Easy tips to become a grill master
With the right seasonings and cooking techniques, anyone can become a grill master.
Chef Jason Bourgoin knows a few things about grilling and has taken the joy he feels in the kitchen and shared it with others.
Last May, amid the pandemic, Burgoin launched CHARBOYZ, which delivers ready-to-grill barbecue boxes straight to the door in Halifax and surrounding areas. These boxes, he says, are a perfect choice for both newbie cooks and seasoned grill-masters alike.
When it comes to cooking meat, Bourgoin says some of the biggest issues are a lack of confidence and not understanding the methodology behind what you’re cooking.
Bourgoin aims to change all that through an initiative he has dubbed “meat school.” For the past four months, Bourgoin has hosted a series of live videos on Facebook and Instagram, showing people some cool techniques and dishes that can be recreated at home.
START WITH THE MEAT
Bourgoin says you don’t always need high-end cuts to make delicious barbecue.
“With the right seasonings and cooking techniques, you can even make spam delicious,” says Bourgoin, noting he did just that in one of his meat school episodes.
But when you want to step it up, there are lots of excellent locally sourced meats to try, he says. Avoid lean beef if you want to go to flavour town, he adds.
When it comes to grilling steak, Bonita Hussey says the best cuts of meat are prime rib steak, striploin, or T-bone.
“They have the right amount of marbling, or fat, on the meat to give it a perfect, charring taste,” says Hussey, who runs a website called Bonita’s Kitchen from her home in Spaniard’s Bay that teaches people to make traditional and non-traditional Newfoundland recipes.
When cooking beef steaks, before putting them on the grill, Bourgoin recommends letting the meat come to room temperature and making sure it is patted dry.
Then, use a paper towel or rag and rub oil on your grill. Hussey says to keep the barbecue at medium to high. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the meat.
If the meat is sticking to the grill, don’t pull it off, cautions Bourgoin. Wait a few minutes instead - it will eventually get a beautiful sear and release from the grill.
Once it is cooked to the desired temperature, take it off the grill and allow the steak to rest on a rack, not a plate, for five to 10 minutes. Finally, put a dollop of butter on top of the steak for extra flavour, he says.
For people with a charcoal barbecue, experiment with throwing certain types of steaks, like skirt or flank, right on the coals.
To check to see if it’s finished, Hussey prefers using the fingertip test: put your thumb and pinky finger together, and with the other hand, touch the skin below the thumb to feel what welldone steak should feel like, or the thumb and index finger for rare steak.
CHICKEN
How many times have you gone to a barbecue and the chicken is burnt but the inside is raw?
For chicken, the goal is to cook it with indirect heat - or on one side of the grill turned off - and not over the flame, explains Bourgoin.
Keep the temperature of your grill at 250°F to 275°F.
This way, he says, you will have delicious and succulent chicken. When the chicken is almost ready, move it over to the direct zone of heat, to the fire or the flame, and crisp it for some extra flavour. Ensure the internal temperature reaches 165°F so you’ll know it’s safe to eat.
Merie Surkan, from Emerald, P.E.I., owns Bloomin’ Momma, which focuses on handmade gifts and preserves. She ecommends trying beer can chicken.
To make it, buy a beer can cooker from any hardware store or use an empty beer or soda pop can, filling it threequarters full of any liquid, including beer, wine, or even orange juice.
If you’re not using a cooker, fill the can and place it on an aluminum plate. Put it on your barbecue, and grill on low for about one-and-a-half hours.
OTHER OPTIONS
Like chicken, Bourgoin says you’ll get the best results with barbecue sausages by cooking them with indirect heat and then moving them over to the flame at the end.
“If your sausages are at a perfect temperature of 165°F without splitting open, burnt, and not dry, you are a grill master,” he says.
Hussey likes to cook cod on the barbecue in a cast iron pan, fried in pork fat and butter. Add root veggies in a pouch of parchment paper and tinfoil, she says, and you have a tasty treat.
Dianne Matthew-ramsay of O’leary, P.E.I. loves to barbecue picnic sliced ham, adding barbecue or steak sauce on the slices. Another favourite is cooking foil dinners with hamburger, potatoes and a can of mixed vegetables. She slightly precooks the hamburger and potatoes and places them on medium to low heat for about 30 minutes with a little bit of butter in it.
Love pierogis? Try cooking them on the barbecue in an aluminum pie plate with butter, bacon, and onions. Wrap the plate tightly with foil and grill for 20 to 25 minutes.
Paul Hutten, from Kentville, N.S., loves to make pizza on his barbecue and says your grill can easily be converted to a pizza oven. Simply place a stick of firewood next to six bricks in your barbecue, then place a pizza on top of the bricks to create a wood-fired barbecue pizza experience.
VEGETABLES
To barbecue corn, Hussey says to place it on the top rack of the barbecue, so the ears are cooked slowly and get nice grill marks. Alternatively, she says, corn can be cooked in a pouch of parchment paper and foil with butter, sea salt and pepper so they are steam cooked on the barbecue.
Bourgoin suggests cooking spaghetti squash by throwing it in the grill overnight on the remaining coals. Charred carrots are also tasty and tomatoes are fun and easy to grill, he says.
FRUIT AND DESSERT
Dwayne Robbie of New Haven, P.E.I. says barbecued watermelon tastes much better than it sounds. Grill the watermelon to your personal preference, but he recommends two to four minutes per side. Rub a little maple syrup on it shortly before removing from the grill for a little extra flavour.
Justin Finney of Oyster Bed, P.E.I. suggests putting pineapple rings on the barbecue with a light dusting of barbecue sauce.
“They are delicious on their own,” he says, “or put them on a turkey burger, and that’s great, too.”
Colleen O’dea, author of the Curtains are Open blog in Halifax, N.S., says her favourite sweet treat from the grill involves barbecuing sugar donuts on a low heat, waiting until the sugar caramelizes, flip and repeat. Serve them with ice cream.
“The donuts are slightly crispy on the outside and sweet and awesome and doughy on the inside,” she says.
Hussey says you can pretty much cook anything on the barbecue. The key to a perfect grilling experience, she says, is to have everything ready on tables by your grill. This way, she explains, you can reach for what you need without running in and out of the house getting supplies and ingredients.