Huffington Magazine Issue 50 | Page 99

BEST SUMMER EVER HUFFINGTON 05.26.13 CRAIG GOLDWYN LIFESTYLE FOOD easily surmounted if you know how: If you use gloves, shovels, or tongs, you need not ever handle raw coals. If you keep the charcoal dry and use a chimney, getting hot coals is easy. If you push the coals to one side of the grill and set up a two-zone cooking environment, fatty meats like chicken skin does not drip on the coals and flare up, and even if there are flareups, a squirt gun can contain them. And cleanup of ash is easier with some of the one-touch grills or grills that have removable ashtrays. The most important part of any cooking, indoor or out, is regulating heat. To do that you need a reliable oven thermometer, and a little know how that takes time to acquire. Alas I have never seen a charcoal grill with a really good thermometer, and the thermometer is never mounted where it is needed, near the meat. The temp in the top of the dome can be very different at meat level. Since charcoal grills do not have temperature dials to raise or lower temp, it is important to learn how to set up a two-zone fire, which helps you regulate heat by moving meat from the hot to the medium zone, and learn how to control the energy of the fire by closing off the oxygen intake vents. They are your temperature dials. IN SHORT: Cooking with charcoal can yield excellent results if you practice. The high heat is perfect for red meats, and if you learn your instrument, it will reward you handsomely. It is not intuitive and brainless, but there is little it cannot do when you achieve mastery, Grasshopper. Charcoal purists are vehement and border on snobbery. They who would never ever never own a gas grill.” GAS: PROS AND CONS Gas grills outsell charcoal grills, and it is easy to understand why. They offer convenience and control. Those two words alone could cinch the argument. They are easy to start, heat up within 10-15 minutes, hold temperatures steadily, are easy to clean, and can be configured for indirect and multi-zone cooking. If it’s Tuesday and you need dinner ready in L