(continued)

Kenny
I've never used a gas grill. Only a charcoal grill. I used to start the charcoal with fuel, but recently found the chimney starter. It is really great, no fuel smell at all. What do you think, Chris?

ruby
What's a chimney starter?

Kenny
Ruby, a chimney starter is this cylindrical, flue-like container that you can use to start charcoal without fuel. You just need two sheets of old newspaper. Really great!

Chris&Doc
Gas grills are symptoms of a misplaced ethos. I mean -- I think it's representative of the culture. People are trying to do things easier and faster and they're losing what it's all about. If you want to lose the danger of burning the food, you're missing out on one of the joys. You don't get to squirt lighter fluid, you don't get to burn your hand.

Chris&Doc
I've got a friend who's a potter and you ask her if she likes a gas kiln or a fire kiln and she'll say the fire kiln -- because the gas pumps out the same product exactly the same way each time; the fire gives everything character, the personality of the particular time it was fired and of the person who did it.

ruby
Kenny, you live in NYC, are you allowed to grill?

Kenny
No license to grill available in NYC, ruby. I go to the country to grill

Rita C
When I grew up in Brooklyn we made potatoes under a fire in a pit or in a garbage can. They were called Mickeys. Charred to a crisp on the outside and fluffy inside. I have not been able to reproduce them on a grill. Any ideas?

Frederick
So, what did you guys grill on the 4th of July this year?

Chris&Doc
4th of July, I was at work. Now on the 5th of July, I had steaks, striped bass -- I had a bunch of friends over, it was a pot luck.

Frederick
My kids love hamburgers, hot dogs, and sausage on the grill, and I'd love to switch to turkey burgers to be a bit more healthy. Will they notice the taste?

Chris&Doc
Yes, your kids will notice the difference. I think turkey burgers are fine, they're good enough on their own -- a turkey chipotle burger, say -- but the thing that makes a classic American hamburger is the fat. You take the fat out and you lose the burger. You should treat turkey burgers as their own genre, not a substitution.

Chris&Doc
I do think the turkey sausage is interesting. My favorite turkey cut is a bone-in turkey thigh, with barbecue rub -- unbelievable. And if you want to make drumsticks they're really great too.

Chris&Doc
This is unrelated but has anyone out there ever tried deep-frying a whole turkey?

Chris&Doc
It's unbelievable! You just get a really big, deep, fat stock pot and heat it to 350° and chuck the turkey in there. Unbelievable! It's an old Southern recipe and Martha Stewart just did it in her magazine, too.

ruby
Yum, fat! But you can't eat lots of fat every day - I'll stick with turkey burgers ....

Chris&Doc
Awesome. Stranger than fiction. It's great. Dangerous, but great.

ana
My uncle, who lives in Baton Rouge, LA deep fries whole turkeys. He says it's the only way to have turkey.

ruby
Ana, it's so cool that you have an uncle in Baton Rouge....

ruby
Let's talk turkey!

Chris&Doc
Ruby, you're a turkey.

Kenny
How about hobo pack the whole turkey? Chris, what would you use to wrap the turkey?

Chris&Doc
Can't hobo wrap a turkey. Too big.

Kenny
But seriously, Chris, what do you use to hobo pack. foil? leaves?

Chris&Doc
Use foil to hobo pack. Then it's embedded in the coals, not laid on the grill. Some people use the foil as a surface; I think that's pointless. Why grill if you're just going to cook it on a surface? Hobo wrapping is within the coals -- 3 sheets. Here's a very simple hobo pack recipe: get heavy duty foil, lay 3 18" sheets on top of each other, cut up 3 sweet potatoes quartered lengthwise, lay on top of thinly sliced oranges, add 1/2 cup raisins, a quarter stick of butter. Wrap it up and toss it in the coals. Awesome.

yumyum
What about wrapping food on the grill itself - like using leaves or tin foil? Any suggestions or recipes?

Chris&Doc
Yumyum, you can wrap stuff in leaves -- like stuffed grape leaves -- that's great -- but to wrap stuff in tin foil on top of the grill, then it's like why use the grill? I've seen people use banana leaves to give it a little flavor, but I don't really see the point.

ruby
Do you read Martha Stewart a lot? Doesn't she copy recipes? Isn't she really mean?

Chris&Doc
Ruby, I got a big crush on Martha Stewart. You leave Martha Stewart alone.

ruby
I think Martha Stewart is the turkey.

ruby
What does one say when one is called a turkey?

Chris&Doc
Ruby's just jealous.

ruby
Hmmmm, I never considered the jealousy option. I'll have to explore that the next time I'm cooking over my homemade charcoal grill.

Chris&Doc
Ruby, maybe you'd like to come over for dinner with me and Martha ...

Brendan
Is there a sure-fire way to tell when chicken or turkey is done when grilling? I always get a little scared of under-doing it and it ends up over-done.

Chris&Doc
Cut into the chicken or turkey and look. It shouldn't have any hint of red, no translucence. It should be opaque throughout.

Frederick
What was your first experience with grilling? Why have you grown so fond of it?

Chris&Doc
[Chris] My daddy! My daddy taught me to grill out on the back porch. We'd take all the food out to the wilds of the back porch and he'd check the wind trajectory and shake his head and look this way and that and impart to me the secrets of how to grill. Then we'd march back in triumphantly and show my mother and sister what we'd cooked on the grill, and each meal was better than the last.

Brendan
What's the best way to grill fish? Wrap it or put it directly on the grill? What's your favorite grilling fish?

Chris&Doc
Fish? Directly on the grill, no question. I like striped bass, bluefish, swordfish, salmon, red snapper, scallops -- just right on there -- mahi mahi -- clams, oysters in their shells - shrimp, squid, mackerel, halibut, grouper ....

Amy
Hey, you're just naming all the fish in the world!

Chris&Doc
They're all great on the grill! Any fish that doesn't fall apart, basically.

Frederick
Well, we're pretty much out of time. Thanks for coming John and Doc. I hope you're able to come back some time and talk more grilling. We will be announcing the cookbook winners in about one minute...

Frederick
And the winners are...ruby, Brendan, and upword! Congratulations! I will be contacting you by email.

Frederick
Thanks for coming everyone! Our next chat will be on Tuesday, August 5th (9 pm Eastern), and our guest will be Don Pintabona, the innovative chef of Tribeca Grill in New York City.