When grilling season arrives, some people want inch-thick, juicy sirloins. Others want half-pound burgers, dripping with rosy red juices.
The rest of us–perhaps those of us with better sense?–want the good flavors of grilled foods without the guilt of too much fat and cholesterol. We want grilled foods, yes, but we want healthful, lean grilled foods.
If, as some estimates say, nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight, then lean grilling can literally be a lifesaver. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes that being overweight is a risk factor for or associated with heart disease, stroke, hypertension, some kinds of cancer, diabetes, psychological disorders, high cholesterol–the list goes on and on. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases estimates the direct and indirect costs of obesity at some $117 billion.
The American Medical Association’s recent criticisms of salt’s effects on health may also compel us to rethink what’s for dinner. Altogether, lean grilling has some fresh appeal.
The catch is that grilling, as a high-heat cooking method, plays havoc with the lean meats we want to grill. Less fat means less room for error; an overcooked boneless, skinless chicken breast is a beastly thing, not a thing of beauty.
So we asked some pros to share their secrets:
Steven Raichlen is a barbecue genius and author of a zillion books on grilling and healthful eating; his latest book is “Raichlen on Ribs.”
Cheryl and Bill Jamison are authors of another zillion books on grilling and healthful eating; their newest is “The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining.”
Don Mauer is a syndicated newspaper columnist and author. His newest book is “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Grilling.”
They had ideas.
First, try less familiar cuts.
“Pork tenderloin!” said Cheryl Jamison, a Galesburg, Ill., native who now lives in Santa Fe. “It’s very lean, and you can sauce it with any barbecue sauce. It can
satisfy that very meaty desire. For us, it’s one of the things that comes out best on the grill.” Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the tenderloin, she said. “Roll it around over high heat, about four minutes to a side, then finish it over medium heat for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness. We like to cook it to 155 degrees, so it’s a little pink still at the center.”
Figure that each tenderloin will serve two to three people, she said.
“Pork loin!” concurred Raichlen, whose “Barbecue University” airs at 2 p.m. Saturdays on WTTW-Ch. 11. “Butterfly it open, spread it with a paste of salt and pepper and rosemary and oil, then fold it up, tie it and spit-roast it so it bastes in its own juices.”
Jamison and Raichlen both pointed out that it is easy to carve off slices of either tenderloin or loin, if you would rather cook chops than the whole piece.
“Shellfish!” said Mauer, who lives in North Carolina. “Shrimp is incredibly lean.”
Mauer said he likes to “cook shrimp in the shell. Just split the shell down the back, remove that vein if you want to, and sprinkle a little seasoning in there. Close the shell back up. The shell protects the shrimp from the high heat of the grill. Over a medium-high fire, shrimp usually takes only two to three minutes per side.”
Skewer the shrimp, Mauer said, because the little bit of moisture in soaked wood skewers helps keep the shrimp moist. Run the skewer through each shrimp twice, once near the head and once near the tail. Push the shrimp snugly together, again to preserve moisture. “They’re done the second they turn pink–they continue to heat up after you take them off the grill.”
Mauer also likes mussels on the grill. “Farm-raised mussels are reasonably priced,” he said. “The shell does exactly what it does for the shrimp: protects against the heat. They even have their own pop-up timers. When the shells open, they’re done. If most are open but a few are not, throw the unopened ones away.”
If beef is what’s for dinner, then consider something beyond sirloin.
“Flank steak is so good on the grill because it has those big broad surfaces to get crusty,” Jamison said. “And you can use a lot of interesting rubs on it.”
“Tenderloin is the leanest, but it’s not my favorite because it doesn’t have much flavor,” Raichlen said. “New York strips are good, better [for you] than rib-eyes. Skirt steak is even better. Maybe people might reduce their portion size, but keep the excitement that they get from grilling, and continue the excitement by grilling their vegetables too.”
All the pros also like poultry for the grill.
It is easy to find “turkey burgers, turkey cutlets and turkey tenderloins these days,” Jamison said. “They grill well and have a good amount of flavor. I think they have more flavor than chicken.
“With the turkey cuts, we’d cook over medium heat, not high heat, and make sure the turkey comes off at the proper time,” Jamison said. “We give turkey cutlets about six to eight minutes total; the turkey tenderloins we would give 12 to 14 minutes. They’ll serve one to two people.”
Or buy the whole boned turkey breast, Raichlen said. “You can use it to make steaks or shawarma [a kind of kebab].”
Mauer said he also likes boneless, skinless chicken thighs on the grill. “They’re perfect, because they’ve got just enough fat to grill beautifully.”
Taken all together, that’s more than a dozen fresh ideas for easy–and lean–summer suppers. Build in variety by varying rubs, sauces and marinades, and you have enough options for the rest of the season.
– – –
Just how much do Americans like to grill?
A lot, according to some recently compiled statistics.
An April survey from Whole Foods Market reported that baking and grilling are “overwhelmingly the top two preparation methods” of more than a third of those surveyed across the country. Equation Research conducted the survey of 1,000 respondents. The survey examined attitudes about natural meat and meat consumption.
About three-quarters of the respondents said they like to grill chicken most, followed by steak (two-thirds) and hamburgers (nearly two-thirds).
Eighty percent of the respondents said they eat fresh meat or poultry at least three times a week, with 27 percent saying they eat it five to six times a week, and more than a third (35 percent) reporting that they eat meat three to four times a week.
— Robin Mather Jenkins
– – –
Sidestepping health hazards on the grill
If you love the crispy, charred, blackened bits on grilled meats, just sigh heavily. They’re one more thing that’s bad for you.
Cancer researchers say grilling or broiling red meat, poultry and fish (the so-called “muscle meats”) can create compounds called heterocyclic amines, or HCAs. The compounds cause tumors in animals, and may increase risk of breast, colon, stomach and prostate cancers in humans, according to the American Institute of Cancer Research.
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Also, flare-ups caused when fat drips into the grill’s flames create another cancer-causing substance, the Institute said. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are deposited on grilling foods. That’s another good reason to choose lean cuts for the grill.
The dangers worsen for those who prefer their meat medium-well to well done, said the National Cancer Institute at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The institute reported that people who like their meat rare or medium-rare had less than a third the rates of stomach cancer as those who cooked their meat longer.
The risk is connected to both time and cooking temperature. Grilling and broiling are high-heat methods of cooking, while oven-roasting and baking are done at lower temperatures. Stewing, boiling and poaching create few HCAs, the cancer institute said.
Other protein types–cheese, eggs, tofu and organ meats–pose no risk. Grilled fruits and vegetables also are perfectly safe.
The AICR said some studies have shown that marinating foods reduces HCAs by as much as 92 to 99 percent, although no one is sure why.
For more information, including a printable brochure called “The Facts About Grilling,” visit the institute’s Web site, aicr.org (click on “publications,” then “brochures”; scroll to the bottom to find the brochure by title). Or call 800-843-8114.
— R.M.J
– – –
Healthful grilling tips
Here are some tips from the pros that will give you great lean meals every time.
– Rubs offer an excellent way to get huge flavor with virtually no calories or fat. They are the fastest way to add flavor to meats for the grill: Just rub and go straight to the fire. Make big batches of rubs; they’ll keep over the grilling season. (Don’t contaminate the storage jar by dipping your hand into it; put what you expect to use into a bowl first.)
Cookbook author Cheryl Jamison reminded us that high-quality ingredients are as important for rubs as they are for any other kind of cooking. “If you can’t remember when you bought the spices, it’s time to replace them,” she said.
– Though it might seem counterintuitive to oil the grill’s grate, cookbook author and television host Steven Raichlen said it is important to do so.
“I always say, ‘Keep it hot, keep it clean and keep it lubricated,’ ” Raichlen said. “The reason to oil the grill is twofold. One is that it keeps the food from sticking, and the other is that it makes better grill marks. I wouldn’t worry in the least about fat on the grill. Almost all the surplus oil burns away so fast that there’s nothing to worry about.”
Raichlen uses oil fairly lavishly on seafood. “Because it’s so lean,” he said. “If dipping it into oil bothers you, then just paint it on with a paint brush.”
– For newspaper columnist and author Don Mauer, one of the best tips is to “serve really flavorful sauces with the cooked meat because saucing on the grill is really hard. Most sauces have a lot of sugars in them, and they tend to burn into a bitter, crunchy, unpleasant thing. It’s much easier to have a great big-flavored sauce to serve with the finished meat.
“A lot of people think grilling has to be this multi-stage thing. I don’t think it needs to be; it can be simple and easy. It makes everyone’s lives very easy, and [saucing the finished meat] lets you and your guests finish it the way they want, adjusting the spiciness and so forth.”
– Finally, Raichlen said, “don’t forget dessert. Dessert on the grill is great.” He suggested brushing slices of fresh pineapple with low-fat coconut milk and cinnamon sugar, or brushing molasses onto bananas, before grilling them.
Grilling more healthfully is a good idea, all three pros agreed. But it’s important to make the experience a pleasure, rather than a penance.
“In the end, what helps people live longer and happier is having fun and enjoying a meal, rather than regarding it as medicine,” Raichlen said. “If you look at Julia Child, who made it to 91, she wasn’t sweating fat grams and calories. Pleasure itself is the best medicine.”
— R.M.J
Grilled mustard-tarragon sea scallops
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Marinating time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
“Ask your fish market for ‘dry’ scallops, which feel a touch tacky rather than watery,” write Bill and Cheryl Jamison in “The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining.” “Dry scallops will look naturally creamy and the [phosphate-solution] treated ones blindingly white.”
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup each: Dijon mustard, tarragon or white wine vinegar, fresh chopped tarragon, olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 pounds medium to large sea scallops
Coarse salt
1. Puree the wine, mustard, vinegar, tarragon, oil and garlic in a blender or food processor. Place the scallops in a large food storage bag; pour in the marinade. Seal; turn to coat scallops evenly. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Prepare a grill for high heat. Place an oiled mesh grill rack over the cooking grate. Drain the scallops, discarding the marinade. Pat the scallops lightly with paper towels to dry. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
3. Grill the scallops on the rack until opaque with a few browned edges, about 2-2 1/2 minutes per side.
Nutrition information per serving:
183 calories, 31% of calories from fat, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbohydrates, 26 g protein, 370 mg sodium, 0.1 g fiber
Sweet and garlicky pork chops
Preparation time: 7 minutes
Marinating time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
We substituted bone-in chops for the thick boneless chops Steven Raichlen suggests in “The Barbecue Bible.” Toasted sesame oil is found in specialty stores and the Asian aisle of most supermarkets.
1 head garlic, broken into cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons each: honey, rice wine
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 piece (1-inch long) ginger root, peeled, grated 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 4 bone-in center-cut pork chops, about 11 2 pounds, trimmed of fat
1. Combine garlic and sugar in a mini-chopper or food processor; process to a paste. (Or pound to a paste in a mortar and pestle.) Add the soy sauce, honey, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger and pepper; pulse to mix. Spread the mixture over both sides of the chops. Cover; refrigerate 1-2 hours.
2. Heat the grill to high. Remove chops from marinade, discarding marinade; pat chops dry. Grill until browned on one side, 3 minutes; turn. Grill until browned on other side, about 4 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
251 calories, 31% of calories from fat, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 69 mg cholesterol, 14 g carbohydrates, 27 g protein, 385 mg sodium, 0.2 g fiber
Paprika-rubbed flank steak
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Preparation time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 10 servings
“The broad surfaces of flank steak provide ample opportunity for adding flavor, paprika in this case,” write Bill and Cheryl Jamison in “The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining,” from which this recipe is adapted. “Because the seasoning is so integral to the dish, make sure you’re using sweet, rather than hot, smoked paprika.”
1 tablespoon each: smoked sweet paprika, coarse salt
11/2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
2 flank steaks, about 11/4 pounds each
1. Combine paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl; rub over the steaks. Set aside 30 minutes.
2. Prepare a grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat, then on medium heat. Grill the steaks until browned, about 2 1/2-3 minutes per side; move the steaks to medium heat. Turn again; grill 2/1 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare, turn more often if juice begins to form on the surface.
3. Remove from grill; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 minutes; carve across the grain into thin slices.
Nutrition information per serving:
174 calories, 43% of calories from fat, 8 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 43 mg cholesterol, 0.5 g carbohydrates, 23 g protein, 743 mg sodium, 0.3 g fiber
Four-pepper chicken kebabs
(Kafta)
Preparation time: 12 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
The Good Eating staff loved these kebabs of ground chicken shaped around a skewer. “This recipe was inspired by a dish I had in Detroit’s Fendi restaurant, which is owned by Caldeans, Iraqi Christians,” writes Steven Raichlen in “The Barbecue Bible.” “For milder kafta, use sweet paprika; for spicier, use hot.”
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon each: freshly ground pepper, hot or sweet paprika, ground cumin
3 tablespoons each: finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, minced green bell pepper, minced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Prepare a grill for high heat. Combine the chicken, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika and cumin in a food processor; pulse to a coarse paste. Pulse in the parsley and bell peppers. Do not puree. Place the chicken mixture in a bowl.
2. Divide the chicken mixture into 4 equal portions. Lightly wet your hands with cold water; mold one portion onto a metal skewer with hands, forming a flattened sausage about 12 inches long and 34-inch thick. (If using bamboo skewers, soak at least half an hour before using to keep them from burning on the grill.) Place each kebab on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap.
3. Brush the kebabs lightly with some of the oil; place skewers on grill, oiled side down. Grill until browned, about 3 minutes. Brush with the remaining oil; turn. Grill until cooked through, 2-4 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
160 calories, 36% of calories from fat, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 63 mg cholesterol, 2 g carbohydrates, 23 g protein, 639 mg sodium, 1 g fiber