By Eve Baum Victory
Summertime in Arkansas is filled with sights and sounds of outdoor sports and gatherings, and most certainly, the smells of outdoor grilling.
Cooking over an open fire dates back hundreds of thousands of years, but grilling as we know it became popular with the advent of campsites and outdoor family trips. Post WWII, the idea caught on in the suburbs and by the 1950s, it was all the rage.
All our technological Weber marvels and countless retail sauces and marinades still don’t change the underlying appeal of grilling: the very process boosts ingredients’ natural flavors so little else than basic seasoning — not added flavors — is needed.
Culinarily speaking, there is a big difference between seasonings and flavorings. Seasonings are meant to enhance the natural taste of the ingredients being used, whereas flavorings are meant to add a new taste.
That rib eye, pork tenderloin, asparagus or peach is already filled with flavor. You don’t need the newest Smart grill or most marketed spice rub. You can have an amazingly delicious meal simply by using good old salt and pepper and let the char and smoke from an open flame do the rest.
As famed Top Chef judge, Chef Tom Colicchio repeatedly remarks, the most brilliant gourmet dishes can fall flat if not properly seasoned. Salt, pepper, sugar and a little acid like lemon juice can bring out the best in anything you throw on your grill. Happy Summer Eating, folks!
A native New Yorker, Eve Victory has called Hot Springs home since 2003. Working for years as an event and tradeshow planner and personal chef, Eve is currently the Hospitality and Tourism Instructor at National Park College. For information on how to turn your education into a career in the second largest industry in Hot Springs, contact Eve at evictory@np.edu.
