Tillett - Grill it up: flavorful & fun recipes for the BBQ

Grill
It Up

Flavorful & Fun
Recipes for the BBQ

Steve Tillett

Photographs by Susan Barnson Hayward

Grill It Up

Flavorful & Fun Recipes for the BBQ

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2018 Steve Tillett

Photographs 2018 Susan Barnson Hayward

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-4854-3

1. The internal temperature of a cooked cut of meat not only defines safe cooking, but determines how tender, juicy, and flavorful it will be. The best way to improve your grilling skills is to invest in a good digital instant-read meat thermometer. This will take the guess work out of trying to determine if the meat is done to your liking, or cooked to a recommended safe temperature to help avoid foodborne illness.

2. It is best to baste the barbecue sauce on when the meat is done cooking. If you apply barbecue sauce to your meat before it is done, it will most assuredly burn. Youre not trying to cook the sauce. However, a nice trick is to heat the sauce prior to applying it to the meat. Once you apply the sauce, it takes no more than a minute or two to get the sauce to set up (glazed over) and hold onto the skin.

3. Turn meat with tongs, instead of a fork, so you limit the loss of natural juices from puncturing the meat.

4. Boil leftover marinade in a saucepan over high heat. This kills any bacteria left by raw meat and makes it safe to use for basting during the last 5 minutes of grilling, or as a warm sauce for the finished dish.

5. Liquid smoke used in small amounts is a great way to make your food taste like it spent all day in the smoker.

6. Smoking foods on a gas grill is easy. The only things needed are wood chips and a smoker box. Pick up smoker wood chips from a local sporting goods store. Apple, cherry, hickory, or mesquite chips work well for pork, beef, or poultry. Try alder for fish.

7. If you dont own a smoker box or dont want to buy one, smoker pouches are easy to make. Follow these simple instructions:

   Use a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, about 12 inches long. Place wood chips in the middle and wrap securely. Poke holes in top of pouch with a meat thermometer and its ready to go. For large cuts of meat such as roasts, place the wood chips in water and soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours then place wood chips in smoker pouch. For smaller cuts of meat, dry chips are fine.

   Place your smoker pouch under the grilling grate, directly over the flame. Turn grill to high heat until smoke begins to rise from the pouch. Immediately turn grill down to desired cooking temperature and cook your food at the appropriate temperature, letting the wood chips go to work.

8. Meat becomes more tender when cooked slowly at a low temperature, no matter how high the grade. Also, meat served hot is usually more tender than meat served cold.

9. As a general rule, use approximately 1-1/2 cups of marinade for every 1 to 2 pounds of meat. Make sure it completely covers the meat. Let your meat marinate in a large ziplock bag in the refrigerator. Double bag to prevent leaks. You can also freeze marinating meats for future uses.

10. Marinade is the quickest way to tenderize meat and add additional zest. A quick 30-minute marinate will give meat a great taste. Marinating even longer will give you more flavor. When marinating in the refrigerator, remove meat and let it come to room temperature before grilling.

11. To help prevent your food from sticking, spray the grill grate with cooking spray, or wipe with oil prior to grilling. This will also make it easier to clean the grill once youre done.

12. To clean the grill after using, lay a piece of aluminum foil over the grate, shiny side down, and turn to high heat for 5 minutes. This will burn off any buildup on the grates. Watch the grill closely and do not leave unattended. When the 5 minutes are up, gently brush the grate with a wire brush.

13. For a grill that needs some serious cleaning, try using 2 tablespoons of baking soda added to 1 cup water. Brush it on with your wire brush, let sit for 23 minutes, and then scrub with the wire brush.