A Texan View of Cooking on the Grill

As a natural born Texan, I cut my teeth on dominoes and starting cooking on the grill about the same time I threw away my training wheels. Texas cooking on a grill is just what you are supposed to do. If you are aspiring to become the next great American grill company or just want some grill recipes for steak, you are at the right spot.

Cooking on the grill is not only fun but if you get good at it, you will find friends you never knew you had. Easiest way to start on the grill is cooking hamburgers. Now I am not talking about just any ole hamburger, I am talking the kind people tell other people about. Look for hamburger recipes for the grill to begin with.

Naturally my own personal recipe includes Worcester Shire sauce, ketchup, onion powder and garlic powder. Take the ketchup and put some in a bowl. Don't be afraid to put some in there. Then take the Worcester Shire sauce and pour some in there until the ketchup is still thick but yet has become slightly creamy. Add a good amount of the onion powder and the garlic powder. What I consider good is that when I pour the powder on, I can't see the ketchup. Now mix this all up real good. You now got a good sauce to add to your hamburgers. When they start to get done, bask each side with the recipe. This will be mighty fine eating.

Now cooking a steak is something else. If you can't cook a steak on the grill to perfection, then you either need to hang up your thongs or practice a whole bunch. Let's grill some rib eyes. I am thinking about 1 to 1 ½ inch thick weighing in around 14 – 16 ounces. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Some Texans love t-bones but I favorite the rib eyes because they can be really tender. Think of all that marble fat getting into your arteries and clogging them up. In the mean time, boy does it takes good going down.

What are the grill times for steak? This can depend a lot on your skills of building a hot fire. The hotter the fire, the better. Charcoal sure gives off a good flavor but mesquite which west Texas has a lot of those just about worthless trees sure do give a great flavor on the grill. For the grill steak temperature varies on how you like your meat. if you like rare then the temperature should be in the 115 – 120 degrees. Some folks like a medium rare so let the temperature rise to about 125-130 degrees. I am a medium well kind of guy so I like my steaks to reach somewhere around 135 – 145 degrees. Anything higher gives you a well done steak. How long to grill filet mignon Don't overlook this; the meat will keep on cooking once you remove it from the grill. How a steak looks on the grill is pretty important also.

Steaks aren't the only thing good on a grill. I used to eat lobsters that have been boiled or baked in the oven. I discovered some grill lobster tail recipe and oh boy, do I now love grilled lobsters. Just mix a little butter and garlic and bask it on the lobster tail. It only takes a few minutes to cook lobster. It is easy to over cook and it looses it tenderness. Cooking lobster or other fishes require your constant attention. There are plenty of bonefish grill recipes on the web.

I love pork cooked on the grill. Down here in Texas, we consider pork the other white meat. There is nothing like cooking a pork loin roast on grill for Sunday's lunch. Pork chops are pretty good as well. How to grill pork loin is fairly simple. I do mine by look. I cook it a minute or two on each side to lock in the juices. I then cook for 3-4 minutes on one side and then flip them over and do the same. If it looks done, I take a knife and poke in the thickest spot. If it doesn't bleed, then I take it off the grill and server.

I guess the next question people are going to ask is this. How long do you grill chicken? Chicken on the grill is almost as good as southern fried. In Texas, when it comes to cooking, our motto is "If you fry, I will try it". Lets get healthy for a moment. If you got a hot fire, you can cook your chicken in about 10 -12 minutes. I always de-skinned mine so that I don't have to worry about the flare ups.