Grilling is an outdoor cooking method that is based on direct or indirect dry heat.
Simply coat your favorite In A Pinch Spice Blend / Rub onto your meat or seafood and set in refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the seasoned food from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for several minutes before proceeding with your desired cooking method.
In grilling, tender cuts of meat and thick cuts of fish are placed upon a metal wire rack or surface outdoors over heated charcoal briquettes or a gas heated grill.
- To light a charcoal grill, arrange enough briquettes spread out onto your pan to exceed the cooking area by 2” all around. Stack the briquettes into a pyramid and coat them with lighter fluid. Wait several minutes to allow fluid to soak into briquettes, and then light with a long match or hand-held igniter (if using pre-soaked briquettes, just ignite after stacking). As the briquettes begin to burn and ash forms on all of the briquettes, arrange briquettes into a single layer using tongs, and set grilling grate over the briquettes. Allow briquettes to obtain a reddish glowing hue before placing food onto grill. This will inform you that the heat is at its optimal cooking temperature.
- When using a gas grill, make sure to check all connections between propane tank and grill before turning on grill. For safety reasons, always turn the gas level to a lower setting and press the ignite button to ignite the coils before increasing your heat level. Make sure to replenish your propane tank at most hardware and supply superstores. Please review manufacturer’s instructions prior to operating and cleaning any gas or charcoal grill.
Place food items onto grilling grate and cook for several minutes before turning. Avoid turning items frequently as this will slow down the cooking process. Move food away from center of briquettes to cook at a slower rate.
Let meat cool 5-7 minutes before cutting to retain moisture. During the cooking process, heat drives meat's juices from the surface as it cooks and the juices gather in the center and the center becomes saturated. Letting meats "rest" before slicing allows these juices to slowly seep back towards the surface, resulting in a more consistently moist and flavorful piece of meat.
The choice of using a charcoal or gas grill is entirely up the grillmaster. Whether he or she wants the convenience of a push-button flame courtesy of a gas grill, or the extra pride in properly setting and maintaining a bed of ashen coals, there’s a grill at various price ranges with assorted accessories for everyone.
Damp mesquite or hickory wood chips may be added on top of the coals to allow a smoldering effect that provides additional flavor to the food. The high cooking temperatures break down amino acids within the meats, combining with natural sugars, and rise to the surface of the meat to provide the distinctive grilled / browned taste (also known as the Maillard reaction).
Tougher cuts of meat should be reserved for slow cooked barbecuing instead of grilling. Occasionally a marinade will help to loosen the toughness of various cuts of meat.
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