Cues for ‘Cuing: Long days, hot weather, and outdoor cooking

ALBANY — Grilling season never really ends in Southwest Georgia, but as in other parts of the country, it kicks up a notch when the days get longer, the weather gets hot and school lets out.

“Up north, a lot of times it’s Memorial Day to Labor Day,” said Joe Kem Lacey, a longtime barbecuer from Moultrie whose Joe Kem’s Bar-B-Que Sauce won its category this year in the Flavor of Georgia Food Product Contest at the University of Georgia. “We have a long grilling season down here.

“You can just about grill out year-round down here.”

And a lot of Americans are into grilling. According to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, the organization found that three-quarters of American adults surveyed for its 2016 trends report own a grill or smoker. The HPBA says the most popular days to cook out are Fourth of July (76 percent), Labor Day (62 percent), Memorial Day (62 percent), Father’s Day (49 percent), Mother’s Day (34 percent), and that 63 percent cook year-round. More than four in 10 grill owners cook out at least once a month in the winter, the survey found.

When cooking meat, you need to get it to about 165 degrees or higher to ensure it’s cooked. But after that, there aren’t many hard and fast rules for outdoor cooking. Lacey, in a recent interview, fielded some questions and shared some observations and tips — cues for ‘cuing.

To begin with, what’s the difference between barbecuing and grilling?

“Every different part of the country calls it differently,” Lacey said. “Down here, barbecuing is cooking with wood and smoking. But some people call grilling hamburgers barbecuing.”

Barbecuing, according to the HPBA, is considered by pitmasters to be cooking at lower temperatures and slowly for maximum flavor and texture. Whatever you call it, the beef, pork or chicken on the grill or in the smoker has to be cooked, and there are a number of ways to fuel the flame. Slower cooking methods use wood, while grills can use charcoal or gas.

“Gas is probably the most used,” Lacey said (the HPBA says 62 percent of those who own a grill have a gas one, followed by 53 percent who have charcoal grills). “It’s simple, quick and consistent. Unless you let your gas tank run out, it’s a pretty consistent cook.”

But different meats call for different methods, he noted.

“It’s different cooking on charcoal or smoking,” he said. “When I’m doing steak, we use charcoal.”

When cooking ribs, however, Lacey, who has a commercial rotisserie, uses oak or another hardwood. It’s not a quick job either, taking four to six hours.

But just because a patio chef is impatient doesn’t mean he or she can’t make tasty ribs in shorter order.

“You can actually grill ribs over charcoal,” Lacey said. “You can cook ribs on charcoal in an hour and a half. You put your rub on them and you have to flip them over every few minutes.

“Then toward the end, you put sauce on it and wrap it up. It tenderizes them. If you don’t, they’re going to be dry.”

Similarly with steaks cooked on charcoal, he said, “You always want to put a rub on there and, right before you finish, put some barbecue sauce on there. If you don’t, it’ll burn.”

For most grillers or ’cuers, what they use to cook with is a personal preference. Not everyone, for instance, is a fan of the charcoal flavor on meat. For them, gas may be a better option.

“With gas, you don’t have the charcoal taste to it,” Lacey said.

That allows the flavors from the rub or, in the case of burgers, items like onions or garlic that have been added, to come through. Lacey said some also use wood chips to enhance the flavor of the meat.

If you’re shopping for a new grill, you’ve probably already seen how widely the prices can vary, as well as the accessories. Again, style — and how much you want to spend — is an individual decision.

“I do like these Big Green Egg types of grills,” Lacey said. “They do a good job and they stay hot for a long time.”

And the old-fashioned black kettle grills are usually a safe choice.

“For the money, those are probably the best value,” he said. “They last forever. I’ve had one for 15 years.”

The bottom line, he said, is you don’t have to spend a lot of money if you’re just getting into grilling.

“I’ve seen people take trash cans, cut the bottom out, make a rack and put charcoal on it,” Lacey said. “I’ve seen people win cooking competitions with that. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a fancy grill or not.”

What you put on the grill, however, is another matter. That’s a place where you don’t want to scrimp.

“You need to get a good cut of meat and use a marinade or dry rub,” Lacey said. “We usually just do a dry rub on steak.”

And make sure the cut of meat is appropriate for the use.

“Hamburger’s probably the most popular thing we cook on grills,” he said. “The juicier hamburger’s going to have a higher fat content. I like about 80/20.”

To ensure a successful grilling season, Lacey said, it is important to do two things. First, observe safety practices.

“You have to be careful,” he said “especially if you’re cooking near the house or under a carport.”

Second, practice, practice, practice. A griller or barbecuer gets the most out of his or her equipment by using it and learning from each cooking session. You’ll learn what works for you by exploring and doing.

“It’s all experience,” Lacey said. “Everybody’s got a different technique, a way of doing it. Nobody’s the same.”

JimHendricks[email protected]
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