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One of the best things about summer grilling in Las Vegas is the way the grill becomes the center of the party—fire, smoke, heat, action-packed flare-ups and the gorgeous smell of charcoal, hickory, apple or cherry wafting through the backyard and then through your whole neighborhood. It’s sensual, kinetic cooking. It celebrates the outdoors and invites us to gather people together. You’ll often find your guests crowded around the grill watching you and waiting for the first bites off the fire.
Here are some tips for the perfect grill gathering this season:
Keep it simple, stupid.
You will entertain more often if you keep it doable. Plan for some foods to be cooked and served immediately, while others can be made ahead and put out when needed. No need to over-hors d’oeuvre the crowd and diminish their appetites. One or two solid appetizers, or a nice charcuterie board, can give you some room to work without pressure if you are falling behind.
New tools equal new techniques.
We all have our favorite grilled meat and vegetable dishes, but using new tools can expand your repertoire. Try mixing up the pans. Make carne asada tacos with fresh-pressed tortillas on a comal over open fire. Use a cast-iron pan to make queso fundido, melted Oaxacan cheese with chorizo, jalapeños and cilantro, and serve with tortilla chips for communal dipping. A paella pan is perfect for cooking wet rice dishes like paellas, fat rice and risottos. Cooking with a wok on the grill will give you aromatic fried rices, stir fry, steamed vegetables and curries. Try a yakitori set-up and the clean burn of binchotan low-smoke charcoal to make chicken and scallion skewers.
Bring the smells and bells.
Wood: Pair the strong, earthy smoke of a Mesquite wood with beef, or oak with lamb. Poultry, pork and fish do well with the subtle notes of cherry and apple. If you’re using a gas grill, add a wood chip box that will let you add smoky notes.
Herbs: Use herbs prolifically for more combustible flavor, like epazote, cilantro, mint and parsley for Latin-influenced dishes. Beef loves parsley, sage, tarragon and oregano. Add basil, oregano and cilantro to your chicken marinade. Cumin, mint and parsley work for lamb while dill, fennel and thyme are great for fish. Pork loves sage, rosemary and thyme. Another tip: Buy or make a kick-ass spice blend that you love and works for most proteins.
Citrus: Don’t be afraid of pops of lemon, lime, yuzu or even a sprinkling of sumac or a hit of vinegar for brightness.
Extend the char.
Beverages: Try a grilled pineapple mojito, grilled peach whiskey sour, or a grilled tomato and chili Bloody Mary. For a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, try a smoky grilled-lemon lemonade.
Desserts: Ice cream works well here. Grill up peaches and pair it with vanilla ice cream and a make-ahead balsamic drizzle or a grilled pineapple sundae with salted caramel drizzle and home-made whipped cream. Don’t forget the cherry on top!
Salad: Hefty vegetables like asparagus, shallots, spring onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and zucchini do well right on the grill gates or in foil packets where they can bathe in the flavor of sauces and herbs. The bitterness of radicchio softens with a nice char. Romaine can be grilled and finished with nothing more than olive oil, salt and lemon.
Make breads, pizza and flatbreads.
You can make pizza and flatbreads easily from scratch on the grill, but for a simpler option, go to Costco and get a couple wholesale packs of naan. Pop them on the grill and top with hummus, tzatziki and asparagus. Or grilled shrimp, zucchini and corn over mascarpone. Spread labneh, with za’atar and grilled tomatoes, or pile on grilled chicken, cheddar jack and spring onions. Goat cheese, grilled figs and prosciutto on flatbread, with a little tart arugula salad on top, are always a hit.
Put a runny egg on whatever you are making and it will make everyone happy.
Master sauces and marinades.
Marinades: A solid marinade can infuse lots of flavor into cheaper and thinner cuts of meat. There should be an acid (citrus, vinegar, buttermilk or wine), fat (oils, mainly which help the flavors penetrate) and aromatics (garlic, onion, herbs, spices, Worcestershire, fish sauce, etc.) Spiced-up yogurt is a great base for tenderizing meat and all kinds of herbs and spices can be thrown in. Marinades with sugar, mirin or honey will help you achieve better caramelization on the grill.
Sauces: Add your sauces to proteins late in the grilling process or else they will burn. Get creative. There are so many sauces—chimichurri, peri peri, teriyaki, barbecue and yakitori. Try Vietnamese nu’o’c cham for dipping. Don’t be afraid of uncommon pairings, like maple and mustard with a pinch of allspice and pickled mustard seeds. New sauces mean new dishes.
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