Primal grilling? page

[Proud Neandertaler]

Hello!
I am from Germany and Iīm really interested in primal nutrition.
I love to grill especially now when its about 90° outside. What I find especially tasty is steak from the grill. But I have read that there are some downsides on grilling like HCAs.
Didnīt use the caveman hot fire to cook his meat? Thus it should be the healthiest?
And how can I make the steak more healty? I have heard to add rosemary but how to add it? Before grilling or afterwards?

Isnīt it the case that cancer can only live on sugars meaning carbs so low carb should be the healtiest diet?

Is grilled steak healthier than softdrinks or pizza even with the HCAs in it?

[tangentrider]

I was listening to something yesterday--not sure what, sorry--and they mentioned that indirect grilling (apparently known as "barbecuing" amongst the informed) has fewer/no issues. They said flames hitting the meat was the problem and indirect grilling eliminates this issue.

Any bbq-ers out there have more info? I'm curious.

[Katie82]

I don't know for sure but I think it's only when the meat gets overcooked. Like, that really good char that I love on chicken (I don't do this anymore). Now we do indirect grilling and for things like chicken legs or thighs I bake them inside in the toaster oven for about 15 min before throwing on the grill. This prevents flare ups because a lot of the fat drips off in the oven. While I do believe in the primal diet and everything Grok ate being healthier than what we eat today I don't know as I would say that their cooking methods were any better than we have today. I intend to experiment a lot with low heat cooking this winter because I think it's healthier.

[shacky]

funny that I read this post shortly after watching a Steve Raichlen grilling show this weekend. If you haven't seen his Caveman grilling method, you should checkit out here: Link

I grill and smoke meat quite a bit but have never attempted this. I may give it a go this 4th of July weekend.

[GaTo]

when does that show come on and what television station?

[Grol]

I've been cooking my meat slower on indirect heat to avoid the charring that causes the HCAs. I started to see if I like it, and I am surprised. I let a bone in NY go for 30 minutes and it was excellent. Marinades also seem to reduce HCAs, but I cannot find which ones or why. Finally, a minute in the microwave moves the HCAs to the meats fluids and over 95% of them are cooked away. I have done this with ground beef and as bad as it sounds it did not harm the flavor. I am going to start thawing my better cuts in the microwave before grilling them.

Article

[livingprimal]

Oh yea, I am soooooo trying that Caveman TBone idea! Loved delish!!!! Now I'm going to have to watch more of his videos just to get more ideas!

[Deanolicious]

It would seem also that the increased amount of fruits and vegetables in the primal diet may help to counteract the ill effects of grilling in the long run as increased antioxidants may help prevent some cancers. I would think that as long as you're not overdoing the charring or grilling out every night of the week the carcinogenic negatives shouldn't have as big an impact as they would in other people diets. Afterall, we're taking in fewer processed foods, preservatives etc. than we used to and I'm sure those contribute much more to disease than a good Pittsburg medium sirloin. I'd be more worried about smoking or tanning beds which hopefully aren't a problem for many of us anyways.

[OnTheBayou]

Hunter-Gatherers don't grill, they just throw the meat on the fire!

My feeling about HCA's etc is that if we don't have some resistance to them by now, after a half million years of "throw the meat on the fire" eating, I'm surprised. I think, repeat, think, that most of the experiments that indicate toxicity are done in vitro. In other words, not a complex organism like us.

The best grillin' and all things BBQ site is www.amazingribs.com . Great knowledge, great writing.

[Grol]

Just about every ancient culture had some form of slow cooking earthen ovens. The ahima oven in Tahiti dates back to the upper paleolithic. In other areas they have discovered paleolithic stone hearths that served as ovens as far back as the middle paleolithic. Stone boiling was also a common safe food preparation method. Grok was very intelligent. To suppose they just threw meat on the fire is flawed. Of course they were smart enough to experiment and learn. I'm pretty sure after Mrs. Grok invented fire Grok came home pissed and worried about the children and assorted dangers. The she handed him a slow stone roasted mammoth rib and the first cook was celebrated.

That said the caveman method in the video does look very cool. But, I think it's pretty bad idea and abusive to a good hunk of meat. I might try it. I use lump exclusively. But I promise you that does not work for a piece of fish and we know Grok was cooking fish. I would guess they were wrapped in leaves and steamed, Hawaiian style. A large consensus agree cooking has been going on for 200,000 years. In wouldn't take more than a few generations to start creating recipes. Richard Wranghan makes the argument in Catching Fire that cooking was the catalyst for advanced development.

Loren Cordain:

The way we tend to cook meat these days is very different from the ways of hunters and gatherers who tend to slow-cook meats over a long period of time. A favored cooking procedure was digging a pit and putting in hot stones, putting in the whole animal or portions of it, putting in vegetable matter and other stones above the vegetable matter and cooking the meat all day long. So what is suggested is slow cooking at low heat.

To this day the nicest meat I eat every year comes out of a Hawaiian Imu. Luaus are primal.