Catador Cliff's Epic Grilling Season!
We call these “Chef Sticks,” and you can find them at our La Cosecha location!
My father had a 22” Weber kettle grill that he used all through the summer. He’d cook my sister and I London Broil after giving us each two forks, slathering the steak in Italian dressing-turned-marinade, and having us stab it until it was tender(ish). London Broil, chicken thighs, corn-on-the-cob, maybe the occasional pork chop, all expertly seared using years of trial and error and a grill he’d mastered.
Since then, I’ve always preferred charcoal to gas, even after my father switched while I was in high school. The 20+ minutes it took to even be ready to think about cooking took a toll, considering our schedules. Yet this switch had the effect of searing into my mind the superiority of charcoal, because nothing that came off that propane grill matched what I remembered from the Weber kettle.
Fast forward to late May 2020, with the proposition of many months of seeing almost no one other than my wife and two dogs, and I decided it was time for one of my own. So I dragged Julia with me to the ACE hardware in Takoma Park, put on my mask, walked in looking for a 22” grill, and walked out with a 26” behemoth. I took it home, laid all the pieces out in the yard, and felt the happiest I had since the Pandemic started.
To make up for lost time, I set myself a challenge: as many meals as possible were coming off that Weber until the last viable grilling day of the season. Dozens of bags of charcoal later, I managed to fire up the Weber at least 3 times a week. Here’s some things I learned along the way!
“Waste not, want not” when it comes to charcoal. Use every last degree of heat the embers will give you. Let’s say you cook something relatively quick, like summer squash and steak. The grill will still run above 300 degrees for at least another hour. Plenty of time to roast sweet potatoes and root veggies! Just cut them in half, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, and put them a few inches off direct heat with the lid on. Come back in 45min to check, and they should be almost done. Save them for salads and sides throughout the week.
There are many gadgets for grilling, but you only need three pieces of equipment: a long spatula, a long set of tongs, and crucially, a nice set of heat resistant gloves that also cover your forearms. I found a pair made of red leather at a garage sale. These will protect your hands and arms if you’re running really hot, allow you to pick up the grate if needed to attend to the coals, and even move the coals around by hand! Just do so quickly and be ready to whip those gloves off if they get too hot!
Fuel matters, and wood is your friend. Use high quality lump charcoal, or long lasting “chef sticks” for the longer cooks (these are shown in the banner image of this blog, and we sell them and lump charcoal at La Cosecha!). Add chunks of wood for smoke flavor, or run a full fire. This works really well for slow-cookers like Tira de Asado (short ribs), Picanha, chuck roast, lamb shank, or even baby back ribs. Some grill grates have sections that you can flip open so you have access to the flames. I just slid the grate a third of the way off the kettle and made sure I knew where my dogs were at all times.
Finally, cook in batches for later in the week. I may have gone a little extreme with my challenge last year, but it's pretty awesome to be able to whip together a 10 minute dinner on a Wednesday by chopping up grilled leftovers, setting a pan on medium heat, and tossing everything in. There’s just no substitute for that charcoal grilled flavor!
When I called my father and told him about the new grill, I could hear pride, nostalgia, and forewarning in his voice. Without saying it, he wanted to make sure I knew that my food would taste amazing, I would have a lot of fun, and that lighting those coals will someday get old.
Well, Pops, maybe someday, but not today! The Weber’s getting fired up this weekend, and will be every week until at least September. It’s grilling season!