BY FRED THOMPSON

It’s officially grilling season, with most of us firing our grills and blasting everything from steaks to ribs to fish and tofu. We love this pastime, which brings families and neighbours together over fire and table.

People have been cooking with fire since the dawn of time, but gas has been an option for only the past fifty or so years. Back in the early 1960s, gas grills were huge appliances that were tied into natural-gas lines, and they cost several hundred dollars, which was a boatload of money for the time. Over the years, gas grills became smaller, mobile, and less expensive, and they also became more efficient. In the 1970s, liquid propane (LP) stored in cylinders became the fuel of choice, and more recently grills have gone from using lava rocks and ceramic briquettes designed to mimic charcoal (or at least to look like it) to angled metal plates that keep heat more even and help to prevent flare-ups.

Gas grills in the marketplace today are for the most part extremely sophisticated and, although most are still fairly small and easy enough to move, what’s old is new again: Massive gas grills are increasing in popularity as part of “outdoor kitchens,” and even mid-priced grills are available with an option for natural gas.

But even inexpensive grills offer plenty of options. Multiple burners are the norm. Side burners are almost standard equipment, and most mid-range grills offer special infrared rotisserie burners, built-in smoke boxes, and separate burners that give you expert control over low and slow barbecuing or super-hot searing. We must like what the manufacturers are producing, because 70 percent of us use gas as our medium of choice for grilling and barbecuing, and we are paying more for gas grills than ever before. That doesn’t mean charcoal is dead as a cooking medium, and many of us have a gas and a charcoal grill. Charcoal grilling is changing, with a larger percentage of us using lump hardwood charcoal over briquettes.

Equally as important as your choice of cooking fuels is the method of grilling you apply to your foods: direct, indirect, or a combination. This decision has more to do with your cooking success than anything else.

So when do you use which method? A good rule of thumb is how long the food takes to cook. If a food will be done within 20 to 30 minutes, cook it using direct heat. If it will take longer than 20 or so minutes, to be perfectly safe, use indirect. The higher side of that range is for the more experienced, devil-may-care, I-like-to-live-dangerously folks.

There’s a third method of cooking with a gas grill that is very easy, and it’s my favorite. It’s a combination of direct heat for browning and indirect heat for cooking through. Here are some examples: A rack of pork ribs cooks beautifully with slow and gentle indirect heat, but 10 minutes or so before they are done, I’ll flip them to direct heat to develop a little char and start brushing them with sauce. The result is a perfect rib with enough caramelization for great taste but nothing burned to spoil the experience. Or I’ll sear bone-in chicken parts, including halves and quarters, or whole butterflied chickens, first over the direct section of the grill, and after they are golden brown I’ll transfer them to the indirect area. Even then, after I have sauced the chicken very near the end of the cooking time, I might place it back over the direct heat to add just a bit of char.

I consistently hear folks complain about not being able to cook a steak with the same crust as a steakhouse. First you need to know that most steakhouses are cooking in the 800°F to 1,200°F range, which is hard for you to do at home, and few of us cook dozens (if not hundreds) of steaks all day, every day, to develop the expertise. If you want to get as close as possible to that steakhouse “crust” at home, first buy thick steaks, 1 1/2- to 2-inchers. Sear the steaks over direct heat until the crust that you want has almost formed, then finish cooking the meat over indirect heat and turn your direct burner to a lower temperature. With a bit of practice you should be able to be the envy of the neighbourhood. Of course, that also means you will always be cooking the steaks for every function!

Make these cooking methods your friends and experiment with all of them. Soon, you will reap accolades from your family and friends, and you’ll get over-the-top taste from your gas grill.

WHY GO WITH GAS?

Okay, if you think it’s wimpy to use gas over “real” fire, then think about this: Most people cannot discern a taste difference. Want more reasons to make the switch (or to defend your choice)? Gas is easier and faster to heat. You will have fewer temperature fluctuations and fewer flare-ups which, in some schools of thought, makes gas less risky for your health. And according to many studies, gas grilling is more environmentally friendly, definitely cleaner burning than the traditional charcoal grill. Charcoal, used in conjunction with lighter fluid and combined with hot weather, contributes significantly to ground-level ozone problems. Also think about millions of us doing this on a single day. If charcoal is still your thing, use all-natural lump charcoal and a charcoal chimney to start your fire.

RECIPES

Fred’s Ultimate Smoked Pork Shoulder and Lexington-Style Barbecue Sauce

Fred Thompson is the publisher of Edible Piedmont – Edible Toronto’s sister publication in North Carolina. Fred is a native of North Carolina and an expert on grilling and barbecue. Following is an excerpt from Grillin’ With Gas, his most recent cookbook (Taunton Press, April 2009).

© Edible Toronto, Summer 2009
All rights reserved.