Grilling and Spring Thaw

I grilled burgers for the noon meal yesterday and today: standing on pavement each day, not snow and ice.

It's a welcome change from winter.

I've even learned when to flip the burger patties - when they start turning brown around the edges. That advice from my son-in-law, who's visiting today.

The trick now will be to apply that knowledge in the field. Or, rather, on the grill.

March Winds: in April

It's been two weeks, about, since I spent a nearly-sleepless weekend getting tax-related reports ready. For some reason, it takes me longer to bounce back from that sort of thing now, than it did when I was in college. In the early seventies.

Since the last post, I've gotten a new spatula. Not the $4.29 Char Broil model I mentioned before. I went a little more upscale and got one at Fleet Supply: a solid number by Grill Zone that set me back a little over $5.00 USD, after tax.

I think it was worth the extra expense: the spatula blade and core of the handle are a single piece of stainless steel, with hardwood bolted on the handle to give insulation and a better grip. It should last a while.

I grilled burgers again this weekend. There was so much wind that I had to get a sort of tiny bonfire of matches going before the LP gas would light. And that was with #1 daughter holding the sandbox cover up to provide a wind break.

The burgers were a little over-done, but I think I'm handling the transition to summer grilling pretty well. And learning when to keep 'enough' from becoming 'goo much.'

Oh, boy: I think material for the patio is being delivered.

Grilling in the Minnesota Springtime

Ever wonder why so few people who live in Minnesota lapse into poetic ecstasy on the subject of springtime? This video may explain why:

It's Spring: Minnesota Style

I'm able to see more of the base of the grill now.

It's springtime in Minnesota: which isn't the blooming-flowers-and-chirping-birds event it is in some places. (See March 3, 2010, Sauk Centre Journal Blog, for photos.)

At this rate, by the weekend I may have to decide whether it makes more sense to stop down snow in front of the grill to provide solid footing, or scrape away what's left and hope the sod isn't too sodden.

Springtime in Minnesota

I didn't realize, when I started "Easy Griller" - the blog - how hard it is to write about grilling burgers.

Well, actually, it isn't. I could go on for what would seem like forever, detailing how it's a bad idea to turn on the gas, and then get a match out; or the "foomp!" when the fire starts; or how my eyes sting, letting me know that we've got enough smoke to make the grilling worthwhile.

But I noticed that each grilling session is like that. Saturday and Sunday, regular as clockwork, I go out with a plate of burgers - or burgers and a wiener - put them on the grill, light the fire, flip them several times, and then take them back inside.

Sometimes I light the fire first, and then put the burgers on, and sometimes there's a different number of burgers, but that's about all the variety there is.

So, that's why I haven't made entries lately.

Today, there is something to report. Minnesota spring is happening!

Elsewhere there may be the stereotype blooming flowers, but here in Minnesota, spring is the season when winter melts.

Water flooded the space where I stand, in front of the grill. That's drained away, happily, but you can see where it was, in that photo. See the edge of the ice? That's where the waterline was.

Something else has changed, too. We need a new grill. This old workhorse has served us well, but it's getting to the point where I'm a little concerned about parts wearing out.

Not the metal grid where I put the meat: one of the crosspieces wore through in one spot, and a few others are nearly there. That just means I have to be aware of where I put the meat. I'm more worried about the valves and tubing, that have been subjected to the wild temperature changes all these years.

I suspect that it'd be about as expensive to replace all that, as it would be to get a new grill - one that isn't deformed from that time when I learned that chicken fat makes a pretty good fuel.

Problem is, this family had quite a bit of month left at the end of our money this month, and a new grill lags far behind medical bills, household maintenance and repair, and food: in terms of priority.