By Shawn Jackson Contributor
Lafayette 4-H recently completed its spring Grill Masters workshops. Fifteen Lafayette County middle and high school youth participated in the four-week, 10-hour training that consisted of four weeks of grilling chicken, pork, beef and seafood. Not only did participants learn to create delicious meals with these different meats on charcoal grills, they also learned about food safety, how to select the best cuts of meat and how to recognize quality meat.
Robbie Thomas, chef and proprietor of the Dixie Grill in Live Oak, was the feature guest instructor. The first week of training, grill masters grilled chicken breast and leg quarters. Thomas carefully explained the seriousness of serving undercooked chicken, how to know when the chicken was done and applying seasoning or brining meats.
The following week focused on techniques for grilling pork. Grill masters grilled pork-steaks. During this week, participants learned techniques on how to position and turn meat on the grill that would result in more attractive grill-looking meat.
The third week of grill masters training entailed grilling beef, with the cut of choice being the New York Strip. According to Thomas, the New York Strip is one of the most flavorful cuts of beef and is an excellent choice for grilling.
Finally, the grill masters training concluded in week four with the grilling of seafood. Thomas demonstrated techniques for successfully grilling fresh salmon and, under his instruction, youth used water-soaked bamboo skewers to grill the shrimp and scallops.
Participants in the Grill Masters workshops learned many valuable insights and tips to preparing professional quality meat on a grill, but the youth agreed one of the most helpful tips was to be sure the meat is always dried off well before placing on a hot grill to avoid the meat from sticking.
Lafayette 4-H plans to continue grill masters in the fall and looks forward to hosting a night of Dinner with 4-H Grill Masters in the future, where youth can share their new grilling skills.