My wife is a very good cook. Unafraid to tackle any recipe, her servings and preparations have never disappointed.
She is, however, reluctant to outdoor barbecue, claiming it’s intimidating. I have reassured her that if she can make banana stuffed French toast indoors, she can certainly grill a chicken breast outdoors. To her credit, she has expressed a willingness to learn.
That raises the rather loaded question of whether or not it’s a woman’s place to be alongside a Weber.
Bina Venkataraman has a column in the Christian Science Monitor entitled, “Why can't a woman 'man' the grill?”
She writes:
“Each summer they crop up predictably: roses, azaleas, and affronts to my ability to work the grill. Backyard or front, Northeast or Midwest, since I've been able to wield a pair of tongs I've been ridiculed, deflected, and wrestled out of my preferred post overseeing the barbecue at seasonal parties and picnics.
Excuses? I've heard them all, from "I want to give you a break," to "This thing is tricky to operate." More often, a guy who sees me approaching the grill with a pile of hamburger meat or a marinated mahi-mahi will intercept me to ask, "What are you doing?" – as if brandishing a spatula and grill basket isn't indication enough.
It's true that women have penetrated boardrooms, fought wars, and climbed Mount Everest. Yet what Australians call the "barbie" still seems to be distinctly reserved for Ken.”Here’s her entire
column.This culinary conundrum is sticky, one that could send men to that icebox in the sky. But here goes.
Why can’t a woman 'man' the grill?
(I am not a sexist pig. I am not a sexist pig. I am not a sexist pig.)It’s not that a woman is incapable of arming herself with charcoal, tongs, flippers, and raw meat. (See the fourth sentence of this blog).
Barbecuing outdoors is a rite of passage for men. I love it, and do it all year-round.
It’s not just the grill. It’s being outside, having a beer or cocktail while cooking, the Brewer game on the radio in the background.
Personally, I could care less about chopping a salad, or arranging the dinner table. No interest in doing that whatsoever.
But give me a bacon-wrapped filet, and some potatoes wrapped in foil with onions and green peppers, and some fresh asparagus to toss on the grate, and I’m in my element.
Yes, it’s an opportunity for a guy to help out for once with meal preparations. And there is a certain “turf” issue at stake. But at the risk of sounding less than analytical, this is a “guy” thing, cool, macho. Guys would prefer that when it comes time to cook outside, that they simply be allowed to do it while the better half does all that other stuff inside.
When my wife prepared orange-glazed duck breast, kalua pork and tiramisu, trust me, on those occasions, I was nowhere near the kitchen interfering.
Why can’t women 'man' the grill?
They can and would be great at it and I can’t come up with any reason why they shouldn’t except this:
Can you please just let me do it?
PREVIOUS CULINARY NO-NO’S1) Ketchup on a brat
2) Green peppers on pizza
3) The dirty martini
4) Fruity brats
5) A Bloody Mary after dinner
