Monday, April 23, 2012

Small BBQ-Grilling Tip: Lettuce

Sorry, this post is not about this.

Good but too spicy and too much of an acidic kick on the rice.

This is a recipe I have in development, a beef rib with chimichurri rice.  It's close but not ready yet.  So this post is about lettuce.

What?  Yeah, lettuce.

Grilling "season"* is upon us and soon backyards across the country will be firing up with the smell of charcoal, the sounds of laughter, and bare feet in tall green blades of grass.  Burgers will be sizzling on grills and one of the standard toppings is lettuce.  A sad, plain leaf of lettuce.  

Here are two SMALL tips that I think make a big difference in the end.

Shred it:  A leaf of lettuce usually sticks out on all sides of the burger, daring you to reach in for a bite.  You have to go at it like a spider monkey.  Instead, place half a head of lettuce on the cutting board and then slice into long, thin slivers.  

Season it:  A HUGE difference.  Season your shredded lettuce with salt and pepper (or get crazy with a rub) and toss.  I know, seems like a small deal, you already seasoned the burger right?  But humor me and try two identical burgers except one having plain lettuce and the other with seasoned lettuce.  

These are the little kind of things that make a difference.  People aren't going to take a bite and cry out, "Sweet mother of burgers, is THAT seasoned and shredded lettuce on this burger?!?!?"  They won't be able to pinpoint it, they'll just notice it is a great burger. 

This also works for lettuce for tacos or anything else. 

More food pron from this weekend:
Poor shocked piggy, you should have stayed inside, I warned you.

The beef ribs and pork ribs finished in close to the same time, about 4 1/2 hours.

The seasonings for the beef ribs were things you'd find in a chimichurri sauce, oregano, garlic, parsley, red pepper, and acidic liquids.

The pork ribs were very good but nothing new. 
*Grilling "season", ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha......whew, I tried to say that with a straight face.