Selecting a Grill for Outdoor Cooking: Part One

Today, I'm presenting a special guest post from the handsome and talented Papa Diva - who, incidentally, is in the market for a new grill himself. He has graciously offered to share his thoughts on the various types of outdoor grills ... for those lucky enough to have outdoor space in which to grill! This post is the first in Papa Diva's Out Door Grilling Series. Enjoy!

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Papa Diva is aware that not everyone lives in NY City, some of us actually live in the provinces where cooking outside is a requirement; along with lawn mowing and mulching. I thought some thoughts selecting and using a grill might be in order as we near the official opening of the potato salad season.

First, we need a glossary of terms:

Barbecue or barbecuing: You will notice that I avoid the use of the term barbecue. That actually refers to a method of very slow cooking of inexpensive cuts of meat. Southerners wince when we Yankees refer to grilling as barbecuing.

BTU: Stands for British Thermal Unit. One BTU equals the energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one (1) degree Fahrenheit. Many gas fired grills are rated in BTU's/hr. It is usually best to buy a grill with the highest BTU rating your budget allows. We will tell you why that's important when we talk about grilling steaks.

Fuel: You can buy a grill that burns charcoal, charcoal briquets, natural gas or propane gas. There are also electric grills.

Natural Gas: Natural gas is a utility delivered to your home through pipes in the street. It does not burn as hot as propane. The purchased grill must be set up for burning natural gas. It requires a different nozzle than a grill specified for use with propane gas.

Propane Gas: This is the most common grill in the Northeast. Grillmiesters in the South and Southwest think we are barbarians for cooking with gas.

Charcoal: This is the stuff for real grillmiesters. Real charcoal (often called lump charcoal) provides the hottest fire of all fuels. This is very important for searing steaks and such. If you are the Diva Hubby, who likes his steaks black on the outside and red on the inside, searing is important. The Diva Hubby is actually a certified grillmiester. A temperature of at least 600 degrees Fahrenheit is needed for searing. A charcoal fire will yield a temperature from 850 to 1,000 degrees. Real charcoal also imparts a smoky flavor to the food that can't be duplicated by any other fuel.

Charcoal Briquets: Made with charcoal, some fillers and some chemicals to facilitate faster lighting. Less expensive than real charcoal. Will not add the same flavor as real charcoal. Some Southerners thing it adds a chemical flavor.

At least one company, Brinkmann, makes a duel fuel grill that has a charcoal grill on one side and a propane grill on the other.

Brinkmann also makes a model with a separate sear burner. You sear the steak on the sear burner and then move it to the regular grill surface to complete cooking. Unless you are the Diva Hubby, in which case you are through cooking when the sear is complete!

What to buy? It all depends on what you're looking for; ease of use, availability of fuel, cost, etc., are all important factors. A grill set up to burn propane gas will be the easiest to find, and the easiest to use. Once ignited, you will be cooking in ten minutes, or less. A charcoal grill will not be ready to cook on for approximately 30 minutes after lighting. Weber makes a grill that uses a small propane tank to light the charcoal (or briquets) so can begin cooking in 10 to 15 minutes with a model such as this.

Many gas grills now include a side burner, usually rated at 12,000 BTU's. The side burner is useful for boiling water for the ears of corn that go well with seared steaks.

Stay tuned for Part Two in our series, as we have not exhausted this complex subject!

So, what sort of grill do you fancy? Hungry Diva family wants to know! And, if you have any questions for Papa Diva, shout them out in the comments.

Happy Grilling!

A New Day, A New Burger

Seems like everybody and their brother has a recipe for buffalo chicken burgers ... and now, so do I.

This one was inspired by a locker room conversation between my swim partner, Becky, and I. We were doing what we do best ... chatting ... while drying our hair and, naturally, the conversation turned to food. It always does. Becky was telling me about some amazing chicken burgers she'd created the other night, and mentioned that she included a fair amount of hot sauce in the mix. It got me thinking about chicken wings, which I really don't enjoy, and how I might easily combine all the ingredients and flavors of classic wings into a yummy new burger. And so I did.

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burgers:

• 1 pound of ground chicken breast
• 3 tbsp. minced red onion
• 1 small stalk of celery, from the heart, leaves included, minced
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/4 cup shredded granny smith apple*
• 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
• pinch of Kosher salt
• generous grind of fresh black pepper
• 2 tbsp. wing sauce, Texas Pete, or whatever hot sauce you like*
  
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
  
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh chives
• 1 large egg
• 2 to 3 tbsp. plain, instant oatmeal

• some crumbled blue cheese, use something of good quality, I used Cabrales here

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients - except the cheese - and mix well until fully incorporated. Use your judgment with respect to the oat meal, adding at least 2 tablespoons, and up to 3, if needed, depending on how wet the mixture is. (You will neither taste nor see the oatmeal in the finished burger, but it will help to keep things moist.)

Heat a grill pan over high heat and brush it with a bit of oil. When the pan is good and hot, but not yet smoking, form the chicken mixture into patties and grill over medium-high heat, turning once, about 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until done. Chicken burgers should be firm to the touch when done and fully cooked throughout. Top the burgers with some crumbled blue cheese, cover the pan and allow the cheese to melt. Serve and enjoy!

As written, this recipe will yield 4 to 6 devilishly spicy burgers, depending on how large you make the patties.

*Yes, there's apple in my recipe. Why? No one really knows, except that apple pairs well with with chicken, is divine with blue cheese and, more importantly, will make the finished burger incredibly moist. You won't even really taste it but, trust me, its there doing its thang and lending interest to the mix.

**As for the hot sauce, the choice is up to you. I happened to have some Jim Beam hot sauce on hand, so that's what I used here, though any brand would work. For those who would prefer a more pronounced wing flavor, I'd suggest brushing the finished burgers with additional wing sauce prior to adding the cheese.

One again, I've skipped the bun and the ketchup. You don't need either. In stead, I've topped them with a fresh tomato relish that you can read about at the end of this post here.

These burgers are so incredibly flavorful, so moist and juicy, you'll have a hard time believing they're made from skinless ground chicken breast. They have all of trappings of a platter of wings ... minus the grease and fat. Bonus! I loved them so much I want to eat them every night. Really. They're just that good.

I hope you'll try them!

Bon appetite!

Wurst Fest '09

Papa Diva is the best, so, naturally, I treated him to the worst ... er, I mean wurst! There was a belated Father's Day cookout, chez Mama and Papa Diva, this weekend and a selection of German meats were the stars of the show.

The succulent sausages were procured at Noack's in Meriden, Connecticut and they were spectacular. If you're anywhere near that part of the state, I highly recommend a trip to Noack's. Their products are as fresh and delicious as can be and, trust me, once you're inside you're going to want to by *everything* ... which we very nearly did.

We walked away with an obscene amount of meat: knockwurst, bratwurst, frankfurters and "half and halfs", a special kind of weisswurst made with finely ground veal and pork. Each sausage was more delicious than the next. Noack's products are handmade, home-smoked and nitrate-free. This is an old-school German butcher shop that specializes in a wide, wide variety of quality meats ... and the shop itself is charming to boot.

Pictured above left is their amazing "half and half" and two of their stellar knockwursts. Prior to grilling, I like to give the sausage a quick simmer in a spicy bath of beer. Here's how to do it:

Beer Bath:

• 2 bottles of beer, either lager or brown beer*
• 1 small to medium onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 tsp. pickling spices (I use McCormick's)
• 1 tsp. of mustard seeds
  

Pour the beer into a large sauce pan, add the onion, pickling spices and mustard seeds. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, but do not let the mixture boil over. Once it boils, add the sausages, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, remove the sausages and cook them on the grill over high heat until thoroughly cooked, and well browned. Serve immediately with a selection of German mustards and enjoy!

A brief word about the beer ... on Saturday I used two bottles of Rolling Rock, because that's what was in Papa Diva's fridge. Here at home, I've used Brooklyn Brown Ale with equally great success. I'm not sure that the style of the beer matters, but the taste most certainly does. Use something you'd want to drink, something delicious, and the results will surely satisfy.


I ask you, is that sausage not a thing of beauty? The quick beer braise lends a bit of flavor and helps to ensure that the meats will be thoroughly cooked and ridiculously juicy. We like to round out the meal with some cooked red cabbage, baked beans, some really nice rye bread and, for purists, some quality sauerkraut. I'm not a purist, so I opted for the red cabbage and some steamed fresh broccoli from bro's garden. It was magnificent!

The cabbage and the kraut came from Noack's as well. Even if you're not in CT, you can sample Noack's delights ... they ship anywhere in the US. Hit up that link to place an order or find directions to their market.

For those in NYC, you can obtain some spectacular sausages of your own from any one of these fine purveyors: Schaller & Weber on Second Avenue @ 86th Street, Koglin German Hams in Grand Central Terminal Market @ Grand Central Station, and Marlow and Daughters Butcher Shop @ 95 Broadway in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

I've given you the know-how and the sources ... now go on and have a Wurst Fest of your own. You can thank me later.

Bon appetit!