Grill Talk

Tips to keep your grill hot all summer long.

Anybody can grill, but not everybody can grill well. Just ask Art Inzinga, 53, a professional chef who has taught for the Pittsburgh Culinary Institute for nine years. Inzinga doesn't have one specialty - he teaches in every one of the Institute's kitchens - so when it comes to backyard smokin', Inzinga knows his stuff.

"People tend in general to keep their grills too hot," he says, noting the trend in grilling lighter meats. "They need to control [the heat] a bit. Whenever I grill, I like to use charcoal. Propane is cheating, in my book. I prefer to have three heat zones, one hot zone where I will build up a layer of briquettes or charcoal pieces three to four pieces deep. Another zone has low heat and is built up with a layer of charcoal only one piece deep. I also prefer to leave some of the grill with no charcoal below it. The high heat zone is used to give a sear to the food; then it can be moved to the lower zone for finishing. If you already have an acceptably charred exterior of the food, but still need more cooking time, the food can be moved to the unheated part of the grill and finished by simply closing the lid of the grill. The food will continue to cook with the radiant heat from the charcoal but will not darken anymore."

If that doesn't get your mouth watering, consider Inzinga's spice rub, which he was kind enough to share with us: "Spice rubs are a great way to build flavor in meats and seafood," he advises. "There are many good commercial blends available in grocery stores or you can make one of your own. One of the keys is to use more herbs and spices and not rely on a heavy amount of salt in your blend. A rub heavy in salt will tend to pull moisture from your meat."

ALL-PURPOSE BARBECUE RUB:

1/4 cup black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon dry mustard

Combine all ingredients thoroughly, lightly coat food to be grilled with the spice mixture and massage it into the food a few hours before cooking.