Passing Gas

The gas grill, that is.

Anyone remotely familiar with our family knows that Dana is the chef in the family. Despite her love for cooking, there are a few types of cuisine that are my domain. When I say "few," I am not trying to be modest; my small culinary repertoire includes guacamole (a staple in any Californian diet), schnitzel and barbecue. I learned to make schnitzel ten years ago when I worked in the kitchen of Hotel Ramat Rachel (a kibbutz on the southern end of Jerusalem) and currently in the process of perfecting the recipe every week for our Shabbat dinners.

I have been in charge of the barbecue since we were married nearly eight years ago. One of our first purchases after our wedding was a nice gas grill from Home Depot. Ever since then, barbecue has been one of the staple cuisines in the Nassau household. In the summer months, we usually use the grill at least twice a week. Unfortunately, when we moved to Dallas we had to leave the grill in Chicago. We had to rely upon the communal barbecues for our grilling needs, yet perfected cooking steak to the extent that on celebratory occasions we have come to prefer grilling steak at home as opposed to going out for a steak dinner. We knew that once we settle into our own home that a new grill would be one of our initial purchases.

Barbecue is very popular in Israel. It is not uncommon to make a visit to a park or anywhere there are picnic tables and find the accompanying smell of meat cooking over charcoal. Thus, when we moved to Israel, we aquired a new Israeli style grill (see picture below). Yet, Israeli grills are considerably different than their American counterparts. They are more like "hibachi" style grills and are meant to be portable. They are typically quite small and heat using charcoal, not propane. I have often considered trying a charcoal grill, but I have always used a gas grill (as do most Americans), since it is difficult to get charcoal to the right temperature and it is a longer process. Propane is just easier.

After a week of real charcoal barbecues (see Dana's blog), I can't go back to gas. While propane is easier and invites more frequent use, charcoal provides both a better flavor and a better barbecue experience. After a long and a 7 1/2 year affair, I must say "Good-bye propane." Thus, I am pleased to announce that when we return to the States, one of our first purchases will be a new "Weber Charcoal Grill."

Here are some pictures from our first attempt at grilling with charcoal, Israeli style.