Goodman Ken - Grill to perfection: two champion pit masters share recipes and techniques of unforgettable backyard grilling

Grilling to us is more than a way to cook. Its a way of life, a form of expression steeped in history and tradition. We clearly remember growing up in the mean streets of Needham, Massachusetts, with the smell of lighter fluid wafting through the air on a hot summer day. Hot dogs and hamburgers and great times with friends and families were sure to follow. All of us have grown up with similar memories and continue to create them in our lives today.

Historically, grilling is as old as civilization, or at least as old as firesome 500,000 years. By now it is deeply rooted in cuisines throughout the world. In the United States, backyard grilling became popular after World War I, when families began moving to the suburbs. Today, grilling at home is moving way beyond the charred steaks, hot dogs and hamburgers of the 1950s. (If youre looking to see how far burgers have come, see our last book, Wicked Good Burgers; it will rock your burger world.)

Grill to Perfection is about grilling, and for us, as in all of our books, technique is the key. Because temperatures can vary pretty dramatically in a grill, its important to develop a feel for the fire, rather than rigidly follow recipes. Once you master the temperatures and timing on a grill, the skys the limit. Read the following, learn it, practice it, love it and become grill masters like us.

Basically, there are two types of grills: charcoal (which includes wood burning) and gas. Both have their merits, and all of the recipes in this book work on gas and charcoal grills.

The heat coming from gas grills is measured in BTUs (British Thermal Units) and we think, to be effective, a grill has to have more than 100 BTUs per square inch. Refer to the manual that comes with your grill to get the optimum heat. For a lot of the recipes in this book, we want a super hot grill, and this is an important measurement to achieve that. With a higher BTU output, you will use more gas; trust usthis is worth it. Weve seen too many of those small tailgating grills that are basically food warmers. They do little more than cook your food through, adding nothing to the flavor. For manythough not allrecipes, you need that heat.

We get it. We know why you bought and love your gas grill. It lights quickly and is easier to clean. Were not averse to using one, but when we have a choice, well use our charcoal grills. Charcoal grills are available in three categories: kettle, flat and ceramic.

Kettle grills are by far the most well known and widely used. Shaped like globes, with coal sitting on the bottom and a grill grate above, they have vents on the top of the lid and on the bottom. The Weber 22-inch/56cm kettle grill is the gold standard.

Flat grills are rectangular, with flat bottoms, and can be much shallower than kettles. They can be small like hibachis or large like half of a giant oil drum. The coal sits on the bottom and there are air vents on all sides.