Some Fun Ways to Heat Up Your Outdoor Eats This Year
You love spring, summer and fall because you can fire up the grill whenever the weather allows. Is there anything you can think of that doesn’t taste better when cooked outside? For that matter, is there anything you can think of that you can’t make on the patio or in the backyard? Pizza—check! Salad—check (with grilled romaine lettuce!). Grilled cheese—oh, yeah!
Wondering what’s new in the grilling world this year? Looking for ways to take your backyard cook up a notch or two? Let’s look at some of the top grilling trends for 2023:
- Turn on the rotisserie—Looking for that perfectly (and uniformly) cooked leg of lamb, rack of ribs or chicken? Want to cook a prime rib on the grill? Get a rotisserie basket. Many grills now come with a rotisserie feature, and a number of standalone rotisserie baskets are also available on the market. You’ll have meat that’s golden brown on every side and succulent from basting in its own juices.
- Spice it up—Want a way to turn the same-old same old into something completely different—add a unique spice. For a Middle-Eastern flavor, rub some advieh (a Persian spice with cinnamon, cardamom and cumin). For a little Tex-Mex, sprinkle on some adobo or Tajin. Add a little garam masala for an Indian influence.
- Mix binders and rubs—A binder can be just about any type of liquid, oil, condiment or sauce that you put on the outside of a piece of meat before grilling. Binders serve a number of purposes. They help keep fat in the meat, so it doesn’t dry out. They also “bind” any type of rub that you put on the meat, helping it penetrate the surface. Oils are a common binder—anything from canola to olive oil to duck fat or bacon grease. Mayonnaise, mustard, maple syrup and other condiments can also add interesting flavors to any type of protein you put on the grill. Rubs run the gamut, from salt and pepper to flavor-infused rubs with honey, fruit extract, coffee, bourbon or beer.
- Take the uncertainty out with a pellet smoker/grill—Purists poo-poo them, but they make life a lot easier and can virtually eliminate the risk of ruining a good cut of meat. For much of their early existence, pellet cookers were designed exclusively for smoking. You can now get pellet cookers that both smoke and grill. Many of the higher end pellet cookers have Bluetooth capability, allowing you to add pellets and control temperatures with your smartphone.
- One cooker serves all—Gas or charcoal—the endless debate. Why not have the capability to do both? Get a grill with side-by-side bays, one that holds charcoal and the other that’s hooked up to a propane tank. While you’re at it, why not add the optional fire box, so that you can smoke food as well.
Let’s fire up the grill!
