You went nuts with barbecues last year. Bluefin tuna steaks. New York strips and rib-eyes. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Lamb burgers. Baby-back ribs.
But that was another summer, a stretch of warm days without $4-a-gallon gas and skyrocketing food prices.
This summer, the year of the “staycation,” you will remain attached to your grill. But the stuff you slide onto the hot grate will be different.
And you will be thankful for this rude push out of halibut land. The economy handed you lemons, and you’ll make . . . marinade.
We love the classic cheap approach to the barbecue — throw brats and burgers on the grill and serve ’em up. But we like variety, too.
So, change it up this summer: Learn how to cook new cuts of meat. Have fun with chicken wings. Buy frozen shrimp and grill them on skewers. Cook whole fish.
Master the marinade, the potion of spices and liquids into which you never dunked your pricey T-bone or your sashimi-grade salmon.
Get familiar with local markets focused on Latin American and Asian foods. With the weekly sales at major supermarkets, the Costco and Sam’s Club deals, and the offerings at these ethnic markets, you’ll pull off enviable backyard feasts without threatening the finances.
Let’s begin with the beef. This summer, go for cuts of sirloin, and cuts of top round: Tri-tip. Flap meat. Hanger steak. Skirt steak.
Most of these cuts have more muscle than expensive cuts of beef and as a result usually need tenderizing. Marinades, which combine acids and fats (like lime juice and olive oil), help break down the collagen in the meat. The process also allows more moisture and flavor into the meat. You’re not gunning for the essence of beef as much as a hint of steak mixed with bright flavors, like the savory-sweetness of teriyaki.
The key is to cook the meat to medium-rare or even rare (these tougher cuts of meat become rubbery at medium or well-done) and slice it thinly against the grain.
Thinking chicken? Think chicken wings, much cheaper than breasts. Imagine them Vietnamese-style, plump little boomerangs of golden-crisp poultry, pungent with soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and lemon, and perfumed with star anise.
You get the picture. Take the wings, marinate them in whatever flavors you desire, toss them on the grill for 12 or 15 minutes, and you’re done.
You can drop $18 a pound on croissant-sized shrimp arranged on banks of ice at your fish market, but you don’t need to. Find frozen shrimp in sacks at the supermarket. Marinate them in a vivid Mexican achiote sauce. Thread them on skewers, slap them on the grill for a few minutes on each side, and serve them with rice or as taco fillings, with salad or in a sandwich.
Another frugal approach to seafood: Use whole fish. It’s easier than you think. Rub your hot grill with an oil-saturated wad of paper towels just before you plop down the cleaned, scaled fish. Make sure the fish has been shellacked with oil before it meets the grate. The oil helps thwart the fish’s tendency to stick to a grill.
Trout are excellent grilled whole and widely available. They are easy to stuff, too, with bacon and sage and lemon. Other affordable winners: bluefish, mackerel, pompano, striped bass, tilapia and red snapper. Most of these need little more than a squirt of lemon juice after they’re off the grill and the meat is separated from the bones, but each of them, too, can sit in a marinade for a spell. Eat fish solo, in tacos, on pizza or in pasta.
Douglas Brown: 303-954-1395 or djbrown@denverpost.com
