Yumna Jawad's Beginner Guide to Grilling for Busy Parents
If you can handle the chaos and unpredictability of a toddler, you can handle the heat of a grill.
Feel Good Foodie
Let’s face it: parents and grilling go together. First of all, cooking over open flames involves managing a certain level of chaos, which parents have a knack for. Secondly, like toddlers, fire can be very unpredictable. But, if you are prepared and have a plan, you can handle just about anything, whether it’s behind the grill or in parenthood.
I want to be clear that this doesn’t just apply to dads. In fact, in my household we’re challenging the outdated narrative about grilling being a man’s domain, and I am proud to say that I’m the primary grill master of my family (and I hope more moms will follow my lead if they haven’t already).
For a sure path to grilling success, I chatted with Yumna Jawad, recipe developer, mother of two, and founder of Feel Good Foodie. Jawad’s new book, The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook: 125 Recipes Enhanced with Mediterranean Flavors is inspired by her Lebanese heritage, which includes a lot of grilling. “Grilling is such a big part of how we enjoy many Lebanese recipes,” she says, pointing to her recipes for Grilled Salmon & Veggie Kabobs, Lemony Grilled Chicken Kabobs, Mediterranean Style BBQ Flank Steak, Harissa-Grilled Shrimp Skewers, and even Caprese Grilled Pitas. Jawad shares her top four tips for busy parents who are getting into grilling for the first time this summer.
1. It All Starts With Oil
Before lighting your gas grill, coat the grates with a high-heat cooking oil to prevent sticking. Always light the grill with the lid open, then let the grill preheat with the lid closed. When grilling tricky items, Jawad starts her prep for grilling success when she makes her marinades, “When grilling fish, I always make sure to add oil to the marinade. This ensures there's a good barrier between the fish and the grates to avoid sticking.”
2. Bring Everything Outside Before Starting
Once the grill is properly lit and coming to temperature, assemble a tray with all of the tools you might need and place them within reach of your grill, you don’t want to be running for tongs while your steaks are flaring up! You’d never leave the house with a baby without a diaper bag, right? With the same concept in mind, it’s helpful to bring all the items you are cooking out on a sheet pan. Pro tip: Place a second sheet pan under the one storing the food; then you’ll already have a clean sheet pan on hand for when the food starts coming off of the grill.
3. Think of the Grill Like Your Oven
A common grilling mistake is thinking you have to grill everything over super high heat the whole time. “When I started thinking of the grill more like an oven, and learned that it was all about controlling the temperature and time, it really felt less intimidating to me,” Jawad says.
What Jawad is describing is the indirect heat cooking method, which sounds fancy, but couldn’t be simpler. Instead of lighting all of the burners of the grill, you only light some. Then, you sear off your item of choice over the flame (direct heat). Once your protein or vegetables have the color you are going for, you move them to the side of the grill where the flame is not lit (indirect heat) and close the lid. The indirect heat will allow the food to cook through without getting overly charred or overcooked.
4. Grill the Whole Meal if You Can
Where else can you cook a complete meal without dirtying any pots and pans? Think beyond the protein and start grilling your sides, greens, vegetables, and even bread for maximum flavor and minimal cleanup. “The size of the grill allows me to cook multiple things at once so I can prepare a well balanced meal that includes a main item and sides without turning on my stovetop or dirtying any pans,” Jawad says. Being efficient and multitasking? Sounds like being a parent, to me.
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