Do You Prefer Grilling on Charcoal

or Gas or Both and Why?

Recently I was asked by a good friend for a recipe and tips on grilling pork tenderloin. Inspiration for sharing this post and I thought it was a good time to share options for cooking on fire! 

I received my first ‘know your fire’ lesson when I was about five years old. My Dad taught me there are three kinds of wood you needed to build a fire: twigs for kindling, branches for getting the fire going, and heavier logs that become charcoal. So much has changed, but the essence of outdoor cooking is still the same whether using a charcoal or gas grill. 

Charcoal Grilling Tips:- Use fresh charcoal, stored in a tightly sealed container, like a small garbage can- Use natural lump charcoal for a best heat source and even cooking- Light charcoal safely with a chimney and never use lighting fuels unless you want your burger flavored with petroleum- To avoid flare-ups; grill with indirect heat by banking coals on one side of the grill

Gas Grilling Tips:- Keep an extra propane tank handy, for the unexpected "gas outage"- Safety First; store propane and grill outdoors only—never in a garage or shed- Always shut-off gas supply after each and every use- To clean grates, turn up heat to high, close cover for 4-5 minutes, then brush well with a wire grill brush and turn off heat- Before lighting grill, lightly brush grates with cooking oil to ‘season’ the metal; which may require more than one application- To avoid flair-ups, grill with an indirect heat (one burner on / one burner off when cooking fattier foods- Try something new; use a smoker box with a few hickory wood chips on the grill for a charcoal like smoke flavor.

Pork tenderloin is an inexpensive and very widely available cut of meat ideal to grill on either charcoal or gas grill. Enjoy served as is or sliced into Pork Sliders as I prepared on George Hirsch Lifestyle.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Makes 6 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com  | George Hirsch Lifestyle 

1/2 cup Pork Dry Rub (below)

Two 1 1/4 –pound pork tenderloins, unseasoned and not marinated

1 cup Honey Pork Sauce (below)

Cut off any excess fat from the pork and remove any sinew (the tough fibrous tissue). Cover the pork on all sides with dry rub and refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours. 

Charcoal

Light charcoal in a chimney 45 minutes before grilling pork. When coals become white, dump coals on one side of grill. Place grid on grill. Place pork tenderloins on grill. Cover and grill the pork for 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally. Baste with Honey Pork Sauce during the last 5 minutes of grilling.Remove meat and allow the pork to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. 

Gas

Pre heat gas grill 5 minutes before cooking. Place pork tenderloins on hot grill. Close lid and grill the pork for 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally. Baste with Honey Pork Sauce during the last 5 minutes of grilling. Remove meat and allow the pork to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

For the Pork Rub

1/4 cup sweet paprika

2 Tablespoons dried thyme

2 Tablespoons dried rosemary

2 Tablespoons garlic powder (not garlic salt)

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cayenne In a small bowl mix all ingredients. 

Can be made ahead and stored in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Never add salt to a rub because it will draw out the meat juices. 

For the Honey Pork Sauce

1 cup catsup or ketchup

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup sweet wine or apple juice 

2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon soy sauceIn a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. 

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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95

AS SEEN ON PUBLIC TELEVISION & CREATE TV- SEASON ONE
FEATURING CHEF GEORGE HIRSCH DEMONSTRATING HIS SAVORY COOKING, BAKING AND GRILLING RECIPES; WITH HIS EXPERT CULINARY TIPS & TECHNIQUES, ALONG WITH VISITS TO HIS INSPIRING HAMPTON LOCATIONS.

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Early Girl 52

I consider tomatoes gold from the earth. Those who know me know a really good tomato can make my day. Pair it with a really good loaf of bread, fresh mozzarella + a very good olive oil and balsamic, now that's GOOD STUFF! 

Looking forward to a good summer's yield from my tomato plants. This year my tomato plants need a good blast of sunshine and steady heat like spring of last year. So far, it's been a bit too cool, we'll see what the rest of June brings.

I’m anticipating the mouthwatering plates I will create with my seven tomato varieties, including Pesto al Trapanese. I pick varieties with multi-purpose in mind; cooking, sides dishes and just eating tomatoes simply with a drizzle of a good quality olive oil. You'll notice my selected plantings don’t all ripen at once; with the first of the bounty in 52 days and the later maturing in 78 days.

Early Girl, ripe 52 Days

La Roma, ripe 62 Days

Grape, Summer Sweet, ripe 75 Days 

Cherry, Super Sweets, ripe 65 Days 

Burpee Big Boys, ripe 78 Days

Green Zebra, ripe 78 Days

Beefsteak, Beefmaster, ripe 78 Days

Sang Lee Farms: Heirloom tomatoes include: EVERGREEN, STRIPED GERMAN, LEMON BOY, STRIPED CAVERN & mixed specialty cherry tomatoes.

When ripened, I can step right outside my backdoor for a fresh pick, but I also rely on the high quality farm stands thankfully available in my local surrounding communities. The people who organize and support these markets have true passion for sustainable lifestyle and the importance of these quality goods being readily available. Although you can get most high quality seasonal items at any stand, one on-farm market I filmed was with Fred Lee. As most of my farming friends his family history is rich in the earth. Ever adapting and changing from suppling bok-choy in decades past for NYC Chinese restaurants to today's high demand of micro greens & heirloom tomatoes (where there are more varities than you can imagine) at Sang Lee Farms, in Peconic-North Fork, LI. For more on farms on Long Island and the East End, visit my friends at Long Island Farm Bureau.

George Hirsch Living it UP! TV SERIES: watch the video

TV Segment with Fred Lee at Sang Lee Farms

Organic farm : TV Segment George Hirsch Living it UP!

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

This easy to live with lifestyle plan; with more than 165 of George's easy-to-prepare gourmet recipes, you can lose weight, maintain energy, look better, and enjoy a longer active life, by eating great food!
M.Evans and Company, Inc.

George Starts your year off right!

George Hirsch Living it UP
Recipes for a Healthy Active Life
Product Details
Hardcover: 240 pages; $24.95
Publisher: M. Evans and Company, Inc.; 2000
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0871319241
ISBN-13: 978-0871319241
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches

Creative Cooking tips
Fast Easy recipes that allow for an active lifestyle
A 30-Day Menu Plan you can adapt throughout the year
Support and motivation for staying on a healthy eating & exercise routine
Tips for easy food shopping & eating healthy on the run

Each book is personally autographed by George Hirsch.

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Pasture Awareness

The Bottom Line: Poultry and eggs pasture raised taste better than those raised in confinement. 

Pastured poultry (not referring to pasteurization process, that's for foods such as milk, cheese and beer) is a technique used for raising chickens or other poultry right on green pastures. The birds are always kept on fresh pasture by systematically moving them around every few days, which allows the birds to be raised in a cleaner, healthier environment. And fed the old fashioned way- on fresh green pasture grass and with wholesome grain. 

'Pastured living' is not only good for the chickens- but chickens managed correctly, are good for the pasture. Hens are brillant at finding and eating small seeds, insects, and tender grass and leaves. Their manure leaves behind a healthy shot of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. The trick is to move the hens before the pasture has been pecked and scratched to death.

Although there is nothing new here, since farmers have been raising poultry on pastures for centuries in this manner. In fact, most domesticated poultry was raised outdoors until the 1950s when large confinement egg and poultry operations found they could mass produce product confined in restricted conditions. Even though the majority of poultry is now produced in high-density factory farms, the good news is a rising number of growers have chosen to raise their poultry in outdoor free range pastures instead of indoor confinement to produce a high quality, farm-fresh, all-natural product. Which brings us back to quality, quality, quality. That's good stuff.

The pastured poultry movement has found great support among consumers, chefs and restaurateurs because of the high quality and unsurpassed flavor of such products. And so, local farmers continue to see growth with demand for premium-priced pasture-raised poultry and eggs. 

Nutritional Benefit: Deep-yellow-yolked eggs, the sign of natural chock full of beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids.

In Season: Pastured eggs are seasonal, hens lay less as the days get shorter. In industrial confined egg operations they use artificial lights. However, while the ladies are resting and not earning their keep, they are eating even more expensive grain because of shorter daylight and colder days. Just one of the reasons why pastured eggs will cost more.

Inspiration: See what hard work, dedication, and pride in what the natural earth creates. Chris and Holly of Browder's Birds Mattituck, on the North Fork LI are career changers who run Long Islands's only organic & pastured poultry farm. On the west coast Soul Food Farm owners Alexis and Eric Koefoed raise pastured chickens for both eggs and meat. They turn sunlight, grass, bugs, and high-quality domestic feed into animals that live a healthy and humane life --free to roam in fresh air and peck and take dust baths — and then into delicious and healthy food. They are driven by the belief that "You are what you eat, and what you eat, eats." Soul Food Farm, Vacaville, CA.

Resources: For more information on where to find pasture eggs near you:

American Pastured Poultry Producers Association

Rodale Institute

When eggs are this good they need to take center stage, or center of the plate. So here's my Eggs Benedict Recipe, taken from Know Your Fire cookbook by George Hirsch with Marie Bianco.

Know Your Fire cookbook by George Hirsch with Marie Bianco

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

This easy to live with lifestyle plan; with more than 165 of George's easy-to-prepare gourmet recipes, you can lose weight, maintain energy, look better, and enjoy a longer active life, by eating great food!
M.Evans and Company, Inc.

George Starts your year off right!

George Hirsch Living it UP
Recipes for a Healthy Active Life
Product Details
Hardcover: 240 pages; $24.95
Publisher: M. Evans and Company, Inc.; 2000
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0871319241
ISBN-13: 978-0871319241
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches

Creative Cooking tips
Fast Easy recipes that allow for an active lifestyle
A 30-Day Menu Plan you can adapt throughout the year
Support and motivation for staying on a healthy eating & exercise routine
Tips for easy food shopping & eating healthy on the run

Each book is personally autographed by George Hirsch.

Add to Cart

Know Your Fire: Sizing it UP!

Fish markets sell shrimp according to size: colossal, large, medium, etc., but a more accurate way to judge the size of shrimp is to buy them by counting them: colossal, less than 10 to the pound; jumbo, 11 to 15 to the pound; extra large, 16 to 20 to the pound; large, 21 to 30 to the pound; medium,  31 to 35 to the pound; small, 36 to 45 to the pound, and miniature, 60 to 100 to the pound. 

Shrimp cooked in the shell has more flavor. If you can find shrimp in the market with the heads on go for it, they are fresh. And, for grilling best to use 21-30s or larger-- such as 16-20 to 11-15s. To make a real statement on the grill use U/15's Colossal, and U/10s Extra Colossal with the heads still on. BTW, U stands for under.

The nice part about today's post recipe is that just about any vegetable will go well with grilled shrimp, so use what you have on hand. Or, if you are heading to the market and you see good looking asparagus, that would be ideal at this time of the season to pair up with grilled shrimp.

Grilled Shrimp & Vegetable Salad

 Makes four servings 

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Marinade for Shrimp:

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

Juice from one lemon

2 teaspoons lite-soy sauce

1 Tablespoon honey

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

Mix all ingredients for shrimp marinade and pour over shrimp. Marinate 5 minutes.

For the vegetables:

2 green squash, split and grilled 

2 large tomatoes, split and grilled

1 large sweet onion, cut into 4 pieces and grilled

4 Tablespoons olive oil 

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

juice of one lemon  

pinch sea salt

fresh ground black pepper 

Mix lemon, oil, thyme, pepper and salt with vegetables. 

Pre heat grill to a very high heat.

Grill vegetables on high heat until light brown and vegetables are tender.

Two minutes before vegetables are done place shrimp on grill.

Cook shrimp on hot grill and cook two minutes on each side, turning once. Baste the shrimp with any remaining marinade. Do not over cook.  Pink means done. Remove shrimp from grill and serve with grilled vegetables.

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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95

AS SEEN ON PUBLIC TELEVISION & CREATE TV- SEASON ONE
FEATURING CHEF GEORGE HIRSCH DEMONSTRATING HIS SAVORY COOKING, BAKING AND GRILLING RECIPES; WITH HIS EXPERT CULINARY TIPS & TECHNIQUES, ALONG WITH VISITS TO HIS INSPIRING HAMPTON LOCATIONS.

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Sunchokes

Aka, Jerusalem artichokes + the earth apple; a species of sunflower, native to North America. Italians refer to this plant as girasole, a possible fore runner of the name Jerusalem. 

sunchokes

Prepare as you would potatoes - roast, sauté, bake, boil or steam. Cook with or without the skin - scrub clean and leave it on for added nutritional benefit. Like an avacado or apple that oxidizes, after peeling or cutting, drop pieces into water with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Unlike potatoes, sunchokes can also be eaten raw as a crunchy addition to salads. They are also an excellent addition to stir frys, when sliced and added raw as a crisp substitute for water chestnuts.

Sunchokes contain vitamin C, phosphorus and potassium and are a very good source of iron. Sunchokes are very rich in inulin (not insulin), a carbohydrate linked with good intestinal health due to its probiotic properties. 

roasted sunchoke chips recipe

Sunchoke Chips Gremolata

Makes four servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle 

1 pound sunchokes, well scrubbed and sliced 1/4 inch thick

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

For Gremolata:

2 Tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon, Lemon Zest

Mix all ingredients and sprinkle gremolata on roasted sunchokes.

Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F. 

In a heavy duty roasting pan big enough so sunchokes are on one layer and not crowded, mix sliced sunchokes, rosemary, olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender and golden. Turn sunchokes over with a spatula to allow top side to brown. When golden brown, remove and top with gremolata.

Serve with an optional Aioli.

___________

The technique with making an aïoli is to try and create an emulsion with the egg yolks supporting the liquid from the olive oil. Do not over pulse or pound the yolks and oil, don't add the oil too slow or too fast. This technique may take some trial and error. If done correctly  you will have a thick mayonnaise like sauce; or if the sauce is broken the oil will have separated from the yolks and will look more like a vinaigrette.

Classic Aïoli

Makes 1 1/2 cups

*8 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

Coarse sea salt

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

3 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon juice

couple drop of water

Fresh ground black pepper

Always use caution with raw eggs. And this sauce must be kept chilled after it is prepared. 

In a food processor or preferably a mortar pound the garlic cloves with pinch of sea salt and Dijon mustard until a thick paste forms. Add in the egg yolks and begin adding in the olive oil a few drops at a time with a fork or whisk. Continue to add the olive oil in a steady stream as the aioli begins to thicken. Stop and add a few drops of lemon juice, gradually add remaining olive oil and a few drops of water if the sauce becomes too thick. When all of the oil has been incorporated, season the aïoli with additional lemon juice, sea salt and pepper to taste.

Serve chilled. The aioli can be tightly covered and refrigerated overnight. 

* A classic aïoli is made with raw garlic but again I prefer usingcaramelized garlicin place of raw garlic which offers a much sweeter and nuttier taste.