Are you ready for some grilling?
This was the question presented by Mad Dog & Merrill in a recent presentation to the Manawa community.
The grilling duo was featured at the first annual National Night Out held Aug. 5 in Lindsay Park. An estimated 230 people attended the event.
Mad Dog & Merrill have been grilling together for the past 34 years. In this presentation, they provided tips to more successful grilling.
According to Mad Dog, the most essential ingredient is olive oil or something to keep the meat moist while cooking.
“If you put it on the grill dry, it will come off the grill dry,” he said.
Having a clean grill is very important.
Merrill noted the best way to clean the grill is to fire it up for about 15 minutes after using it. This makes it easier to wipe up all the UFOs (unidentified fried objects).
Before grilling anything, Mad Dog & Merrill suggested preheating the grill on high for five minutes. The grill should then be turned down to medium before placing food on it.
They demonstrated and talked about different ways to grill peppers, sweet corn and chicken.
One of their tricks to grilling sweet corn was to add olive oil and other ingredients before wrapping the cob in a paper towel, then reverse wrap it in foil.
They suggested that an indirect method of grilling should be used for chicken. This involves only turning on the outside burner(s) and putting the meat in a grill pan in the middle of the grill so it is surrounded by heat.
The next step is to turn off the right-hand burner and turn the left-hand burner to medium, then grill for one hour.
This method of indirect grilling works best after browning some of the meats directly on the burner.
“Happy grilling, everyone,” Merrill said at the end of the show.
The Mad Dog & Merrill visit was sponsored by the Sturm Memorial Library, the Manawa Police Department and Manawa CARES.
Other activities at the Night Out event included children’s games, fire trucks, the Waupaca County K-9 unit, a free picnic, root beer floats, and a craft fair.
The games and face painting were provided by Manawa CARES and the student leadership class from Little Wolf High School, under the guidance of Sandy Cordes.
“The weather was perfect … and the company was fantastic,” said Ellen Connors, director of Sturm Memorial Library. “There is something special about spending an evening with lots of folks you know, young and younger, and sharing a few laughs and some fun.”
She noted the event would not have been possible without the cooperation of the library, Manawa Police Department, Manawa CARES, other volunteers, and numerous community donations.