Fire up the Grill!
(Page 2 of 3)
August 11, 2008
By Megan Phelps
How will you keep the food moist? The key to grilling is to keep the food from getting too dry, which is especially an issue for vegetables and leaner meats. There are a lot of tricks you can use to keep food moist. Recipes will often call for using marinades, brushing the food with oil or brining chicken and pork by soaking them in salt water before cooking. And you can get good results by grilling lower-fat meat without adding any moisture at all. For this, the key is using a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the meat, and following cooking recommendations for that type of meat closely, so you don’t overcook it. Here’s an example of some recommended grilling times from the University of Minnesota extension office.
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Finding Fresh Foods
When you grill, you’re not hiding the taste or texture of the food: You’re highlighting it. This means that to get the best results on the grill it helps if you start with the best ingredients. For vegetables, whatever is fresh and seasonal is a good choice. You’re likely to get the best results by buying locally, or getting vegetables straight from your garden.
For meat, you’re also best off choosing anything fresh, local and natural. For beef in particular, there are a lot of good reasons to choose natural and grass-fed meat. But for any type of meat, the more the animal was raised on its natural diet and the fewer unnatural foodstuffs, antibiotics and hormones it was given, the better. To find local producers, the best place to start is the Web site Eat Wild for grass-fed products, and Local Harvest for local food of all kinds.
Fun, Fearless Recipes
Most grilling recipes are deceptively simple, but if you read closely they can give you some useful guidance on keeping food moist, not overcooking and adding complementary seasonings. Feeling inspired? Try these recipes:
Grilling Vegetables. Check out these suggestions from the Colorado State University extension office for grilling all kinds of vegetables (and even fruits!). For more recipes for grilled vegetables, check out Cookthink’s suggestions for grilling eggplant, portobello mushrooms and zucchini.
