Okay, so it's too late to get this as a Christmas gift, but
if you know a dedicated griller who has a fireplace, this is a surefire way to
make his winter a lot more cheerful. Or if you yourself miss the sizzle and
smoke of summertime, treat yourself to a New Year's present with real staying
power. I'm talking, of course, about the Tuscan grill. This is such a good idea
that I'm not sure why it hasn't become more popular. Like the best grilling equipment
of any sort (think the Weber kettle or the chimney fire starter) the Tuscan
grill is very simple: It's nothing more than a cast-iron grate that is
suspended over the fire by two L-shaped supports. (On better models, the grid
is adjustable to three heights, and there's a built-in drip pan to help prevent
flare-ups and keep the hearth clean.) That's all it takes to turn your
fireplace into a source for the kind of beautifully charred steaks,
smoke-imbued vegetables, and juicy, perfectly seared pork chops that you
thought you could produce only in the balmy months. Plus it's great for
entertaining, because guests uniformly find it both novel and fun to gather
round the hearth while you grill. Models with drips pans can be found for about
$150 at
surlatable.com and
spitjack.com.
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