Friends, customers and grilling enthusiasts,

Thank you for the enthusiastic response to last month's inaugural issue of Hot Off The Grill! We're glad you enjoyed the issue and we hope to continue delivering content that helps you maximize the joy and satisfaction of your outdoor grilling and entertaining experience.

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September 2005
Inside This Issue...

Master Grilling

Gauging the Temperature of Steaks

Skewers Aren't Just for Kabobs

Grill: Thai Ahi Burgers

Bar: Thai Martini

Grill Care

Keeping Your Hood Clean

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Getting the Most from Your Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Grill Features

Dual-Fuel Grilling

Some chefs consider them the "holy grail" of grills. For those who aren't in the know, our dual-fuel grill models allow you to grill with gas (either liquid propane or natural), charcoal or hardwood, all on the same grill, and even with multiple fuels at once. No other gourmet grill brings together the convenience of gas grilling and the traditional flavors of hardwood or charcoal grilling.

Searing and Indirect Cooking in Combination

This works particularly well on a Bread Breaker Dual-Fuel model because of the side-by-side drawers. Build a charcoal or hardwood fire in one drawer (or on one half of a Steadfast Dual-Fuel drawer) and sear the food at a high temperature directly over the fire. Once seared, move the food to the other side of the grill and continue cooking over indirect heat with the lid closed until you reach the desired doneness. Depending on the temperature you require for the item you're cooking, you may wish to have the burner on the indirect side of the grill on and set to a low flame.

Gas Starting for Charcoal or Wood

To grill with charcoal or hardwood with less wait, use your charcoal fuel drawers and get the fire going with your gas burners. Once the fire is well started, turn off the burners and proceed with charcoal or hardwood grilling as normal.

Adding Charcoal Heat and Flavor while Grilling with Gas

The easiest tip of all: for the added flavor of charcoal with less mess and less time, use the charcoal drawers with the gas burners. Just toss a handful of briquettes into the drawer before you get started. Once the charcoal has "settled in," start grilling, continuing to use the gas burners as your primary heat source.

Using Branches

Straight branches, particularly from orchard fruit trees, will fit nicely in your grill drawer if they are the right diameter. Look for branches between one and two inches thick. You can use a few branches in conjunction with your gas burners for a great flavor. The branches can even be somewhat green, which will only add to the smoke and to the flavor.

How Our Dual-Fuel Grills Work The Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet exclusive dual-fuel drawer system utilizes two types of removable drawers that insert above the gas burners. Our gas drawers incorporate the same ceramic heat retention briquettes as our standard gas grills use for even heat distribution. Our charcoal/wood drawers are for burning hardwood chunks, orchard branches or charcoal. Because both types of drawers are inserted into the grills above the main burners, you can even use your burners to accelerate the charcoal grilling process. The Steadfast™ Series dual-fuel grills use a single drawer system, and come with both a gas and a charcoal/hardwood drawer. The Bread Breaker™ series dual-fuel grills use two drawers side-by-side, and come with a total of four drawers: two gas and two charcoal/hardwood.

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Master Grilling

Gauging the Temperature of Steaks

You don't need to pierce your steaks with a meat thermometer (and surrender precious juices) to know the temperature and doneness. Here's how the top grill chefs do it… with their finger.

You can gauge the temperature of a steak by poking it with your finger. The more done a steak is, the more firm. A good reference is the muscle in your palm that is the base of your thumb. The meaty part of that muscle is similar in firmness to a good steak. When your thumb and hand are relaxed, the way the muscle feels when you poke it with the index finger of your other hand is how a rare steak will feel on the grill. If you stiffen up the muscle, then it will feel like a well done steak. In between the two will feel like medium.

With a little practice you can pull steaks off the grill at just the right moment every time.

Be sure to check out our complete feature on Grilling the Perfect Steak in the next issue of Hot Off The Grill!

Skewers Aren't Just for Kabobs

Although many vegetables or other narrow or small foods can easily be grilled loose on the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet laser-cut vegetable grilling surface, it can be helpful to use skewers as a grilling aid for those items that are more difficult to manage directly on the grilling surface.

Skewers are a great help in grilling: garlic cloves, bell pepper slices, onion slices, squash slices, or anything you enjoy eating off the grill but hate chasing around your grilling surface with tongs, forks and turners. For asparagus or long beans, line them up side by side and use two or three skewers to create one solid asparagus or bean "plank" that can be easily managed on the grill.

Remember to always soak wooden skewers before adding the food to help keep the skewers themselves from burning on the grill.

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Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Featured Recipes

For the Grill: Thai Ahi Burgers with Ginger-Lemon Mayonnaise

A great end-of-summer twist on the burger. Use sushi-quality ahi so you can serve the burgers medium rare.

Makes four burgers

Ginger-Lemon Mayonnaise		Black Sesame Seeds
	1 cup mayonnaise
	2 tablespoons soy sauce
	2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
	2 tablespoons scallion tops, finely chopped
	1 tablespoon black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds
	2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
	1 finely grated lemon, zest of
	2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
	Fresh ground pepper (to taste)
Cucumber Salad
	1 large seedless (European) cucumber, thinly sliced
	1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
	3 tablespoons rice vinegar
	1 tablespoon sugar
	1 teaspoon sea salt

Thai Tuna Burgers		Thai Chiles
	1 teaspoon sugar (use turbinado sugar if available)
	1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
	2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
	1 garlic clove, smashed
	2-3 medium Thai or serrano chiles, seeded and minced
	2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
	2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
	1 tablespoon fresh Thai sweet basil, finely chopped
	1 1/2 lbs ahi tuna (sushi-quality)
	3 teaspoons sesame oil
	4 hamburger buns
	2 tablespoons dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped (Optional for those with nut allergies)

• Combine all of the Ginger-Lemon Mayonnaise ingredients in a small bowl, mix well and refrigerate.
• In a medium bowl, toss the sliced cucumbers, onion, vinegar, 1 tablespoon of the sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Season with pepper and let stand for 1 hour at room temperature.
• In a mortar or medium bowl, using the back of a spoon, mash the ginger with the garlic, chile and teaspoon of turbinado sugar to a paste. Stir in the fish sauce, cilantro and basil.
• On a clean cutting board, thinly slice the ahi. Stack the slices and cut into thin matchsticks. Cut the matchsticks into rough cubes, then chop until the pieces are roughly 1/8 inch. Add the ginger paste to the chopped ahi and stir until evenly combined.
• Using lightly moistened hands, shape the ahi mixture into 4 patties about 1 inch thick. Set the patties on a large plate, cover with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Preheat your Kalamazoo grill to 400°. (Approximately 10-15 minutes.)
• Pour the sesame oil into a small bowl. Lightly brush the chilled burgers and the cut sides of the buns with oil.
• When your Kalamazoo grill is up to temperature, brush your cooking surface with oil.
• Grill the burgers for six minutes, turning once after three minutes, for medium rare. Move the burgers away from the heat and grill the cut sides of the buns briefly until toasted, approximately 1 minute.
• Spread the Ginger-Lemon Mayonnaise on both cut sides of the buns and set the ahi burgers on the bottoms. Drain the cucumber salad and top the burgers with the salad and the chopped peanuts (optional). Cover the burgers with the buns and serve.

Beverage recommendation: Try the Thai Martini recipe below, and make plenty of the Thai-inspired chilled lemon grass tea for people to enjoy without the alcohol. For an excellent yet inexpensive wine pairing, try the 2003 Bonny Doon Vineyards Pacific Rim Riesling.

For the Martini Bar: Thai Martini

This is a refreshing summer cocktail that will perfectly compliment your Thai Ahi Burgers or stand on its own.

Thanks to Hangar One Vodka and MartiniArt.com for the recipe inspiration.

Pour all of the liquid ingredients into a shaker 3/4 full of cracked ice

Shake for one minute, then let stand for a full minute

Rub the piece of ginger around the inside of the bowls of four frozen martini glasses

Strain the martini into the glasses

Garnish each glass with a spring of lemon grass and one thin slice of ginger

Lemon Grass Tea

You have several options for lemon grass tea - the most authentic of which is boiling your own:
Obtain several long blades of lemon grass foliage (you can buy lemon grass at many supermarkets or specialty stores), wash them, and chop them into inch-long pieces with a sharp knife or a pair of scissors. Cover the bits of grass with water, bring the liquid to a boil, and steep for ten to fifteen minutes. Chill and serve over ice - plain or with a few slices of fresh ginger.

If you can't find fresh lemon grass, you may also purchase pre-packaged or loose lemon grass tea. The Republic of Tea sells an intriguing Ginger Lemon Grass Tea that will work well alone or in the recipe above.

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Grill Care

Keeping the Interior of Your Hood Clean

To keep the inside of your grill's hood clean and reduce the effort of seasonal cleaning, it helps to do a quick wipe down after each grilling session. While your grill hood is still warm, but not too hot to touch, use paper towels to wipe down the inside of the hood. This will remove a lot of the grease and carbon before it builds up and becomes much more difficult to remove. For more information on cleaning your grill, be sure to visit the soon-to-be-released Tips & Tricks section of our website, www.KalamazooGourmet.com.

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We Want to Hear from You

As we continue our efforts to help our readers maximize the joy and satisfaction of their outdoor grilling and entertaining experience, we would love to know what you think:

• Share with us your favorite grilling recipes or outdoor gourmet entertaining tips
• Provide us with pictures of your grill or grill setting
• Tell us what you like most about your Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet product
• Tell us which product features you would like to see added to or improved on our products
• Let us know if there are any services Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet should offer

Feel free to drop us a line at hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com with your thoughts on any of the above, or just to say hello.

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Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
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