Camp CWD: The Grilling Issue

A primer on grilling and how to make the most of a summer cookout.

I remember, distinctly, my first time cooking over fire¹. The summer after my sophomore year of college I moved into a house off-campus. One of my roommates at the time² had some of his friends from home³ come stay with us for a few days⁴. One night we decided on burgers for dinner — both for their accessibility for novice chefs and for their affordability for $10/hour internship wages.

We didn’t, however, have a grill.

So we hightailed it to Home Depot⁵ and got the cheapest Weber charcoal grill we could find, some lighter fluid, charcoal. Back at our house, on the covered patio, we drenched the coals in fluid and tossed in a match⁶, letting things rip.

The burgers were fine, certainly cooked through, but that’s not why I remember that night. I remember it because it entrenched in my mind the satisfaction of cooking over a fire, of cooking for others, of self-sufficiency. It was the seed of a lot of cooking to come, though I didn’t fully realize it at the time.

I think we cooked over that grill a few more times before the neighbors downstairs gifted us their old gas grill⁷. That sufficed for the next year, getting its reps in with typical collegiate fare: burgers, hot dogs, charred ribs, and more burgers. Maybe even a steak or two.

In the early days of my cooking career — and this carried over to grilling — I assumed that the higher the heat the better. Everything was cranked over open flames, indiscriminately placed on the grill, no regard for internal temp — doneness based on intuition and feel. One learns slowly, and then all at once.

I’ve since become a bit more sophisticated while cooking outdoors. I’ve expanded my horizons, cooking over not just chemically propelled charcoal and propane, but also over real wood fires; using a precision controlled Traeger; in a pinch, on an electric grill⁸. However it’s done, and with whatever apparatus, I think grilling is the purest form of cooking. Man⁹ vs. flame as nature intended.

More than any other cooking technique, grilling represents community. While you certainly can fire up the grill to cook for yourself¹⁰, there’s really a certain level of commitment involved. It just feels right to grill for others. Quintessentially, it is dads who man¹¹ the grill, talk and bond over the grill, make food for others on the grill. When you cook over flames, you’re cooking with fire — and I mean this in all senses of the word, because you’re cooking with passion. It’s a primal way to cook — and it’s fun.

Since I’d still consider this the Fourth of July, we’ll continue on a Camp CWD theme¹², and today we’re going to do a little primer on grilling — the methods you can use, what to cook and how, and suggest a few things you can use to make grilling a little more convenient. Hopefully this will inspire you to cook something outside this weekend — because, really, that’s the best excuse to use your grill and the best way to eat!

Let’s jump in.

Part One: How to Build a Fire

There are a lot of options for grilling¹³: charcoal or gas; pellet smoker or kamodo; hibachi or griddle; dirt cheap or extravagantly expensive. There’s no right or wrong way to grill: instead, you should use what you have. For most people, a gas-powered Weber grill or similar is the most convenient and easiest option — quick to ignite and get cooking on, low maintenance, lots of optionality on how to cook. Something from the Spirit or Genesis line covers you 99% of the time. More classic would be a charcoal grill — again, Weber makes a solid starter as alluded to above, you can upgrade with a PKGrill¹⁴, or tell me if this one from NOMAD is worth buying — for which my internet friend

Myles Snider

wrote a terrific guide recently.

Another option I love is cooking over a live fire. You can do this by just building a fire, or, if you have a fire pit, using that¹⁵. This method takes a little more work, since you’ll need to maintain the right temperature manually, or wait for the flames to die so you’re not just scorching your food — but it’s probably the most satisfying¹⁶.

In either of these two options, you’re going to want to create what is known as “cooking zones.” This means areas of the grill with higher or lower heat (“direct” or “indirect”). On a gas grill, you can turn one set of burners down, or use the elevated rack to keep your food further away from the heat — this is your indirect zone. This cooks more like an oven, and is keeps food from getting too charred. On the direct/high heat zone, you get your sear, your char, your grill marks — this is the fun zone!

If you feel like you want to go deeper into the smoky flavor, you can do it a few ways¹⁷. You can get a pellet smoker — like a Traeger¹⁸ — and dip your toes into wood-fired smoking with the same accessibility that of of gas, or get something like a kamoda grill — Big Green Egg, for example — and play with real wood. You could also dive all the way in and get an offset smoker — like this one from Mill Scale — and truly commit yourself to a day cooking outside¹⁹.

Part Two: What to Cook

Once you’ve figured out your method of cooking, you’ll need to figure out what to cook. Generally, you can cook anything on anything, but to maximize flavor and convenience, here are a few ideas:

Burgers: Gas or charcoal grill, smoker, or griddle. It’s hard to do these over a live fire unless you have a griddle you can position over the flame. When your burgers are flat, use direct heat, if you make them more like oversized meatballs, I prefer to cook over indirect. You can also throw a skillet or griddle top over your heat source and make smash burgers, which are always delicious.

Steaks: Any of the above — for thinner cuts, you can do them on a grill or slightly offset heat from a live fire, flipping rather consistently until medium rare. For thicker cuts, like a cowboy ribeye or a roast, use indirect heat²⁰ until your meat is just shy of medium rare, then finish with a sear over direct heat. Another option that has high presentation value is to cook your steak directly on the embers of a dying fire.

Chicken: Very similar to a steak. If you’re cooking a whole chicken, spatchcocking is preferred, or stick a beer can into the body cavity and cook it vertically with indirect heat.

Sausages: You can either do these over high heat or start them off slow and finish on high heat. It’s tough to miscook a good sausage²¹.

Fish: Thicker and firmer fish are better on the grill — salmon, tuna, swordfish, etc. Or you could do whole fish — like a trout, snapper, or branzino. You can do these over higher heat until easily pierced with a fork — or try cooking salmon on a cedar plank. Generally flakey white fish won’t work, since they’re too delicate for the grill.

Veggies: There are few better preparations for veggies than grilled directly over a fire. I’m partial to peppers and onions, asparagus, and big ol’ portabella mushroom. Drizzle them with olive oil, some salt, pepper, and a dash of balsamic vinegar and let them rip over direct heat²². If you’re slicing thinly, use tinfoil or a grill pan to keep from losing too many good veggies to the void between grill grates²³

Dessert: S’mores are a classic, but when you start thinking of your grill with the lid down as fire-powered outdoor oven, a whole world of baking opens up — see these smoked chocolate crinkle cookies, And, of course, grilled fruit with ice cream is always a crowd pleaser.

At the end of the day, anything you can cook inside, you can also cook outside. As you get a little more confident cooking with fire, you can branch out — trying different techniques, different flavors, different cuts. Try a paella over your bonfire, steam lobsters like they do in Maine with a wood-stoked fire. The world is your oyster²⁴.

Uncle Steady’s Interlude: Grillin’ Beers

Uncle Steady, beyond being a sourdough scientist, is also our resident beer connoisseur. He was kind enough to provide some inspiration for summertime sipping. If these are too fancy, hoppy, or inaccessible for you, I’ve lately been partial to Narragansett’s Fresh Catch or a sea-salted sour beer.

To me, the best beers for grilling are light and aromatic — perfect for long summer days in the sunshine. Light is mainly in the mouthfeel and taste, not necessarily in ABV! The aromatic components (i.e. hop and yeast) are in contrast to more malt-forward beers that are great for fall and winter.  Below are my recommendations:

Hazy / New England IPA: Tree House Julius, Finback Rolling In Clouds, Alvarado Street Cold Pressed

Wheat: Allagash White, Funky Buddha Floridian

Belgian: Russian River Saison, Chimay Gold, Delirium Tremens

Part Three: On Being Prepared

You probably don’t need anything new to grill. Most kitchen utensils work equally well outside. That being said, if you spend a decent amount of time cooking outdoors, you’ll probably also want to get some dedicated grilling equipment²⁵. Here are a few recommendations, in no particular order:

Tongs: You’ll want an extra long pair to help keep your arm hair intact. Something like this is all you need. Lamson makes a gorgeous pair that’s American-made, but also almost 10x the price. Choose what makes you happy.

Spatula: Like your tongs, a longer spatula is nice to have, especially for live fire cooking. This is a good example, but you can also just grab something at the hardware store. Or splurge for this set, also from Lamson.

Instant Read Thermometer: I’ll admit, I thought I was too cool or too good for a thermometer for the longest time. But after having to bring dinner back out to the grillm once too often because it wasn’t quite done, I’m a convert. I like this little dude from ThermoPop, this one is the holy grail if you watch any barbeque videos on YouTube, and the Meater is super cool if you want to watch temp from your phone and nerd out on cooking stats. You can also just use one you find at the grocery store or hardware store. At the end of the day, they all do the same thing.

Gloves: These aren’t strictly necessary, but if you’re working with a real fire, it’s nice to have some coverage for you hands when moving logs around or grabbing anything made of metal. You can go with a few different options, but I like to use a pair of leather welding gloves because they look cool. Grab some nitrile gloves — black or orange — to use when handling the cooked meat.

Apron: There’s an old saying: look good, grill good. Aprons make you look like you know what you’re doing — plus having some extra pockets is nice. Find one you like and let it develop a nice patina.

Firestarters: If you spend any time lighting fires — in a firepit or with charcoal — a firestarter goes a long way. I like these for wood camp fires and this thing is a super deluxe electric flamethrower. If you’re using charcoal, a chimney starter is a great investment.

Wood Pellets: If you use a Traeger or other pellet grill, you’re going to go through a lot of pellets. I’ve tried all sorts of brands, and I’ve not found much difference between the most expensive and the least expensive. Try to find some that use real hardwood, but other than that, go with what’s cheapest. Tractor Supply sells a 40 pound bag for as low as $9.99 — which is an absolute steal.

Cool Knife: Okay this isn’t strictly necessary, but I really like this knife. It’s the perfect size for light prep work. And is sturdy enough where you won’t mind using it outside, maybe even by the campfire. This one looks sweet, too — and these. Or pretend you’re an Alaskan fisherman with one of these. I guess I’m kind of a sucker for knives.

Bucket: Again, not strictly necessary, but having a 5-gallon bucket hanging around makes life way easier. I asked for this one from YETI, half-joking, for my birthday a few years ago and now use it for everything. Brining ham and turkey, holding drinks or ice or arrows or wood pellets, as a trash can, make-shift fire extinguisher — heck, the lid even makes a perfect oyster holder. This is a cheaper, still food-safe option²⁶, and this one is even more indulgent than the YETI one²⁷.

Cast Iron Pan: If you don’t have one already, get one. You can use this on the grill for veggies or pizza, in the smoker for pulled pork, or over a fire just about anything. A cast iron pan is truly a do it all. You can get one from Lodge for under $20 or this one for almost $400. Your call.

Part Four: Bringing It All Together

You’ve got your grill, you’ve got meat and vegetables, your beers and your accoutrement. You’re ready to grill. Now you just need to get started. What’s stopping you?

If you have the benefit of a grill, I think it makes sense to cook almost every meal outside during the summer²⁸. As I mentioned earlier, anything you can cook on the stovetop or in the oven can be done over the grill. Think of what you’d normally eat for dinner, and then flex your creative flexibility and figure out how to make it work over fire. The CWD archives are a great starting point, of course, but there’s no limit or constraints on what you can do. Experiment. Have fun.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or addendums to what I’ve written, please let me know. Drop a note in the comments, send me an email. This is a collaborative experience — and I’m just here to get better.

With that, I’ll let you go. Enjoy the weekend, the sunshine. Add some salt and lemon juice to your water, take off your shoes and walk in the grass, try to hold your breath for at least 60 seconds once or twice — what good are boundaries except to push up against?

1. Growing up, we had a grill, I’m sure — but I never remember anyone using it; it just sitting dusty in the garage. Maybe Nana CWD can refresh my memory?

2. Roommate CWD, APAC. ‘Sup!

3. Kentucky — my kind of people.

4. A week? More? Who can really say in those halcyon days of collegiate summers — no real responsibility, no classes, no parents. A taste of freedom, but not quite adulthood. Those are the memories, the melodies, we try to invoke on those first nice days at the end of May. I can almost taste the Narragansetts.

5. Or maybe Lowe’s, I’m not 100% sure.

6. It’s shocking we didn’t burn the house down right then and there — or dozens of other times in the ensuing two years.

7. Also a fire hazard, with a non-functioning ignitor. The only way to light it was to turn on the gas and huck a lit match into the belly of the beast. Horrifying.

8. No thanks to the miserable old lady who lived in our condo building in the city, who made it her personal business to enforce every “no cooking over open flames” ordinance she could find.

9. Or, yes — woman.

10. Especially if you’re cooking with propane.

11. Talk about gendered language!

12. If you haven’t guessed.

13. And I’m only a little ashamed to admit that I own and use most of them.

14. Which I recently learned stands for “Portable Kitchen.”

15. SoloStove and Breeo both make accessories to cook over their smokeless pits — bit you can hack something together with whatever you’re using.

16.

Myles Snider

wrote a terrific Twitter thread on live fire cooking, which you can check out here.

17. We also wrote about how to mimic cooking on a smoker with a regular gas grill last summer, with this reverse-seared ribeye recipe.

18. Which I have and love.

19. And a couple grand out of your pocket.

20. This means not directly over the flames of your cooking device.

21. Which is why it’s so important to get good ones!

22. Josh McFadden, who cooks extensively with seasonal vegetables, prefers not to oil them before grilling — he think the flavor of the produce comes out better without an oily barrier between veggie and heat (he also doesn’t think olive oil holds up well over such intense heat). He then dresses the grilled veggies after cooking. I haven’t tried this yet, but it’s an intriguing concept.

23. Or cook in a cast iron pan.

24. You can do oysters on coals, too — don’t worry!

25. Kinda like when you give a mouse a cookie.

26. Food-safe is key if you’re going to be using it to handle anything you want to eat.

27. Is it weird I kind of want one now?

28. Or heck, year-round.