6 Dishes, 1 Hot Class Act

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Chef on Call: The Grill Master

Steven Raichlen -- author, TV personality and guru of the grill -- teaches Tom Natan the tricks of the trade.

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"I like the taste of smoke and spice, not barbecue sauce," he says.

After the vegetables came off the grill, Raichlen and Natan assembled the fruit crisp in a cast-iron skillet and placed it on the grate, over an area left bare of heated coals, to cook indirectly at 375 degrees with the lid on. The grill approximated a conventional oven, but with the bonus of wood-chip smokiness that Raichlen claimed, accurately, would bring out the sweetness of the fruit. The ribs were still in the smoker; to finish them, he could have added hot coals and brushed the ribs with his sauce. But he transferred them to the higher heat of the second grill for his final approach.

Natan learned a lot that day. "I didn't know how to use a zoned fire properly; it wasn't part of my 1960s grilling experience," he says. "Nor was sequencing an entire meal with different fire requirements. And who knew you could use something other than butter, olive oil, salt and pepper on corn?"

There was an additional revelation.

He'd always thought that big, bold wines were best with grilled food. But on this occasion, everyday Rhone wines worked well, too, such as Cave la Romaine Tradition Rouge and Chateau de Clapier Calligrappe.

"Their earthiness complements the caramelization," he says.

True enough, but that day it was the caramelization that reaped most of the compliments.

David Hagedorn, chef and former restaurateur, can be reached atfood@washpost.com.His Chef on Call column appears monthly.