I have something to say about grilled meat

Good afternoon from the middle of summer which is, as we all know, basically the end of summer. Store construction begins very soon and I’ve been spending my 3:30 a.m. insomnia wake-ups Googling different types of wine glasses in an effort to find a wine glass that “nobody has used before,” or maybe the most classic wine glass that everyone should use. Consumer thoughts on your perfect wine glass are welcome below. 

Anyway, I come to you today with a few controversial summer opinions that have been weighing on me lately: This is the best time to stay in New York because everyone is gone (getting into restaurants is almost easy). Raw tomatoes, if not eaten by themselves, belong only in a tomato salad (no cheese) or a BLT (no avocado). Sandy beaches are for winter vacations only (if you’re not sun bathing on a hard rock, is it even summer). Ice cream is not refreshing (why don’t more people make and sell Italian Ice and/or snowcones?). But my most aggressive might be this one: Cooking meat on a grill is not better than searing it in a skillet. There are exceptions, of course, because I am a reasonable woman. I’m not talking about expert live-fire (or above-average charcoal) grilling, or myriad barbecue techniques.

I’m talking about the grilling most of us are doing at home. Firing up the ol’ propane, getting those grates as hot as they can get, slapping down some sort of meat (thin-ish cuts of steak, probably) and tossing and turning until varying degrees of success are achieved. The best outcome here is that the grill actually does its job—there’s enough gas to create meaningful fire, the flames are strong enough to adequately lick said meat, the exterior of which manages to become both deeply browned and lightly charred while the interior also cooks to the desired temperature. 

But more often than not, the gas grill simply does not do its job, and none of the above comes to fruition. As a gas grill-owner myself, I, too, have been wooed by a nice looking flank steak, a gorgeous little skirt. “Yes, I can get the gas grill hot enough for this to work and be delicious.” Sadly, not really! Repeatedly, the gas grill lulls me into a false sense of security and I Think I’ve Seen This Film Before. I watch the exterior thermometer climb up to 500°F and say out loud, to nobody in particular, “she’s ready!” I add the meat and then watch as the grill almost immediately loses all the heat I worked so hard to build. I see the meat turning not a gorgeous golden brown, but a sort of sad, uniform gray, broken up only by faint grill marks that remind me of an Applebee’s advertisement. I inevitably take whatever meat I’ve chosen way past medium rare just to get something resembling color on the outside, all the juices I worked so hard to preserve running away into the depths of the grill. I stare at the dry-ish looking meat that’s neither well-charred nor medium-rare, unable to baste it in butter or save the pan drippings for sauce and I think: I should have seared this in a cast-iron skillet. 

Please don’t get me started on “burgers on the grill.”

I ran into an acquaintance at the butcher the other day, and we got to talking about how their husband does all the cooking in the summer. “He doesn’t really cook,” they said, “but he does grill.” This is a common refrain, similar to “I can’t bake but I can cook,” as if one requires less attention than the other. Well, I would argue that our standards for grilled meat are simply very low. Did you cook it on the grill? I think most people consider that a success in and of itself! And maybe on a more generous day, I’d agree with you, but I think we should all strive for excellence. 

Cooking outside is one of life's greatest pleasures, and I use a gas grill for the same reasons everyone else does: it's convenient, your (my) landlord doesn't want you to have a charcoal one, it’s perhaps less intimidating than figuring out how to light little lumps of coal on fire, there are easy-to-navigate knobs for low medium high, etc. I get it!  I begrudgingly accept all of that as our shared reality and I acknowledge we’re going to collectively be using a gas grill even though we know it's just mostly fine. But because “fine” is bad, I want to encourage us to have better experiences, which are possible on a gas grill—just maybe not with that expensive rib eye. In no particular order, here are my favorite gas grill-friendly items that I, against all odds, consistently have success with (and know you will, too): 

1. Bone-in chicken. Bone-in chicken doesn’t want medium-rare, so bone-in chicken doesn’t care if a grill gets all that hot. In fact, chicken prefers a lower, slower grill. It also doesn’t mind the lid on—putting the lid down on any grill creates an oven-like environment, which a chicken thrives in. My favorite way to grill chicken is to do halves (not spatchcocking, which people are so obsessed with?). To do this, preheat your grill to medium-low. Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to halve a whole chicken down the back (you can also ask a butcher to do this, but point is, I like to keep the spine intact versus spatchcocking, which helps keep the chicken halves sturdy as you turn on the grill) and season well with salt and pepper. (Don’t oil it to start; I find it creates too many flare-ups with the lid on, even at its lowest and slowest). Place the chicken cut side-down and put the lid on. Walk away for twenty or so minutes and come back, delighted that your once raw-looking chicken actually looks…almost browned? Perhaps nearly…smoked? Carefully flip the chicken so that it is now skin side-down and put the lid back on. Come back in fifteen minutes and rotate the chicken to avoid those tacky looking grill marks and continue to grill another fifteen or so. At this point, I would say your skin is going to be very golden brown with parts that could easily be described as crispy. This chicken is now yours, and you can do whatever you want to this chicken but, if I were you, I’d serve this chicken as-is, with a cut lemon for squeezing, or sure, sauce (on the side. Why work so hard to make something crispy just to make it wet?).   

This grilled chicken recipe can be done on charcoal or gas (I mean that) and the sauce is so good you will likely want to put it on a lot of things you’re grilling (or not). These grilled hot wings are better than wings in the oven, you will agree! 

2. Broccoli. Cauliflower. Romesco. Baby broccoli. Sprouting cauliflower. Even on the worst grill in the world, these vegetables will turn out well. Low in water content, they’re perfect when extremely al dente or long cooked and charred. They can sort of go wherever the wind takes them—nice when you’re not sure if your grill is going to do its job or not. Cut the broccoli into long florets (with the stem), break the sprouted or baby variety into long, elegant strips and toss with oil and season with salt and pepper before throwing them on the grill (as high as it’ll go). While they’re doing that, combine a clove or two of grated raw garlic, more than a few finely smashed anchovies (or a few dashes of fish sauce), lots of olive oil and a good splash of sherry vinegar in a large bowl. Once the vegetables are grilled to your liking (I like some a little crunchy, some more tender), add them to the garlicky dressing and toss, toss, toss and let it sit for a bit (this salad will get better with time and is excellent at room temperature). Finish with a generous handful of big basil leaves, almost treating them like salad greens. I have made this exact (or some variation of) salad multiple times this year and I promise it goes with everything. Full recipe below. 

3. Tomatillos (large ones, to avoid slipping through the grill grates). This is a PSA that tomatillos should be a part of your summer produce capsule collection, mostly because of how nice they are on the grill. De-husk them, toss them with a bit of oil and salt, and grill, turning occasionally until they char and start to split. The nice thing about a barely-together, nicely charred tomatillo is you can just put it into a bowl with some chopped charred onions or scallions, raw grated garlic and jalapeno, and a good dose of lime juice and you have a lovely little salsa that’s nice served with or poured over grilled chicken (see above) or I guess also with a bowl of chips (classic). Extremely local tip: While of course Mr. Beet/any Mr. Beet-affiliated markets almost always have tomatillos, Lani’s Farm (Carrol Gardens/Union Square Farmers Markets) has them right now and likely will through September.    

Full recipe here. 

4. A whole fish. Is a whole fish grilled over smoky branches of foraged sea-adjacent wood infinitely more delightful than fish grilled over gas? Of course, but I’ll say that for all the shortcomings of propane, it will almost always give you a nicely cooked whole fish. This is still my standby-classic recipe (a basic branzino remains my pick for the entry level and connoisseur alike). 

5. Hot dogs. I just wanted to remind you to grill a hot dog if you haven’t already this year and frankly, I don’t care what you use to grill it. I’d eat a hot dog warmed over a lighter (which sometimes, a gas grill feels like). Viva la gas grill!