Grilling: Method and Recipes
Grilling is the quick cooking of meat, fish or vegetables over intense heat. The source of the heat can be burning wood, simmering coals, a gas flame, or an electric heating element. A related method is broiling, but with broiling the heat source comes from the top instead of the bottom.
Items to be grilled can be flavored in a marinade or seasoned with a rub. They can be basted while cooking with any variety of flavorful sauces, or topped with a flavored butter before serving.
Grilling Recipes
Bruschetta alla Romana
(Italian grilled bread with tomatoes)
Bruschetta, at its most basic, is bread that is grilled and then rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil. Topping these tasty toasts with fresh tomatoes makes a popular Roman antipasto, just perfect for the dog days of late summer. Read more »
Bulgogi
(Korean barbecued beef)
Bulgogi is one of the best known of all Korean dishes. It was originally cooked over a wood fire, and bulgogi still tastes best with the smoky flavor of the grill. Use a fine grate over the charcoal so the meat doesn't fall through. When prepared in Korean homes or restaurants these days, the meat is often seared on a special curved broiler plate placed in the middle of the table. Each guest cooks his or her own to order. Read more »
Carne Asada
(Mexican grilled steak)
Carne asada, or grilled meat, is great backyard grill food. It is enjoyed throughout Central America, but is particularly popular in Mexico. Many recipes get very elaborate with the marinade ingredients, but the original recipe relies on a simple combination of onions and citrus juice to highlight the flavor of the beef. Read more »
Chimichurri
(Argentine parsley-garlic sauce for grilled meats)
This pungent herb sauce originated in Argentina. Chimichurri is the classic accompaniment to Argentine churassco, or grilled meats. You can also use chimichurri as a marinade. Read more »
Jerk Chicken
(Jamaican spicy grilled chicken)
Jerk is a method of cooking meats that comes from the original inhabitants of Jamaica, the Arawaks. They roasted meats over fires of pimento wood from the allspice tree. Pimento wood gave a distinctive flavor to the meat and is still used for jerk grilling in Jamaica. Jerk marinades and rubs are often quite spicy with Scotch bonnet peppers. Recipes vary widely, but true jerk seasoning contains allspice. This recipe is for chicken, but pork, goat and even fish are also jerked. Read more »
Murgh Tikka
(Indian yogurt-marinated chicken kebabs)
The word tikka comes from the Persian language of the Moghuls and means "pieces." Chunks of chicken are marinated in a spiced yogurt marinade and then skewered and broiled in a hot tandoori oven. Serve with piaz ka chatni, lemon wedges and naan bread. Read more »
Paella Valenciana
(Spanish meat, vegetable and rice dish)
At once both rustic and elegant, this exquisite rice dish originated in the Valencia region of Spain and is typically made outdoors in large, shallow pan called a paella, or paellera. Making paella is a man's activity in Spain. A fire of orange and pine wood is built, and the paella is cooked over the fragrant flames. Paella valenciana is the most famous version. Optional additions to paella Valenciana are rabbit and snails. Other versions include paella de mariscos (seafood) and paella mixta (mixed). Read more »
Poulet Yassa
(Senegalese chicken with onions and lemon)
Poulet yassa is a famous Senegalese dish that has become popular throughout Western Africa. The long marinating of the chicken in the lemon juice helps to tenderize the tough poultry found in the region. Read more »
Satay Ayam
(Indonesian chicken skewers with peanut sauce)
Satay is a great Indonesian street food that has become popular throughout southeast Asia, especially Singapore and Malaysia. Most often made with chicken, beef or lamb, satay is commonly served with sambal kacang, a spicy peanut sauce, and acar ketimun, a simple cucumber pickle. Sometimes spelled sate, sateh or saté. Read more »
Tandoori Murgh
(Indian yogurt-marinated and broiled chicken)
Tandoori murgh is the famous chicken dish from the Punjab region of northern India. In the original version, whole chickens are marinated, skewered and quickly roasted in a fiery hot clay oven called a tandoor. The same oven is then used to make naan bread, which is served with the chicken. This recipe allows you to make a reasonable facsimile of the dish at home without the benefit of a tandoor. Read more »






