Italian Grill - Mario Batali [2]
In the end, your best bet is to think big and throw caution to the winds. Maybe toss the Brunello on ice to tone down its tannins, then let ’er rip! It’s a barbecue—don’t be such a wine geek.
GRILLING BASICS
Grilling over hot coals or embers is as timeless as cooking itself, in Italy and the world throughout. For the purest, most unadorned, and primordial experience, it’s the grill. The uniquely satisfying seasoning and delicious flavor that the smoldering fire and its smoke create is quite simply unattainable with any other method of heat transfer. This chapter covers what I consider the few but crucial basics for making well-informed decisions about your own grilling style.
CHOOSING A GRILL
The big decision, of course, is gas versus charcoal. The obvious advantage of a gas grill is convenience, and gas grills now outsell charcoal grills in the United States. The fire will be ready in 10 to 15 minutes, as opposed to the 25 or 30 charcoal takes, and it will burn for as long as you leave the grill on. Cleanup is easy, and a gas grill is also more economical in the long run. And because it’s so easy, if you have a gas grill, you may find yourself grilling throughout much more of the year, even when it starts to turn cold.
Gas grills are fueled by either a natural-gas hookup or a small propane tank. If you use propane, be sure to have a backup tank ready and waiting (store it in a cool, shaded place outside, away from the grill). Older gas grills had only two side-by-side burners. Now many models have three burners, and their configuration varies widely. If you often grill for a crowd, you may want a big three-burner grill, but a good-sized two-burner version is more than adequate for most purposes. While it’s true that gas grills tend to burn less hot than a charcoal fire, they are becoming more powerful. And instead of the ceramic briquettes or lava rocks used in older grills, many newer models include features designed to add to the grilled flavor, such as metal slats positioned between the burners and the grate to catch the juices from the grilling food—as the juices drip onto the hot metal and caramelize or evaporate, their smoky perfume fills the grill.
Many hard-core grill dogs and barbecuers disdain gas grills, insisting that food cooked over a gas flame doesn’t have the same flavor as that cooked over live fire and that turning on a gas grill just isn’t “real” grilling. It’s true that building a live fire is a more hands-on experience, and that a steak cooked over a real hardwood fire will have more char flavor than one cooked on a gas grill. But in reality, most people use charcoal briquettes, and even if you use hardwood lump charcoal, the difference in flavor is likely to be minimal. The main disadvantage of a charcoal grill is the limited window of grilling time. For foods that take longer than about 20 to 30 minutes to cook, you can add more coals to the fire (20 or so at a time) as it burns, but you have to keep your eye on the fire and the time.
Kettle grills are the most popular type of charcoal grill. They have two racks, the grill grate and another one for the coals. A disadvantage of most kettle grills is that the grill rack has only one position, so you can’t lower or raise it to change the heat level. Square or rectangular charcoal grills may not have a separate grate for the coals, but they usually have at least two positions for the grill rack.
Portable grills can be handy for picnics or tailgating. Both gas and charcoal versions are available. Portable charcoal grills include tabletop models and the familiar hibachi.
If you grill a lot and have the space, you might want to have both a gas grill and a charcoal one. Or, for the real experience, get either a gas or a charcoal grill