What to Grill?
Most recommended meat: ribeye and hanger steaks. Cheryl Furlow, of The Organic Butcher in McLean, says the hanger is “unattractive and people don’t give it a shot.” But season it with her shop’s ginger soy marinade or just salt and pepper, and the red-headed stepchild of steak becomes a summer meal ideal.
Most recommended seafood: tuna, swordfish, mahi mahi, salmon and ... soft shell crabs? Absolutely. John Leary of the south Arlington-based M. Slavin & Sons Fish, which supplies fish to the Inn at Little Washington and, occasionally the White House, makes another recommendation. “Halibut is going to be great all summer. Also red snapper and rockfish—I understand they call it rockfish down here—but it is wild striped bass.”
The Marinade Dilemma
Most recommended marinade, For meat or seafood: none at all—just salt, pepper and olive oil.
“If you have quality meat, it doesn’t need marinade.” —Tanya Cauthen, owner, Belmont Butchery, Richmond
“Don’t mask the flavor.” —Justin Severino, The Home Farm Store at Ayrshire Farm, Middleburg
“If you’re gonna pay the money for quality fish, you want to taste the natural flavor of the fish, not the three-dollar dressing you bought at the grocery store. Instead, go minimal; just add some herbs, lemon zest, sea salt and ground fresh pepper. And make sure to do your citrus after the fish is cooked. Otherwise, the flavor will be lost.” —David Booth, chef and manager, Yellow Umbrella Fresh Seafood, Richmond
The Super-Secret Rosemary Twig Twist
“I am the grilling king!” says Richard Welton, of Welton’s Fresh Seafood Market in Virginia Beach. And we just about believe him, based on a trick he shared with us: Slice a salmon filet down the middle and tuck in a rosemary twig (sans leaves) and a bit of olive oil. After grilling, remove the twig. The fish is still deliciously salmony, but with a surprising twist. “Nobody can see any seasoning on it,” says Welton. “They don’t know where the flavor is coming from.”
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