Now is the time of year to get outside. Just today the weather was breezy and cooling down, the perfect kind of weather in the Southwest for an outdoor party. With just a few necessary grilling accessories, some funky decoration in the backyard, and little bit of culinary creativity with ingredients, one can prepare a meal that everyone will remember. One advantage to building a grill island, is that these parties can be planned in a short amount of time, and with all the effort going into the preparation of the food.
The grills installed can be either wood and charcoal burning or gas heated. The differences is that there will be more flavor with the previous type, but more speed with the gas. With an island, one has the option to include bar stools and a very homey atmosphere in the backyard. Guests may sit around and chat, have appetizers or cocktails, while you prepare the food. This in an excellent atmosphere to gather one’s friends around them, and share a meal and conversation.
For any meat or vegetable that is grilled, a rub of oil, white wine, garlic, and celery salt will not only provide a lovely aroma in the yard, as well as the neighborhood, but will provide rich flavors with just a hint of spice. If you will be marinating the meal, consider the consistency of the particular foods, some need longer marination, and some shorter. Any soft vegetable such as the mushroom or the squash, only requires about thirty minutes to soak up the flavors, while beef or pork may do best being marinated over-night. For the vegetarians, tofu will take just under one hour to marinate, and does great on the grill with a little BBQ sauce.
As for the accessories needed, for flakier white fish there are fish cages that will hold the meat in place preventing it from slipping through the grates. More dense fish, beef, chicken or pork can be placed right on the grill. For the vegetables, they contain no fat, so it is best to either marinate them in a mixture that has canola oil in it, or to spray down the grates with a non-stick product. In all having a permanent outdoor facility makes it easier to cook out all the time, giving one the option at a moment’s notice, when the weather or the moment is just perfect.
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