Popular Mechanics - USA (2019-09)

(Antfer) #1
mance according to several
metrics. First, we wanted to know
whether the grill would produce
food that is attractive and tasty:
evenly browned on the outside,
moist and juicy on the inside.
Most people who grill prefer a
dark brown seared crust, where
the cooking surface makes con-
tact with the food. We also wanted
to know whether food would stick
to the surface, even after the
cooking surface was lubricated.
Even good-looking food can make
you ill if it’s raw in the center, so
we checked the food’s internal
temperature using a professional-
grade digital food thermometer
carefully inserted horizontally
through the food, not poked in
from the top.

utes of work. But looking at a cold,
clean grill gives us a sense of its
build quality and workmanship.
Then we fired up the grills.
For gas appliances, we checked
the uniformity of their surface
temperature by covering their
cooking area with white bread
and toasting it. When you flip the
pieces over, you have a snapshot
of the grill’s surface temperature.
Hot spots are blackened areas,
cool spots are undertoasted. An
area of correct temperature is a
mellow brown color with a dark
stripe left by the cooking grid or
grill surface. For charcoal grills,
we looked at how easy it is to
adjust fuel position, food posi-
tion, and airf low.
We g auged co ok ing p er for-

Chef Dave
Joachim tests
portable grills
by searing
white bread to
find cool spots
and then by
firing up tail-
gate favorites.

WE TEST


THE BEST


PORTABLE


PARTY


GRILLS


// BY ROY BERENDSOHN //

WE SHOPPED FOR more than
30 pounds of food: thick and
juicy hamburgers, marinated
chicken, and vegetarian patties.
We also used white bread to help
us determine the temperature
distribution of each gas grill’s
cooking surface. That’s import-
ant to know. Cold and hot spots
require a complex movement
of food around the grill’s sur-
face to prevent overcooking or
undercooking. For expert advice
and insight, we invited chef and
cookbook author Dave Joachim to
lead our test.
We began right at the box and
looked at how the grill comes out.
Unlike full-size gas or charcoal
grills, tailgate grills require little
assembly, taking just a few min-


HOW WE
TESTED
THEM

44 September 2019 PHOTOGRAPHY BY TREVOR RAAB

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