“y&ANORA RICHARDSON

“y&ANORA RICHARDSON

Extension Agent, Home Economics

The 4th of July is here already!

My, where has the summer gone? The long weekend lends itself well to having family and/or friends over for a cookout, as well as coming to the town of Washington for the Fourth of July celebration.

If you cook out often, you will find it helpful to keep your equipment stored together for easy access. This might include a pastry brush, long handled metal tongs, spatula, fork for turning meat, long handled spoons, pot holders, matches, salt and pepper and trays. Fire tools might include tongs for handling hot charcoal and a sprinkler of some type to help control the fire.

Although the charcoal grill comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, styles and prices, many people are electing to use a propane gas grill.

Getting a head start on the cleanup when using charcoal will save both time and effort. Line the inside of the grill with heavy foil. Heavy foil works best because it is stronger and less likely to tear and make a mess. When you’ve finished the grilling and the ashes have cooled, you can bundle up the foil and throw it away - ashes and all. An ounce of prevention is worth a lot of scrubbing.

Spray the cold grill rack with a non-stick vegetable spray coating before cooking.

There are several ways to build a charcoal fire. One way is to make a pyramid of charcoal in the center of the grill, saturate the coals with charcoal starter, let stand one minute and ignite. The fire will be ready in about 45 minutes. To save fluid, one or two pieces of charcoal can be soaked in a small amount of charcoal starter in a tin can.

The use of a No. 10 can (1 gallon size) with the top and bottom removed provides an alternative method for starting a fire. With a beverage can opener, punch holes near the bottom of the can to allow air to enter. Place the can in the grill, fill it with charcoal, add starter, fluid, and ignite. It will take about 30 minutes for the fire to be ready. You should then remove the can and spread the coals.

The lava used in gas grills also needs to be heated for 30-45 minutes before cooking. The temperature at which the fire should be maintained is determined by the type of food to be cooked. To test the temperature of the fire, hold your hand over it in the same position that the food will be. See how long you cart hold it there. If you can count from “one thousand” to “one thousand t#0,” you have a relatively hot fire. “One thousand three or four” is a moderate fire, and “one thousand five or six” is a slow fire.

The temperature may be regulated by raising or lowering the rack, removing coals, or by sprinkling with water. A common fault is to use too much fuel so that the foods burn before they are cooked.

A variety of meats may be cooked over charcoal. Since tenderness of the finished product is more important, the cuts to be cooked must be chosen wisely.

Beef cuts suitable for cooking on the grill include steaks and ground beef. Less tender cuts as round or chuck can be cooked on the grill if done properly. They will be more tender if cooked medium-rare than if they are cooked well done. Marinating several hours helps to tenderize them.

Pork cuts suitable for grilling include chops, spareribs and back