Men who hate grilling

Bob McLaughlin · 05-05-2008, 11:04 AM

I know, the grill is supposed to be one of the last bastions of manhood, right? As a man I am supposed to relish the opportunity to play with fire, serve up the kill, etc. But sorry, I hate grilling.

Maybe it's because I don't like cooking much to begin with. Maybe I'm a control freak and don't like the random way the flames can seem to blacken things on the outside while they are still raw on the inside. Maybe I don't like smelling like smoke and getting spattered with grease. Maybe I just don't like the assumption that since I am the man of the house, I must be the griller of the house.

Anyone else out there hate being forced to grill? I'd much rather be sitting back, drinking a beer and relaxing while someone else does it. But I can't exactly ask a guest to do "my" job, and my wife is too busy preparing the other foods in the kitchen.

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Brandon_T · 05-05-2008, 11:23 AM

I absolutely love grilling. We grill 3-4 times a week. Its not about being manly, but I love being outside, grilling playing with my kids, having the Tigers games on the radio. Its a great way to get me outside when I don't really feel like it. As far as smelling like smoke, I have a gas grill and don't have a huge smoke problem. That also allows me to control the heat for proper cooking.

I think its ok to not like grilling, but its something that really makes me think of summertime, and just being outside.

Christ Reynolds · 05-05-2008, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Maybe it's because I don't like cooking much to begin with

I think it's probably this.

CJ

Holadem · 05-05-2008, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob McLaughlin

But I can't exactly ask a guest to do "my" job,

Why not. I hosted a superbowl party this year, and my guests completely took over the kitchen, especially this one guy who was a freaking wizard. I still dream about those wings.

Now, I do find it curious that any form of cooking should be considered a "bastion of manhood". When did this happen?

--
H

Jason Seaver · 05-05-2008, 12:43 PM

Grilling's different. It's not in the kitchen, it applies to meat nearly exclusively, and it involves setting fires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob MacLaughlin

Maybe I just don't like the assumption that since I am the man of the house, I must be the griller of the house.

Then be a man and say no rather than complaining about it. Ask if someone else wants to or have a roast that can be thrown in the oven and basically ignored until it's ready. It's your house and your party, so you get to make the rules.

Jay H · 05-05-2008, 12:44 PM

Despite having 2 grills, I don't grill too much. I don't hate grilling but I fall into the "not liking to cook" category so to me grilling is tedious, clean the grill, hope you have a full tank of propane, get the long match to light the burners (inevitably, the automatic ones stop working and I'm too cheap to buy a new sparker). Then usually a lot of the better recipes call for marinating some kind of meat and hope it's not a flamefest because of it.

So, my two grills (one left by the seller of my house, one left by my parents when they moved) sit on my deck... I have a spare tank in my basement, albeit it's the old kind of valve on it... Maybe I'll get around to firing it up this year, albeit to make BBQ chicken wings, which is relatively easy to marinade and BBQ up.

Jay

LewB · 05-05-2008, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay H

Despite having 2 grills, I don't grill too much. I don't hate grilling but I fall into the "not liking to cook" category so to me grilling is tedious, clean the grill, hope you have a full tank of propane, get the long match to light the burners (inevitably, the automatic ones stop working and I'm too cheap to buy a new sparker). Then usually a lot of the better recipes call for marinating some kind of meat and hope it's not a flamefest because of it.

So, my two grills (one left by the seller of my house, one left by my parents when they moved) sit on my deck... I have a spare tank in my basement, albeit it's the old kind of valve on it... Maybe I'll get around to firing it up this year, albeit to make BBQ chicken wings, which is relatively easy to marinade and BBQ up.

Jay

Jay:
Unless that tank is 100% completely empty, get it out of the house, they are not to be kept indoors.
I'm not sure anyone will refill it anyway. Drop it off at a place that does tank refills. They will usually let you drop off those old clunkers.

Adam Lenhardt · 05-05-2008, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holadem

Now, I do find it curious that any form of cooking should be considered a "bastion of manhood". When did this happen?

Good question

The funny thing about Bob's description of grilling -- the soaring flames, smelling like smoke and getting spattered with grease -- pretty much describe how I cook in the kitchen. We're probably going to burn to death in a fire, because I had to take the smoke detector down it went off so regularly. Between the gas stove top and my propensity to run all my meats through the broiler, there's very little I could that doesn't involve fire. And I use butter as a glaze to make sure everything's got that extra layer of fat and cholesterol, which can sometime ignite in broiler.

So for me, grilling is just cooking in the fresh air and sunshine.

Jay H · 05-05-2008, 01:19 PM

Yeah, actually it's not inside the basement, per se, but in an open "foyer" to the basement that isn't sealed.. I might just move it outside though... It might be empty for all I know anyway.

Jay

Bob McLaughlin · 05-05-2008, 01:19 PM

Hey, if I can't complain here in the After Hours Lounge, where else can I complain?

DaveF · 05-05-2008, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holadem

Now, I do find it curious that any form of cooking should be considered a "bastion of manhood". When did this happen?

Grilling's always been "man's work", as Jason explains.

And in my house, all cooking in a bastion of manhood as I'm the cook. (Except for baked desserts.)I like grilling. It's cooking, but with a grill. Obviously it's better!

Bob - you absolutely can ask a guest to grill! You've certainly got a friend who see's your grill and is just itching to shove you aside and take over. Give him your approval (assuming he's good at it) and -- like Holadem experienced -- you might get the best food of your life.

Joseph DeMartino · 05-05-2008, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Now, I do find it curious that any form of cooking should be considered a "bastion of manhood". When did this happen?

You're throwing hunks of blood-dripping meat onto a metal grate over an open flame. This was clearly a form of cooking invented by a blacksmith who wanted dinner and got tired of his wife futzing around with vegetables and biscuits. "Here, give me the real food, I'll cook it myself. I have work to do."

And have you ever been inside the kitchen of a high-end restaurant? Most of the world's great chefs have been men, and they like to let you know it. In a lot of these places the testosterone is practically dripping off the walls. Cooking for the family at home may have been considered "woman's work" in most times and places, but serious, professional, competitive cooking for money has usually been a man's job, and it is only fairly recently that women cracked the top ranks.

Regards,

Joe