What is your favorite thing to grill?

I have to break it up a bit for grilling and for smoking.

 

Grilling, I like chicken thighs and pork chops, often the so-called pork steaks out of the shoulder. I also like the "sirloin tips" I only see at Costco. The thighs and  chops I gill direct, the sirloin tip indirectly, but still pretty quick cooking. My favorite marinade for these is extra virgin olive oil, lemon, garlic, dijon mustard, S&P, and one herb. Thin with white whine or fruit juice. Oregano or rosemary are probably my favorites there.

 

These share a lot of flavor notes with Nicko's Souvlaki above.

 

Smoking, I'm a sucker for spare ribs. GREAT food. Mustard slather, dry rub and smoke. I prefer a mustard sauce for serving as well, but also like Stubbs Mesquite sauce.

 

I also like chicken wings. I'll often buy the 5 pound bag of "hot wings" at Costco which are already cooked. These come frozen. Shake on some Cajun Seasoning/Blackening and straight into the smoker for about an hour to an hour and half. This thaws them out, adds some good smoke, and dries the goo of a hot wing. Fabulous with a ranch dressing cut 50/50 with a barbecue sauce and brain dead easy. I suppose it's very Sandra Lee of me to doctor up pre-fab wings but it's good, fast (amount of hands on time) and easy.

 

I also buy the 10 pound bag of frozen plain wings at Costco. These go into my Chinese Red Cooking broth. Bring slowly to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours. Into the smoker for another 2 hours. Then briefly on the grill or under the broiler to crisp the skin. Always popular and people have a very hard time figuring out the flavors.

 

My wife is fan of Beer Can Chicken. If I'm going to be away for a few days and no cooking for everyone, that's what she wants me to make to have on hand for easy meals. I like it too.

Love those souvlakia!  I was wondering Nicko, do you cook your souvlakia slowly or on a hot fire?  Sometimes they are hit or miss because the meat is pork shoulder which can be tough.  What do you do to make it soft?  Do you think there's a good marinade that could tenderize the meat?  One of my favorites foods along side a nicely toasted pita and good tzatziki, what else could be better?

 

When we grill we tend to focus on chicken, ribs, or steak.  Bah humbug to burgers and dogs.  Chicken is my favorite.  I like to grill it slowly with slat and pepper and then in the last 5 minutes I baste the chicken with a thick marinade sauce of olive oil, roasted garlic, lemon juice, thyme/parsley, and salt/pepper.  It's super zingy, fresh and delicious.

I love Bulgogi on the grill.

I tend to do a lot of (yawn) chicken breasts. I "Greek" them or "Asian" them with quick marinades/basting sauces. I like to use turkey tenderloins (tendon removed) for kebabs. For veggies I grill zucchini, eggplant and onions most often.

 

My grilled proteins seem to taste the same, so I'm eager to learn some new tricks!

Funny you ask, Nicko.

The weather here in Arizona is similar to Hawaii (that's one of the reasons why we moved here), so we grill almost everyday.

I can't really say that we have a fav, but chicken is the protien of choice. 

We like the thigh meat much more than the breast.

Last night it was boneless-skinless thighs very simply basted with Hoisin Sauce, a quick Cucumber Kim Chee and a pot of fresh hot Rice (with Aloha Shoyu and Furikake on top).

Tonight it's a Flank Steak ala CI with Garlic-Shallot-Rosemary, oven roasted Potatoes and a big salad.

As a just meek and mild home cook, I feel priviledged to be able to "chat" or pose my naive questions to such a world reknowned chef, author and teacher. 

I am going to spend the next few days thinking carefully of my questions. 

Thank you for this opportunity.

I'm fortunate enough to live in Southern California where we can grill almost any day of the year. I grill just about anything, meat, veggies, fish, fruits etc...

 

I like to grill the usual suspects, chicken, steaks, lamb, skewers etc...

 

When I have a little more time I love to experiment with larger pieces. Lately I've been on a kick grilling pork shoulders.

Well it is grilling season

 

Was confused by this at first, Nicko, before I remembered that all you folks in the great white north do, indeed, put up your grills during the winter months. Me, I never stop using mine.

 

Hard to focus on a favorite, because so much is suitable for grilling and smoking. But if I were forced to make a choice, I'd have to say flank steak. I jacard it, marinate for up to three days in a Morrocan-flavors marinade, and grill it over hot coals. After that I'd have to say pulled pork, done in the smoker, followed by ribs, ditto. Then, of course, there's always......

 

I broke down, last year, and bought a gas grill. Still learning how to use it, particularly where it differs from cooking over charcoal. So will likely have lots of questions for Mr. Raichlen.

That sounds very very good. Would you share the marinade recipe? I'm guessing cumin, garlic, cilantro... but maybe more complex?

 

 

Me too. :( Well someone gave me a gas grill. The main difference is that I used to grill 2-3 times a month, now I grill 2-3 times a week! But more seriously, charcoal can easily get much, much hotter than gas, which is great for searing. Problem is the heat doesn't hold... on the gas grill, I usually pre-heat the grill for a good 20mn all burners on full, lid closed, if the grill can withstand it (some of the cheaper models would probably catch on fire and/or melt if you do that). Then I open it and I can sear.

On the grill my favorite meats are chicken leg quarters, beef ribeye steaks, beef tritip, pork chops, salmon. I do pork loin ribs on the grill with indirect heat, but spares in the smoker. That's different. Also beef brisket and pork shoulder in the smoker.

One veggie I like to grill is corn. Leave the ears in the husks, soak in salty water for an hour or two. Plop them right over the charcoal. When the outer husks are dry and charred, the corn has been steamed to tasty goodness.

mjb.

FrenchFries, the marinade is an adaptation of Bruch Aidells' North African Marinade. Here's the original: modify it as you wish:

 

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 1/2 tbls finely chopped fresh ginger

1 tbls minced garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

6 tbls fresh lemon juice

2 tbls soy sauce

1 tbls dry sherry

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbls chile powder, preferably Gebheardt

1 tbls ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp dried majoram

1/4 tsp saffron (optional)

2 tsp harissa or other hot sauce (optional)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

 

2 1-1 1/4 pound flank steaks

 

Aidells recommends marinating overnight, but I've let the meat soak for as much as three days in the fridge.

 

recipe courtesy of "The Complete Meat Cookbook," written by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998

This is great KYH, time to experiment! Thanks a lot. 

I order in a Lamb Loin every so ofter. Usually NZ

butcher it out flat and bag it for 8 hrs. with spice. pap,thyme,basil,cumin,curry pow,turmeric,rosemary,ginger,fennel,garlic..

Very hot grill with a piece of hickory thrown in.

pan

My answer has to be Italian Sausage with grilled onions and worcestershire sauce on a hotdog bun with sweet relish. Mmmmmm

Let me toss in another one from our family's repertoire:

boneless leg of lamb, cayenne, garlic, loads of fresh grated ginger,

cumin, corriander, onion, honey, EVOO, lemon juice and S&P;

marinate12 hours, throw on the BBQ

and you have some ONO-liciousness!!

Hickory smoked whole chicken with a brown sugar-chipotle rub. lots of other spices in the rub, but chipotle powder and brown sugar are the dominant flavors. 

We got no central heating or anything, so my favourite time for a bbq (or braai as we call them here) is in wintertime. Sit as close as possible to the coals and you might not be too cold!

Off topic: the night temperature just dropped below 15oC (60 F), and we are all complaining bitterly about the cold

 

Back on topic:

I like a lot of different on the braai, but my favourite has to be satay (any form of meat, marinated in soy, ginger, garlic, chili and some lemon on skewers), with satay sauce (peanut sauce).

Another one I like is lamb or pork marinated in mustard, rosemary, thyme and some lemon. Works with chicken as well.

And belly pork, and piripiri chicken (spatchcocked chicken portuguese style) and chicken wings, and of course spare ribs and and and.....

 

I like KY's idea as well. Definitely going to try that one!

 

@ phatch: do you mind sharing what's in the red chinese cooking broth?

 

Getting hungry now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never thought about brining.  Does it tenderize the meat at all?
 

 

My favorite cut of beef is Tri Tip, and I grill it over red oak. I also like to grill asparagus,white squash, sliced yams,carne asada. I like to smoke brined poultry, then finish it off on the grill. t's all good my friend.

If you go strictly by the number of times I grill an item then, hands down, burgers are the answer.  I love a good grilled burger and make them quite often.  But if I had to choose my favorite, then it would be pork butt, in the smoker, or even smoked on the Weber.  Not only is it a great meal, but a good excuse to sit around and have numerous drinks with friends as I have to "mind the grill all day!"  Chicken wings get done on the grill quite often also.  They are so versitile, going from Asian inspired to down home bbq at my whim.  Then there is always steak, preferably a thick NY Strip, seasoned with nothing but salt, pepper and just a hint of garlic before being quickly seared on the outside while the center remains on the rare side of MR.  And of course, can't forget the sausages; usually it's Brats or Italians, but I'll throw just about any sausage on the grill.  Of course, I can't not mention...

I like to grill a variation of meat and fish, but in small quantities, each with a different marinade. I use bamboo skewers, soaked overnight in water to prevent them from burning. The meat/fish goes in plastic bags first, also overnight, with their specific marinade, so each one will taste different. When grilling the next day, they will only need salt. Of course they are grilled on charcoal.

The day of the grilling I put each meat/fish on their individual skewers, almost less than half of what's on the skewers in Nicko's opening picture. This means that 2/3th of the skewers are empty; easy to pick up and to eat.

 

An example of compositions in the plastic bag marinades;

- chickenbreast cut lenghtwise in 3 strips; sunflower oil, black pepper, crushed fennelseeds, a handful of tarragon leaves..

Next day; put on skewers in a zigzag style, pressing the meat closely together; the meat stays nicely moist like that.

- porkloin cut in small bitesize chunks; olive oil, a little garam masala, fresh sage leaves, black pepper

Next day; alternate meat and fresh bay leaves on the skewers.

- beef cut in very small bars 100mm x 20mm x 20mm (I simply cut them from steak); sunflower oil, fresh thyme, black pepper, slices of garlic.

Next day; push a skewer all the way through.

- scampi; deveined and peeled, except tail section. Sunflower oil, drop of sesame oil, lemon zeste, pinch of chili flakes, crushed koriander seeds, sechuan pepper, white pepper. First, roast the koriander and certainly the sechuan in a dry pan on low fire, then crush finely in a mortar.

Next day; 3 scampi, each on 2 skewers, this is easier to turn on the grill.

- salmon; also cut in small strips like the chicken. Sunflower oil, orange zeste, kaffir leaves, white pepper, crushed kardemomseeds.

Next day; also put on the skewers in a zigzag but between each turn, put a kaffir leaf. (Don't use dried kaffir, frozen ones are better).

 

Before they go on the grill, they only need to be salted. I grill one kind fish/meat after the other. These skewers need only minutes to cook, sometimes less.

I serve this with taboulé, also made the day before; http://www.cheftalk.com/forum/thread/65439/couscous-and-summery-tabouleh-couscous-salad

　 

Edited by ChrisBelgium - 5/8/11 at 5:05am

I like to do large cuts more than small cuts.  Leg of lamb or pork shoulder are my favorites.  I use the weber method where I put a pan of water in the middle and surround it with hot coals. 

my favorite things to grill would be chicken tawouk, beef kabobs and Kafta.

 

In the summer months I cook on the grill every day as my stove heats up the kitchen big time.  I want to get to grilling more fish and seafood and that is my plan for this summer.  I use charcoal and while I could use it in the winter, it's too darned cold and snowy to stand outside tending it!  Mind you my former neighbours who moved here from Florida would use theirs year round but that's what they were used to. 

 

I love wings on the grill.. back when we lived in TO there was this little place in our neighbourhood that did wings on a charcoal grill and they were amazing!  I started doing them that way after I had them and I prefer a grilled wing to a deep fried one any day. 

 

 

As soon as the habaneros are ripe we start making jerk chicken 2-3 times a week 

Yesterday was Bulgogi.  :)

any kind of fish, any kind of way...and grilled veggies!

joey

Yesterday I was looking through my spice cabinet and say that I still had some ground Cardamom and I couldn't think how long it had been there.  So I searched the internet for something that I could make, besides baked goods, to finish it off.  I found a blog by this gal who shared a rub that her friend had dreamed up...

3 Tbsp ground cardamom
3 Tbsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp ground turmeric
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground allspice
3 Tbsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp cayenne
1 tsp ground cloves

... I cut everything in half (mainly because I only had about 2 tablesppons of cardamom left), rubbed 6 chicken thighs and threw them on the barbie...

YUM!!

 

Prawns aubergine (eggplant) and sea bass

 

The prawns are done in the shell and thats it.

The aubergine are seasoned with s& p evoo and garlic powder and chilli flakes

he seabass is whole stuffed with parsley stalks, lime wedges, s&p and chill flakes. The skin is slashed and rubbed with a mix of olive oil, cumin, garam masala, coriander, madras curry powder and dark brown sugar