It’s Grilling Season at Edgartown Meat & Fish
Nick Macksood
Basketball season has wrapped up; football will have to wait until this fall, and it’s still too early to truly get into baseball. Trump, Hillary and the election cycle are becoming exhausting at this point. Why not focus on something that you can have a little control over? Namely, the temperature of your grill.
That’s right, it’s grilling season. We may be in the midst of the dead zone as far as sports and news cycles go, but it is summer and that means it’s time to dust off the Weber and pretend to act like you know how to cook a steak to temp. But if you need a cheat sheet… we here at This Week teamed up with the fine folks at Edgartown Meat & Fish and came up with a hard and fast grilling code. Because after all, you have to know the rules before you break them…
- Heat is your friend: Crank that grill up! The only way to get a nice sear or those fancy looking grill marks on that prime Omaha beef available behind the counter is to have a ripping hot grill. So slap that ribeye down (or maybe you’re a Kobe strip kind of guy) when the grill’s hot and don’t touch it until you’re ready to flip it!
- Direct vs. indirect heat: Say you want to smoke some ribs, a whole chicken or maybe you’ve special ordered a big, honkin’ chunk of meat from the boys behind the counter. How do you cook this thing right? If you’ve got the grill space–indirect heat. That means turning on one half of your grill’s burners on (or pushing the charcoal to one side, if you’ve got a traditional grill) and placing the meat on the other half of the grill. Low and slow, folks, and if you’ve done it right, the home-style BBQ ribs at Meat & Fish will be collapsing off the bone.
- Don’t forget your veggies! Pick up a few husks of corn on the cob, soak them in water for at least a half hour and plop them right on the grill in the husk for a smoky char on your corn. Meat & Fish also has marinated asparagus and ginormous veggie kabobs with a burgundy wine glaze that would make even the heartiest of carnivores rethink that second burger. And while you’re at it, go crazy: Brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli–if you grill any vegetable for long enough, it’ll taste good!
- Don’t overdo it: when seasoning your proteins, it’s easy to get carried away. A liberal dusting of salt and pepper is all you need for your steaks; S&P, butter, lemon, and a green herb for garnishing any fish. But here’s my advice: trust your butcher. Meat & Fish offers a tempting array of marinated steaks, fish, and seasoned burgers for those less knowledgeable of the mad alchemy of flavor. And if you’re a do-it-yourself kind of grill master, check out the shelf of artisanal salts, rubs, and other classic seasonings to raise the level of flavor.
- Treat yourself: remember, you get what you pay for. Luckily, all of the offerings from both land and sea are some of the highest quality cuts of beef and fish that you’ll find; but there is a reason that Alaskan King Salmon or the Kobe strip is a little pricier–it’s the best in the world. So next time, give that a prime cut a try, or splurge on the King salmon or the Chilean sea bass for a truly mouth watering experience.
- Relax: after all, this is summer. The sun’s out, your grill is hot, and you can hear that red meat sizzlin’. Turn on a playlist of your favorite tunes and crack open that new craft beer you found in the coolers at Meat & Fish. They’ve got everything from “America’s” beer to great craft choices from around the country. And if you’re a wino (I am, I’ll admit it) you’ll go weak in the knees over the domestic and international selection of vino here.
