed in with natural gas, no less, so no more worrying about running out of propane in the middle of your gourmet cookout. But we'd kept our old Weber kettle grill, which hadn't been used in about fifteen years. The inserts were rusted, but otherwise it was fine. Maybe it was time to give charcoal a try again.
I ordered a new top rack (fab, it even has flaps that lift up so you can add charcoal) bought some good hardwood charcoal, and we were ready to rock.
On the 4th we resurrected the old grill. Moroccan chicken skewers (recipe from Milk Street magazine,) with corn, and grilled heads of romaine. Everything was divine. The chicken had a perfect crispy crust but was meltingly tender on the inside.
Here's the finished plate.
Then, on Saturday, we cooked steaks. And, honestly, much to my disappointment, I think they would have been better on the gas grill.
So I find myself firmly in the either/or and whatever is most convenient camp. REDS, what do you think?
JENN MCKINLAY: Hub does all
the grilling and while we've had both types of grills over the years, his fave
is the charcoal on his Weber. He also has a smoker and smokes our Thanksgiving
turkey every year which I love because my oven is available for all my sides!
Tonight he made steak kabobs with pineapple chunks and red pepper - Yum! I
imagine I could learn to use the grill and be more of a helper but...no. I'm
going to let this be his area of expertise.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Never gas.
Never. We love our Weber, and use it all the time--with a chimney just like
that! Food is a thousand times better on it, and Jonathan is a champ at it. SO
DELICIOUS. This weekend we made pepper scallops on the grill, which came off
with those lovely cross-hatches, and I made lemon-caper sauce and totally
yummy. I zap vegetables for two minutes in the microwave, then finish on the
grill . Salmon on the grill is perfection. Rack of lamb on the Weber!
Coat with special sauce (I can tell you if you want) five minutes grilled, then
turn over for five, then cover for five at the most. Ah. Bliss. And you
can have the other half the next night with a Greek salad.
What I don't understand about gas is that it doesn't change the taste of the
food to that lovely charcoal-y taste..so why bother? Seriously, I am asking.
Also--I
cut peaches in half and grill, then top with bleu cheese. And let is sit on the
grill with the top on for 30 seconds to warm the cheese. Ah.
And
yes, I know the yummy charcoal crust is bad for you.
HALLIE EPHRON: I'm with Hank.
Charcoal or bust. Weber grill with an electric starter. Among my favorite
things to make on it are a whole turkey. Best with smallish bird, 11- or
12-pounder.
Start a generous amount of coals, get them hot and push them to the sides and set a drip pan underneath the center beneath where you set the turkey (I season the turkey with coarse salt and pepper and paprika and melted butter). Close the lid making sure the vents below and above are about 1/3 open. Check it every 30 minutes or so, baste it if you think of it. Add more coals if needed. If it seems to be getting too dark tent a little aluminum foil over the top (I never do this... I like a really bronzed bird.)
When a meat thermometer says it's done, it's done. Usually about 2 1/2 hours. It goes faster than you think it will. DELICIOUS hot , warm, or cold. The whole bird gets a smoky flavor. The skin is scrumptious. I like to serve it with a cold wild rice and mushroom and parsley salad tossed with a balsamic vinagrette spiked with a bit of grey poupon. Great for a party because you can do it all in advance and guests will rave.
Start a generous amount of coals, get them hot and push them to the sides and set a drip pan underneath the center beneath where you set the turkey (I season the turkey with coarse salt and pepper and paprika and melted butter). Close the lid making sure the vents below and above are about 1/3 open. Check it every 30 minutes or so, baste it if you think of it. Add more coals if needed. If it seems to be getting too dark tent a little aluminum foil over the top (I never do this... I like a really bronzed bird.)
When a meat thermometer says it's done, it's done. Usually about 2 1/2 hours. It goes faster than you think it will. DELICIOUS hot , warm, or cold. The whole bird gets a smoky flavor. The skin is scrumptious. I like to serve it with a cold wild rice and mushroom and parsley salad tossed with a balsamic vinagrette spiked with a bit of grey poupon. Great for a party because you can do it all in advance and guests will rave.
INGRID THOFT: Okay, brace
yourselves: Gas. Always gas. When I was growing up, we used charcoal, but as an adult,
I’ve always used gas. We live in a high-rise in downtown Seattle, so at the moment,
we don’t have our own grill. There are grills on the rooftop deck on the 39th floor, but
I’ll admit, we don’t give them much use. However, one of my favorite things from the (gas) grill is my
husband’s steak tips. They are famous in our family and always a highlight of the
family reunion. Despite my loyalty to gas, I would happily sample Hallie’s
chicken or Hank’s peaches with blue cheese, but that might be dangerous. You might convert
me back to charcoal!
DEBS: Hallie, I am going to try your turkey! And, Hank, the lamb! The scallops! But best of all, the peaches with blue cheese. (And I have peaches from the Saturday market to try.)
As for your question, Hank, you can get lovely cross hatches on the gas grill, too, and things still have that grilled taste. And you can even get these cool gadgets that let you add soaked wood chips for a really smoky flavor.
But nothing beats looking at those gorgeous glowing coals.
(But I have two commandments for the charcoal grill. 1) NO LIGHTER FLUID The fumes from our neighbors nearly knock us out every time they fire up the grill, and I can't imagine eating lighter fluid fume-soaked food. 2) NO faux briquettes. What on earth do they put in those things? If you want to get good coals with hardwood charcoal, you use one of these cool chimneys to start your coals. Or Hallie's electric starter.)
READERS, what do you think? Charcoal or gas? And if you've got a favorite recipe for either, share it with us.
PS Hank, yes, the rack of lamb sauce recipe, please!
All the suggestions for what to grill are making my mouth water! Yes, please, those peaches with bleu cheese sound quite divine.
ReplyDeleteGrilling is John’s forte, so he gets to choose the grill. We’ve had both; currently we have a gas grill where today he grilled potatoes with onions and sweet peppers, asparagus, and steak. Yum. I’m good with most anything that comes off the grill, be it gas or charcoal . . . .
Debs, I'm fascinated with your grilled heads of romaine. Do you pretreat with herbs, oil, or anything special. Does it come out like wilted lettuce, only better? I really want to try that. For cooking we use aged hickory and fix a smoking device in the corner of the grill using damp and flaky hickory chips in a mini pie plate and water spritzer to keep that smoke a'comin.
ReplyDeleteReine, I'd never done that before. Rick was not impressed but I loved it. I made a simple dressing--olive oil and red wine vinegar with herbs. I brushed it on the outside of the romaine heads and drizzled a little inside. I just grilled until the outside started to wilt but the inner leaves were still crunchy.
DeleteThe corn I had cooked in the husks in the microwave for a little less than the full time. Then I shucked it, rubbed olive oil and seasoning on it, and threw it on the grill. It was delicious!
Debs, that sounds great! I'm going to try it—the romaine and the corn!
DeleteGrowing up, my parents used charcoal except for when we went on the summer vacation to Vermont. That was when we used a propane grill to eat out rather than have to spend money on restaurants.
ReplyDeleteAfter we kids were grown up it was a propane grill at the house.
These days, I don't grill out at all. Sold off the grill years ago.
well, I am in the camp with the new kids. We haven't had a charcoal grill for as long as I can remember. It seemed like a lot more work. But now that I hear the rest of you rave about it, I may have to suggest getting one to John. He does most of the grilling in our house. And if you want to be further horrified, in Key West we were using an electric grill! In a condo, no gas or coals were allowed. The results were less than stellar.
ReplyDeleteI had an electric Char-B-Q for years - it was better than cooking a steak on the stove top, but not by much! I think I used for lamb chops more than anything since they cooked quickly.
DeleteToss me onto the 'whatever's more convenient' side--no preference. I'm game for just about anything that comes off a grill. Love all the grilling ideas!
ReplyDeleteI will admit that you can get great flavor/smell from a good hardwood charcoal (although yes, NO LIGHTER FLUID). Our neighbors use charcoal and everything they do tastes great.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we have a gas grill. Why? Convenience. When you roll in the door at five and need to get dinner done because someone has to leave a six, you usually don't have time to wait for charcoal to get to the right temperature. Being able to flick a switch and the grill is ready five minutes later is awfully nice.
Mary/Liz
Recipes, recipes? I have one of those big rectangle sheets with holes in it for grilling vegetables. So simple. Slice zucchini, eggplant, and red pepper. Toss with oil and S&P and throw onto the sheet. When they're softened and tanned (not burned) take them off. Eat warm or cold, sprinkled or not with a bit of balsamic vinegar.
ReplyDeleteWe've got both but as with Jenn, The Man is the griller in our family. He prefers the gas grill for convenience. It's just so easy to turn on that propane tank and go.
ReplyDeleteWe do the usual burgers and steaks on the grill and he's learned to make salmon but our favorite thing to "grill" is pizza. We have several stones and the grill gets the temperature hot enough to really get the crust nicely done. We have fun experimenting with toppings during the summer (in the colder months we stick with our two usual pies) and our favorite turned out to be a lovely white pizza with chicken, onions, and spinach.
We do pizza on our gas grill, Aimee, right on the grill. Works great!
DeleteGrilling was always one of those Man Mysteries to me. My father did it. My grandfather made both a science and an art from it. My husband . . . was a vegetarian, who stopped grilling about the time we got married. Since I grew up in all-electric homes (except for that one early gas stove that tried to burn the house down, and the much later rent-house gas stove that tried to blow the house up) cooking with gas is about as sophisticated in my mind as squatting in a cave, cooking over a bonfire. Cooking over an actual bonfire is even further down my list of skills to master. Besides, you have to go outdoors to grill, and it's hot out there. I have an absolutely lovely air conditioned kitchen that turns out very tasty food, and one of the top 50 barbecue joints in Texas less than a mile away if I'm desperate for that smoke ring. Or, I suppose, I could wander over to Debs'.
ReplyDeleteAt your pleasure, Gigi! And we do have one of the best barbecue places in Texas, but it's so packed all the time that you can't get in.
DeleteI always knew the vegetables just briefly before I put them on the grill, that way you don't really have to cook them, but it just gives them that great grill taste. Last night we made a whole beef tenderloin in and it was incredible!
ReplyDeleteThe rack of lamb sauce/marinade, actually-- it's really easy:
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
one chopped garlic clove
a lot of pepper pepper pepper
and A tablespoon or so of chopped parsley. .
Whisk all ingredients together until it forms mayonnaise consistency coat both sides of the lamb rack.
Then grill! We do four minutes on one side four minutes on the other side then cover for four minutes. No longer! And possibly even shorter. It cooks after you take it off of course.
I have made this sauce so much I don't even measure anymore. And I cut down the olive oil a little bit, especially if I'm cooking it inside because it gets smoky.
Hank, that sounds amazing. Next time I go to Costco I'm getting rack of lamb so that I can try this.
DeleteI'll volunteer as a taste tester!
DeleteYes, the pictures are great! They are especially good with grilled pork chops. And there's this stuff bike stonewall kitchen called fig sauce, do you know it? Grill pork chops, and add figs sauce on the top. You will swoon..
ReplyDeleteI meant, the peaches are great, although the pictures are lovely too.
ReplyDeleteStuff by stonewall kitchen , not bike. Is there a way to correct my comments? Sorry to put you through this…
ReplyDeleteMaking me laugh, Hank. Don't delete!
Deletexoxoo
DeleteCharcoal without a doubt. Red salmon with butter and dill, a little salt and pepper, is the reason for living.
ReplyDeleteYUM!
DeleteCharcoal for us, too. We're on our third Weber in 35 years, and my husband is the grillmaster. He smokes whole turkeys in the Weber, and has for most of our marriage, thanks to instructions from a family friend who was a gourmet cook. We stuff the cavity of the bird with a buttered slice of bread, an onion, and an apple, all quartered. The produce makes the bird juicier, and the bread soaks up some of the excess. Really, I don't exactly know why, but it works!
ReplyDeleteEver since the first time Steve cooked dinner for me, when we were dating, he has demonstrated his grill skill. That first dinner was duck, one he'd shot himself. Since then our friends expect wild venison, wild turkeys (so much better than storebought!), and all kinds of fish, including smoked salmon that is fabulous.
I've brought grilled peaches, pineapple, and recently, Romaine lettuce into the mix, as well as shish kabobs with chicken, shrimp, and venison cubes.
My favorite way to grill peaches is to drizzle a rich balsamic vinegar, the thicker the better, onto the cut side of the peach halves before grilling. Add ice cream for the perfect end to a summer grillout.
Ah, gas. Definitely gas. Love the taste of charcoal, hate the mess. We have a gas Weber and use use mesquite chips for that wonderful smokey woody taste.
ReplyDeleteLast night I meant to grill whole trout stuffed with lemon slices and fresh thyme on the gas grill, so I'd have a comparison photo, but it POURED. We have had so much rain here that grilling on either grill has been a challenge!
ReplyDeleteDo you eat the skin? How do you get it off? Does the fish person take out the bones?
DeleteWe have two Webers, one small propane fueled and one large charcoal burner. I've never tasted a bad grill off either of them. Julie is the griller. I am in charge of whatever is getting cooked in the kitchen. Because we live in the city, which means small lots and very close neighbors, we are careful about smoking out the people on either side of us. So a lot depends on which way the wind is blowing, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteMy only really strong opinion is that you can't go wrong with a Weber. The little gas one is 15 years old now and has spent 15 winters outside, covered with a plastic thingie. It has no signs of rust and works as well as it did on day one. Its only drawback is size, perfect for grilling steaks, burgers and dogs, chicken parts, but for something bigger, like a tri-tip, we fire up the charcoal so we can push the coals to one side like Hallie does.
As for flavor? I can't say I can tell the difference. Is this a deal breaker for anyone? Will I get drummed out of this club?
By the way, if you've never tasted Zweigle dogs, you haven't lived. Trust me. I am a nurse.
http://www.zweigles.com/products
Ann, our new gas grill is a Weber, too, and we LOVE it. You can stay in the club, lol.
DeleteWhat is a tri-tip?
DeleteIt's a cut we had in California but now available here both at weggies and Trader Joe's. I think it's part of the round, the triangular tip. Very tender and omg the flavor. Grill and slice thinly against the grain.
DeleteA couple of years ago I got an assignment to write an article on various types of grills for Cincinnati Magazine's annual HOME issue. Most of the information went out of my head as soon as I turned it in, but my research turned up a surprisingly diverse selection of grill types. There are grills which have both charcoal and gas options in the same unit. In fact, my daughter and her new husband have one like this. It makes bodacious smoked foods, including my son-in-law's specialty, smoked mac and cheese. Omigod.
ReplyDeleteI have a ginormous bbq grill - 1/2 propane & 1/2 charcoal - though I mostly use propane I do appreciate the flavors of charcoal cooking. I like grilling veggies, k-bobs, & meat. The best food we had was probably my nieces college graduation when I spatchcocked a bunch of large chickens according to Steven Raichlen's directions from one of his bbq tv shows. Also lent the grill to another niece for her high school graduation and it turned out hundreds of hamburgers and hotdogs after being taken to a neighborhood park. I really think grilling brings people together, especially when a good grease fire starts LOL!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that there were dual purpose grills. What a cool idea!
DeleteOur neighbors have one. The Hubby and The Boy assembled it for them (since the instructions came missing pages 3-6 of seven). But they only used it a couple times. They prefer their little kettle charcoal one.
DeleteMary/Liz
I'm in the camp of husbands doing the grilling. I always figured that I did enough cooking during the child-rearing years, so he could do any grilling. Of course, the kids are grown and gone, but I still am happy to let hubby grill. We use gas, probably as much for the convenience as anything. With a quick warm-up period, we can decide to grill on the spur of the moment. The amount of home grilled food I eat is at a minimum these days, as my husband lives in Kansas for his work.
ReplyDeleteYou charcoal grillers are making me want to change to charcoal, maybe when hubby retires next summer. Hallie, that whole turkey sounds amazing. For that alone, I could switch to charcoal. And, the peaches, Hank, and the Moroccan chicken skewers, Debs, yum. And, for the gas grill, the pizza sounds delicious, Aimee.
This is making me hungry! I may have to head to the market and then up to the 39th floor to grill something up!
ReplyDeleteNo contest. Charcoal. The only problem is getting my husband to get the grill going. You do have to factor in extra time to get the coals just right. We've grilled steaks, burgers, hotdogs, shrimp, kabobs, veggies, salmon. We also have a smoker that has produced some wonderful turkeys ala Justin Wilson.
ReplyDeleteI've made Hank's rack of lamb... It's spectacular!
ReplyDelete:-) xoxoo
Delete