Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Grilling on a Gas Grill for Dummies


Dave Hatfield

Recommended Posts

First, I'm not implying that eGulleteers are dummy's. But many otherwise accomplished cooks pale at the thought of a grill. This thread, I hope, will provide inspiration and easy to follow technique to overcome any fears.

My fervent hope is that members who are far more expert than I will add tutorials to the thread making it a resource for all.

I'll apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I just couldn't think of a shorter less pictorial way to start with a whole meal.

Ok, here we go! Before tips:

1) get a gas BBQ. Yeah, I know purists, but building the fire is a pain for most people & adds very little to the flavor if we're really honest. I was a purist for many years before I woke up.

2)Do your mise en place just as for any other meal.

3) Timing is essential just as when cooking any meal.

So, this simple meal is going to consist of a starter followed by a main consisting of meat plus two vegetables all done on the BBQ.

The starter is Anaheim chilies with Brie cheese

gallery_22910_6073_13345.jpg

gallery_22910_6073_11775.jpg

First cut the peppers in half lengthwise & remove the seeds.

Next cut some Brie into long slices.

gallery_22910_6073_14547.jpg

Now cut some zucchini into quarters lengthwise, coat them lightly with oil, sprinkle with mixed herbs & garlic granules.

gallery_22910_6073_16980.jpg

gallery_22910_6073_5046.jpg

Cut some Spring onions down the middle for an inch or two. (I'm actually using baby leeks, but onions works just as well.)

gallery_22910_6073_5254.jpg

Salt & pepper your meat if needed. (I'm using lamb chops, but pork chops, sausage, chicken leg/thighs or whatever work as well.)

gallery_22910_6073_4256.jpg

We're now ready to cook. Hopefully, earlier you have turned the grill on to heat up. ?? If not do so now & have a glass of wine while it heats.

gallery_22910_6073_22793.jpg

Ready? Put the chillies on the Grill CUT SIDE DOWN!

gallery_22910_6073_20829.jpg

Let them cook until just starting to blacken. This will be 3-5 minutes on a hot grill. Then turn them over onto the skin side.

gallery_22910_6073_30791.jpg

Now place the Brie slices in the cavity's and cook until the Brie melts. Serve immediately.

gallery_22910_6073_5883.jpg

These could have cooked a bit more.

Having had the starter its time to cook the main course.

gallery_22910_6073_14056.jpg

Here are the zucchini & the meat ready to go. Note the addition of fresh rosemary for the lamb & red wine for the cook.

First put the zucchini on the grill skin side down for a few minutes.

gallery_22910_6073_20773.jpg

Then turn them onto one side.

gallery_22910_6073_26887.jpg

Then the other side.

gallery_22910_6073_26162.jpg

As you turn the zucchini for the first time put the meat onto the grill. (This is for chops. For chicken or sausage put it on at the same time as the zucchini.)

gallery_22910_6073_6996.jpg

Note that the herbs have gone on. Now put the spring onions on.

gallery_22910_6073_30679.jpg

gallery_22910_6073_16440.jpg

Everything is on now. The zucchini should come off first, followed by the meat followed by the onions. Timing will vary a bit depending upon the type of meat & the heat of your grill. Mostly this stuff is not all that sensitive to timing.

Here's the finished meal.

gallery_22910_6073_25367.jpg

Looks good, tastes good and is easy to prepare.

I'm sure there are lots of BBQ experts out there who can make & post something even better than this.

My rules for Dummy's are: simple ingredients available anywhere, simple preparation, simple technique. Easy does it!

Let's have some summer fun with this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovely photos David. I would add 2 simple points: 1: Do not walk away from the grill and 2: let things get a "crust"- do not flip constantly or you just rip off the carmelization

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave you forgot the potatoes...

I nuke little red potatoes for about 3 min then cut them in half and lube with oil and salt and pepper. The usually go on the grill the same time as the zucchini since they only need to brown

Also tasty is big slabs of bread brushed with olive oil and grilled, then rubbed with a garlic clove. Perfect for a steak and tomato salad dinner

tracey

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

My Webpage

garden state motorcyle association

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave you forgot the potatoes...

I nuke little red potatoes for about 3 min then cut them in half and lube with oil and salt and pepper. The usually go on the grill the same time as the zucchini since they only need to brown

Also tasty is big slabs of bread brushed with olive oil and grilled, then rubbed with a garlic clove. Perfect for a steak and tomato salad dinner

tracey

Didn't forget, just on a low simple carb diet.

You're right though both potatoes & the bread are great simple additions.

To carry on to dessert another favorite is grilled pineapple with ice cream & rum sauce.

More suggestions? Pictorials?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cook full meals on the grill all the time especially in the summer heat. Our kitchen faces the late day sun and it gets warm even without a heat source going.

The one thing I would do different is put the meat on first and pull it first. It allows a rest while the other items are finishing up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I won't rip on the recommendation for gas grilling. It truly is a lower skill barrier to enjoying grilled foods. More expensive (usually) but less hassle.

But "adds very little to the flavour"? That's just crazy talk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I won't rip on the recommendation for gas grilling.  It truly is a lower skill barrier to enjoying grilled foods.  More expensive (usually) but less hassle.

Agreed!

But "adds very little to the flavour"? That's just crazy talk.

Are we talking grilling? BBQing? Or smoking? I would content that I'm right about very little flavor add except in the case of smoking.

A good hot BBQ fire has little or no smoke to impart flavor. The flavor is imparted when the juices hit the hot surface and turn into smoke. Doesn't matter much what the hot surface is.

Or that's my opinion in any case. I was 'purist' for 30 years before switching to gas 15 years ago.

By the way in rural France they are very much purists. In fact most 'experts' here use seasoned woods, oak, chestnut, cherry and apple are popular. Gas & charcoal are used, but frowned upon by the 'purists' just as in the states.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Russ Parsons has a good basic grilling primer in yesterday's Los Angeles Times Food Section (June 25) Attempting link: www.latimes.com/features/food/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I won't rip on the recommendation for gas grilling.  It truly is a lower skill barrier to enjoying grilled foods.  More expensive (usually) but less hassle.

But "adds very little to the flavour"? That's just crazy talk.

I agree, and I use a gas grill. I took a marinated beef tenderloin to a friend's for dinner Tuesday night and he cooked it on his charcoal grill with me supervising so he wouldn't overcook it :shock: and it was definitely better than anytime I've cooked it on my gas grill. I also agree that a gas grill is way more convenient and still imparts a nice grill flavor. If my only choice was charcoal, I'd hardly ever grill out.

But, I know that's not the subject here. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to share of the gorgeous tenderloin we did, but I will tell you that I marinated it in Marsala, olive oil, shallots, tarragon, parsley and lemon thyme and seasoned it well with salt and black pepper when we put it on the grill. Only had time to marinate it a couple of hours, but 4-6 is better and people swoon over this. :wub: I like to get the grill really hot and sear the meat on all sides, then lower the temp to medium low and cook the meat to an internal temperature of 120 or 125 at its thickest part. This way, some of it is fabulously rare while some is medium rare for the faint of heart. :raz: Let it rest at least 20 mintues before slicing. The great thing about this is it doesn't matter if it's served hot, it's just as delicious at room temp.

I may be in Nashville but my heart's in Cornwall

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I won't rip on the recommendation for gas grilling.  It truly is a lower skill barrier to enjoying grilled foods.  More expensive (usually) but less hassle.

Agreed!

But "adds very little to the flavour"? That's just crazy talk.

A good hot BBQ fire has little or no smoke to impart flavor. The flavor is imparted when the juices hit the hot surface and turn into smoke. Doesn't matter much what the hot surface is.

So, by that logic we may as well use a griddle pan.

I'm not an expert but I would suggest that when fat drips down on to coals the by-products are much different than what happens when it drips on a propane flame or a lava rock. No doubt that is a contributor to the difference in flavour. There are probably others.

There's also the salient point that a charcoal grill can get much hotter than a similarly priced propane fired grill. To get the same kind of power out of propane is expensive both in gas and in equipment. Charcoal is pretty pricey too, but the increase in cost per btu is 0 for equipment, and linear for fuel. Not the case for propane.

Nevertheless I agree 100% that if you are totally new to grilling and too timid to use charcoal or you are externally constrained to propane then a gas grill is a perfectly fine choice.

I just find it pretty incredible that you don't notice much of a difference in flavour. It's kind of like going to Tojo's versus an all you can eat joint. The only time I bother to grill over gas is when I blacken a pepper over my stove.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For as long as I can remember, we've always had a gas grill( while I was growing up). When I was old enough to buy my own grill, it was only natural that I would buy gas. My sister and BIL have a charcoal grill and honestly, I didnt notice much of a difference( except for the mess and time factor).

I usually grill foods that dont hang out too long. On Mother's Day I made 2 beer can chickens( indirect heat) and they were soo moist and flavorful. ( I'll go dig up a pic of that)

Here is some pork tenderloins I did last year along with baked potatoes and asparagus.

gallery_31539_1218_450258.jpg

gallery_31539_1218_10167.jpg

Edited by CaliPoutine (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...