Lessons from the Grill

Grilling guru Steven Raichlen serves up his trade secrets.

Using his hand to gauge the heat, Steven Raichlen holds his open palm 3 inches above a preheated gas grill and counts to three. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi," Raichlen says before snatching his hand away and estimating a temperature of 600 degrees.

The grilling guru then asks a student attending Barbecue University to test the temperature for himself and to brush sauce on chicken that has been grilled to golden perfection. When the bird begins to sizzle, Raichlen advises the student to apply more sauce and to move the chicken to a cooler spot on the grill. After the sauce is seared into the meat, he praises the pupil for his mastery.

"Barbecuing is a dance on a razor’s edge between grilling and burning," Raichlen says, "and you performed the dance beautifully."

Raichlen, the author of 25 cookbooks and host of the Barbecue University show on PBS, is an authority on grilling and barbecuing. Over the last 10 years, he’s traveled the world studying outdoor cooking techniques from Afghanistan to Argentina and Switzerland to Singapore.

When he’s not traveling the globe, Raichlen, 51, hosts grilling workshops at The Greenbrier, a resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. (pop. 2,315). During a workshop last September, Raichlen repeatedly reminded attendees of three keys to successful grilling: "Keep it hot, keep it clean and keep it lubricated."

Whether you’re using a gas or charcoal grill, maintaining a hot fire and constant temperature are critical. Raichlen suggests charcoal briquettes be allowed to burn for at least 20 minutes, giving them time to ash over, before cooking over the glowing coals.

"Very rarely do you cook over flames," he says. "You cook over embers. That’s where the action is."

Outdoor cooks also should clean grill grates with a wire brush after each use and regularly lubricate grates with vegetable oil to prevent food from sticking. The oil also keeps grates from drying out and rusting.

Once a grill is lit, heat control is a common problem. Unlike stoves and ovens, charcoal grills don’t have control knobs. Therefore, it’s up to the cook to regulate heat by opening and closing grill vents, lifting the lid only when necessary, and moving food to a cooler spot.

"I never have more than half of my grill filled," Raichlen says. "That way when something starts to burn or cook too quickly, I’ve always got room to move it somewhere."

One frequent mistake grillers make is using a fork to turn food. Poking releases natural juices, which keep meat and vegetables moist and tender. Therefore, tongs should be used instead.

Another essential tool is a brush to baste meat and vegetables, either before or during grilling. Basting is particularly important for vegetables and lean cuts of meat that don’t baste themselves.

"You want the fat to cook out and baste the meat," Raichlen says.

Another common problem among backyard chefs is walking the fine line between cooking and burning, especially when barbecuing chicken. "The classic model with barbecued chicken is that it’s burned on the outside, raw on the inside," Raicheln says.

If you’re uncertain whether chicken is done, insert a food thermometer and check for an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

Also, too often people apply barbecue sauce before chicken is done. To avoid burning, sauce should be applied after the bird is cooked and then briefly seared into the meat.

"When you see a black coil of smoke rising from your grill, you’re probably gone from grilling to burning," Raichlen wryly told his students.

Ancient memory

Mankind’s love of food cooked over an open fire is ancient. Humans probably discovered the tantalizing taste when a caveman inadvertently dropped a piece of meat into a bonfire or stumbled upon a smoldering animal carcass cooked by a raging forest fire.

Raichlen likens our fondness for barbecue to "an ancient memory" instilled when our ancestors tasted their first roasted meat.

"Somewhere between a million and a half-million years ago we became the first animal to cook," says Raichlen, whose titles include 1998’s The Barbecue Bible, 2001’s How to Grill, and 2003’s BBQ USA. The books include barbecuing history, methods, tips and more than 1,000 recipes.

In the Americas, barbecuing preceded European settlement. In 1526, Spanish explorer Gonzalo Fernandez de Ovideo y Valdes published an account of Taino Indians using a wooden grate called a barbacoa to smoke grill meat and fish. The device gave rise to the word barbecue, and New World immigrants adopted the cooking method.

Barbecuing was practiced in colonial Virginia and the Carolinas in the 1600s and some of the nation’s early leaders enjoyed the cuisine that became associated with festive cookouts. "George Washington was a barbecue fan," Raichlen says. "Barbecue turns up a half-dozen times in his diaries.

"When Abraham Lincoln’s parents were married their wedding feast was a barbecue," he adds.

Over the years, various ethnic groups brought their own outdoor cooking methods and recipes to the United States, giving rise to regional favorites such as North Carolina’s pulled pork, Texas’ beef brisket, Kansas City’s sauce-smothered ribs and Wisconsin’s grilled bratwurst.

Today, barbecuing, which Raichlen uses to describe all methods of outdoor cooking, is as American as baseball and apple pie. "Americans love it because it’s sort of hardwired into our culture," he says.

Division of labor

While barbecue is part of our culture, it’s still prepared primarily by men. "Boys in general tend to gravitate toward playing with fire, and girls in general are smarter than that," Raichlen says, estimating that 70 percent of grilling is done by men.

"Women in families are the ones who decide when to grill and what to grill," adds Raicheln, who maintains homes with his wife, Barbara, in Coconut Grove, Fla., and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. "Men are the ones that actually do the work."

Whoever mans the grill, grilling is a popular way to cook because it’s an outdoor activity that lends itself to social occasions and low-fat diets.

In 2001, 85 percent of American families owned at least one grill, according to the Health, Patio and Barbecue Association. Sixty-one percent of those grills were propane gas, 48 percent charcoal, 9 percent natural gas and 7 percent electric.

Grilling over smoldering hardwood—alder, apple, cherry, oak or hickory—embers is Raichlen’s preference because the smoke creates a savory flavor. Charcoal is his second preference.

"Charcoal burns hotter and brighter, so it sears the meat and locks in the flavor," he says.

Raichlen suggests that gas grill owners consider buying a charcoal grill if they enjoy wood smoke flavor. "It is very difficult to smoke (food) on a gas grill," he says.

In the future, Raichlen expects outdoor cooking to evolve, with entire meals—from appetizers to desserts—being prepared over glowing embers. "If it tastes good baked, fried, sautéed, stir fried or steamed, it tastes even better grilled," he says.

The six basic grilling methods:

1. Direct grilling involves quick-cooking steaks, chops, burgers and vegetables over a flame or hot coals at a high temperature.

2. Indirect grilling is slow-roasting large, often tougher cuts of meat such as spareribs or pork shoulders at lower temperatures to tenderize them.

3. Smoking is an indirect grilling method in which smoke from smoldering hardwood is used to slow-cook and flavor food.

4. Spit roasting, or rotisserie style, involves slowly turning food over a live fire.

5. Grilling in the embers is roasting food in hot coals.

6. Grilling in leaves involves cooking food in fruit or vegetable leaves.

Stuart Englert is American Profile's Senior Editor.

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