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When it comes to grilling, our children are members of the Propane Generation. Blasé black, off smelling charcoal briquettes are for the most part carbo- dated relics of picnics past. Real wood fires for cooking are hazily swirled in the smoky movie myths of trailside cowpokes brewing coffee or heating their supper of baked beans over the open flame. Is cooking over a propane fire really barbequing at all?
I can remember my father Phil loading up our backyard grill with a teetering mound of sooty squares of "charcoal," dousing the dark grey pyramid with enough lighter fluid to ignite a funeral pyre and cautioning us all to "stand back" as he timidly tossed matches at the expected inferno. A sudden swoosh would cause us all to jump as the fire leapt from the barbeque, nearly singing my father's eyebrows as it shot skyward, enough fuel being consumed in one shot to launch a lunar landing.
He would wait until the flames subsided and the coals took on an ominous ashen hue before gingerly tossing on the hot dogs and hamburgers from a safe distance, not able to get too close to the red hot heat of his outdoor oven. More often than not a few of each were sacrificed to the fire gods when he tried to turn them at a cautious arms-length with an extra-long spatula and they slipped through the grate, my father cursing under his breath at their unintentional demise.
Phil was an early expert at the "blackened" cooking technique that was later made famous by the New Orleans Chef Paul Prudhomme. The combination of the oily odor emitted by the smoldering manmade cubes and the seriously scorched franks and burgers could make you think that you were actually ingesting the charred, fossilized remains of a long extinct species.
Not so sadly for most of us those days are simply nostalgic memories of gastronomy gone bad. Although I prefer to use actual wood chips as the flavorful fuel for my fire, the ease of the propane grill makes out door cooking as simple as turning on the tank and pressing the ignition switch. No ashes to dump, no charcoal coated hands, and no waiting for what seems like an eternity for the chips or charcoal to achieve the perfect but short lived ideal grilling temperature. And as my wife Cathy likes to point out outdoor cooking saves us from smelling or smoking up the house with clinging odors that can take a few days of lighting scented candles to dissipate.
One way to coax some gusto from the neutral gas grill is to apply a rub or marinade to the protein or vegetables that you are going to throw on the fire. You can come up with your own concoction of dried and fresh flavorings or add some mustard, vinegar or other combination of condiments to dip the desired food into and let marinade for a while before you toss it on the flame. I came up with the following but you can customize them to you and your guests' palate.
Southwestern Spice
2 tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt
2 tsp Paprika
½ tsp. Ground Ancho Chilies
½ tsp Cracked Black Pepper
½ tsp Cumin
½ tsp Oregano
½ tsp Thyme
½ tsp. Dried Garlic
Asian Accent
2 tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt
2 tsp. Sesame Seeds
½ tsp. Grated Dried Orange Peel
½ tsp ground star anise
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp. Dried Red Pepper Flakes
½ tsp. dried garlic
½ tsp dried ginger
Finest French
2 tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt
2 tsp. Dried Tarragon
½ tsp Dried Thyme
½ tsp. dried garlic
½ tsp ground white pepper
½ tsp. grated dried lemon peel
Mediterranean Mix
2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1tsp ground dried tomatoes
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
½ tsp dry garlic
Incredible Indian
2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground coriander seeds
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried ginger
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground red chilies
½ tsp ground mustard seeds
½ tsp ground fennel seeds
----- Philip McGrath owns and operates the Iron Horse Grill, which is housed the historic former train station building in Pleasantville. He also owns Pony Express To Go, an all natural fast food restaurant just across the park from the Iron Horse. You can learn more about both by visiting their websites at www.ironhorsegrill.com and www.ponyexpresstogo.com. His Local Chef column appears here weekly.
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