taste | grill technique

By REDMOND CAROLIPIO

SOMEPEOPLE would call grilling an art. And with the arrival of summer, it is the commonplace backyard ritual.

But for many, the "art" of grilling is elusive, more of a trial-and-error odyssey. So here are some of the finer points of grilling, courtesy a local expert, Vincent Valenzona, supervising chef of Harry’s Pacific Grill at Victoria Gardens.

At Harry’s locations in Rancho Cucamonga and Temecula, diners will discover a range of items from the signature paniolo skirt steak to the mahi- mahi right off the custom grill.

One night, Valenzona showed off the restaurant’s massive kitchen, headed to the grill and then planted his right, latex- gloved hand on it. Nothing happened.

"You have to know your hot spots," he said. "Every grill’s got them. Ours is pretty much dead center. Put your hand over the center of the grill, and you can feel the heat, but if you put your hand away from it ... you won’t feel anything." Once you become one with the grill’s hot spots, there are other things to take into account before you plop a piece of meat or fish on it.

Fish is notorious for its flaky texture and for being one of the more difficult things to grill. However, there’s one thing to remember no matter what you’re grilling: "Things release when they are ready," Valenzona said. "It’ll come off the grill when it wants to come off.

You can’t force it." We saw that firsthand watching the grill cook, J.R., work a number of items at the same time — two pieces of Alaskan halibut, a steak, a burger and several pieces of chicken. Nearly every item came off the grill clean, without tearing and leaving a piece behind. On the rare occasion when something was uncooperative, J.R. left it alone and later lifted it off perfectly.

"See, it wasn’t ready to come off, yet," Valenzona said.

Chefs also have some nifty tricks and shortcuts that come with experience. For instance, Valenzona can eyeball a piece of chicken and tell how long it’s been on the grill. There’s also a touch test that helps gauge how cooked a piece of meat is. Here’s how it works: Make a fist, but put your thumb over your index finger. Squeeze (or roll) your thumb against the knuckle at the base of your index finger. See that little bump of flesh that appears near your thumb joint when you do that? Touch that.

The harder you squeeze, the closer you get to something that feels "well done." The looser it feels, the more rare it’s supposed to be. If you don’t make a fist at all and just poke at that "V" area between your thumb and index finger — that’s raw.

Sorry, but there’s no cool name for the technique.

If you want to get those wicked, diamond-shaped grillmarks, look at a traditional face clock. The angles vary from cook to cook, but Valenzona prefers "11 to 2," indicating what "times" one should point the top of their piece of meat.

Start by pointing it at 11, then shift it to 2, flip it over with the top still pointed at 2, then shift it back to 11. It might take some time to master, but the results are undeniable.

And when it comes to marinades, Valenzona has one for the paniolo skirt steak — easily one of the tastiest items in the Harry’s arsenal.

"It’s got brown sugar, a salty soy, green onions and scallions. That’s it," he said. "You want it to be sweet, salty and fresh. As for time, I think 24 hours is perfect."

Tips from a master
Grilling burgers
"You want a consistent, medium heat. Too many people turn the grill on and then put the meat on right away. Turn it on, do something else, thenput the meat on. Let it warm up."

On presentation
"People eat with their eyes first. You could make the best food in the world, but if it looks like it’ll taste bad, then no one will want it."

Cleanliness
"Always clean your grill — always. Clean it and oil it. If you don’t, stuff builds up, like carbon, and you don’t want that."

— Vincent Valenzona, Harry’s Pacific Grill

SEEKING INSPIRATION?
Food aficionados looking for a summer page turner would do well to grab ahold of "Heat," which is out in paperback, by New Yorker writer Bill Buford.

Buford’s book explores his life as a kitchen slave, line cook and pasta- maker under the tutelage of Mario Batali in prose that savors the nature of food, the art of cooking and the zest of creativity in sustenance.