Sure, here in sunny California we barbecue year-round, but even summer gives us an even better excuse to cook outside. You need a good set of barbecue tools to get it right, and a little practice. Remember to keep your grill clean with your cleaning tools. Stainless steel BBQ tool sets like those from Chefmaster will hold up the best.

Many gas grills also have side burners and you can cook your mushrooms or other vegetables while cooking steak, roast beef, chicken, etc. Encapsulated stainless steel pans cook better as the heat is distributed evenly. This allows you to reduce the fat a bit (butter, oil, etc.). Multi-element cookware like Chef’s Secret Cookware or Precise Heat Cookware, which offer stainless steel multi-element waterless cookware, are good for this.

When I lived in Mexico for a few years, one of my friends showed me an interesting trick to clean the surface of the barbecue grill. He cuts an onion in half and rubs it across the surface of the grill. He cleans up tars beautifully and without caustic chemicals.

An alternative to grilling fish is to cook it in a foil bag. It’s like steaming or poaching but with the aroma of your wood chips or charcoal. I did this when I was boating a lot (had a little barbeque grill on rails in the cabin). But I’ve also used it for camping and on my backyard grill.

You make a boat out of aluminum foil the size of a single serving of fish. Rinse and clean the fish and squeeze lemon or lime juice over it, then pour in some dry white wine (optional but delicious), douse with olive oil, then sprinkle Lawry’s seasoned salt and ground pepper over it. Add your favorite vegetables including onion and green
bell pepper (sweet), hash browns (thinly sliced), and leafy greens or squash.

Add a little more Lawry’s and pepper and I also add a little more lemon and oil… Seal the bag and place it on the grill. I usually check it out in about 20 minutes. Depending on the fish, it’s usually done, but thicker cuts may need a few more minutes. It’s delicious. The flavors blend together and you have a meal out of a bag. Sometimes with salmon, I don’t add the vegetables, but Lawry’s, pepper, olive oil, wine, and of course lemon juice is a key ingredient. The process is basically a poaching technique. The fish comes out moist, light and full of flavor. This is a very healthy technique and preserves nutrients very well. Don’t overcook, cook it to the degree you like.

Enjoy

jay mawhinney