Grilling on a Budget

By Chef Stephen Gibbs and Chef Mike Jones

The long, slow days of summer are at our front door. The smell of fresh cut grass, ice cold beer, long dips in the pool and Motown make for great day dreaming. And it would be down right un-American if we failed to mention that hallmark of summer cooking, the outdoor grill!

As the cost of apple pies, organic hot dogs and baseball tickets go through the roof, so with prime cuts of meat. So we need to look for ways to cut the fat, if you know what I mean. Before the thought of spending up to $25 per pound on a prime cut of meat makes you reach for the mac and cheese, read these grilling tips for the budget-conscious.

Choose Less Expensive Cuts of Meat
I know how difficult it can be to move past that beautiful, tender, dry-aged beef at the butcher counter, or imagining how majestic that rack of lamb would look perched atop your dinner table. Trust me. Keep moving.

Try looking at the cuts of meat from the more active regions of the animal – such as the back, legs, rump and neck areas. Even though they aren’t tender enough to sear and serve rare, you’ll discover that they make up for this in flavor. In the case of beef, we’re talking about hanger steaks, ball tips, brisket, short ribs and round steak (also known as London broil). For pork, its country-style ribs and the picnic shoulder. And for lamb, the less expensive shoulder chops, neck slices, and breast riblets.

To offer a fair warning: when looking at meat, it’s important to consider its source. A reputable butcher can provide valuable information on the meat he or she sells, as well as some peace of mind.

Dual-Process Cooking
We’ve long associated budget meats with moist heat cooking methods, such as braising and stewing. And those of us with enough bravado to try grilling these cuts have most likely dealt with the unfortunate aftermath – a product tough enough to give even a good steak knife a run for its money. Our goal here is tender meat with high flavor, and the best way to achieve this with less expensive cuts is by duel-process cooking. Essentially, this means cooking the meat twice: “slow and low” first, followed by a quick sear on the grill to give us fork-tenderness combined with that smoky grilled flavor. While slow-roasting can be done in the oven for a more controlled result, the entire process can also be achieved on the grill.

Here are two budget recipes using both the duel-process and one-step cooking methods.

Barbequed Pork Spareribs

Pepper-Crusted Ball Tips