Though grilling is perhaps the most straightforward of all cooking methods, it's surrounded by plenty of lore and theory. Some of it is just good fun, some of it is actually useful, and some of it is downright wrong. Here are a couple of the most prevalent grilling myths we've heard lately: A good way to deal with flareups is to squirt the flames with a water pistol. Wrong. When you squirt coals with a water pistol, you create a big puff of ashes that tends to get onto the food and make it taste (surprise) ashy. Not what you want. Instead, leave a part of the grill free of coals when you build your fire. Then, when flareups occur, just move the food to the part with no coals until the flames have died down. After you sear a steak or other quick-cooking food, you should leave it over the coals and put the cover on the grill to finish cooking. Not a good idea. When you are cooking directly over coals, some fat does drop into the fire and vaporize. This smoke tends to have an "off" taste, which can flavor the food if the cover is on. Instead, build a fire with lower and higher areas of heat. After searing your steak or whatever, move it to the area with fewer coals. If it's particularly thick, cover it with a disposable tin pan to create a mini-oven effect. You should really only cover the grill when you are smoke-roasting, which is to say using indirect heat to cook over a long period of time. Next: When Is It Done?
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