If you’re still playing it safe and tossing the usual hamburgers, hot dogs and steaks on the grill, Chef Jennifer Magrey can help you get creative and break out of the box (or barbecue) during her summer cooking classes held at The Weekend Kitchen in Essex.

Magrey will teach the necessary skills to grill anything from peaches to planked cod filets, BLTs to butterflied chicken.

In addition to teaching cooking classes, Magrey runs a catering business in Uncasville.

She says she became a chef by accident.

“I’ve loved cooking since I was a child,” she says. “My mother had a restaurant until I was about 8. She cooked everything — even made her own grape jelly. Food is my life.”

While working as a pharmacy tech in 1995, Magrey was introduced to the chef at the five-star Lord Thompson Manor in Thompson. Impressed with her knowledge and love of food, he talked to her for almost three hours.

“He asked me if I wanted to work in the industry,” she says. “I said ‘yes,’ but I thought I had to go to a culinary institute.”

The chef hired Magrey to cook on weekends, while she continued to work four days a week in the pharmacy industry.

The rest is history: Through experience, hard work, reading everything she could get her hands on about food, and cooking in every venue from country club restaurants to food trucks, today Magrey makes her living as a private chef, caterer and culinary instructor.

GRILL TIPS

Successful grilling can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. Magrey points out that there are certain “do’s and don’ts” that can make the experience less stressful and more fun.

First off, barbecuing and grilling are totally different.

Barbecuing, Magrey says, is something you do for longer periods of time with cheaper cuts of meat because tissues and fats need to break down, so the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. Grilling is the opposite: for fish, more expensive cuts of meat, and chicken (that you don’t want to dry out), you use high heat for short periods of time — seven or eight minutes on each side.

Also, she says, “Never put your meat on a cold grill. It will stick to the grill if it’s not hot and will fall apart before it even starts to cook. Really get it going — even a gas grill.

“And cold meat doesn’t grill well at all, so wait until it’s at room temperature before putting it on,” she stresses. “You also don’t want to play with your meat. People tend to want to flip burgers a million times or keep turning the steak. Don’t keep moving around things that just need to get a sear on them, a good crust.”

Magrey also suggests asking a butcher to butterfly whole chickens, which can be done at a meat market or supermarket for no extra charge.

“They take out the back bone and it presses flat on the grill, so all the pieces cook evenly,” she explains. “And, it’s less expensive when you buy a whole chicken.”

When cooking fish, Magrey is a big believer in using cedar planks, which you can purchase at a supermarket seafood counter or seafood shop.

“The cedar brings out the flavor and acts as a surface for the fish to be on so it doesn’t fall apart.”

She also advises heating the grill to a good 350 degrees and, depending on the size of the piece of fish, cooking it no longer than 8 to 10 minutes.

Magrey creates her own combinations of spices and suggests getting to know your spices around the world, so if you want to grill something Asian, for example, you’ll know what spices to use in a rub or marinade.

Grilled vegetables are another favorite. She suggests cutting them a little thicker than if they were being sautéed so they don’t get mushy.

“I love making fresh green salads with roasted vegetables on top,” she says. “Last night I had eggplants and artichokes on the grill.”

Magrey uses good quality, firm, canned artichokes, cooking them just until grill marks appear. She says preparing fresh artichokes is labor intensive and unnecessary.

Fruit is often overlooked when grilling and yet grilled peaches, nectarines and pineapples have been in recipes for years, she notes.

“Grilled peaches make an amazing, simple dessert with ice cream and crumbled cookies on top,” she says.

In addition to grilling the fruit itself to eat as a side dish or dessert, Magrey points out that fruit can be used as a grilling component in sauces and marinades by pureeing the grilled fruit and adding herbs and spices to top a piece of meat.

She adds that citrus or pineapple is a great ingredient in a marinade as long as you don’t marinate the meat for too long because it will actually start to “cook” and break down the enzymes in the meat, which will become mushy.

One thing that Magrey always does when she’s grilling is to grill extra meat and vegetables.

“If you’re going to stand out there anyway on a weekend, grill chicken three ways, so you can eat it during the week. If you grill extra, you can make (dishes like) cold chicken salad to eat later or grilled veggie wraps," Magrey says.

“Grilling and summertime brings people together,” she adds. “I like to set up a couple grills and have everyone bring something to grill and share, and I provide the sides. It’s a fun way to have a party.”

SMOKY, SWEET AND SPICY FLANK STEAK

By Chef Jenn Magrey, who notes that this marinade is great on chicken, too

2 pounds flank steak

Kosher salt and pepper

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 tablespoons chili paste (Asian/Indian section in market)

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Combine all marinade ingredients in small bowl and mix well. Place flank steak in large plastic zip-closing bag. Pour marinade into bag, seal closed while getting all the air out, and make sure the marinade covers the steak all over. Place in a bowl and refrigerate about 2 hours. Overnight is not necessary.

Remove bag from fridge and place on counter for one hour. (Cold meat does not grill well.) When you’re ready to cook, prepare the grill. I prefer a charcoal grill using hardwood when available. However, a gas grill works fine. Heat the grill to a high heat. Oil the grate of the grill using cooking spray or a paper towel doused with some cooking oil and drag across the grates. Heat with cover closed until it is almost smoking — about 500 degrees.

Place steak on a plate and sprinkle both salt and cracked black pepper over both sides. This will help form a savory crust on the meat. Place steak on hot grill. Grill 6-7 minutes on each side for medium rare steak. This cut is best served medium rare. Halfway through grilling time, turn steak 90 degrees on each side so you get more grill marks. That’s for a nice presentation.

When steak is done, place on a cutting board and let it rest for about 5-7 minutes under a foil tent. This will instill the juices remaining in the steak and not all over the plate. Slice this cut of steak thinly, on a bias, and against the grain. This will serve 6 people with one steak.

July Cooking Classes at Weekend Kitchen

The cost for each class is $75. Weekend Kitchen is located at 6 N. Main St., Essex. For more information and to register for classes, visit www.weekend-kitchen.myshopify.com, email info@weekendkitchenct.com or call (860) 767-1010.

Summer Grilling with Seasonal Fruit: July 11, 6:30 – 10 p.m. 

Menu:

Marinated radish, cucumber, and carrot salad over mixed greens with lime and honey vinaigrette

Grilled pork tenderloin “steaks” with fresh berry glaze

Grilled flank steak with smoky cherry chipotle marinade

Grilled potato packets with lemon, dill and mint

Grilled peaches and homemade amaretto ice cream 

Chill’n & Grill’n: July 21, 6:30 – 10 p.m. 

Menu:

Grilled succo-squash salad

Planked Captain Cod filets with herb lemon butter sauce

Grilled Greek chicken and peppers souvlaki: olives, oregano, lemon, black pepper

BLT (Bacon, Leeks and Tomatoes), mashed potatoes

Grilled pound cake with Zabaglione (Italian custard) and berries