By Shawn Hogendorf, Staff Writer 

As grilling season hits full tilt this weekend, a couple of local experts are weighing in with tips to ensure flame-kissed meats turn out as deliciously as anticipated.

The art of the outdoor barbecue actually starts well before the meat hits the grill, said Steve Newman, a meat cutter at Village Market. It starts with choosing the right cut.

When grilling, people want to choose a thicker cut of meat – preferably more than an inch thick, Newman said. This is so the backyard chef can sear the meat on both sides without overcooking it.

“Grillers should make sure to put a good sear on the meat – while leaving some good juice inside – when cooking the product to the wellness of their liking,” Newman said. “A thicker cut works best on the grill because there is a bigger window to play with. A thin cut of meat can go from rare to well-done in about a minute.”Steve Newman, a meat cutter at
Village Market, knows how to
choose the right cut of meat for
summertime grilling.

When purchasing steak, Newman said, “a rib-eye is about as good as it gets for grilling.”

T-bone and porterhouse steaks are also excellent cuts to throw on the grill, he added. Fillet mignon is a top-shelf steak if a person is willing to spend $20 a pound, and top sirloin is a great choice if people like to use marinades and experiment with flavors as it is a leaner, healthier cut.

If pork is the griller’s meat of choice, people should still abide by the same rules of thickness, Newman said. A pork chop that’s about 1¼ inches thick is best for grilling.

Other great grilling options for people who like pork are roasts and, of course, baby-back and spare ribs.

When it comes to grilling fish, Newman said tuna is one of the “most tremendous fish you can grill.” Fish such as marlin and swordfish are also excellent, as are flakier fish such as walleye and salmon.

Prep

Once the cut of meat is chosen, the fun begins.

The griller has the choice of how to season the meat, whether it’s with a marinade or a dry rub. As far as dry rubs and marinades go, Newman suggests people stay with the herbs and flavors that they like while slightly experimenting with new things.

Seasoning meat can also be as simple as using olive oil and some crushed black pepper, he said.

But there is one important rule: Do not use table salt to season meat before putting it on the grill. If salt is something people want on meat, they should use sea salt or course kosher salt. Table salt pulls the juices out of the meat, he said.

When choosing to use either a marinade or a dry rub, it’s important to note that the meat absorbs the liquid marinade, but the fat doesn’t, said Executive Chef Richard Fisher of Mystic Lake Casino. A marinade will not penetrate the skin, either. Dry rubs penetrate the skin, the fat and the meat.Executive Chef Richard Fisher, of
Mystic Lake Casino and Hotel

When using a dry rub, the fat within the protein absorbs it, giving the meat a more intense flavor, Fisher said.

 “Marinades and rubs are used to enhance the flavor of the meat, not overpower it,” Fisher said. “Put the rub on lightly and rub it as the technique implies; don’t cake it on. If a rub is caked on the meat, it burns or caramelizes when it is on the grill.”

When marinating meat, Fisher suggests doing it ahead of time and then pat-drying the meat before placing it on the grill.

“Let the meat sit on a paper towel and place it back in the refrigerator to dry out after marinating, so [the marinade] doesn’t come off on the grill,” Fisher said. “Keep everything in the refrigerator at all times.”

Keeping the meat in the refrigerator also helps to keep it firm, Fisher said. This will also allow the meat to mark well and cook more evenly once it’s on the grill.

When grilling meat that was frozen, slowly thaw it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, Fisher said. When meat is thawed out too quickly, it gets shocked and the moisture comes out.

Now that the meat of choice is marinated or lightly rubbed with herbs and spices, it’s time to fire up the grill.

It’s important to preheat the grill for about 20 minutes to ensure that the grates are hot, Fisher said. As the grill is being brought up to temperature, make sure the lid of the grill is closed.

Once the meat is added to the grill, keeping it closed will give off more regulated heat and reduce flare-up, Fisher said.

In the case of flare-ups, which throw off the temperature of the grill, have a water bottle handy and mist the flames if they get out of control, Fisher said. But when misting the grill, don’t add too much water or it will affect the temperature of the grill.

Dry-aged steaks

One technique to get the most flavors out of a steak is to dry-age it, Fisher said. Many of the most prominent steakhouses in the country will place the steaks in a refrigerator for months to dry-age them.

When buying a steak, different grades are given to the meat determined by the fat content, Fisher said. Many people make the mistake of choosing a lean steak, but when buying steak, a fattier steak is better, he said. The lack of fat in lean cuts inhibits the flavor.

The first step in dry-aging is to ask the butcher how long the steak has been aging prior to the purchase, Fisher said.

After choosing a steak with a nice fat marbling, unwrap it and put it on a paper towel on a plate and place it in the refrigerator.

Dry-aging a steak helps the fat within the protein break down – and the meat absorbs the fat – making for a great steak, Fisher said. Do not cover the steak at all when dry-aging.

Pork

When seasoning pork, Newman said he likes to use fruit glazes such as peach marmalade and brandy.

Alcohol is a natural tenderizer and helps break down the muscle tissue, he said, noting that using whiskey, beer or wine when cooking also helps tenderize the meat.

Newman said he implements that technique when grilling ribs, as well. Using liquid smoke and beer to marinade ribs is a simple technique that brings out a lot of great flavor, he said.

When cooking spare ribs, Newman suggests slow cooking ribs in the oven with a beer and liquid smoke marinade, drying the ribs off and then putting them on the grill for about 10 minutes with moistened hickory chips.

When cooking pork – or any meat for that matter – temperature is always important.

When it comes to a rib roast, using a thermometer is the best way to get the desired temperature, Newman said. Cook a rib roast until the internal temperature is 130 to 135 degrees, and then let it sit for about 10 minutes. In doing this, the internal temperature will finish at about 140 to 145 degrees.

“If you take the meat off the grill about 5 to 7 degrees before the temperature you want it to be, and let it sit for about seven to 10 minutes, the roast will cook from the outside in,” Newman said.

A common misnomer with pork is that is has to be cooked well-done. A little juice in pork is nothing to fear, he said.

Chicken

When cooking barbecued chicken, Fisher said baking it about three-quarters of the way in the oven and finishing it on the grill is best.

The method cuts down on the grilling time significantly and reduces burning of the skin and sauces, Fisher said. Saucing the meat at the end also helps eliminate burning the sauce.

Grill chicken with indirect heat, Newman said. With a gas grill, make sure the outside burners are hotter than the inside burners.

“You want to cook chicken slow and low,” Newman said.

Fish

For fish, a good technique is to put the fish on aluminum foil, add butter, herbs and spices on top, close the foil like an envelope and shut the grill, Fisher said. This creates a grilled flavor, but the fish is also steaming.

Another good technique is to grill the fish with a light rub of olive oil and a favorite seasoning of herbs, Newman said. When grilling flakier fish such as salmon and walleye, plank cooking is a nice technique to implement so the fish doesn’t fall apart on the grill, he said. A layer of olive oil helps to hold the juices in.

Corn

When grilling corn, leaving it in the husk and putting it in a pot with milk, sugar, salt and pepper for about four to five hours is a great technique, Fisher said.

After the husk and the corn absorb the mixture, let it drip for awhile and then put it on the grill and let it roast while turning it constantly, Fisher said. As the corn is turned over time and time again, the corn will grill and steam at the same time if the husk is left on it.

Then take the corn off the heat; put butter in a blender with some rosemary or an herb of choice and put it on the corn.

“Any kind of herbed butter on corn will take the flavors to the next level,” Fisher said.

 Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at (952) 345-6374 or shogendorf@swpub.com.