As Food & Wine’s Culinary Director and the host of their weekly morning show, Mad Genius LIVE, James Beard Award-nominated Justin Chapple is no stranger to the kitchen. The same goes for the grill, one of his favorite tools for cooking.
Because we’re proponents for anything grilled, we reached out to him to share with us his favorite grilling hacks. Here’s what he told us:
1. All summer, I keep my BBQ Sauce Vinaigrette in the fridge as a secret weapon. It’s an incredibly way to hack store-bought BBQ sauce. I have a recipe in JUST COOK IT! that I use for everything from tossing with grilled chicken wings to drizzling on grilled salads, like my escarole and broccolini (all in the book).
2. Once you spiral-cut your hot dogs, ALWAYS spiral-cut your hot dogs. It’s one of my all-time favorite BBQ hacks. Here’s a video. In addition to that, I grill pickle slices to make an incredible homemade relish.
3.Herb-scented grilling. I love to toss a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary or oregano on the flames of either a charcoal or gas grill to add some essence to whatever I am grilling. This is especially wonderful for seafood, like swordfish skewers or shrimp.
Watch Justin make his favorite 3-minute steak in our Test Kitchen and head here for the complete recipe.
