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26 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, May 18, 2007 Heat up your summer cooking on the grill Yahoo! The first long weekend of the year! If you haven't already had your barbecue in action-- then now is the time. Here are a few helpful hints to have you grilling like a star. We made the switch this year from a propane barbecue to a natural gas barbecue-- only through the generosity of our friends who donated their mildly used Weber to us--man, can that baby cook! Anyhow, if you are married, then I would highly suggest making the switch if you can. It has ended the inevitable marital argument that takes place just as the meat should be cooking-- WHY are we out of propane AGAIN! And of course, you only run out of propane when you have company, Home Hardware is closed and none of your friends have propane tanks to lend you because they all made the switch ages ago. If you are single, then keep on cooking with whatever type you like, but if it's propane, I would suggest an extra tank kept in the garage can be very helpful. Apparently spiders like to make nests or webs in the tubes that connect the barbecue to the gas source during the winter when the barbecue is unused for a long time. This can make the barbecue appear to not be functioning at full capacity, as the gas is not reaching the burners as it should. I have never cleaned these tubes out myself, but I know it needs to be done-- try asking your friendly neighbourhood barbecue salesman if they service barbecues. The rocks in the barbecue do not last forever. Eventually they must be replaced or at least more purchased. The rocks in the bottom are what distributes the heat evenly, so you need to have a full base of them otherwise you will have hot and cold spots on the grill. The grills on many barbecues are actually made from a ceramic material and Lori Gysel & Gerry Kentner then coated-- so if you scrape them with a metal scraper, you will make micro-cracks in the ceramic. When this happens, air and moisture get into the grill itself and cause it to rust. So, to clean the grill, turn up the heat to high and let the heat cook the grill, then use the brush and brush the grill, but do not scrape with the metal scraper unless you are certain that your grill is completely stainless steel. If you are cooking steak. 1. Let the barbecue heat up on the highest setting for 10-20 minutes until it is REALLY hot. 2. For grilling, you must start with a tender piece of steak or a well marinated piece of steak. Grilling does NOT make meat more tender. 3. Season the steak with salt and pepper. Do not season hours in advance, because salt will dry out the meat, you only want to season just before it goes on the grill. 4. Brush the meat with butter or oil just before going on the grill to keep it moist and speed up the browning. 5. DO NOT PIERCE, SQUEEZE, FLIP, POKE, PROD, SLICE OR OTHERWISE TAMPER WITH THE STEAK DURING THE COOKING PROCESS. This causes the steak to lose its natural juices and will make even the most expensive piece of meat turn tough. 6. The steak should be no more than 2 inches thick because any thicker and the inside of the steak will be cold and raw when the outside is still black. 7. Once the steak is quite browned on the one side, then turn it to the other side. When the second side is browned, then turn the heat down to low and allow the steak to finish cooking on the inside. 8. You can tell how well the steak is done by poking it with your finger. Poke the middle of the steak-- if it feels quite firm and resistant to your poking-- it is well done. If it has some `give', then it is medium. If it is only mildly resistant to your poking, then it is rare. Remember that this `poking' is being done by your finger and not a sharp implement. 9. Serve immediately! We're out of space for this week, so next week we'll touch on barbecue tips for chicken and fish. Also, a big thank you to my son, Michael Gysel (age 10) who made the devilled eggs for this week's photo-- great job! Have fun and keep cooking! (Lori and Gerry can be reached at whatscookin@independentfreepress.com) Devilled eggs 1. Place eggs gently in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down until the water is simmering. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. 2. Immediately remove eggs from the water and run under cold water. For easiest results in peeling the eggs, peel them right away while they are still slightly warm. 3. Once peeled, cut each egg in half, lengthwise. Use a sharp, wet knife. 4. Remove the egg yolk from each half. 5. In a food processor, combine the egg yolks with mayonnaise, butter, a pinch of dry mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper. (Use approximately equal parts of mayonnaise and butter to make the mixture moist, but not runny). 6. Using a piping bag (or a teaspoon), pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg white halves. 7. Garnish each egg half with paprika or sliced black olive or parsley. 8. Serve. Cook's Notes: · Eggs are much easier to peel if they are a few days old. As the eggs age, a tiny amount of liquid will evaporate through the shell of the egg, creating a larger air pocket on the inside, thus making them easier to peel. So, buy them, allow them to sit in the fridge for a couple of days and then boil them up! · If you are not going to peel the eggs right away, store them in a dish of cold water in the fridge. They will be much easier to peel later if they were stored wet, not dry. 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