Here's what I found interesting when Don said; "First, I put this in evolutionary perspective. Neither prehistoric people nor contemporary hunter-gatherers had equipment for grilling. Paleo people used baking, roasting, steaming, and boiling, not grilling. This means we have not had any time to adapt to the by-products of grilling." I dont have the research to back this up, but common sense would tell me that putting a piece of meat on a stick and holding it/positioning it over a fire would compare to grilling, no? But maybe we are just splitting hairs there. What really put things together for me was this response from Don;
"Yes, I agree. The majority of carcinogens get produced when juices hit the flames, which converts components of the juices into aromatic compounds that then get lodged in the meat, so a drip pan will reduce this effect"
My heroes when it comes to grilling are the Argentinians. The way they have perfected the art of grilling is so mouthwatering good, I would move there just to be able to hvae regular acces to it. Now what I find very interesting is that "flare up" (when the juices hit the flame) is an absolute sin when grilling the Argentine way.
My conclusion, if you grill often as I do, study the art of using in-direct heat. More to follow on that subject. What do you think?
Lunch and dinner;
I really love this type of salad; red leaf romaine lettuce, with some scallion, garlic, cucumber. Olive oil and a bit of dijon mustard ties it all together. I cut up some left over lamb and quickly warmed it in some butter. Wonderful lunch.
So for dinner............
Oh heavens was this good ;-)
Again some left over lamb with fresh shrimp simply sauteed in a bit of butter. Added a teaspoon of vindaloo paste (have you tried it yet?) and then a splash of heavy cream at the end.
Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into. WD
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9 comments:
Didn't see the comments thread yesterday, so I'm kind of late to the party. Here goes.
Don said:
"Neither prehistoric people nor contemporary hunter-gatherers had equipment for grilling."
Totally false. Contemporary hunter-gatherers roast meat on sticks over fires. That's grilling. As for prehistoric peoples, it's all speculation, of course, but why wouldn't they grill? They had fires and sticks, didn't they?
Contemporary Argentine cooking preserves some indigenous South American hunter-gatherer open-fire grill methods, generally based on making a simple frame of green sticks, putting the meat or fish on it, and tilting it over the fire. There is no reason to think that prehistoric people didn't do this anf every reason to think that they did. So I vote: GRILL AWAY. And Don, be a little more careful about blanket assertions, you are misleading people.
Indirect is great for chicken - do you do that with beef as well?
Literally just got my 12 pack of cedar grilling planks I bought off Woot last week - perfect for avoiding ye ole flare ups...
Ahhh, excellent point, Marc.
Obviously when I read this:
"Paleo people used baking, roasting, steaming, and boiling, not grilling."
the steel bars on my mind slammed shut; I've gotta stop doing that.
maria
Hi, I 've been following the blog for awhile, and I love your stuff! I've just recently gotten more into cooking/grilling meats, and I was just wondering if you had any tips on how to grill using indirect heat?
@Bolt Fitness;
That's a pretty open ended question. A lot depends on what cut of meat you are cooking. Basic technique on a charcoal grill is to scrape your coals to the outer edges of your grill, and set an aluminum pan in the bottom to catch grease preventing flareups. For larger cuts like brisket you may need to add charcoal to the fire during cooking process. Gas is easy, just turn one side of the grill to low or off, and turn the other side up. Close the lid. It's basically an oven at that point anyway. :)
@AlphaDog thanks a lot for the response...since I'm just starting to learn a lot on cooking meats it's very helpful. I figured about either moving the coals or the meat to the side, but the I hadn't thought of putting a pan to catch drippings.
Last question: can anyone recommend any good paleo cook books? I've been looking around, but had decided on one yet. I know this is open ended too, but if anyone has a favorite they could point me towards that'd be awesome!
I use my gas grill a LOT all year (except recently because I've been too lazy to refill the tanks). I rarely have flare-up issues or a lot of charring because I have changed my grill technique to one which emphasizes slow, low, indirect heat cooking (essentially turns the grill into an oven). Yes, I often start out searing over higher heat briefly, but that rarely creates flare-ups as the fats haven't rendered out yet and I use flavorful rubs instead of sugary sauces and marinades.
I think the all-too-common practice of using lots of sugary sauces and marinades and cooking too fast over direct heat should be avoided for lots of reasons.
grilling aka bbq'ing I would have thought was the oldest method of cooking.
Alex,
Good points. The more I think about it...flare up is mostly created by fat and marinades. HG's meat selection was more lean, so maybe less flare up? I'm sure they didn't put olive oil and their rib eye ;-)
Thanks for the comments.
Mark,
Absolutely.
Yesterday grilled a rib eye covered on top with a little butter..just 2 minutes on direct heat then indirect. This is to me THE way to grill grass fed. Cedar...that will be yummy.
Maria,
You read Whole Health source?
Stephan did a great Aril fools post...he had everyone going. Keep your mind open as you read/study...
Bolt,
AlphaDog summed it up pretty good.
I will do a post on it.
Anna,
EXCELLENT point as always. See my comment to Mark. Indirect for my grass fed rib eye last night. Delicious!
Source,
yea...that was my thought too.
Marc
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