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Grills and Accessories

Summer is a time to spend outdoors. It's a great time to cook outside instead of heating up the kitchen. If you've never cooked on a grill before, this could be the year you start. If you don't own a grill, you need to decide which one you prefer: charcoal, gas, or electric.

Choosing a Grill

Charcoal grills (which include ones that use wood) affect the taste of your meat two ways. First, because charcoal grills cook with intense heat, cooking time is affected. Second, the charcoal/wood flavors the meat the same way a seasoning does. Different types of wood give food different flavors. Common wood choices are hickory, red oak, cherry, and pecan. Experiment and see which you like best. (Charcoal/wood needs to be burned until it's reduced to coal before actually using it to cook food. Meat may absorb certain resins and impurities making your meat bitter and unpleasant.)

Gas grills generally do not contribute anything to meat in terms of flavor. However, adding lava rocks, ceramic briquettes or metal heat plates or bars helps to add flavor. The main advantage of a gas grills is that you can control the heat with a twist of a knob and you can expect to have properly cooked food.

Electric grills are the easiest to use. You just plug it in and start grilling. However, what you gain in convenience you may lose in flavor. Electric grills are safer to use because there are no open flames or flammable liquids. The electric grills may also cook food a little more evenly because you can control the temperature easier. They're also easier to clean because they cool quickly and the cooking grid is typically dishwasher safe.

Grilling Accessories

If you've ever browsed the accessories section of a grilling area, you know there are hundreds of items available. You need the same types of utensils to cook on a grill that you need to cook in a kitchen (a spatula with a long handle). Here's a list of accessories to start with.

o grill brushTo clean the grate
o long handled tongsUse these to turn meat. (Don't use a fork; this pierces the meat and causes the juice to run out. The result: a dry steak.)
o metal spatula
o squirt bottleControl flare-ups
o thermometerTo determine when food is properly cooked
o oven mitts
o basting brushes

Choosing a Steak

The best cuts of beef for grilling are New York Strip, Filet Mignon and Rib Eye. Each cut of beef should be about a full inch. A little seasoning rub helps bring out the natural flavor of the beef without overpowering it.

New York

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