Hot off the indoor grill Weber barbecues year-round

Hot off the indoor grill: Weber barbecues year-round

"I was doubtful about being able to do commercial production with the variable conditions of charcoal briquettes," Varanelli said. However, the system of lighting the coals with a pressed-paraffin product about 10 a.m. and adding charcoal periodically throughout the day keeps the grills at proper cooking temperature when the orders come in.Unlike a charcoal barbecue, a gas barbecue has its heat effectiveness reduced dramatically when it is used open. But when closed to contain the heat, it can work well for both direct-heat and indirect-heat cooking (as in a kettle-type charcoal barbecue).Prime rib is offered as a specialty only on weekends because "it takes up too much space on busy nights," said Fox, who does not plan to add it to the regular menu in spite of its popularity. He and Varanelli are contemplating grilling corn on the cob outdoors in season but are concerned about the logistics of mass production.Probably the only restaurant of its kind, the Weber Grill specializes in foods that are barbecued on Weber grills -- indoors. After a year's research and experimentation, the owner, Weber-Stephen Products, creator of the Weber grill, got the necessary approval to open a restaurant with charcoal grills in the kitchen.Neither the operators nor the customers are worried about the published reports that charcoal-grilled food has caused cancer in laboratory rats.To cook over direct heat, turn on both (or all) burners to use the entire grill surface. Turn on only one burner if you're going to need just a small cooking area.On the contrary, many customers believe charcoal grilling is a healthful cooking method because fats drip off and are not retained by the meat, fish, or poultry, Fox said.On small barbecues, foods that work best are thin, very lean or fat-free, and quickcooking, such as skinned chicken breast, lean firm-textured fish, fat-trimmed red meats, and vegetables.At the bottom of the firebox, gas lines (one to each burner) feed in fuel-either liquid propane from a refillable tank mounted below the barbecue or natural gas from a permanent hookup.How else do these units differ from charcoal grills? Their heat output and pattern vary by model, not by how you lay the fire, and cooking is best done with the hood closed. Many people notice flavor differences, which are a matter of personal preference.The container is a rectangular firebox with a hinged hood shaped like either a box or a barrel. The inside of the firebox resembles an upside-down broiler: the heat concentration comes from below, and the position of the heat source is fixed.Staff members are willing to share home-grilling advice with the restaurant's patrons, and that includes cautioning them against trying to grill indoors the way the restaurant does. A glass window in the dining room allows the guests to watch the cooks while they are at work."There is no proven evidence that charcoal cooking causes cancer," Fox said. "If you take a laboratory rat and give it enough of any one thing, you will kill it."Fox, former area director of Wendy's, said the owners hope to open more Weber Grill Restaurants but currently are concentrating on perfecting this one.Once ignited, gas flames reach upward through burners, whose number and configuration vary by manufacturer and model (see drawings on page 202). Stovelike controls let you regulate the flames. Above the burners is a heat distributor. It collects the burners' heat and radiates it upward and outward, diffusing heat more evenly than raw flames do.PHOTO : Greg Angeles grills a variety of meats on one of the grills in the kitchen. Inset: WeberPrices run from around $150 to well over $500-considerably more than the cost of most charcoal grills. For that investment, the gas models offer certain advantages: no need to build and ignite a charcoal fire, speedier heat-up time, stove-like temperature controls, predictable cooking results,

PHOTO : Grill chef Michael Varanelli, left, and director of operations Rob Fox.

Author: Carolyn Walkup