Grilling is an integral part of the Diving & Chillin’ ethos. Wherever we travel, there needs to be a grill or at least people willing to sell us things from a grill.  Roadside chicken in The Bahamas, dry rubbed smoked BBQ ribs in St-Martin, doritos crusted lionfish in Honduras, three ways shrimps in Mexico, yes, yes, yes and yes. Does not matter if it is true low and slow barbecue or fast and furious grilling. We don’t discriminate, good meat and heat just can’t be beat. Plus it pretty much equals civilization. Just like beer, shout out to Ninkasi.

I like grilling so much that even the dead of winter does not dampen my ardor. When you throw those steaks on a screaming hot grill in the middle of January and it’s -20C/-4F, it’s like a smell bomb going off. The delicious scent of searing steaks blankets the neighbourhood and every one immediately dreams of summer, adventures and love. Long lost friends suddenly drop by, estranged family members come to make amends and you get an email from the city about your municipal taxes being lowered. It’s that wonderful.

At the same time, living in a northern town wont to sometimes loose electricity, I’ve always considered it prudent to have a wood burning stove, prudent and pleasant. On a cold winter’s night, the heat you get from a stove is really second to none, and the light is enchanting and almost palpable. There’s really no better place to enjoy a nice after work cocktail or read. Also the power naps are off the hook.

So it was sort of a HOTDAMN! moment earlier this week when, perhaps goaded by the grilling gods, I stumbled upon this Steven Raichlen video of cooking directly on coals. It was a simple and quick mental process after that: hey, that looks interesting, hey, I have PLENTY of hardwood embers and charcoal right in my living room. The conclusion was inescapable, I need to try this, inside my house.

BTW, as mentioned in the Divers and Chillers portion of this site, I’m not an authority on anything, and I’m certainly not a chef, fact is I barely qualify as a cook. So if I don’t do this or that like a pro you know why.

That caveat notwithstanding, I was curious about the method and how it compares  in taste to other ways of cooking steak, so I bought three hanger steaks, one of my favourite cuts, seasoned them and let them reach room temperature while I tended the fire and locked the cats in the basement.

The fire was looking good, I evened out the embers to make a nice bed of sizzlling goodness and I fanned the loose ashes away.

Then I simply laid down one of the steaks directly in the middle of the stove right on the coals. The sound and smell was instantly awesome and I have to admit I felt rather butch. It’s the little things in life yeah? Speaking of which, it’s after noon, I think a wee dram is in order as I write this.

And done.

So as I was saying, I put the meat straight into what was left of the fire.

As I wasn’t sure at all what kind of heat transfer through the meat this would generate, I chose hanger steak because it could easily be cooked on four sides and monitored. Seasoning was only salt and pepper and I cooked each side about 2 minutes. The result was spectacular. Granted the presentation is rustic, but the taste was divine. One piece of coal stuck to the steak as I pulled it out but fell off almost instantly, of ash or soot there was nothing.

This was truly a revelation. I can get all the fun and taste of grilling on hardwood in the comfort of my own living room? Sure looks like it.

However as a pseudo man of science, and out of necessity to prepare lunches, I also cooked the same cut of beef in two other ways, on a grate over the coals and in a cast iron pan.

Seared at high heat on the skillet or from the grate-grill both steaks were delicious, but the one from the coals had something extra. There was an intensity to the seared bits, the right amount of char and smoke, that just brought the steak to another level. In short, and maybe this was just fatherly pride talking, I thought it was perfect.

To learn more about this technique I poked around the internet a bit, and as usual found more than kittens and porn. This way of cooking is called clinching, and though it is practiced, it does not seem widely  known.

Emboldened by the experiment I kicked it up a notch with strip-loin a few days later.  Same protocol, season and let the steaks come to room temperature. Lock cats in basement. These were about 1.75 inches thick.

I wanted to flip those every minute for about three minutes a side. A word to the wise, use very long tongs or gloves. I singed all the hair from my right hand. And it was worth it.

On the above pic they’re too close together, I was having a hard time managing them properly with my usual grilling tongs, it was just too hot, but through adversity to the stars right?

Another resounding success. I did not make an explicit mention of this so far but I rest the steaks roughly for as long as they cook, but I don’t cover them with foil. Not too shaby…

Pour some of the juice over the serving plate and we were ready to roll.

My guests politely obliged by saying the steak was indeed delicious. I was very happy with the results as well.

Obviously this is not as quick and convenient as a gas grill,  you need to time your things just right and have a good eye on your fire, but there’s room for both in my life.

So next time we’re on vacation in a house without a grill? You know what I’ll be doing. Getting a bag of wood charcoal from the grocery store and digging a pit. In the meantime I have my own reserve of goodness to see me through until summer.

Stay warm.