BBQ 101

BBQ 101

It's BBQ time so when I ran across these tips I decided to share. (From May 2012 - dashrecipes.com)

Chicken

Grill boneless, skinless breasts for 8-12 minutes on direct medium heat, covered, turning once.  Drumsticks or bone-in thighs take 36-40 minutes (6-10 minutes on direct heat, plus 30 on indirect heat).  All chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

Tomatoes

Slice in half, then brush the cut sides with a little olive oil.  Grill for 6-8 minutes over direct medium heat, covered.  Grill whole tomatoes for 8-10 minutes, turning a few times.  Thread cherry tomatoes on skewers, brush with oil, and grill for 2-3 minutes turning once.

Corn on the Cob

Soak in water for 15 minutes, then remove the husk and silk, or leave the husk on (for moister corn) and remove the silk only from the tops of the ears.  Either way, grill ears over direct medium heat, covered - husked corn for 10-15 minutes and corn in the husk for 25-30 minutes.

Flank Steak

Grill a 3/4" steak weighing 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. for 8-10 minutes on direct medium heat, covered, turning once.  cook to a temperature of 145 degrees F for medium-rare, 160 degrees F for medium, or 170 degrees F for well-done.  Let steak rest 5-10 minutes before carving.  Be sure to slice very thin.

Hamburgers

Grilling time varies by thickness.  Make all of your patties the same size so you only have to check one for doneness.  In general, grill burgers for 8-10 minutes over direct high heat, covered, turning once.  All burgers should be cooked to 160 degrees F.

Peaches

Slice in half and remove the pit, then coat the cut side with a little olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.  Grill, cut side down, over direct medium heat for 8 minutes.  Drizzle with honey before serving.  Grilled peaches will keep at room temperature for up to 2 hours.

Pineapple

Cut into 1/2" thick slices or 1" thick wedges, then coat with a little olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.  Thread onto wooden skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes.  Grill on direct medium heat, covered, for 4-8 minutes.  Drizzle with honey to serve.

Shrimp

Peel and devein the shrimp; you can leave the tails on or remove them.  Grill for 2-4 minutes on direct high heat, covered, turning once.  Cooking time depends on the size of the shrimp.  You want them to look opaque but not shriveled, a sign of overcooking.

How to Buy Corn

Sweet corn is available practically every month of the year, but is most plentiful from early May until mid-September.  Most supplies are yellow-kernel corn, but some white corn is sold.  Sweet corn is produced in a large number of States during the spring and summer, but most mid-winter supplies come from south Florida. 

For best quality, corn should be refrigerated immediately after being picked.  Corn will retain fairly good quality for a number of days, if it has been kept cold and moist since harvesting  For the same reason, it should be placed in the home refrigerator as soon as possible and kept moist until used.

Look for fresh, succulent husks with good green color, silk-ends that are free from decay or worm injury, and stem ends (opposite from the silk) that are not too discolored or dried.  Select ears that are well covered with plump, not-to-mature kernels.

Avoid ears with under-developed kernels which lack yellow color (in yellow corn), old ears with very large kernels, and ears with dark green kernels with depressed ares on the outer surface.  Also avoid ears of corn with yellowed, wilted, or dried husks, or discolored and dried-out stem ends.

Microwave Corn

Cooler Corn

A friend sent this to me and I couldn't believe it!  I guess it does make sense and I just might give it a try one day.  If any of you have cooked your corn by this method, please let us all know how it came out.

Photograph by Scott DeSimon

Am I the only person who hasn't heard of "cooler corn"?

As an obsessive food nerd, you'd expect that I would have at least heard of it, but over the weekend I was blindsided by the simple genius of this method for cooking loads of corn on the cob (which is still in season, no matter that summer already seems like a sad memory) perfectly.

I was hepped to it while visiting my family in Maine . Short story: We like corn on the cob. And with eight adults at the table, that means a couple of dozen ears. We would have used the lobster pot to cook them all, but the lobster pot was busy steaming lobster. (And please don't spell it "lobstah". It's not funny.) Then my sister, a capable Maine cook with years of camping experience says "let's do cooler corn!" Before I can ask "what the hell is cooler corn?" a Coleman cooler appears from the garage, is wiped clean, then filled with the shucked ears. Next, two kettles-full of boiling water are poured over the corn and the top closed.

Then nothing.

When we sat down to dinner 30 minutes later and opened it, the corn was perfectly cooked. My mind was blown. And I'm told that the corn will remain at the perfect level of doneness for a couple of hours.

Turns out, Cooler Corn is pretty well known among the outdoorsy set (I found a handful of mentions on various camping websites). But for those of us who avoid tents as much as possible, it's perfect for large barbecues and way less of mess than grilling. In fact, I may even buy another cooler just so I'm ready for next summer. Now that I'm in the know