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Show Cooking with gas saves time ; and creates flavorful foods Cooking outdoors is one of life's 1 greatest pleasures and today's gas' barbecue is making it better than' ever. From spit-roasting to smokers, . Jerry Anne DiVecchio, food editor ; s for "Sunset Magazine," closely follows the barbecue beat and re-, cently reviewed a number of gas . barbecues. Overall, she found that cooking with gas saves rime, offers , quicker cooking control than charcoal char-coal and can create flavorful and aromatic foods. . . "Sunset Magazine', regularly features articles on outdoor cooking and is considered by many to be the ; definitive resource of Western liv ' ing. Di Vecchio ofTcrs these 10 tips -to get the most from your gas grill: " For the most, even cooking, use1 a ' heat distributing material of, . uniform size and shape. While lava rocks - are . standard in many gas. barbecues,' their irregular shapes create an uneven heating pattern. They are also more prone to flare- ups because they catch dripping fat . in their pits and crevices. - Manufactured ceramic - and pumice briquettes; produced in uniform sizes and shapes, distribute heat evenly. The new cast-iron bar" grids and heat-retentive steel plates are also proving to be very effective for heat distribution. , Prolong the use of your rocks or briquettes by occasianslly burning burn-ing off built-up fat. Turn them over and keep the barbecue on high until they stop smoking, t '. s t- v Replace lava rocks every two to five years. They never wear out, but , they do get very soiled and rancid. Although ceramic and pumice briquettes bri-quettes tend to stay fresher longer : than lava, they should also be replaced after a period of time. As - for grids and plates, their estimated life span is five to six years. : ' jCeep track of your fuel supply ' by weighing the tank on ; your i bathroom scale when empty and ;-: again when filled. Keep in mind the , filled weight A standard five- i gallon tank will give you 20 to 30 v cc:-:rjz cm r:zcr pace Eggsaccuratelytested CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE hours of use. Check the fuel supply before a big barbecue by weighing the tank-it's mighty inconvenient, to run but of fuel when foods are half-cooked. If you have a small barbecue, you'll get the best cooking results with meats that are very lean or fat-free fat-free and quick cooking, such as chicken breast, lean, firm-textured . fish, and fat-trimmed red meats. Vegetables also work well on a smaller grill. Add moist wood chips to your gas barbecue for a sweet, fragrant aroma. Or try charcoal-impregnated clay briquettes to get the flavor of charcoal grilling. The aroma will burn away after the " first few minutes the coals are heated. Follow the manufacturers' instructions instruc-tions whenever you make any addi tions of this kind. . Keep the hood -of your gas barbecue, closed while cooking, opening only to tend to foods. Like oven cooking, heat generated by gas quickly diffuses in the open air. Because flare-ups are always a problem when grilling foods, pay close attention to the grill by watching wat-ching and even listening for flames: Minimize flare-ups caused by fat or sauces dripping onto the heat distributors by trimming fat from food before grilling and keeping, sauces from dripping while you baste. The unwanted charred: or burned taste that accompanies flare-ups flare-ups will be avoided as well. Remove fobds immediately from the grill if they begin to flare. Leave the hood open until the flames burn off, then return the foods to the grill. Turn food with .tongs or a spatula instead of with a fork-they are . not only easier to handle, but no flavorful juices are lost. |
