Lean and lovin' it: Meathead Goldwyn busts a few grilling, barbecue myths in time for Memorial Day cookouts
Last week I sold my trusty kettle-shaped charcoal grill and am now looking for a smaller gas grill. The reason: I no longer have the patience to start a charcoal grill's fire.
The grill I want costs almost $400; significantly cheaper grills have their issues; I know because I've seen what's happened to some of my friend's lesser-expensive grills during the short time they've owned them.
Over the years, I've learned a lot about grilling and even wrote a book on it: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grilling. That doesn't mean I can't still learn some things about better grilling and bust a few myths.
Meet the current grilling myth-buster: Meathead Goldwyn. Goldwyn's not only a myth-buster, but he's also a blogger (amazingribs.com), a native Chicago suburbanite (Brookfield) and now a cookbook author: “Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling” (2017, Houghton Mifflin).
To get you headed in the right direction for this season's grilling, here're a few grilling myths that Meathead's busted.
Searing meat to seal in the juices is a big myth. It's surprising many don't realize it. Cauterizing a wound was where the myth began, but a simple test can prove how bogus that concept is. Sear one side of a steak and when well-seared, flip it over and sear the other side. Watch the already seared side and you'll see, after a bit, juice bleeding through. So much for sealing in the juices.
Meathead recommends the reverse, and I do too and here's why. This past winter when roasting a large prime rib roast, that roast with an oven-safe digital thermometer in the center went into a 200-degree oven. Several hours later, when the thermometer registered 125, I removed the roast and let it rest for a half-hour as my oven heated up to 550-degrees.
My roast went back into my superheated oven for about 10 minutes so the outside could brown. When I sliced it, my roast was perfectly pink from center to edge with a beautifully browned exterior.
Meathead says you can do the same with steaks on the grill; here's how. Grill your steaks away from the heat (flames) in a preheated grill until they are 5-degrees less than the desired doneness in the center (use a digital instant-read thermometer to make that determination). Then, quickly brown the steaks on both sides over the grill's flames. Perfect steaks every time. This technique works with hamburgers, too.
Myth: Marinades penetrate deeply into the meat while tenderizing and flavoring it.
Even left overnight, a marinade will not penetrate more than 1/8 inch. Meathead explains: “Meat is a protein sponge saturated with water. There's not much room for any more liquid in there.” Makes sense when you understand the science.
A few other Meathead grilling tidbits: Oil the meat before it hits the grill, you're wasting your time if you oil the grill; cooking chicken until the juices run clear doesn't work (the juice can be pink even though the chicken is truly at the proper temperature), use a digital thermometer to make a factual done/not done decision.
The name “Meathead” may seem foolish, but his science-based advice is anything but.
I've started two cherry tomato plants in my garden, but they won't start bearing edible fruit until long after this Memorial Day weekend. Locating some heirloom cherry tomatoes at the store led me down a tasty path to a kidney bean, tomato and onion salad; perfect as a side for whatever comes off my new grill.
• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at don@ theleanwizard.com.