Firing Up The Grill...

It's another grilling season and we can't help but take full advantage of it.  Call it a primal instinct, or just football fever settling in for the winter, but something keeps drawing us back to the grill. In fact, year-round grilling has become increasingly popular.

Each of these shots was unique, but they all had the grill in common.  When shooting pics that require a grill, you can do it in a few different ways.  You can shoot on an actual grill, you can fake the grill, or you can photograph when food has come off the grill.  Each of these shots demonstrates one of these options.  

Shooting on the grill is tough, because you have a limited time to get the shot before you have to pull the food off the set, and shoot the next hero.  But with a good team, it can be done without having to worry.    

We touched on how we created the grill shots in a previous post on our blog.  There we went into detail about each step of the process.  So, if you are wondering how we accomplished the fired-up looks, check out our blog post here.

Grilling like a pro:

Cheeseburger Deluxe:
Sprinkle ground beef patties on both sides with Kosher salt, favorite seasonings and grill for 8 to 10 minutes directly over medium heat. Flip only once when the meat chars (more than half way). Place a cheese slice or two on top, when the cheese melts, it’s ready.

Savory Salmon
Thaw (if frozen), marinate in fridge with 1/2 cup of your favorites: dry mustard, celery salt, fresh lemon juice, soy sauce, or a combo. Remove from marinade, brush lightly with oil and grill fillets for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once at halftime and brush lightly again with oil. Steaks take longer; grill for 5 to 10 minutes, also turning at halftime. Garnish with dill, rosemary and/or fresh lemon.

Lean Lamb Chop
Season 8 (4-ounce) lamb loin chops, trimmed of all visible fat, with a rub or marinade consisting of minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory, fennel and/or dry mustard and let them marinate for an hour. Brush lightly with olive oil and add seasonings that enhance, but don't overpower the meat. Grill chops at medium high heat on a covered grill for 8 to 12 minutes, turning at halftime. When their temperature reaches 140 F, they're done. Let the meat rest for five minutes before serving.

Piquant Pulled Pork
Marinate pork shoulder or butt overnight (3 to 5 lbs) with about 1-1/2 cups of your favorite rub, some sweetness and heat (if desired). Grill meat fat side up over indirect heat for about 6 hours on a covered grill, using a drip pan. When done and tender, the pork will shred easily. Remove to a cutting board, cool and shred with 2 forks. Add 1-1/2 cups of your favorite sauce recipe, including apple cider vinegar, tomato sauce, sweetness and some heat and coat the pork. Heat Italian bread or sub rolls on the grill by brushing with oil, butter or garlic butter, wrapping them in foil and placing on the grate for 5 minutes or brush and place them open on the grate, watch them carefully, they cook quickly. Serve immediately.
 
Grill a Better Burger 4 servings
1 1/2 pounds grass fed beef
 ½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8 thin slices cheddar cheese (optional)
4 soft sesame buns, split
Preheat a grill to high. Put the uncooked beef (use beef that is no leaner than 85% A little fat keeps burgers moist and flavorful.) in a bowl and add the onion and garlic – no salt yet – then create 4 light and loosely formed patties and immediately grill them at medium-low to medium heat; sprinkle each burger with salt right before you put it on the grill. Keep the lid closed and grill until marked on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and grill until the other side is marked and the patties feel firm, 3 to 5 more minutes, they’re perfectly done when they measure 160 degrees inside; if desired, top each burger with 2 slices cheese (don’t put cold cheese on them & never American) during the last 2 minutes of cooking and cover with foil to melt. Let the burgers stand two or 3 minutes to allow juice to redistribute. And don’t stop at the burger, get good quality buns!





Enjoy!