Grilling with Bobby Flay
Bobby offers tips for stress-free grilling and answers viewers' grilling questions

Bobby's Grilling Tips:

• Feel the Heat
  Light coals about 30 minutes in advance of cooking time. To determine if the coals are ready, hold your palm five inches over the fire. If you can hold it there for two to three seconds, the fire is hot; if you can stand four to five seconds, the fire is medium; and tolerating a full six seconds means the fire is low.

• Stop the Stick
  Use high heat--and patience--to prevent food from sticking to the grill." A lot of guys think that grilling means turning everything 40 times," says Flay. "I use really high heat, turn it once and let a nice crust form. It sears in the flavor and keeps food from sticking." Repeated turning cools the meat so that it steams instead of searing.

• Cook Ahead
  To speed up grilling time, partially pre-cook chicken, spare ribs, potatoes, carrots and other slow-cooking food in the oven or microwave.

• Fallout Solutions
  When using skewers, cut food into chunks that are too large to fall through the grate. Or, grill foods whole, then cut them before serving.

• Give Up the Gadgets
  "Forget the bells and whistles and keep your equipment simple," says Flay. All that's required are a strong pair of tongs, a sturdy spatula, some heavy-duty potholders or mitts and a strong wire scraper.

• Climate Control
  If you need more than one cooking temperature, mound some coals on one side to create a hot section and spread coals out on the other side for a cooler section. Other ways to control heat are to raise and lower the grill rack. The closer the rack is to the fire, the hotter it will be. And opening vents will raise heat, while closing them will lower it.

• Avoid Overgrill
  Brush the foods you are grilling with sauces during the last 20 minutes of cooking to prevent overbrowning or burning.

• Quick Cleanup
  "Before you shut your grill off, brush it when it's still hot and all the crusts will come away and burn in the coals," instructs Flay. He recommends a good quality grill brush with metal bristles to scrape the grate clean.

Bobby's Grilling Advice:

I would like to make biscuits on my Weber grill. I think it will work but others doubt me. Any help would be appreciated.

• I have never tried this, but I'm told that you can make biscuits on a grill (you need one with a cover) in a cast-iron skillet. Prepare your biscuit recipe. Heat your grill to medium-high. Place the skillet on the grill grates and spray well with a nonstick cooking spray, and let heat for 5 minutes. Arrange your biscuits in the skillet and brush the tops with melted butter. Cover the grill, and bake until the tops are golden brown and the biscuits are cooked through. Depending on the heat, this will take between 20-25 minutes.

What is the proper way to grill flaky fish, such as sturgeon, haddock and salmon — in a grill basket, in foil packets with seasoning or directly on the grill?

• I don't use baskets or foil because grilling flaky fish directly on the grates of your grill is much easier than you think if you follow a few simple rules:
  • Make sure to start with a clean grill. Clean the grates well so there is nothing on them that will make the fish stick.
    
  • Oil the fish well on both sides with either pure olive oil or neutral oil such as Canola.
    
  • Make sure the grill is hot.
    
  • Once you put the fish on the grill, don't touch it for at least three minutes. Don't try to move it. Just walk away. A crust needs to form on the outside, which will allow the fish to naturally pull away from the grates. Once the crust has formed, you will be able to flip it over without it sticking and falling apart.

• The classic cut for pulled pork is normally a pork butt. The butt is a big piece of meat, which requires both direct and indirect cooking. Follow these steps, and you should be fine.
  • On a gas grill, start by heating it to high. Brush the pork with oil, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place the butt on the grill, and cook on all sides until golden brown and seared. Remove the pork to a plate, and then turn the heat to medium-low.
    
  • Place the pork in a large pot that has a lid. If you don't have a lid, use foil. Add chicken stock to come halfway up the side of the pork, cover, place on the grill, and cook until fork tender. Depending on the size of the butt, this could take from 2 to 4 hours. Remove the pork to a plate, loosely tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes before shredding.

• The only thing that I parboil is lobster and potatoes before grilling. Parboiling meat leeches the flavor and fat (needed to keep the meat moist) out of it and into the water. Neither chicken nor ribs needs to be partially cooked ahead of time. Both should be grilled using the direct and indirect method of grilling. Start on high heat to get a good sear on the outside, then lower the heat, close the cover and let finish cooking slowly.

I cannot barbecue chicken without it being dry, (I usually cook skinless, boneless breast). However, the last time I cooked chicken, I did the bone-in breast (with the skin on) and cooked it on very low heat turning every 10 minutes for 50 minutes. It came out juicy but kind of had a rubber texture. Help!?

• Bone-in breast shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes to cook on the grill on medium heat. Keeping the bone in and skin on while grilling is a good start. Both keep the chicken flavorful and moist. Also, don't turn more than three times during the cooking process. The more you touch the food on the grill, the better the chances are of it sticking and tearing, and the juices flowing out of it.
  • Start by brushing the breasts with oil, and seasoning with salt and pepper.
    
  • Put the chicken on the grill, skin-side down, and let it cook until it becomes golden brown and a crust has formed. This will give the breast great texture and allow you to turn it without the skin tearing.
    
  • Cook on the second side until golden brown, about three to four minutes.
    
  • Turn over once more, brush with barbecue sauce and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 155 degrees.
    
  • Remove chicken from the grill and place on a plate, brush with more barbecue sauce, loosely tent with foil and let rest for five minutes before serving.
    
  • The resting time is crucial, because it allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat and will raise the internal temperature of the meat to 160 degrees. Cooking chicken breast past 160 degrees will result in a dry piece of chicken.

• I suggest using spice rubs and marinades. Spice rubs not only add incredible flavor to meat and fish but also great texture. Pure chile powders (such as ancho chile powder) combined with paprika, cumin, coriander, black pepper, ground fennel or any of your favorite spices are a great way to punch up the flavor of food without fat or sodium. Marinades add flavor and also act as a tenderizer. I love to use citrus juices (orange, lemon, lime), along with onions, garlic and fresh herbs.

I live in an apartment, and I can't have an outdoor grill. Please give me some indoor grill tips, especially for the George Foreman-type grills.

• I don't have any experience using the George Foreman grill but I do use the Lodge cast-iron grill/griddle pan. I live in a New York City apartment, so I need to use an indoor grill, too. Cast-iron holds heat extremely well, so this pan is an excellent alternative to an outdoor grill. One word of warning: make sure the windows are open and the smoke alarm is dismantled before using because the pan will cause a great deal of smoke.

What is your secret for moist, juicy pork chops?

• Pork is extremely lean, so I like to first brine the chops in a solution of cold water, kosher salt and sugar for about two hours. The second thing is to not overcook the meat — because it is so lean, if you cook it past 155 degrees, it will be dry. After the brine, I rinse the meat well and pat it dry. I then grill or pan-roast the chops until the internal temperature is 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. I put the chops on a platter, loosely tent with foil and let them rest for five minutes. Resting meat allows the juices to re-circulate and keep it moist.

What are the rules for grilling pizza?

• Make sure the grill is smoking hot and that you oil the dough on both sides. Lay the dough on the grill, and don't touch it until the underside is lightly golden brown and a crust has formed, two to three minutes, then flip and grill on the other side until golden brown. Remove the crust from the grill, add your favorite toppings and then return it to the grill. Close the cover or tent with foil and continue grilling until the toppings are warm and the crust cooks through.

I can't seem to make succulent sausage on the grill without poaching it first, and I think that results in a loss of flavor. When I grill it raw, it burns before it's cooked through. Help!

• Don't grill the sausage on high heat the entire time. I like to heat one side of the grill on high and the other side on medium (or if using a charcoal grill, put the hot coals on one side of the grill). I start the sausage off on high to get a really nice char on the outside, and then I move the sausage to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking through.

How do you grill chicken breasts with the bone in so that the skin is crispy and the inside moist? Mine are always dry dry dry on the inside.

• Brining and high/low heat is the key. Brine the chicken in a solution of cold water and kosher salt (you don't need sugar for chicken) for about an hour. Remove, rinse well and pat dry. Brush with oil and season with pepper. Start the chicken, skin-side down, on the hot part of the grill until golden brown and slightly charred on the outside, then move to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking through.

What are the best cuts of steak to grill, and why?

• Rib-eye, in my opinion, is the best cut of steak. It has the most marbling, which gives it a lot of flavor. A rib-eye steak is also a good steak for a spice rub — it will really hold up to strong flavors.

When choosing hamburger, is there a certain fat content that you want to look for?

• I usually go for 80% meat and 20% fat. Often, people chose 90/10 because they want it to be leaner, but then it's dry and flavorless. You want the higher fat because then there's more moisture and flavor.