Man Law Tuesday #3

Man Law #3
Man Law stipulates that every member of the male species MUST, at a minimum, be able to prepare ‘decent’ food on a grill. Some of you think that you can simply avoid violating this law by never hosting a cook-out. However, this is not the case. If you are at a cook-out and a member of the Man-Law brotherhood asks you for assistance, it is your civic Man-Law duty to step up to the plate (or grill) and assume co-pilot duties. Grilling ineptitude is NO excuse…Here are five tips to help you avoid a Man Law violation the next time a grill is in your presence.




TIP #1: Much like the garage, grills and grilling are the sole domains of men. An agreement was made centuries ago…men don’t give birth, women don’t grill…period.

TIP #2: Only a fool doesn’t use the right tool(s) - Always use long handled tools to help keep your hands/arms as far as possible from the hot grill surface when cooking. It’s difficult to impress your family with your grilling prowess when you’re sporting burns and blisters. Use a good meat thermometer especially on roasts and thicker selections of meat as this will take the guess work out of proper doneness. I use the following to help me gauge: Rare 125 deg, M Rare 135 deg, Medium 145 deg, M Well 155 deg Well 165 deg. I don’t mess with chicken, ALWAYS cook it to at least 165 deg. REMEMBER! After you take the meat off the grill cover it and let it stand for 10 min. The meat will finish cooking and letting it sit will bring its juiciness back.

TIP #3: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES cut into a piece of meat that is still being cooked! With the exception of Tip #1, this is the most heinous infraction of the Man Law’s of grilling. If another man observes someone about break this law, it is the responsibility of the observer to ‘take out’, ‘disarm’ or otherwise disable and keep the offender from slicing and dicing. Cutting into a piece of meat while cooking opens the meat and allows the juices to escape and will result in drying it out. Use the thermometer mentioned in Tip #2.

TIP #4: If you have to use steak sauce on a steak, then you’ve never had a decent steak. Steak sauce covers the taste of a BAD steak; a good steak doesn’t need a sauce. Spices and herbs are another matter all together as they will enhance and draw out the natural flavors of the steak.

TIP #5: While at another man’s house standing around HIS grill, remember: With the exception of Tip #3, don't tell him how to cook since most likely he's been cooking on a grill since he was a teenager. Don't tell him how to better use his grill seeing he's been cooking on the same grill for 9+ years. Don't tell him "how you do it" because honestly…he really doesn't care. Respect the man...respect the grill...enjoy the food!

Yes...I would claim that I am a Jedi-GrillMaster, but I say that in all humility, because while I have mastered many techniques, there are endless possibilities and flavors to explore. Taste is a matter of individual preference and what's spot on for one, may just be mediocre to another.

Grill long. and prosper...

~ V