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Chef Michael Gulotta, owner of MOPHO and Maypop in New Orleans is one of Food & Wine's "Best New Chef 2016" and recent contestant of Iron Chef Gauntlet. Gulotta, who is known for his "super swine Saturdays" when he cooks a whole hog, shares his summer grilling tips and secret tricks to make your summer soiree top notch.
THE MARINADE TO BEAT ALL MARINADES
This is going to sound crazy, but it works.
Fish sauce, chili paste and honey. The fish sauce adds that deep rich umami that salt can't, while still acting as a brine for the meat. The honey assists in the brining and helps keep the meat moist. And the chili paste...well just because it tastes good. Also, if you have some really ripe peaches, mash them up into the left over marinade and brush the mixture onto the meat as a glaze as its getting ready to come off of the grill. Then top the grilled meat with a warm salad of peaches and ripe summer tomatoes marinated in honey, chili paste and mint.
For Marinade:
1 cup honey
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sambal chili paste or saté for more heat
BEST WAY TO AVOID DRY CHICKEN
For chicken, add yogurt to the mix. Much like wine or sourdough bread, yogurt's live cultures cause acidification which helps the brining process and keeps the chicken moist. DO NOT rinse the marinade off, let the yogurt caramelize on the outside of the chicken as it grills, it will give it a deep rich flavor.
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sambal chili paste
Chef Jeremiah Bacon/Charleston:
In the cookbook REEL MASTERS: Chefs Casting About with Timing and Grace, (winner 2017 IPPY Awards), three-time James Beard semi-finalist Co-Author/Chef Jeremiah Bacon of shares fish camp stories and recipes, as well as some great advice on grilling fish.
HOW TO GRILL FISH
Make sure the skin of the fish is extra dry before cooking. My trick is to run the edge of a knife back and forth across the grain of the skin. It's almost like you're squeegeeing the moisture out of the skin.
BEST SAUCE FOR GRILLED FISH
Sauce Gribiche is such a great sauce for summertime and grilling. There is such a nice contrast between the chilled sauce and hot fish. Unlike the classic version, just toss all the ingredients into the oil, then store in a container until you're ready to spoon it over the fish. Full recipe and image: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l8zmacy1jqur99d/AAA2spgc0h66OjLDHrjKE-jBa?dl=0
Sean Brasel /Miami:
Sean Brasel is the "Man Behind the Meat" at bustling steakhouse Meat Market (Miami, Palm Beach, Puerto Rico). A native of Colorado, Brasel shares insider information on the intricacies of summer grilling.
TYPES OF GRILLS
Gas/Propane
Gas grills can produce a higher heat, enabling better sear and char flavor. It's important to watch that the grates are not too covered with grease to avoid fires and burning. Lids should be used cautiously to avoid over-smoking and burning your grilled items.
Charcoal
Charcoal grills produce better overall flavor once the coals have reached optimum temperature and color. Putting your grilled items on too soon will produce a gassy smell in your foods so make sure your coals are ready before cooking. In addition, lids are great with good charcoal grills, as they will produce better smoky favors. What's neat about cooking on a charcoal grill is that different types of charcoal will produce different favors in your foods. For instance, use mesquite and hickory to produce a smoked flavor.
Smoker /Charcoal
These grills are amazing as they have 2 different sections and are optimal for slower roasted products like brisket and chicken. Make sure there is enough water and humidity in your smoker before letting your food cook for hours. Brined and cured products work best in these situations, also slow roasted vegetables wrapped in foil produce an amazing confit effect on corn and sweet potatoes.
ESSENTIAL UTENSILS
Make sure you have a squirt bottle and proper tongs that you can reach into the grill easily without burning yourself, long handled spatulas work great for these. Grill brushes are equally important, as dirty grills can give you sour after tastes on food from the spoiled past cooked products still on the grill.
GRILLING VEGGIES
Blanched
Many vegetables like corn and asparagus are amazing on the grill but blanching them in a salt water bath before grilling will cook your vegetables better and prevent over-cooking or drying them out.
Marinated
Mushrooms and other veggies like eggplant and squash are amazing if marinated for a few hours before cooking them on the grill; use vegetables that are porous and can accept marinades.
Cooked in foil
A lot of vegetables like asparagus are amazing if you put them on the top rack of your BBQ grill wrapped in foil and filled with some sort of liquid such as a seasoned water or herbed olive oil. Be sure to cook these vegetable slowly and NOT on direct heat.
Cooked on the coals
Another fun technique is putting vegetables right in the hot coals of the BBQ like sweet potato or potatoes and letting them burn on the outside, you can then take the "burned" products out and peel away the burnt part and they'll have an amazing smoky charred flavor in the middle. Look for harder products like sweet potatoes, leeks, onions, potatoes to direct cook. Half of your product will be lost in the making of these, but the overall flavor is rewarding in the end
Images available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c1rw3rwb5l1fmn1/AAB-l5rvRbK8VG2jepY7YPtZa?dl=0
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