Grilling Season is Here!

Thank goodness grilling season is finally here. The weather is warming up and people are starting to come out of hibernation. I love this time of year when the flowers start blooming, the birds are chirping, kids are outside riding their bikes and generally everyone seems to be in a better mood.

Of course if you live on the west coast or on some tropical island you never have to deal with the cold frigid weather we have in the midwest or on the east coast, so you have no idea what I'm even talking about.

I grill year round regardless of the weather unless there's a massive downpour of rain. However, during the spring and summer I, like most people, tend to grill the most. If you're just uncovering your grill for the season there are a few important things you will want to keep in mind.

Follow these rules whenever you grill steaks, chops, fish, chicken breasts, vegetables, and basically any small or slender food. They’re designed to minimize sticking and maximize flavor and grill marks:

The Three Essential Rules for Great Grilling:

1. Keep it hot

Preheat your gas grill to high or build a “2 to 3 Mississippi” fire in a charcoal grill. (For the latter, place your hand about a half beer can high over the grate. Start counting: “1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi,” etc. By the time you reach “2 or 3 Mississippi,” the intense heat of a properly lit charcoal grill will force you to snatch your hand away.






2. Keep it clean

Brush the bars of the hot grate with a stiff wire brush. This dislodges any debris and minimizes sticking. If you don’t have a grill brush (and you should), use a crumpled ball of aluminum foil.






3. Keep it lubricated

Fold a paper towel into a small pad, dip it in oil, and using tongs, rub it over the bars of the grill grate. Or lift the grate off the grill and spray it with spray oil. (Never spray oil directly onto a lit grill - you’ll get Vesuvian flare-ups.) Oiling the grill helps prevent sticking and it gives you killer grill marks.



If you follow these tips you should have perfect grilling everytime.

How to Grill Perfect Chicken?

I love to grill chicken especially boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It's so simple but most people cook the chicken to death ending up with a piece that is so dry you can barely swallow it.

If you're one of those people here is a simple technique that you can use not just for chicken but for other meats as well. I call it the touch method.

When you are ready to put the chicken on the grill touch it. You'll notice how loose the meat feels. As in the first photo. If you were to take your left hand and let in lay limp, take your index finger on your right hand and touch it to the piece of flesh between the index finger and thumb on your left hand, in the web of your two fingers. Do you see how it feels like jello? Well that's how the chicken (or meat) feels when it's raw.





Next (photo #2) take those two same fingers on your left hand and touch the tips together. Then take the index finger on your right hand and touch it to the web between the two fingers. Do you see how it feels? It should feel slightly firmer. This is how your chicken will feel when it's cooked medium. This is how I like it.




Lastly (photo #3) take your left hand now and make a fist. Then take the index finger on your right hand and touch it to the web of your left hand between your thumb and index finger. Do you see how firm and tight that feels? This is how your meat/chicken will feel when it is well done. For chicken this is going to be tough and dry.




So my recommendation is before placing your chicken on the grill (or meat) touch it to see how it feels. This way as it cooks you will be able to judge how done it is by touching it.

Typically I grill my chicken breasts 3 minutes per side on medium heat. Of course it will depend on the thickness of the chicken. To insure that all chicken is done at the same time, make sure the thickness is the same otherwise place some plastic wrap over it and using a mallet make the pieces even. Your butcher can do this for you if you don't want to.

I hope if you typically serve dry chicken to your family and shy away from it when you have friends over please try this method and let me know how it turns out.

Bon Appetit!