Grilling and Broiling are two similar procedures where both items being cooked are exposed to high intense heat. In the case of broiling the heat is from above, where in grilling the heat comes from below.

These processes are considered a better nutritional source than frying or sauteing. The process can be done with little to no fat additive’s if that is what you are looking for.

Grilling can often be confused with BBQ, although you can put BBQ sauce on a piece of chicken that you grill, BBQ is more appropriately associated with smoking “low and slow”.

What is Grilling/Broiling!

Grilling and Broiling are two similar procedures where both items being cooked are exposed to high intense heat directly to the item. In the case of broiling the heat is from above, where in grilling the heat comes from below.

We will group the two together and use the term grilling for ease of reading. 

You get flavor from 3 things when grilling.  Flavor comes from the heat source, the product, seasonings and or marinades.

Grilling

The heat source flavor comes from the type of flame and smoke from wood, charcoal and gas.  This provides distinct bold flavor we love about grilling.   Types of Woods will be covered later.

The Product that we are grilling is a big part of where our flavor comes from.  Grilling is done with meats, poultry and seafoods that when cooked are tender enough to be palatable. 

Seasonings and Marinades are as diverse as the products that we grill.  There are a number of spices created for grilling.  They are a combination of spices that work together for particular flavor profiles.  They are typically good based on the flavor profile that you like.  These seasonings are applied to a dry product, the product is then grilled on a seasoned grill.  This will be covered later on in the course. 

Grilling

Marinades can be purchased or produced.  A marinade is a liquid use to give a flavor profile to a grilled item.  This can be a blend of liquids or a vinaigrette. A marinade might be as simple as garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and rosemary on beef with cracked pepper.  We will cover more later in Marinades

How to Grill

We discussed where the flavors come from, now we need to prepare to execute. 

• You choose your meat. 
• Select your seasoning and or marinade.
• Whether meat or seafood, you should pat the protein dry with paper towel or clean cloth, once dry marinate or season.
• Take an oiled paper towel and with a pair of tongues, hold the paper and oil the cooking grates of your grill, do this if you don’t have a proper grill oiling brush.
• If marinating you should marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, however overnight is better.
• Season your product if you aren’t marinating prior to grilling
• The grill needs to be hot, if using wood or charcoal they need to be prepared in advance of the cooking process. Woods are best if they burn to a coal prior to cooking over them this can be done on the side or in a pit or barrel.  Charcoal should be lit about 45 minutes prior to cooking.  However you must time it because you typically only have 90 minutes with the coals to cook on where they are hot enough.
• Sear the product on high heat, which in turn seals in the juices
• After searing the item, move the product to a medium heat. This will continue the cooking process without putting too much of a charred finish on the item.
• The best way to tell doneness is with a thermometer.  Practice taking a temperature of steak or meat and press on the meat to get an idea of how cooked it is.  Experience will allow you to be able to tell how done a steak is by how tender or firm it is.  The firmer it is the more done it is, the more tender it is the the rarer it is.
• Beef, Lamb, Veal, Goat, Venison
• Rare = 125                                                         (Red, Cool Center, Very, very juicy)          
• Medium Rare= 135                                             (Pink, warm Center, very juicy)
• Medium= 140                                                     (Lighter Pink, Juicy)
• Medium Well= 150                                             (Grey, Dry)
• Well Done= 155                                                  (Dark Grey, very Dry)

Pork needs to be cooked to 145 degrees (White, moist)

Note: This has changed from times past when you had to cook pork to 165 degrees and it was dry and chewy.  They regulate how and what the hogs can eat now, they don’t eat raw garbage anymore.

Vegetables = tenderness, browning is achieved.  No minimum temperature for vegetables

Fish = 145 degrees                                    (Moist)

Chicken Breast= 165 Degrees                    (Moist)

Chicken leg and thigh (1/4) = 175              (Moist)

The chicken is cooked at 165 however the blood line on this quarter is still deep red and consider by many as uncooked.  Cooking to 175 won’t affect the moisture but will alleviate this redness.

This last step of knowing when a product is done, is a crucial step.  This will determine the remaining moisture content of your grilled item.  This is the number one to keeping the meat tender and moist.  Over cooking drys product makes the product tough.