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July 14, 2006

Bring skill and flavor to the grill

Simple recipes make it easy for anyone to please dinner guests in the barbecue season.
NORENE GILLETZ

Come on baby, light my fire! It's barbecue time and grilling is a great way to prepare high-flavor, low-fat food. The burger is king. For better-for-you burgers, use lean ground beef, veal, chicken or turkey. Veggie burgers or marinated portobello mushroom caps make excellent vegetarian alternatives. Serve on whole wheat rolls or pita bread, topped with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, roasted red peppers and onions. Add salad or coleslaw to ensure you get your daily fix of veggies.

Tasty "marin-aides"

Research suggests that cooking meats at very high temperatures creates chemicals (heterocyclic amines, or HCAs) that may increase cancer risk. However, scientists believe that marinating helps create a barrier against heat that dramatically lowers the formation of the HCAs created when meat, poultry and fish are grilled or broiled at high temperatures.

Marinating also makes food more flavorful. If making an acid-based marinade, use a non-reactive container (glass, ceramic, stainless steel or heavy-duty Ziploc plastic bag). Turn the food or shake the bag during marinating so the food is evenly coated. Marinate at room temperature for half an hour to an hour. For longer marinating, cover and refrigerate food overnight. If fish is marinated more than an hour, it will start to "cook."

Drain marinade before grilling. To reserve leftover marinade for basting or as a sauce, bring it to a boil, then simmer for five minutes before drizzling it over the cooked food.

Don't grill over direct heat. Place food around the hot coals, not directly over them. Cook meat and poultry thoroughly, but not so much that pieces become charred. Don't eat any charred or blackened parts.

Don't peek! When you open the cover of the barbecue, it loses heat, increasing cooking time. Lift the lid only when you have to turn the food. The lid traps heat and smoke, helping to cook and flavor your food.

Cook foods to a safe temperature. Cook ground beef until a thermometer inserted into several parts of the patty, including the thickest part, reads at least 160F. Ground poultry should be cooked to 165F, poultry breast to 170F and whole poultry with bones to 180F.

For years, the grill has been controlled by men, but now, more women are taking on the tongs. If you want to be a grilling guru, call the Weber Grill-Line at 1-800-GRILL-OUT (1-800-474-5568). Their hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their experts will gladly answer your grilling questions.

Here's a technique that delivers great-tasting chicken and makes a lively conversation starter. This rub is good on virtually everything. Multiply the recipe, store it in a tightly sealed jar and massage it into whatever needs a quick pick-me-up before it hits the grill. The recipe comes from Weber's Big Book of Grilling by Jamie Purviance et al (Chronicle Books, $38.95).

Happy grilling!

Beer Can Chicken

For the Rub:
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. granulated onion
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. freshly ground
Black pepper

1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 lbs.
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 can (16 oz.) beer

Preheat grill. In a small bowl, combine the rub ingredients.

Remove and discard neck, giblets and any excess fat from chicken. Rinse chicken, inside and out, under cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Lightly spray or brush all over with vegetable oil and season, inside and out, with the rub.

Open the beer can; pour off half the beer. Set half-full can on a flat surface and slide chicken over the top so the can fits inside the cavity. Transfer bird to the grill, keeping the can upright. Carefully balance the bird on its two legs and the can. Grill over indirect/medium heat until juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 170F in breast and 180F in thickest part of thigh, 1.25 to 1.5 hours.

Wearing barbecue mitts, carefully remove chicken and beer can from grill, being careful not to spill the beer – it will be hot! Let the chicken rest about 10 minutes before lifting it from the can. Discard the beer. Cut the chicken into serving pieces. Serve warm. Makes four to six servings.

Here is another terrific dish that you can grill for guests. It comes from Crowning Elegance: A Kosher Culinary Experience ($34.95 US), a fund-raising project of Arie Crown Hebrew Day School in Skokie, Ill. Published by the school, ordering information can be found by calling 1-847-626-7747 or visiting www.crowningelegance.com.

Cumin and Lime Grilled Skirt Steaks

6 jalapeno peppers, stems removed, halved and seeded
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup fresh lime juice from
3 to 4 fresh limes
1 tsp. black pepper
3 tbsp. ground cumin
6 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1 tbsp. salt
3 lb. skirt steak

In the work bowl of a blender, place peppers, garlic, lime juice, black pepper and cumin. Blend until peppers are finely chopped. Add sprigs of cilantro, oil and salt. Purée until smooth. Cut steaks in half.

Using a basting brush, generously brush both sides of steak with marinade and place in a large Ziploc bag. Pour remaining marinade into the bag and place in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

Preheat barbecue grill or broiler to very hot. Cook steaks three to four minutes on each side, or until just seared for medium rare. Serves six.

Norene Gilletz is one of Canada's leading kosher cookbook authors. For more information about her books, cooking classes and other culinary services, visit her website at www.gourmania.com or e-mail her at [email protected].

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