Editor's Note: Grilling Month
This May, Tasting Table celebrates the best of live-fire cooking
Welcome to grilling season!
Actually, scratch that. I'm using this opportunity to call shenanigans on the notion that grilling is an activity best confined to the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Cooking food over fire is one of the most primal pleasures humans get to experience, rivaled only by the delight of gathering our friends and neighbors to feast on the results (and have a few drinks while we cook). Though some people might garage their grate from September to April, there are plenty of us who can be found wielding a pair of tongs and a basting brush while knee-deep in a snowdrift or slathered in sunscreen—and we're always happy to share.
It doesn't have to be fancy or fussy (except the internal temperature of your meat or fish; that you have to nail)—just a flame, some fresh ingredients and a few tips from some of our favorite grilling experts. For instance: an outdoor dinner party from chef and author Joe Carroll, featuring beer-marinated rump steaks, clams with garlic butter, charred long beans and a grilled Nutella-and-cheese dessert. Or a step-by-step guide to making tender, never-dry ribs and chicken every time with simple tricks from our food editor, Andy Baraghani. We're also hosting heated debates over the ideal fuels, rubs, marinades and more with a few of the best in the biz.
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Of course, we'll also show off our favorite cookbooks, classic gear and the best new gadgets on the market, as well as advice on how to use them (if you don't know how to build a proper fire in a chimney starter, you're about to), plus great ways to incorporate grill flavor, even if you don't have outdoor space. And because it would be a shame to let all that sublime smoke go to waste, we'll also show you how to soak it up with fruit, salt and other ingredients that take to the taste of flame like a match to a stack of charcoal.
Sides, cocktails, picnic styling tips and more? But of course! We're too fired up to stop. Come join us out by the grill all month (or year) long.
