Guest guest Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 In a message dated 1/24/04 10:52:59 AM Eastern Standard Time, katja@... writes: > i've heard there are grills that are less bad. does anyone here have > opinions about grilling, grills, and...uh...grills? Grills are supposedly bad because the fat drips on open flame, and carcinogens vaporize back into the food. But it's worth noting that a lot of the folks Price studied cooked over open flames. Reductionism has an important place in science, but I think sometimes we overemphasize looking at the part at the expense of the whole. All things being equal, grilling over an open flame might increase your intake of carcinogens (although not more than burning your food with some other method), but that doesn't mean it " causes " cancer-- you have to look at the level of anti-carcinogens in your diet, nutrient-density, soil fertility, etc. All in all, it might be most important to one's health to consider the axiom: " Grilled meat rocks. " Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 > does anyone here have opinions about grilling, grills, > and...uh...grills? IMO, grilling makes meat taste great, but I worry about the health effects of subjecting meat to such high temperatures. So, I now cook steak in a pan on low heat and serve it rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 >so. >our grill died last summer, and then there was NT and i thought, well, >that's fine then. >except, mmmm. grilled steak. > >i've heard there are grills that are less bad. does anyone here have >opinions about grilling, grills, and...uh...grills? We have a water smoker, which is cheaper and easier than a grill. Also doesn't have quite the carcinogen problem, because the hot fat drops into a pan of water, not onto hot charcoal. And, you can put a half a salmon out on the watersmoker and FORGET IT for a half hour or an hour or, as we did once in the hot tub having too much fun, two hours and it is still wonderful, not a charred smokey mess. You can do a whole turkey on the water smoker too (I dare you do do a turkey on a grill!). Mine uses propane, some are electric, and they are insanely easy to use. One thing I like about the water smoker is that is uses WOOD for flavor. Not charcoal. We did try grilling some over charcoal and we both hated the taste, and it made me ill (I threw up). I don't know what they put in that stuff, but it tasted like kissing a cigarette smoker. Real wood smoke gives a delicious taste to anything, far better than charcoal IMO. If you want to REALLY cook like a caveman, I'd recommend the book " The Magic of Fire " . Great book. Teaches you how to make a baked potato right in the coals! (I haven't done it yet!). Now, for that nice, crispy, half-burned kind of steak ... I've been using the broiler. Probably has more carcinogens, but .... mmmm grilled steak ... ! It is also so very quick and easy it's pathetic. A nice hot cast-iron pan with ridges works pretty good too, but I couldn't get it to make the fat crispy (which I lilke). I suppose one could water-smoke say, a chicken, then bake it at 400 or so for a crispier skin. But it's really hard to beat the flavor of a good watersmoked anything. -- Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 --- In , " Judith Alta " <jaltak@v...> wrote: > I think all the hype about frying, grilling, etc. is > just that. Hype. One more way to try to turn us all into > vegetarians so we will eat their soy products and other > worthless junk. I can certainly understand that perspective. From my POV, I've spent enough time being self-destructive with the use of alcohol and tobacco that I figure the less I expose myself to toxins from now on, the better my health will be. My lower temp meat cooking is also influenced by the raw food concept, and for me, lightly cooking meat is an acceptable compromise (because I just don't have a taste for raw beef). Except for a little bit of sprouted grain bread, the rest of my diet is mostly raw greens and veggies because it gives me more energy and vitality than I know what to do with. FWIW, my brother, sister-in-law, and niece are all vegans, and they are all very overweight. There's no doubt in my mind that my large salads with a few ounces of meat are FAR healthier than all the cooked grain, tofudogs, etc. they eat (after all, I'm losing weight, and they just keep getting fatter), but there's not a chance in hell they'll ever eat like I do. The best I can hope for them is lower caloric raw vegan. It's very sad to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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