outdoor cooking

Outdoor Cooking

Introduction to Grilling

Rich, smoky flavor and beautifully charred surfaces from a hot grill grate are hallmarks of grilling, and it works best for small, quick cooking foods. But how do you achieve perfectly grilled food? And which grill is better: gas or charcoal? In this online cooking class, we’ll review some basics about grilling and learn how to grill on both gas and charcoal grills. You’ll then use what you’ve learned to prepare delicious, crowd-pleasing recipes for steak with Chimichurri sauce, salmon with olive vinaigrette, and chicken breast with chipotle-orange glaze.

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Outdoor Cooking

Perfect Grilled Steaks

Cooking a perfect grilled steak is not as easy as throwing the steak on the grill. You start by building the right fire, choosing the right piece of meat, and then you get to the part where you start cooking. In this online cooking class, learn how to prepare the steaks on the grill, and why cornstarch helps develop a great crust. Understand when your grill is at the proper temperature for these steaks to both achieve a great texture and cook at the proper rate. Learn how to make an herby, garlicky chimichurri sauce—the flavor goes so well with grilled steak it actually makes the meat taste better. In fact, you’ll soon be wondering what else goes well with chimichurri sauce, so make extra! Discover what mistakes we made in the kitchen so you can avoid them, and follow along in our video and photo tutorials so that you can make perfect grilled steaks every time.

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Outdoor Cooking

Best Hamburgers

The best-ever hamburger recipe is one that covers all the bases. By that we mean a burger that can stand up to the rigors of grilling to produce an ultracraggy charred crust, a rich beefy taste, and an interior so juicy and tender that it practically falls apart at the slightest pressure. To do this, we grind our own meat in the food processor, which lets us choose the cut (steak tips), grind (coarse), and consistency (loose) of the burger when we shape it. We incorporate a little salt before shaping to add richness, boost juiciness, and season the burgers throughout. Finally, we shape the burger patties (with a dimple in their centers to prevent bulging) and freeze them for 30 minutes, which holds them together as they cook and lets them stay on the grill a few minutes longer for excellent char and perfect rosy centers. Learn all that and more in this online cooking class.

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Outdoor Cooking

Simple Grill-Roasted Turkey

What happens when you want to roast a turkey and you have only one oven? You either eat turkey with cold sides for dinner because there’s no room in the oven, or you move the whole turkey operation to the grill. We opted for the latter for this grill-roasted turkey recipe. Learn how to season grilled turkey, and how we ensure our turkey will remain moist and flavorful even after hours on the hot grill. Discover the best way to build a fire (or set your gas grill) for steady even heat, and where to place the bird on the grates. Learn what turkey we like best and what tools we use to get the turkey ready for the grill. And find out what mistakes we made so you can avoid them and turn out a perfect grill-roasted turkey.

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Outdoor Cooking

Jerk Chicken

Fortunately, we were able to achieve the characteristic complex and balanced flavor with the right combination of stateside staples. Keeping the marinade paste-like and cooking the meat first over indirect heat prevents the jerk flavors from dripping or peeling off during grilling. And to achieve that complex smokiness that’s characteristic of jerk recipes, we supplemented a packet of hickory chips with a few spice-cabinet ingredients.

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Outdoor Cooking

Grill-Roasting and BBQ

Grill-roasting and barbecue are not as simple as throwing a piece of meat on the grill and cracking a beer. There are techniques to this method of cooking that ensure results like sweet and smoky ribs, tender roast beef, and juicy roast chicken with just the right amount of char. Discover how to build a fire for prolonged cooking time and the right amount of heat. Learn what meats are best suited for this style of cooking. Find out what equipment we like best and get great results every time. And once you’ve learned these techniques, try our recipes for Memphis-Style Barbecued Ribs, Inexpensive Grilled Roast Beef with Garlic and Rosemary, and Italian-Style Roasted Chicken.

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Outdoor Cooking

Inexpensive Grill-Roasted Beef

There's no rule that says that the centerpiece of Sunday's roast beef dinner needs to be cooked in the oven. With this recipe, we take the affair outdoors and grill-roast a very affordable beef roast to rosy-hued perfection. We've added a garlic and rosemary rub that adds bold, savory flavor to enhance the meatiness of the beef. Here, a quick sear over the hot side of the grill kicks off the cooking and helps develop flavor while creating an attractive exterior. After browning, the roast is placed in a disposable aluminum pan and set on the cool side of the grill to cook with indirect heat. The pan protects the meat from cooking too quickly, thereby helping ensure a tender texture. The longer it takes for the meat to reach its final serving temperature, the longer the enzymes in the meat will remain active and help to break down muscle fibers and act as a natural meat tenderizer. That's why we start this recipe with relatively few coals (or a single gas burner turned to medium) and then keep the meat in the pan once it is has been seared. Some beef roasts are sold tied with kitchen twine. If the roast you purchase is tied, leave the twine in place and snip off the twine just before carving the roast; if the roast isn't tied, there's no need to do so.

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Outdoor Cooking

Grilled Turkey Burgers

Creating a turkey burger that tastes every bit as meaty, tender, and juicy as the beef kind is a tall order. Turkey must be cooked to a higher temperature than beef, and it lacks beef’s high percentage of lubricating fat. This accounts for its appeal as a healthier alternative to beef in a burger, but it also explains why these lean patties often cook up dry, chalky, and bland. We ground our own meat in the food processor, made a turkey sausage, and found an unusual remedy to loosen our burgers' texture.

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Outdoor Cooking

Grilled Bone-In Chicken Breasts

Grilling bone-in chicken breasts is trickier than it seems. You want well-browned, crisp skin as well as moist meat. The challenge is the thick part of the breast, which is quite slow to cook, while the tapered end cooks quickly. Adding a glaze to that equation makes the situation even a little thornier. Our technique—which includes a mix-and-match take on glazes and barbecue sauce—avoids the common pitfalls and produces perfectly cooked, juicy chicken breasts. We'll also share with you the best equipment, like an instant-read thermometer, so you don't overcook another piece of grilled chicken.

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Outdoor Cooking

Memphis BBQ Spareribs

If you think that great barbecued ribs are best left to expert pit masters with highly specialized smokers and super-secret spice rubs, think again. Not only will this recipe will turn your standard charcoal or gas grill into your own barbecue "pit," but our unique outdoor-indoor technique shaves a lot of time and effort off the traditional barbecue method. Memphis-style spareribs are dry-rubbed, wet-mopped, sauce-free ribs that are barbecued until tender, but not to the point where the meat falls off the bones. During the low-and-slow cooking, the ribs form a "bark"—a crusty outer layer that's appealing both to the eye and the palate. These ribs are more savory and more serious than the sticky, sugary, saucy ribs that many of us have to come think of as "barbecue." After a smoke-filled stint on the grill, the ribs are moved to the oven to finish cooking. In a couple more hours—faster than you can get to Memphis (unless you live in Tennessee)—the ribs are ready!

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Outdoor Cooking

Foolproof Grilled Salmon

Grilled salmon fillets can present some problems for the cook, whether you choose to leave the skin on or take it off. Will the fish stick to the grill? And what temperature should the salmon be cooked to? Discover what techniques we implement to prevent sticking and what equipment will help you achieve success. We will share with you common mistakes to avoid to ensure perfectly cooked fish every time, as well as information on how best to season the salmon fillets and an Olive Vinaigrette recipe to accompany your perfectly grilled fish.

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