Page 19 - Barbecue News Magazine August 2020
P. 19

coat it on all sides with a light layer of cooking oil, spreading it around with a paper towel and wiping off all but a very thin layer. Put the pan back in the oven and put some foil or a pan under- neath to catch any drips. Crank the oven all the way up. Bake it for 1 hour and then remove it from the oven and let it cool. Repeat the procedure at least two more times. When you’re done, allow the griddle to cool and store it in a dry location. It now has a non- stick coat. But it is fragile, and it can be scraped off if handled roughly.
As for cleaning, it’s best to just wipe the pan with warm water and paper towels. A little soap is fine. For tough stuck on bits, pour a little water onto the hot griddle to create some steam, then gently scrape the bits with a wooden paddle. Don’t scrape with a metal spatula or you’ll scrape off the coating.
When you are done cleaning, give it a light coat of oil with a paper towel. If my griddle is really badly gunked up, I put it in the sink, fill the sink with hot water, and squirt in some mild dish soap so the surfactants in the soap can loosen the grease. I let it soak for an hour or so. Then I drain the water and make an abrasive slurry of salt and water and liberally apply elbow grease with a scrub sponge. I can see the cast iron experts retching out there, but it works just fine, and sometimes after griddling a batch of fish, a simple wipe just won’t do the trick. Fish smell can get into the coating and contaminate the pork chop you cook next.
Stainless Steel
Stainless griddles with lips perform exceptionally well on the grill, and stainless is the preferred surface for many burger joints. I found one by Chef King in a restaurant supply store. It sears beau- tifully, but it can scorch and it is hard to clean.
Cast Aluminum
Cast aluminum is another excellent griddle surface. Mine has a gravelly texture that holds the oil well. It transfers heat quickly and cools rapidly when removed from the grill.
Salt Blocks
You can even buy thick slabs of pink Himalayan salt blocks on which to griddle your food (shown here). They sear meats and veggies beautifully, season food automatically, and make an awe- some table presentation. Pink Himalayan salt blocks are actually mined in Pakistan, not the Himalayas (it’s a long story). They are most definitely not the same as pink curing salt used for curing bacon and corned beef. When you cook on one, the moisture in
the food dissolves some of the salt, which then penetrates the food, creating a delicate balanced saltiness that you can’t get from other methods. In the mouth, the salt seems to be more evenly distributed than when you sprinkle individual salt crystals on the food.
Here’s my favorite thing to do with a salt block: Heat it slowly on the grill to about 500°F, bring it to the dinner table, and let guests sear 1/2-inch-thick slices of flank steak on it.
To prevent cracking, the block must be warmed in stages, on low heat, then medium, then high, in 15-minute increments. It can take 45 minutes to get the block up to searing temperatures of 450 to 500°F. To check the temperature, use an infrared gun ther- mometer. The surface is surprisingly nonstick, so there is no need to oil it for meats. Whatever you do, do not put marinated or brined meats on your salt block. The water seeps down in, turns to steam, and cracks your block. Brined meats will come out too salty. Leave at least 1/4 inch between slices and turn the food with metal (not plastic) tongs or spatulas after it has seared on one side. Getting the proper thickness and doneness takes a little practice, especially since the salt block is constantly declining in temperature on the table. To clean a salt block, skip the soap. Just use warm water and a stainless steel scrubbing pad. Dry the block with paper towels and put it on a rack so air can circulate all around until it is thoroughly dry. You’ll get a dozen or more uses from a single block before it starts to crack and disintegrate. The heat and salinity make salt slabs very unfriendly to pathogens.
Some blocks are higher in quality than others, so order cooking- grade salt blocks from a specialist like SaltStoneChef.com or AtTheMeadow.com. Make sure they are at least 1 1/2 inches thick. The 8-x-8-x-2-inch slabs cost about $50 and last for at least a dozen uses if handled properly.
Meathead is the barbecue whisperer who founded AmazingRibs.com, by far the world's most popular outdoor cook- ing website. He is the author of "Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling," a New York Times Best Seller that was also named one of the "100 Best Cookbooks of All Time" by Southern Living magazine. This article was excerpted and modi- fied from his book. More on his book here: https://amazingribs.com/book. For 3,000+ free pages of great bar- becue and grilling info, visit AmazingRibs.com and take a free 30 day trial membership in the Pitmaster Club.
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