Escapees May-June 2024

• Grilling surface: Determine your typical cooking scenario: are you catering to a crowd or cooking for a couple? Choose a grill with an appropriate surface size. Material matters, too. Cast iron surfaces offer durability and even cooking, while chrome-plated metal grates may succumb to chipping, rusting and food sticking to the grates over time. • Heat source: Consider your meal plan ning habits and access to power sources. Are you a meticulous planner or a spon taneous cook? Ask yourself if you usually have access to electricity and if you’re willing to carry and manage heavy pellets for pellet grills. • Ease of maintenance: Grilling can get messy, so prioritize a grill that’s easy to disassemble and clean thoroughly from top to bottom. • Quality/cost ratio: Invest in a grill that matches your longevity expectations. Decide if you’re looking for a short-term solution or a durable, long-lasting invest ment. Research reputable brands and explore their range of offerings across various price points to fi nd thebest fi t for your needs and budget. Let’s Get Grilling If you can spark a fl ame, you can grill. After all, everyone has a little caveman in them. But, results can vary. While the quality of your outdoor cooking appliance undoubt edly plays a role, the way you prepare your foodsigni fi cantly impacts the fi nal results. • Start by marinating your meats, fi shand vegetables to inject fl avor and tender ness. It’s a simple process: simply place your protein or veggies into a Ziploc bag, add your marinade ingredients and let them chill in the refrigerator. By now, most of us know that the burnt bits of meat contain dangerous carcinogens. But did you know that marinating meats for as little as 40 minutes greatly reduces the carcinogenic compounds formed by cooking meat at high temperatures? • For mouthwatering meat, allow beef, pork and chicken to reach room temperature before grilling. Experts recommend leav ing marinated beef and pork out on the counter for an hour before cooking, while chicken only needs about 30 minutes.

Grills101 When my husband, Ray, and I bought our fi fth wheel, it came equipped with an RVQ—a neat little propane grill conveniently attached to brackets on the outside of the rig, poised to tap into the twin propane tanks housed in the underbelly. However, tucked away deep in the basement in its neat carrying case, it remained unused. Wanting a bee fi er grill and spurred by a sale at a hardware store, I opted for a propane-driven Weber BabyQ. After dancing around it, still in its box, for quite some time, we unpacked our new BabyQ, attached a small screw-on propane canister and fi red it up. With measured anticipation, we set out to grill marinated shrimp on skewers. It was a transformative moment—a revelation of fl avors. I remem ber Ray and I marveling, “Ah, this is what shrimp is supposed to taste like!” We chose propane for its instant startup convenience and the assurance of an ever ready fuel source, thanks to a compact plas tic half-tank of propane with a detachable hose, perfect for life on the road. Yet, some of our fellow travelers swear by charcoal. While charcoal demands a bit more prepara tion, starting the briquettes with a charcoal chimney and patiently waiting for them to reach the perfect red-hot glow, this method adds a distinct fl avor to grilled dishes. Electric and pellet grills offer their unique advantages and drawbacks. Electric grills boast rapid preheating and precise temperature control, but their fl avor pro fi le relies solely on the ingredients themselves. Pellet grills, on the other hand, harness the natural hardwood essence of pellets to infuse dishes with a rich, wood- fi redsmok iness. However, their weight, dependence on electricity and the necessity of carrying ample pellets pose logistical challenges for some RVers. Regardless of how you roll, there’s a grill out there to suit your needs and enhance your outdoor cooking experience. When shopping for your ideal outdoor meal-maker, consider these key points: • Portability: Unless you’re stationary year-round, gauge the ease of moving your grill in and out of your rig. Opt for a model with manageable weight and factor in the available storage space.

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May/June 2024 ESCAPEES Magazine