We know why grilling is good: you’re outside in the summer staring at a rack of lamb or something else you’re not allowed to cook in your miniature Manhattan kitchen. Apparently an apartment that smells like duck fat for a week is undesirable to some people. Over the years I look forward to grilling season more and more. Like so many traditions, it’s really the repetition being around a fire with people I care doubt. The fact that I’m not a grilling expert does not keep me from offering more thoughts on the topic.
In fact, one of the pleasures of grilling is that you don’t need to be an expert to do what needs to be done well (though really medium rare). There is the tendency for men (and it’s mostly men who do this) to over maneuver the meat, what Francis Mallmann called “the flippy flippy.” Once you’ve got hold of your tools you feel like a god and can’t let things be.