Grilling

Grilling is quite the undertaking around here. Depending on the materials available, it varies in difficulty. I prefer the method involving scraps of paper, pile of charcoal and the impressive whoosh of kerosine to get it going. The local methods normally involve small twigs or a plastic bag, which burns and melts over the charcoal resulting in the charcoal catching. (Yes, we know about those baby polar bears...)

Note to the reader: The charcoal cooking method and I go way back, but I have yet to feel like I have fully conquered it, even after years of using it.

Today I had no kerosine and decided it wasn’t worth it to go hunting around to buy some, so I had to go with the old sticks and putrid burning plastic method. I actually started with just a plastic bag, as the locals are want to do, and thought I had succeeded, but soon realized I hadn’t. The only result was inhaling the poisonous fumes of a burning plastic Walmart bag. Yes, we brought those from America because they are just so useful. What else are you going to put your raw meat in that you buy at the market? And how else do you get that charcoal going? (Sorry baby polar bears.)

So off I went to gather sticks and have another try. After wasting dozens of matches I finally had victory using paper, melted plastic and sticks. It took me over an hour. (Yep, that’s how I spent nap time.) Note to reader: I hauled the charcoal grill from the neighbor’s house. We don’t have one anymore. It was heavy. When Molly woke up she observed the proceedings.

With these type of grill situations there isn’t the nice even distribution of heat that we might prefer. You’ve gotta keep a fork in hand and keep that meat shifting and rotating at a right smart pace. Note to reader: there is a reason grills in America have the option to close.

I sliced up an onion into rings, dipped it in oil and water and put those on at the last minute. After another 1 and 1/2 hours, I finally had the result I wanted: a plate of nicely grilled and slightly-burnt-in-places chicken and ribs topped with grilled onions.