FCSIP134.pdf

FINECOOKING.COM 87

Light the grill

To light a gas grill:

Follow the manufacturer’s directions for lighting.

Be sure to give a gas grill plenty of preheating time

so that the grill and the grates are really hot when

you start cooking. Crank all the burners up to the

highest setting to heat (you can always adjust one

or more burners later).

To light a charcoal grill:

The easiest way to start a charcoal fire is with a

chimney starter. Load the top of the metal canis-

ter with charcoal, stuff newspaper in the bottom,

and light the paper with a match. Updraft spreads

the fire from the paper to the charcoal, and in

about 30 minutes, all your coals are glowing. Turn

the starter over (beware: the handle will be hot)

to dump the coals into the grill. Don’t begin grilling

until the red coals are covered with a light ash,

which indicates a hot fire. When the fire is

medium hot, the coals will be more thickly

covered and the ash will look yellowish.

How to build a two-zone fire

A two-zone fire, where one area is hotter than

the other, is a good idea for almost every kind

of grilling. With a two-zone fire, you can easily

move food around if it’s cooking too quickly or

too slowly. A two-zone fire lets you easily sear

large pieces of meat and then let it finish cook-

ing low and slow.

To build a two-zone fire using a charcoal grill,

bank most of the hot coals to one side of the

grill or on the outer edges of the grill. This gives

you the option of direct grilling (putting the food

right over the coals) or indirect grilling (putting

the food on the cooler side of the grill, farthest

from the hot coals, and covering the grill to

create an ovenlike atmosphere).

You can create a similar effect on a gas grill by

keeping one or more burners at medium-high

heat and one at low heat.

When and why should

you use direct heat or

indirect heat?

To some degree, your success as a

griller hinges on your ability to use

direct and indirect heat appropriately.

Direct grilling means the food is set right over the fire. Indirect grilling means

the food is set to the side of the fire, not directly over it.

To understand when and why you should use each method, it helps to think

about the different types of heat transfer occurring in a grill. First, there’s the

very intense radiant heat emanating from the coals or gas flames. Second,

the hot grill grates deliver heat by conduction. And finally, there’s convection,

which is the hot air circulating around the food when the lid is down.

DIRECT GRILLING uses intense

radiant heat. When your food is right

above the fire, the strong heat

energy radiating off the coals or

burners is doing most of the cook-

ing. This type of heat is very effec-

tive at searing a steak, charring red

peppers, and producing all the deli-

cious caramelized flavors that come

from high-heat cooking. Conduction

also plays a role, as the blazing hot

grates are what form those nice

grill marks.

The trouble with direct grilling

is that it’s all too easy to burn the

outside of your food before the inside

is fully cooked. (If you’ve ever tried

to grill, say, a large roast or even large

pieces of bone-in chicken directly

over a hot fire, you’ve experienced

this.) Think of direct grilling in the

same context as broiling or even

sautéing: The proximity to the heat

is perfect for browning meat, and

it’s also ideal for cooking thin, tender

items like shrimp or boneless chicken

breasts. Or follow the advice of Jamie

Purviance, the author of Weber’s Real

Grilling: Use direct heat for anything

that will cook through in less than

20 minutes: hamburgers, thin chops,

pork tenderloin, and most vegetables.

INDIRECT GRILLING relies on

convection. There are a few ways

to set up a grill for indirect cooking,

but in all cases, your food goes over

an area of the grate without fire be-

neath it. When you close the lid and

open the vents, cool air is sucked

into the grill, forcing the hot air inside

to circulate. This movement of hot

air cooks the food more quickly and

evenly. In effect, you’ve turned your

grill into a convection oven, with the

air vents acting as the fan.

Indirect grilling is the way to go

for large, tough, or fatty meats like

whole chicken, spareribs, pork

shoulder, or anything that would

likely burn before it cooked through

over direct heat. Fattier meats

have fewer flare-ups when grilled

indirectly; since the fat isn’t dripping

onto flames, it won’t ignite.

Of course, you can combine both

methods for the best of both worlds

(see How to Build a Two-Zone Fire

at left). For example, you could start

a very thick pork chop over the fire

to develop grill marks and a nicely

browned crust and then slide it over

to an area with no heat to finish grilling

indirectly, taking advantage of the

milder, more even heat of convection.

TECHNIQUE

TECHNIQUE

TECHNIQUE