Aromas of backyard barbecues and sounds of fireworks
certainly set the mood for a Fourth of July celebration that connotes
Independence Day, when the United States broke away from being ruled by the
King of England. Let’s skip the history
and get to the food celebration.
Families and friends gather at people’s homes or
parks to savor the taste of that smoked flavor that comes from placing meat,
seafood, fowl, vegetables and even fruit in the “barbie.” What are the best “rules” for charbroiling?
I turned to Nick Condomanolis, owner of Tasty Grill
in Whitestone for his thoughts and recommendations and meat and chicken. Aside from his three gyro that he describes
as “slow cooked stand up rotisseries,” Nick is also known for his ribs, burgers
and skirt steak.
Ribs taste better when they are smoked and if you
don’t have a smoker you can add liquid smoke or a spice of salt and smoked
flavor to the bbq sauce. Pre-boiling the
ribs is okay to do.
“Skirt steaks should be cooked on high heat first to
sear followed by a low heat to continue the process. I don’t recommend it being
well done. Make sure they are ‘cleaned’
by removing much of the fat as well as peeling off the skin-like thin layers
and any veins.”
“Chicken cannot be placed on a high flame because it
needs to be cooked through. I recommend
the thighs when it comes to grilling as they are the juiciest and easier than
drumsticks,” said Nick. “Chicken breasts tend to dry out when placed directly
on the grill.” Create a bbq sauce or
just some spices for the grilling time and baste it in order to savor the
flavors.
Most people think about that juicy steak or chicken,
which is great. Let’s look at some of the alternatives starting with seafood,
keeping in mind that seafood means both shellfish and whole fish.
There are four ways to prepare seafood: placing it
directly on the grill; creating a “basket” using aluminum foil; positioning a pot; and as
kabobs.
Let’s
go to a source for the 101 on grilling, Vinny
Marinello and Pat Marotta, owners of Crossbay Seashell Fish Market. “Not all seafood can go directly on the
grill,” said Vinny. “Shrimp, scallops, swordfish, tuna steaks, and lobster
tails are excellent choices. Although
whole fish can be wrapped in foil, it is not necessary to do so. Keep in mind
that unless you buy a whole lobster and remove the tail for grilling, lobster
tails are sold flash frozen and uncooked, whereas the King and Snow crab legs
can be thawed out and eaten or heated up.”
If you are into clams and mussels,
it is best to steam it in a pot adding herbs to water, wine, or beer. This way
you keep in the juices of the shellfish. Although they appear sand free, clams
should still be washed as well as having some expectations of having sand
residuals. Call to ask about the varieties of fresh clams that we carry. Our
mussels do not contain debris such as tiny crabs, thus do not need much
pre-care.”
The
key to preparing calamari is to either cook it really fast or really slow;
anything in between will leave you with a chewy texture. When engaging it on
the grill, buy it fresh and cleaned. Cut it up into rings and tendrils when
done.
Vegetables
take on a wonderful flavor when grilled some of which can be prepared whole
such as corn especially when basted with butter. We turn to Phil Barone, owner of Valentino
Food Market, located at 66-64 Fresh Pond Rd, for his thoughts. Yellow squash and zucchini (one eighth to a
quarter of an inch), thick slices of tomato, slices of eggplant, sweet or hot
peppers, asparagus, green beans, brussels sprouts, onions and Portobello
mushrooms. Brushing with olive oil keeps
the vegetable from drying out before they are cooked.
Red
peppers are especially useful for concocting your own pimentos. Remove the top and seeds, then cut or tear it
up into large pieces. Place them skin side down and char it. Transfer to a
plate and peel the skin. Place the pieces in an air tight container and
refrigerate. By doing so it creates its own juice so that olive oil is not
necessary.
One
option for roasting veggies such as potatoes is double wrapping in aluminum
foil and placing directly on the coals.
If you are doing it on top of the grill, they should be cut up in chunks
and basted. The same with carrots,
depending upon its size and thickness.
Preparing
guacamole and always using Mexican Haas?
One large from California cost a dollar while one large Haas was three
dollars. No real difference in taste to
warrant the price.
Have
a fabulous weekend with the “roar of the fireworks, the smell of the barbecue.”
