Grilling For All Reasons

I love Thanksgiving!  It’s one of those holidays where I can both continue family food traditions AND explore and expand my and my family’s culinary horizons with new dishes and recipes.   This year was no exception.  And, for a totally new twist, I found myself in the position of working on Thanksgiving day and not being able to prepare/serve the meal on the day.   Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and I was determined to provide no less a feast than I had in years past.  The solution (AND the challenge), prepare EVERYTHING in advance and ensure that it could be easily reheated and still be as “fresh” as if it had just been prepared.  I did have to make some concessions to tradition – cooking the stuffing outside the bird, and preparing the vegetables in a manner that they would still be tender-crisp a day after preparing and going through a re-heat.  The hidden gem in this year’s situation was that preparing the feast the day before was totally relaxing and stress-free — I was under NO pressure to prepare and serve all dishes simultaneously at a proscribed time.  I was able to take my time, prepare dishes sequentially, and enjoy the cooking process like I’d never been able to do previously.  If the opportunity presents itself in years to come, I will DEFINITELY take advantage of repeating it.

Here’s the rundown on the menu.

The Turkey – after a resounding success this past summer with brining a turkey breast, I decided to brine the whole turkey prior to grilling.  Knowing I had to grill the bird on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving), I needed to prepare the bird for brining by Tuesday.  I purchased the turkey (frozen) on Saturday (actually got it free with a local supermarket holiday purchase promotion!) – 22 pounds – and began the defrost process.  By Tuesday afternoon, the bird was adequately thawed, and I removed the neck and giblets, prepared the brining solution and packed the turkey away in a brining bag in the solution to brine for the next 18-22 hours.  I used an Apple-Sage brining mix from Fire and Flavor along with their brining bag (an extra large heavy duty ziplock plastic bag) which provides the salt and seasonings to which I added (per directions on the box) apple cider, sugar and water.   Once brined, I used a maple-ginger basting sauce with olive oil instead of butter for a less-fat, but absolutely delicious turkey.  I grill-roasted the bird, first exposing it to higher heat with smoke, then covering and grill-roasting until done, to provide some light smoke and some great color.   Here are the details.

The Stuffing – I split from tradition this year in cooking the stuffing outside the bird.  However, the recipe didn’t change.  Our family has settled on a recipe that has been refined over the years and is now pretty much set in stone – a mix of cornbread, white, and brown bread cubes, with celery, onion, mushrooms, and sausage.   Here’s the recipe.

The Vegetables – the recipes for the vegetable sides this year were chosen for their affinity to being grilled, as well as being able to prepare them in advance for reheating and later eating.  I chose the following:  roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli with cherry tomatoes, and grilled asparagus.  In addition, I boiled and dry-mashed (cooked and mashed without adding butter and milk) Yukon gold potatoes (the milk, butter, and seasonings were added as part of the reheating/serving process).

My “Grill Days” got spread out a bit over the last week as my time was somewhat crunched.  I worked in a recipe a day on open days instead of cramming all into a single day.  This week was all about exploring new recipes or working out variations on old — stuffing a hamburger with toppings, fresh tropical fruits paired with grilled shrimp, and taking a time-tested recipe handed down from generation to generation and moving it outdoors from the oven to the grill.

Hamburgers are a grill staple, but typically we focus on great ground meat grilled to juicy perfection, then pile on a variety of condiments and toppings.  I’m always searching for new recipes and ideas for different ways to use ground beef and other ground meats and stumbled upon the notion of Stuffed Hamburgers – putting the toppings INSIDE the burgers before grilling.   This recipe was done quickly and “on the fly” as I had a meeting to attend that lasted longer than expected and I had to whip up dinner quickly.   I had several pounds of ground beef, onions and grated cheese at home already, so with a quick stop at the local market on the way home, I picked up some additional “stuffing” ingredients – fresh spinach and some red bell pepper.   I was amazed at how quickly these came together.   Divide the meat into burger portions, then halve each portion (for a top and bottom patty) and roll into balls.   A quick saute of the stuffing ingredients (except the cheese).   Flatten one of the ball pairs for each burger into a thin patty of bun-size diameter leaving the outside edges a bit thicker than the middle.   Place some grated cheese and some sauteed filling in the middle of each bottom patty (leaving 1/2 to 3/4 inch around the outside clear).   Flatten the top patty for each burger into a thin patty the same size as its bottom mate, and place the top over the bottom and filling.   Pinch-seal the edges than adjust the burger in your hand to even everything out so the burger looks much like its unstuffed cousin, just a bit fatter in the middle.   Then grill over direct heat/coals until done – the stuffing has already been cooked, so you only have to cook the meat – 3-5 minutes a side, flipped only once.   De-Lish!   And the great thing (as with regular burger toppings) – there are endless combinations of ingredients for you to experiment with.

Fresh seafood, tropical fruit and juices, dark rum – immediately transports you to the tropics, doesn’t it.   Had a recipe in my folder that I hadn’t tried yet that caught my eye – Rum-Soaked Shrimp with Mango-Lime Relish.  This was an easy recipe to prepare, with all the work up-front in prep.   The lengthy preparation time is due to the amount of chopping of the fresh ingredients – mangoes, red and green bell peppers, onions, etc.   Of course, if you can find any of these in your local market already chopped (many ingredients can now be found pre-prepped and ready to use), you’ll save yourself a bunch of time.   Once chopped, the ingredients simply mix together for the relish — this is best made a day ahead so the flavors have time to incorporate.  The rum and fruit juice marinade for the shrimp is even easier to prepare.   Typically, when you’re using citrus (lemons, limes, oranges) in a fish marinade, you would only marinade for a short period of time as the citric acid in the fruit starts to cook the fish.   In this case, the lime juice component of the marinade is sufficiently diluted that you can leave the shrimp to marinade longer.    You can leave the shells on the shrimp if you wish while marinating (I peeled them before), then peel them before placing on the skewers to grill.   You’ll also want to use large shrimp for these – at least 16/20 count (which is what I used) or larger.    The shrimp on skewers grill quickly – a couple of minutes on each side over direct coals, flipped once.    Serve the shrimp on a bed of the mango relish.  I left them on the skewers as they were perfect as individual portions of six shrimp each.   Pairs nicely with curried rice or couscous.

The last recipe in this sequence was a family traditional recipe (not my family) handed down over the generations that I thought would work perfectly on the grill – Slovakian Stuffed Cabbage – I was not disappointed!   Preparation is relatively quick – the longest prep item is par-boiling the cabbage; the meat filling simply mixes together.   Take a large head of cabbage and cut out the core – you want all of the leaves to be free.   Bring about 3 inches of water to a boil in a large pot and put in the cabbage, core side up and cover.   After several minutes, you can gradually begin removing the cabbage leaves to a plate to cool.  Remove a couple of the outer leaves, recover the pot and let it steam for a couple more minutes, then repeat until all leaves have been removed.   I found that I could quickly grab a leaf at the stem end and pull it up and away from the cabbage quickly without burning my fingers, but you can also use tongs.   Once you’ve parboiled all the cabbage leaves, take the smallest from the center and the darker ones from the outside, tear them into pieces and layer on the bottom of a large roasting pan.  I used an aluminum foil casserole pan since I was going to grill-bake these.   Now take each leaf and turn it over.  Slice off the thick part of the stem to even the thickness of the leaf, making it easier to roll.   Turn the leaf back over, grab some of the meat mixture in your hand, gently molding it into an elongated ball and place it at the top of the leaf.   Begin rolling the leaf down over the meat, and after one rotation, fold in both sides to cover the ends and continue rolling.  Place with the end of the leaf down in the pan.  Cover the stuffed cabbage rolls with sauerkraut and the sauerkraut with bacon slices (I used thick-sliced bacon) to cover.   Mix chopped tomatoes and condensed tomato soup with some water and pour over the rolls, adding water as necessary to completely cover everything.   Place on the grill over direct medium-hot coals, cover the grill and “bake” uncovered for 1-1/2 hours, adding fuel if/when necessary to maintain the heat.   Ummmm – these are among the ultimate in comfort foods!

Until our next session – Enjoy!

As I noted last week, I’m currently focusing on doing a weekly “grill day”, where I can explore new recipes and expand both my own and your grilling horizons. I’ll look to give a recap of each week’s activity.

The recipes I post here on Grilling For All Reasons are all grill-tested personally to ensure great taste, balanced seasoning, and the appropriate grill technique to produce the dish.  As you’ll note from these weekly posts, there will be links to recipes that worked out successfully, but also references to attempts that did not “make the grade” to publish yet.  Either there were issues with the recipe itself, the finished dish, or the grilling technique that I wasn’t satisfied with.   With my formal education as a scientist, this is all part of my “scientific method” approach to cooking.  Dishes won’t always “work” on the first attempt, so back to the kitchen/grill to analyze, adjust, and make again.

This last “grill day” was last Thursday, October 29.  My plans for the day were to test a new recipe I’d been working on for grilled fish using ingredients and flavors consistent with Mexican cuisine, and two new side dishes that I wanted to explore as prospective garnish for an entree special – stuffed baked tomatoes and mashed cauliflower.  I also wanted to continue to delve into one of the trickier grill techniques – baking – by at least doing some prep work toward some pies or bread.   So, it was off to the market to stock in the ingredients, then home to prepare the mise en place.   Prepare the “what” you say?   Mise en place (pronounced [miz ɑ̃ plas]), is a french culinary term meaning “putting in place” – having the necessary equipment at hand, as well as preparing the ingredients (chopping, mincing, dicing, measuring, etc) for each recipe and having them staged and ready to use.  If you’ve watched any cooking show, you’ll note that as the chef prepares a dish, they’re adding ingredients that have been pre-measured and prepped – their mise en place.  It is a technique that is absolutely critical in preparing and plating dishes quickly in professional kitchens, but can become a great time saver at home as well, particularly for holiday meals where you may have 4, 5, 6 or more dishes and you want them all to be available at roughly the same time.  The time spent up front prepping will make the actual cooking go much quicker.

I finally found a good-sized cheese pumpkin (also called a sugar pumpkin) after scouring the local markets.  A cheese/sugar pumpkin is smaller (a little flatter top-to-bottom and not typically as big around), tending to more of yellow-orange color, and sweeter than it’s “Jack-O-Lantern” pumpkin cousin.   The prepared pumpkin pulp is excellent for use in baking, pies, etc.   So, my first order of business was to roast the pumpkin to begin the process of extracting and preparing the pulp for baking.   I cut the pumpkin in half and removed the seeds (these are great roasted, so don’t through them out if you like roasted pumpkin seeds).  I covered a pizza pan (I used a pizza pan since it’s round and fits my grill better, but any shallow baking pan that will hold the pumpkin halves will do just fine) with foil, sprayed it lightly with oil, and placed the pumpkins halves cut-side down on it.   I placed the pan/pumpkin on a medium hot grill set up for direct cooking and closed the grill cover, roasting the pumpkin until done (a fork inserts easily into the outer flesh).  After cooling, I scooped out the pulp and pureed it in batches in the blender.   I now had a supply of fresh pumpkin to use in upcoming baking adventures.  Stay-tuned, I sense a pumpkin pie coming up soon!

For the grilled fish, I had been working on a recipe for a while, combining elements from a few of the hundreds, if not thousands, of great grilled fish recipes available, as well as researching elements of traditional Mexican cooking.  The recipe – Grilled Shark Steaks Mexicana – is the result and I’m pleased with the outcome.   I used shark steaks as my local market had a great deal going, but this will work well with any firm-fleshed fish – salmon steaks, halibut, chilean sea bass.  There are two ingredients in particular that you can “play with” to adjust to your tastes – the chili peppers and anchovies.   The chilies add seasoning as well as some “heat”, so use the peppers you favor and in quantities adjusted to your “heat tolerance!”  The anchovies act as a seasoning ingredient in this recipe and don’t stand out as a distinctive taste, so I would include them even if you’re “not into” anchovies.  They do add quite a bit of saltiness to the dish – I have the quantity sized about right for the average palate I believe, but feel free to add more or fewer as desired.

The side dishes attempted in this grill session had a mixed result.  One was spectacular – the Stuffed Baked Tomatoes; the other – a mashed cauliflower recipe – still needs some work, both on how I use the grill in its preparation, as well as with the recipe itself.  We’ll come back to that at a later date as it has great potential.   The stuffed tomatoes tasted heavenly – tomatoes, soft cheeses and basil/parsley pair so well together.   These can be served equally well as an appetizer (you might even consider using cherry tomatoes if preparing as a appetizer or for a buffet) or as a side accompaniment for a variety of entrees.  Bon Appetit!

So, with my new full-time “job” as a chef at The Maestro 206 in Hillsborough, NJ, I’m relegated to about 1 day on the grill.  [BTW, if you live in NJ, make it a point to stop by the restaurant and say "HI" -- 150 Rt 206, Hillsborough, NJ -- great fusion cuisine, exciting bar scene, and banquet capability]  But, with some advance planning, I should be able to maximize that one day with some exciting recipes.   Stay tuned as we “crank out” some great grilling cuisine.  As we move deeper into fall and into winter, there’s no stopping unless it’s pouring rain or a snowstorm – we’re grillin’ year-round in NJ.

Last week, we did a Filet Mignon with Stilton-Portobello Sauce, paired with Grilled Asparagus and Mustard and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, and ventured into international cuisine, exploring a Senagalese “national dish” with Poulet Yassa – Barbecued Chicken with Onions and Lemon.

We have some exciting new recipes on tap for this week – stay tuned!

Baking on a grill?   Are you nuts?   Well . . .  No!   A grill is, in simple terms, a source of heat for cookingjust as your kitchen stove or oven, right?   And most grills have a cover, which allows the heat to circulate around the food, JUST like an oven right?   So, why shouldn’t you be able to bake on a grill.  No reason at all – just requires some tweaking of the techniques you’d use for baking in the oven.

So, with my new work schedule, I’m finding it more difficult to find quality time with the grill, so I make the most of the times I do have.  Several days ago was one of those days and I’d preplanned and stocked for a solid “grill day”.   Except for several hours of slow cooking and smoking a batch of BBQ sauce, the day was to be devoted to baking.   My challenges for the day were to bake a loaf of gluten-free bread, bake/grill homemade pizzas, and to bake apples.   Two of the three were rousing successes, the other (bread) goes back to the “lab” for more experimentation – both with the recipe and the cooking technique (Note – I personally don’t require a gluten free diet, but gluten-free cooking provides for some unique challenges to match textures and tastes we’re so familiar with from products with wheat-based ingredients – and I’m all about challenges!).

Check out the recipes for pizza dough and sauce, and the baked apples.   I’ll go into more depth on baking/grilling the pizzas in an upcoming post.

Here are the pics of the day’s results:

Margherita pizza	Onion & Black Olive pizza	Pepperoni & Smoked Mozzarella Pizza	Baked Apples

Well, yes . . . AND no.   When most of us hear the term “grilling”, we think of firing up the grill – lighting the charcoal or turning on the burners full blast and slapping that piece of beef on the grate.   That works great for most steaks and burgers, but NOT so great for other cuts like brisket, rump or shoulder roasts, etc.   Cuts of meat that are from the more muscular parts of the animal and either are more lean (have less fat) or longer muscle fibers, lend themselves to slower, or indirect heat grilling techniques.

As you’ve heard me say before, I’m a believer that you can cook almost anything on a grill, and that goes for ALL cuts of meat.  But . . .  and that’s a BIG BUT. . .  you have to use a variety of techniques to achieve great results.   In a nutshell, that means using direct and indirect heat, as well as different cooking vessels depending on the cut.  You can do everything on a grill outdoors that you can do in an oven or on a stove top indoors – you just have to have the right technique and tools.

Our friends at the Texas Beef Council (TBC; the “BEEF, It’s What’s For Dinner” folks; www.txbeef.org) have produced a great chart that shows pretty much every known cut or style of beef, and appropriate cooking methods for each to achieve great tasting, succulent results.  The one change I will make to their presentation is to detail how to employ the various cooking methods on the grill.

There are eight (8) different cooking methods detailed in the TBC chart below.  They are, with definitions and “on the grill” instructions:

Braising

A slow moist-heat cooking method using a small amount of liquid with a tight-fitting lid. Use for less tender cuts.  On the grill, you would use a heavy pot/pan with a tight-fitting lid; direct heat is fine – a cast-iron dutch oven is perfect (see our product corner for recommendations).  Slowly brown the meat on all sides. Use a small amount of oil.  Pour off and discard drippings and season as desired.  Add a small amount of liquid (½ cup) such as wine or broth, juice or beer.  Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid to contain steam.  Simmer (at about 300°F) until fork tender.

Broiling

A quick dry-heat cooking method done in the oven using the broiler setting. Use for more tender cuts. Less tender cuts can be used if marinated.  Well, OK, not a grill compatible technique.  Broiling is the indoor oven version of grilling, though without grill marks or smoke.  When you absolutely CAN’T use your grill, this is your backup.

Grilling

A quick dry-heat method over charcoal, wood or gas flames. Use for more tender cuts. Less tender cuts can be used if marinated.  Direct heat, more tender cuts of meat such as sirloin, rib eye, NY strip, T-bone, prime rib, tenderloin, and Porterhouse steaks, and burgers.  Season beef as desired and place on grill grate directly above charcoal, wood, or gas.  Turn only once.

Pan Broiling

A quick dry-heat cooking method using a pan on a stove top. No oil is used and the pan is uncovered. Use for thinner cuts.  On the grill, use an oven-proof skillet – cast iron skillets work beautifully here.   Heat skillet 5 minutes over medium to medium-high heat.  Season beef as desired.   Place beef in preheated skillet. Do not overcrowd.  Do not add oil or water. Do not cover.  Turn once.

Pan Frying or Sauté

A quick dry-heat cooking method using a pan with a small amount of oil. No lid is used. Use for thinner cuts. Also called sautéing.  On the grill, use an oven-proof skillet – cast iron skillets work beautifully here.  Heat small amount of oil in skillet over medium to medium-high heat until hot.  Season, dredge in flour, or bread beef as desired.  Place beef in pre-heated skillet. Do not overcrowd. Do not add water or other liquid. Do not cover.  Pan fry to desired doneness, turning once.

Roasting

A dry-heat cooking method used for cooking bigger cuts. No liquid is added or cover used. Use for more tender cuts of beef such as rib, ribeye, tenderloin, and sirloin roasts.  Season beef with herbs and spices or a rub.  Set up the grill for indirect heat, with a drip pan in the middle.  Place roast, fat side up, on the grill rack over the drip pan.  Roast meat to 5 to 10 degrees below desired doneness. Temperature will continue to rise to desired doneness while the meat rests.  Let roast stand 15 to 20 minutes before slicing or serving. It will be easier to carve and the juices will redistribute.

Stewing

A slow moist-heat cooking method using a pot with a tight-fitting lid. The beef should be completely covered in liquid. Use for less tender cuts.  On the grill, you would use a heavy pot/pan with a tight-fitting lid; direct heat is fine – a cast-iron dutch oven is perfect.  Cut the beef into cubes and slowly brown the cubed meat in a small amount of oil stirring to brown all sides. Pour off drippings and season as desired. Add water or broth to cover. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer on a low heat until meat is fork tender.

Stir Frying

A quick dry-heat cooking method using a lightly oiled pan. Use high heat while continuously tossing ingredients. Any cut can be used as long as it is cut into thin uniform strips.  Break out your grill wok for this one (see our product corner for a recommendation).  Partially freeze beef (10 minutes in the freezer) for easy slicing. Slice meat into thin uniform strips (1/8 inch or thinner). Marinate or season meat as desired.  Toss the meat with a small amount of oil to coat.  Place in the grill wok over direct heat or heavy non-stick skillet over medium or medium-high heat until hot and stir-fry meat in batches to prevent overcrowding. Stir continuously in a scooping/tossing motion until outside surface of beef is no longer pink.

And here’s the Texas Beef Council Cooking Methods Chart:

The age old question asked by chefs, cooks, and grillers around the world – Is it Done?   There are two basic answers before we get into details:

• Is the food cooked to a “safe” temperature?
• Is the food cooked to the “desired” degree of doneness?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes guidelines for minimum internal temperatures of cooked foods for safety. The temperature range in which foodborne bacteria can grow – “the danger zone” – is typically considered to be between 40°F and 140°F (FDA defines the range as 41°F – 135°F).   Their recommendations are:

• Steaks & Roasts – 145 °F
• Fish – 145 °F
• Pork – 160 °F
• Ground Beef – 160 °F
• Egg Dishes – 160 °F
• Chicken Breasts – 165 °F
• Whole Poultry – 165 °F

For the most part, as grillers, these internal temperature readings work, with the notable exception of steaks, chops, and burgers.  The FDA guidelines will get you a “medium” doneness.   If you’re among the group (such as I am) who feel that the flavor is best at rare or medium-rare, then you need to understand the food safety risks and follow safe food handling procedures to avoid or minimize bacterial contamination (keeping food cold before grilling, avoiding handling cross-contamination, minimizing the time food sits in the open).

So, to the details.   We’ve covered the “poke test” method of determining doneness in a previous post.   Following is a chart listing suggested temperature ranges for achieving a desired level of doneness for a variety of meats, poultry and seafood, along with some photos for what steak doneness looks like at the different levels.  The best tool for measuring the internal temperature is an instant read thermometer.  If you don’t already have one, we’ve recommended a couple in our product corner.

An important note – the temperatures shown in the chart below are the “final” temperatures – you should rest meats and poultry to allow the juices to redistribute before cutting and serving.   The meat or poultry will continue to cook during this resting period even though removed from the heat source, with the internal temperature increasing from 5º F to 20º F (depending on how long the resting period).  That means you should remove the meat or poultry when the temperature reading is 5-20º F less than recommended.

Beef, Veal and Lamb
Steaks, Roasts, Chops
Rare	120 to 125º F	center is bright red, pinkish toward the exterior portion
Steak – Rare
Medium Rare	130 to 135º F	center is very pink, slightly brown toward the exterior portion
Steak – Medium Rare
Medium	140 to 145º F	center is light pink, outer portion is brown
Steak – Medium
Medium Well	150 to 155º F	not pink
Steak – Medium Well
Well Done	160º F and above	uniformly brown throughout
Steak – Well Done
Ground Meat	160 to 165º F	no longer pink but uniformly brown throughout
Beef Brisket	160º F and above	medium to well done
Poultry
Chicken, Duck, and Game Birds	165º F	cook until juices run clear
Turkey	165º F	juices run clear – leg moves easily
Pork
Roasts, Chops
Medium	140 to 145º F	pale pink center
Well Done	160º F and above	uniformly brown throughout
Pork ribs and shoulders	160º F and above	medium to well done
Sausage (raw)	160º F	no longer pink
Ham
Raw	160º F
Pre-cooked/smoked	140º F
Fish and Seafood
Fish (steaks, fillets or whole)	140º F	flesh is opaque, flakes easily
Tuna, Swordfish, & Marlin	125º F	cook until medium-rare (do not overcook or the meat will become dry and lose its flavor
Shrimp		cook until medium-rare (do not overcook or the meat will become dry and lose its flavor
Lobster		meat turns red and opaque in center when cut
Scallops		milky white or opaque, and firm
Clams, Mussels & Oysters		point at which their shells open – throw away any that do not open
Meat Resting Period – After desired cooking temperature is reached, remove meat from heat source and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before carving. The amount of time required for resting varies with the size of the cut of your meat. During this resting time, the meat continues to cook (meat temperature will rise 5 to 20 degrees after it is removed from the heat source) and the juices redistribute.

Steak doneness photos courtesy of the Texas Beef Council -www.txbeef.org

One of the issues facing all grillers is how do you tell when your food is cooked to the desired (or required) doneness?  The most common way is to use an instant read thermometer.   But you risk losing precious juices when you insert/remove the thermometer probe even though many will tell you it’s “only a small hole”, especially if you’re checking 3, 4, or more times.  Most professional chefs have developed the ability to tell how done the meat, poultry, or fish they’re preparing is by simply pressing on it with their fingers.   But for us laymen, could we also learn to do this?

Steven Raichlen, often called the American Grillmaster and a mentor of ours here at Grilling For All Reasons, uses his signature “poke” test.  This is the technique used by professional chefs, but Steven has come up with a great way for those of us less skilled to learn what it feels like, for example, to tell when a steak is cooked to medium-rare.  In this video, Steven demonstrates how to determine what respective levels of doneness feel like, simply by using your hand as a comparison tool.

One of the key benefits (at least in my view) of cooking over an open fire is the flavor enhancement you get. That flavor comes from smoke. You get that smoky flavor naturally when grilling over charcoal or wood, but not with a gas grill or indoors on a gas or electric range. But, you CAN add smoke regardless of what you’re cooking on or how you’re cooking it. And no, I’m not talking about pouring on chemical-laced “liquid smoke”. It all comes back to why you get it naturally with charcoal or wood fuel — the wood.

There is a style of cooking called smoking that derives from this, but we’ll leave the techniques to another day. Today, it’s about the wood.

In previous articles, I’ve talked about fuel choices and cooking over wood. I’d like to drill down on the types of wood and the unique flavor that each will impart on food, as well as some of the methods of getting that smoke regardless of what you’re cooking on.

Wood Flavor Characteristics

Wood is wood, right? Well, not quite, particularly when you’re trying to cook with it. Each type of wood has distinctive burning and flavor characteristics. Most hardwoods are excellent both for fuel, as well as for generating smoke. Stay away from all processed woods like plywood or fiberboard due to toxic chemical content. Resinous woods like pines and eucalyptus may work OK for an outdoor bonfire, but leave a nasty taste with food. So, what are your choices? And what are their characteristics?

Following is a chart detailing most suitable woods that you can use as a guide. Some of these may only be sparsely available where you live, but the most common – hickory and mesquite – are readily available as chunks or chips (and in some cases, pellets) in many supermarkets, drug stores, home stores, and sport good outlets – typically anywhere you might buy charcoal. You may also find alder, apple, and cherry packaged as chips. If you can come by any of the others, give them a try.

So, how do you use these for cooking?

The woods that are commercially packaged for use in grilling and smoking are available in any or all of the following “formats”:

• Chunks – not full logs, but larger pieces that average 2-4” or more in diameter and length. Can be used as a fuel, but most commonly used for smoking with charcoal (briquettes or lump) as the fuel.

• Chips – smaller pieces, usually not larger than an inch. Most commonly available, and easiest to use in all types of grills/smokers with all types of fuel (including gas/electric).

• Pellets – ground wood fashioned into 1/4”x 1/2” pellets, bound with a non-toxic starch. Used in the same manner as chips.

• Planks – slabs of wood – ranging from 1/4-1/2” or more thick, and from 4 inch square “single-serving” planks to larger sizes up to 15-16”. Made from a variety of woods, but most typically western red cedar and alder. Food is placed directly on the plank and then on the grill surface.

• Papers – the same woods used for planks are now being marketed in very thin veneers. These are used to wrap around food (usually single-servings) then grilled.

Chunks	Chips	Pellets	Planks	Papers

In almost every case, you will want to adequately soak the wood you’re going to use to generate smoke. Minimum time for soaking in water is 30 minutes, and up to overnight. This applies to all the formats listed previously. While you can use the wood dry, it will not generate as much smoke and will be used up quickly. Soaking the wood allows it to slowly smolder and release lots of smoke for longer periods of time – the more smoke, the more flavor in the food. Keep the wood soaking in the water until ready to use. Drain before placing on the fuel or in a smoker box or pouch.

For wood or charcoal fueled grills and smokers, you can place the wet smoking wood directly on the fuel. For gas or electric grills, and for longer-lasting smoke on charcoal/wood grills, you’ll want to place the wood into some type of closed, but vented metal container. You can buy a smoker box, or make a smoker pouch very quickly and easily out of aluminum foil.

• Smoker box – remove or open the lid, fill the box with wet wood (typically chips or pellets), replace the lid, and place directly on the fuel in wood/charcoal grills, or as close to the heat as possible for gas/electric grills (on a burner shield or electric element or on the grate over a heat source). You generally want to have your smoke source below the food you’re cooking

• Aluminum foil pouch – if you don’t have a smoker box, a hand-made aluminum foil pouch will work just fine. Take a piece of aluminum foil double the size you want your pouch to be and fold it in half. Fold the sides (perpendicular to the fold) over about 1/2” and then fold over again to seal the sides. The opening to the pouch will be on the side opposite the fold. Fill your pouch with soaked wood chips, and seal the open end in the same manner as the sides. On one of the flat sides, poke several holes to allow the smoke to escape. Place on the grill as you would a smoker box.

Soaking Wood Chips	Smoker box	Foil Pouch

Give your smoke source a couple of minutes to start generating smoke, then place your food on the grill and close the grill lid for maximum smoking effect. If you’re cooking for a longer period of time (more than 45 minutes or so), you’ll need to add more soaked wood to keep the smoke flowing.

As with everything we do in cooking, it comes down to imagination and experimentation. Now that you’re armed with information, try different woods with different foods to discover YOUR favorites.

When you’re grilling or smoking meats or fish that are very lean (low fat content), you are likely to end up with a result that’s any or all of dry, tough, or chewy.   Or it may be fine coming off the grill, but quickly dries out as it sits.   Sound familiar?

Brining to the rescue.

Brining has been around for ages as a means of preserving meats with heavy amounts of salt for long voyages, expeditions, and for personal use before the advent of refrigeration.   Today, with lower concentrations of salt and usually with sugar and additional seasonings added, brining is a way to permeate lean meats, poultry, and fish with extra flavor, but more importantly with extra moisture that is retaining while cooking.

The Science

For those interested in the science behind the process, meat already contains salt water. By immersing meats into a liquid with a higher concentration of salt, the brine is absorbed into the meat. Any flavoring added to the brine will be carried into the meat with the saltwater mixture. Because the meat is now loaded with extra moisture it will stay that way while it cooks.

Brining works because of two principles, called diffusion and osmosis, that like things to be kept in equilibrium. When brining a turkey for example, there is a greater concentration of salt and sugar outside of the turkey (in the brine) than inside the cells of the turkey. The Law of Diffusion states that the salt and sugar will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration (the cells). There is also a greater concentration of water, so to speak, outside of the turkey than inside. Here, too, the water will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration (the cells). When water moves in this fashion, the process is called osmosis. Once inside the cells, the salt and, to a lesser extent, the sugar, cause the cell proteins to unravel, or denature. As the individual proteins unravel, they become more likely to interact with one another. This interaction results in the formation of a sticky matrix that captures and holds moisture. Once exposed to heat, the matrix gels and forms a barrier that keeps much of the water from leaking out as the meat cooks. Thus you have a turkey that is both better seasoned and much moister than when you started.

What to Brine

Lean and often mildly flavored meats with a tendency to overcook – such as chicken, Cornish hen, turkey, and pork (loin, tenderloin, chops, fresh ham) – are perfect candidates for brining, which leaves them plump and seasoned. Many types of seafood also take well to brining, especially when they are subjected to cooking methods that cause extreme moisture loss. For instance, we don’t brine salmon fillets before grilling (the fish has plenty of fat and flavor and won’t dry out if pulled from the grill when still translucent in the center). However, when grill-roasting a whole side of salmon, brining allows the fish to spend considerable time on the grill, picking up smoke flavor without becoming dry. Shrimp, which is extremely lean and often mushy, is another good choice for brining (the brine actually firms the shrimp).

Beef and lamb do not benefit from brining. Unlike poultry and pork, these meats are generally eaten rare or medium-rare and are therefore cooked to a relatively low internal temperature, or are cooked at lower temperature for a long period of time (as with roasts) to break down the connective tissue.  As a consequence, they do not lose as much of their natural moisture as poultry or pork, which are generally cooked to higher internal temperatures. Beef and lamb also contain more fat, which makes them more flavorful and helps to keep them moist. For many of the same reasons, gamier, fattier birds, such as duck and squab, don’t benefit from brining.

How Do I Brine?

The process of brining is easy, but does require planning and time.  Not time that you have to spend doing something, but time to allow the brine to work.   Depending on the size of what you want to brine, it could take up to 24 hours or more.  There are also some who are proponents of preparing the brine solution up to 24 hours before beginning the brining process to ensure that everything is dissolved and the flavors have an opportunity to develop.  But not to worry, it IS easy, the results are outstanding, and everyone should have brining in their grilling repertoire.

A good basic brine solution to start with is simply:

1 gallon of water
3/4 to 1 cup of Kosher or coarse sea salt
1/2 cup sugar

• Does the type of salt matter?  Yes.  There are some very significant differences in the amount of salt, by weight in kosher salt or coarse sea salt vs. regular table salt. You can’t substitute them one for one.  If you MUST use regular table salt, I would recommend decreasing salt by 1/2 the amount to start with.
• Adjust the quantities to ensure that you will have enough brine to complete submerge and cover what you’re brining (ex:  double the amount of salt and sugar if you’re using 2 gallons of water).  NOTE:  the amount of salt in the brine solution must be sufficiently high (around 20%) for diffusion and osmosis to work.  Otherwise, you’re just soaking the meat in a salt solution and won’t get any of the beneficial effects of brining.  So, the bare minimum is about 1/2 cup to 1 gallon of water.  On the other end of the scale, much more than 1 cup to 1 gallon of water will likely result in the cooked meat being too salty.
• You also have to ensure that the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.   For cold water, let the solution sit for a while after mixing (up to overnight), stirring occasionally.  You can also bring the solution to a boil, then let cool to room temperature (add any other seasonings after removing from the heat).

Brining MUST be done in the refrigerator (or some other means of keeping the temperature below 40° F).  There is a danger zone between 40°F and 140°F where bacteria thrive.  So, part of your planning is to determine what size container you’ll need to completely submerge the food you’re brining AND be able to get it into the refrigerator (or to figure out how to keep the brining container and contents below 40° while brining – perhaps an extra large cooler with ice surrounding the brining container).  Containers can be made of any non-reactive material such as stainless steel, food-grade plastic, and glass.  Large zip-lock bags or clean garbage bags can also be used (you will probably want to place these inside another water-tight container just in case they leak).  Food-grade plastic buckets make ideal brining containers.

Pour the brining solution into your container (if you didn’t mix the solution there).  Submerge the item you’re brining, making sure that there are no air pockets remaining (such as the cavity in poultry), and place a heavy plate on top to keep it submerged.  Seal or cover the container and refrigerate for the recommended time.   A couple of tips:

• Loosen the skin on poultry before placing into the brine (e.g. run your hand under the skin to loosen it from the meat).  This ensures that the brining solution reaches all the meat.
• For crispier skin on poultry, when you remove the item from the brine, pat it dry with a towel, then place it back into the refrigerator uncovered for from 4-6 hours to overnight (depending on size) to “cure”.  This allows the surface moisture to evaporate from the skin.  This won’t dry out the bird, but will result in a crispier, browner skin once cooked.

How long do I brine?

It all depends.  The size of the item, the relative strength of the brine and your individual preferences will all make a difference.   Following is a chart to provide some general guidelines.  You should experiment and keep good notes.  For the first time, try a time in the middle of the range.  If it was too salty for your tastes, try lowering the time.  After that try adjusting the amount of salt, but remember to keep the salt concentration high enough for the science to work.

Experiment

Now that you know how to brine, it’s time to turn on the imagination. First of all you don’t need water. What? That’s right, the water is optional.  Any liquid will do for brining. You can substitute some or all of the water with whatever you heart desires. Wine, beer, fruit juices (especially good is apple), or vinegars all make a good liquid base for your brine.  Most people use water for the majority of the brine but add a small quantity of another liquid for flavor.

One thing to remember when putting together brine is the chemical state of the liquid. By adding an acidic liquid like citrus juices or vinegar you will make the brine acidic. This will tenderize meat but if it is too strong it can turn the meat to mush. If you do plan on using this kind of brine, reduce the brining time accordingly.

As for spices, imagine that you are going to be using a spice rub, but instead of applying the rub directly to the meat you simply add it to the brine. The brining process works better at pulling the flavors into the meat than applying a rub will.  Many still choose to use a rub after brining, but be aware of the amount of salt.  Remember, you just infused the meat with a salty solution, so you may want to reduce or eliminate salt in your rub.

Once you have the liquid chosen and added the cup of kosher salt per gallon, it’s time to add the flavor. Any herb, spice, sweetener, fruit, vegetable will work. Some chefs make brines much the way you would a soup, by adding cut up vegetables along with whole peppercorns, garlic cloves, diced onion and whatever else works well with the meat you are using.

The only limit on brining is your imagination. Experimentation is the key so open up the refrigerator and the spice cabinet and start mixing.  The internet is a treasure trove of great ideas to get your creative juices flowing – simply search for brining recipes.