GrillNaked!

So you’re here because grilling interests you, or maybe it was that Naked part that caught your eye! We’re working on adding more of that too.
If you grill, clothed or naked, and you aren’t using charcoal, ponder these points before you choose your next grill.

Most people buy gas grills because they’re easy, fast and fairly clean to use. You go outside, touch a button, turn a knob, wait 10 minutes and cook your food. Convenient? Yes. Fun, rewarding, adventurous? Not in my book, and that’s why I grill!

Given. Gas grills are “cleaner” to use and less work from begining to end. But cooking with charcoal is cooking with real fire and cooking with Hardwood Charcoal (my personal preference) is almost like cooking over an actual campfire. You control the heat by adding coals or adjusting the height of the coal bed. You check the fire’s temperature by hand, not with a thermometer that’s usually wrong anyway. With a little practice, you check your meat’s level of doneness by touch. You develop skills that will let you cook food anywhere there’s a hot bed of coals not just on a backyard patio or deck. You develop a real sense for where to place the food, how long to leave it there, when to turn it, move it, add coals for more heat, etc.
When the food comes off the grill, you have a real sense of accomplishment because you did more than just lay the food on the grate, close the lid and wait! It’s about the experience and the journey, not just getting the food cooked in ten minutes so I don’t miss seeing who gets voted off American Idol tonight.

OK. If the Point Break like spirtual grilling argument doesn’t sway you, here are some facts!

Facts
- Using a “chimney” to light your coals will have them red hot and ready to cook in about 10 minutes. Around the same amount of time it takes a gas grill to heat up.

- Charcoal grills tend to burn hotter than gas grills which can give you shorter cooking times and better results.

- Grilling, is cooking over a dry heat. One byproduct of burning propane is water (I know we’re getting geeky here but I don’t like my burgers steamed!).

- Men who use gas to grill have been found to have higher levels of estrogen and some even experience enlarged or tender breasts! (Just kidding! I made that one up! Get the underlying message?)

All kidding aside, gas grills are a little less work but you are giving up a seriously great experience. In these modern times, where everything is instant yet nothing gets done fast enough, take a little time to slow things down and actually enjoy the process. Take a step back to when man cooked over an open fire and learn how to master that dying art. Hey! If nothing else, it’s a great excuse to crack open a beer! Give it a try!
Cheers!