Schlesinger, Chris and Willoughby, John - License to Grill

License to Grill CHRIS SCHLESINGER JOHN WILLOUGHBY To Susan, Rick, Lizzie, and Tommy, with love and affection Eating takes a special talent Some people are much better at it than others In that way, it’s like sex, and as with sex, it’s more fun with someone who really likes it I can’t imagine having a lasting friendship with anyone who is not interested in food —ALAN KING Contents Epigraph iii Acknowledgments vii Introduction natural-born griller The Basics let the flames begin Starters soups 23 Starters appetizers and other small dishes 35 From the Pasta Bowl grilled stuff with pasta 85 Threading Flavors grilling on skewers 101 Strictly Entrées the original: grilled meat 129 Strictly Entrées fire and water: grilled fish and other water-dwellers 157 Strictly Entrées winged entrées 197 Food From the Ashes hobo pack cookery 211 For Heat Fanatics way hot 227 Slow and Low 243 barbecuing and smoke-roasting Great with Grilled Food something on the side 275 Big Flavors with Little Effort condiments and pickles, spice rubs and pastes 323 Alcoholic and Not beverages of choice 345 Things of Beauty a few desserts 355 Index 381 About the Authors Other Books by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby Cover Copyright About the Publisher acknowledgments FROM CHRIS In some ways writing a book is like being the chef of a restaurant—that is, there are a lot of people who work really hard to make things happen, but only one person gets the credit Just like a meal in my restaurant, there is no way this book could have happened without the hard work and diligence of many To thank them all would be a book in itself I’d like to thank my Blue Room chef, Mark Hall, for working his tail off serving outstanding food and keeping the walk-in clean and the customers happy so I could play hooky and work on the book Wesley Miyazaki, our pastry chef, really helped out with desserts, as did our ombudsperson and secret weapon, Lisa White Without their help, the only dessert in the book would be fresh fruit I also want to thank our General Manager, Nick “22” Zappia, and Assistant General Manager, Maureen “Bubbles” Rubino, for their unreal tolerance and good humor on all those early Friday mornings, and the whole kitchen and floor staffs, too I was extremely fortunate at this time to have very hardworking, talented, and unique staffs at the East Coast Grill and Jake & Earl’s First, thanks to Jeff Unger No matter how tired and cranky I was, hanging out with Jeff always cheers me up Here’s to more good years ahead Thanks also to the Dream Team wait staff anchored by Smiley, Tina, and Taylor And thanks to Kenton “Jake” Jacobs, the living legend of Northeast barbecue, for not only holding down the fort at Jake & Earl’s but also teaching us all a thing or two in the bargain Thanks to my business partner, Cary Wheaton, to whom I owe so much I’ll never be able to repay—but, Cary, I will try really hard Thanks also to my special assistant, Kitty Davis at International Headquarters, for her smile, her loyalty, and her hard work This is the fifth book that Doc and I have written together and we’re starting to figure it out a little, which means we’ve learned how to get really smart and energetic folks to give us a hand By all rights Bridget Batson’s name should be on the cover of the book along with mine and Doc’s She served as the missing link, deciphering my scribbles and schemes and vague ideas and translating them into hardened, tested recipes—no small feat Thanks, Bridget vii viii / License to Grill Thanks, also, to all my buds in the Boston restaurant community I’m sure you all see familiar stuff in this book—thanks for the ideas In particular, thanks to Jody Adams, Gordon Hamersley, Lydia Shire and Susan Regis, Todd English and Jasper White—whom I would like to be just like when I grow up Also thanks to my amigos Steve “Maurice” Johnson, Bob Kincaid, and Jimmy Burke It’s a beautiful country when guys like us own restaurants Thanks for your companionship, humor, and free food And lastly I’d like to thank my coauthor, Doc I know it’s not always easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything I can’t think of too many things that are as rewarding as working as a team to create Thanks for the friendship, the trips, and the cold beers CHRIS SCHLESINGER FROM JOHN (DOC) After years as a full-time writer, I’m still not totally accustomed to the discipline and concentration that it takes to work at home So I want to thank my neighbors and friends Rick, Susan, Tommy, and Lizzie for putting up with my idiosyncrasies as I worked on the book Also, thanks to Maurice for playing with my dog, Sherman, for hours on end so I could work Thanks, too, to my friend and colleague Mark Bittman for his advice, friendship, and unfailing willingness to chat on the phone when neither of us felt like working on our respective projects And thanks to my other friends and colleagues at Cook’s Illustrated magazine—Pam Anderson, Jack Bishop, Chris Kimball, Stephanie Lyness, and Adam Ried—for their inspiration and their good humor And of course, thanks to Chris, my inimitable coauthor Your sense of humor, your companionship, and your aversion to boredom continue to keep things lively and make what should be work often seem more like play To my mind, our work is truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts Thanks for your constant friendship, your generosity at the beach, and your astounding ability to come up with really bad puns on a moment’s notice JOHN WILLOUGHBY ... the grill Heavy-duty, long-handled, spring-loaded tongs: Look in a professional cook’s hands or back pocket, and you’re going to see a pair of these To me, they are the one indispensable grilling... writer, I’m still not totally accustomed to the discipline and concentration that it takes to work at home So I want to thank my neighbors and friends Rick, Susan, Tommy, and Lizzie for putting... It’s an honor to be associated with you, Doe, not to mention that you’re also fun to hang out with CHRIS AND JOHN INTRODUCTION natural-born griller A special casualness, a thrilling and challenging