“Ladies can grill, too!” is what I thought while watching the men tend to the grill at one of my favorite Middle Eastern eateries recently. But after years of owning a charcoal grill and by default, having the husband maintain it, I figured it was about time this lady learned to worked some magic over the coals.
So we took an afternoon last weekend for my husband to educate me on charcoal grilling, and as suspected (ahem…) I’m a natural.
The technique is all about maintaining that close pile of coals, yet having enough room so oxygen can circulate and produce fire. It may sound a bit scary, but I really had a blast. I so carefully placed the starter snugly in between coals and waited in anticipation until the coals got about 90% gray and chalky. At this point I knew my heat level was perfect and grilled kofta and vegetables were the perfect introduction to my new cooking challenge.
The kofta grilled perfectly and maintained it’s crimped shape and the eggplant and tomatoes charred and softened beautifully. After everything was cooked, I placed the meat on top of pita bread in proper Turkish fashion, so that all the meat juice soaked into the bread. The flavor of freshly charred eggplant from robust coals and smoke is like no other.
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And to all my ladies (or anyone looking for a new cooking challenge) — go ahead and get those hands dirty grilling some delicious meat. The men shouldn’t get to have all the fun.
Note: Store any leftover tahini sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for several weeks.
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