Do you remember when you bought your first gas grill? Of course it was a few days after your darling spouse inquired about the burning picnic table in the back yard. Clever fellow, you. Set up that rusting hulk of a Hibachi on that gnarly, splinter-ridden table. Sent both of them to barbeque heaven! The neighbors seemed to enjoy the show. And your wife...she hasn't laughed that hard since the time you attempted to move the step ladder with a full bucket of white paint on the top. Come to think of it, the neighbors rather enjoyed that event as well!
According to the Barbeque Industry Association (BIA), a diverse group of people with an incredible data base on grills and accessories, 57% of grill owners have at least one gas-fired grill. Nearly half of them also own a charcoal grill, hopefully kept a few feet away from the picnic table. Statistics crunchers frighten me. The BIA also reports that the typical grill owner possesses 1.4 grills. I'm never sure why such information is useful. Perhaps those owners should put the .4 grill on the picnic table, and generate some business for the Southern Pine Lumber industry.
Apparently, America loves to buy grills. Almost forty percent of grills in captivity are less than two years old. Some twenty-five percent haven't seen their fourth year. Still, thirty-seven percent of the better investments have seen over five year's worth of steaks, chops and chicken wings. The BIA figures reveal that 6.4 million units were shipped (to dealers) in 1997. That doesn't mean all were sold, so if you hurry, you might get a deal on one of last year's models.
Far and away, most grill seekers are going to be shopping one of the mass merchants in their area. Usually, these grills range in cost from $150 to $750, with most falling below $300. The higher end of gas and charcoal grills are found at wood stove and specialty shops during the bleak "off season." Liquefied petroleum gas dealers, who won't have a charcoal grill in sight, may display upper-lower to middle range appliances, according to the BIA.
National Barbecue Month
Here's a tip...May is National Barbeque Month. Since May harbors Memorial Day Weekend, the official start to summer grillin', I'd be scoping out a new grill and prominently displaying the old one during the other big Memorial Day event - the Tag Sale!
Gas grills have been around for more than 35 years. Originally manufactured by Charmglow, early grills were designed for permanent post installation by your gas merchant. The adaptation for use with the ubiquitous "twenty-pound tank," brought mobility to the industry. It should be duly noted, with grills soaring into the $3,000 to $5,000 range, bolt-down mounting posts are a serious option again.
Grills in a given price range tend to have similar features, but don't be afraid to look them over closely. All gas grills have a burner, with "H" bow-tie, and figure 8 depicting common shapes.
With one known exception, all gas grills use some form of secondary radiant material to distribute the burner heat. Familiar examples are lava rocks, ceramic briquettes or metal plates, which one manufacturer casts to look just like charcoal. Wow! Be sure to inspect how well the intermediate radiant material covers the burner. Spaces magnify hot spots and can retard the heat-up time.
Beware of the words, "Total cooking area." The only cooking surface to be of significance is the main grilling surface. Bring your tape measure. Bright orange, twenty-five footers intimidate those merchants who extoll total cooking area. Look for a main grill area of 350 square inches. This is a grill over a foot deep and over two feet in width. You should have plenty of room for a few burgers and a couple of dogs.
The astronomical total cooking areas come from including the swing-up shelves, which look impressive when the lid is up. When the lid is closed, the height under those shelves is notoriously low. Fixed shelves, while not food-crushers, are really lower-temperature warming shelves. Okay, when you get really, really good at grillin', the upper shelf can become an indirect-heat cold smoker, which is not to be confused with indirect-heat hot smoking. More about both techniques in a future article.
Grill the Merchant
Ideally, the grill merchant will have live demonstrations of the grills, often on weekends, so you can see how they work. Grills priced under $200 probably won't be featured, but you will see the bigger ticket models. If I were going to a grill demo, I'd slip a pork chop or chicken breast in my pocket¹well, I mean in a proper cooler on ice. Both cuts are difficult to cook crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. Don't be afraid to put the grill, or the dealer, to the test.
Another illusion is the number of BTUs (British Thermal Units) a given burner delivers. More ain't necessarily better. That patented grill which doesn't use any secondary radiant material has one of the lowest BTU burners, yet claims to provide two to three times the cooking speed of the average grill. Go figure. Each gallon of propane, fully vaporized, coughs up 91,500 BTUs. A lower BTU burner, that produces a satisfactory grill surface temperature, is going to be less expensive to operate. A high BTU burner may only produce burnt offerings suitable for the gods, but not much fun for us mortals. Be sure that your intended grill has two burners, identified by twin controls. Most do, but not all. You will need dual burners for the advanced class on indirect cooking,
among other techniques.
The Recipe of the Month
May is a month when asparagus, store bought or preferably fresh, is readily available at affordable prices. I prefer to cook thumb-sized spears from older root stock, but many swear by the younger, pencil-sized offspring.
Snap off, or cut, the tough ends. Peel the larger diameter spears from about an inch below the tip all the way down to the end. Just skim off the outer, green skin. Thinner asparagus doesn't need to be peeled, so they tell me. Lightly coat each spear with extra-virgin olive oil. Extra-virgin is the first pressing of the olive and has the highest level of emulsifiers. An emulsifier blends dissimilar liquids, say olive oil and the natural water of the asparagus. A quick soak is all that is needed. Regular olive oil can be used, but marinate the spears for at least half an hour.
On a hot, clean grill, line up the spears touching side-by-each*, but leave an inch or two of space on the far side of the array. Every couple of minutes, roll the group over one quarter turn toward the space. In about eight to ten minutes, depending on the grill, they will be perfection!
Grilling caramelizes the natural sugars in the asparagus, bringing out layers of flavor most folks have never tasted. Bon appetit!
*French-Canadian for really, really close.
Daryle Thomas, proprietor of the Hearth & Cricket Stove Shop in E. Wallingford, Vt., will be writing regular features on the intricacies of barbecue culinary magic over the next several issues.
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