Anthony Carrino and his cousin John Colaneri have long been two of my favorite HGTV hosts. I learned so much about redesigning kitchens through their hit television show “Kitchen Cousins” and this week, Anthony Carrino joined me for an interview to discuss grilling. Years ago I ate the best grilled vegetables at a wedding and have never been able to recreate that delicious meal. After talking to Anthony about everything grilling, I can’t wait to try my hand at grilling…the right way!
During our interview Anthony Carrino also discussed outdoor kitchens! He shared everything from how to design the perfect outdoor kitchen to the best type of grill for your home. Anthony also mentioned the best grill for beginners and city dwellers. Since I love grilled vegetables, I just had to ask him how to grill them. I plan on pulling out the charcoal grill this weekend.
Please be sure to watch the video below to see our interview in its entirety. Not only did Anthony discuss grilling, but he dished on where you’ll be able to see him next. He created a new full digital series called “TheBuild.tv” which sounds fantastic. I made sure and transcribed the interview as well, so you can read it at your convenience! I hope you will share it with family, friends and don’t forget to pin it on Pinterest, so everyone can learn from HGTV host and grill master, Anthony Carrino. Happy grilling season, friends!
Watch HGTV Star Anthony Carrino Talk Grilling and TheBuild.tv
On Tuesday, June 18, 2019 HGTV “Kitchen Cousins” star Anthony Carrino joined journalist and blogger, Candace Rose Anderson of the blog Candie Anderson for an interview! He shared amazing grilling tips for everyone from grilling novices to pros. He dished on the best grills, and even shared tips on how to grill vegetables. Learn all about his new full digital series called “TheBuild.tv.”
Anthony Carrino Shares Top Grilling Tips
Candie Anderson: We all know you from your amazing kitchen design shows on HGTV, and I hear you’re not in a kitchen right now. Can you tell us about your love of grilling and how we can make the delicious pizza you shared on Instagram on Father’s Day?
Anthony Carrino: “For that pizza in particular you need my mom because it’s her dough recipe, so that’s going to be a little tough!
I have more and more clients asking these days for outdoor kitchens so I wanted to share some design tips on that and also my passion for grilling. I absolutely love it. Anytime you can be outdoors with friends and family and cooking under the sky, I’m a happy guy.
When it comes to designing your outdoor kitchen, you’ve got to start with the biggest tool in the kitchen and that is the grill. It is the epicenter of your outdoor cooking life. You’ve got to make that decision first and start to build out from there.
There are a lot of different types of grills, so making that choice is an important one. For those that aren’t aware, Lowes is actually the number one grill retailer in the country. They’ve got everything from small patio grills up to these big guys that are right here that we’ll get into in just a second.”
How To Save Money On A New Grill For Summer
Anthony Carrino: “Over the July 4th holiday they’ve got a 30% off select grill sale – a lot of great information there. You can go talk to sales people, figure out what you want to accomplish. To that end, we’ve got a gas grill and a charcoal grill.”
The Difference Between A Gas Grill And A Charcoal Grill
Anthony Carrino: “Let’s start with the gas grill first. This is a four burner grill by Char-Broil. It’s got a 10,000 BTU side burner on it that’s great for side dishes or broiling corn. The great thing about this grill is the push button start, so it’s simple. You’ve got four burners that really allows you to control the temperature under the food on your grilling surface. It’s great for everybody from a novice to an experienced griller. It gives you a lot of flexibility.
Come over here to the Kamado Joe – this is our charcoal grill. This is a ceramic grill that allows you to do all of the standard grilling, but also allows you to do long smoke times of meat. For example, I love to do a 10 pound pork butt in the summertime. That’s going to take 10-12 hours when you’re talking about that jumbo lump hardwood charcoal. You can put that in here. This is going to burn for 18 hours.
Now, you do need to understand the temperature control is a little bit more finesse with a charcoal grill. You’ve got the slide on the bottom and the exhaust on the top. Dialing that in takes a little getting used to, but understanding which of these two directions you want to go is going to be key to really centering that kitchen design.” (Please watch the video above for details on the differences between a gas grill and a charcoal grill).”
The Best Type Of Grill For Beginners
Candie Anderson: What do you suggest a beginner start with? Should they start with charcoal or electric?
Anthony Carrino: “To be clear, if you’re in a city environment and you live in an apartment building you cannot have a propane grill. You can have a gas grill that’s hooked up to natural gas, but you can’t have compressed gas in a multifamily environment. That could be one thing that makes a decision for you.
However, if you are in a regular home in the suburbs, I would strongly suggest that you start with a gas grill. It gets you comfortable working outside. It gets you comfortable with your temperature controls and then slowly moving to a charcoal ceramic.
I actually have both of these grills on my roof deck because I enjoy using them for their specific tasks.”
Anthony Carrino Shares Grilling Tips For Beginners
Candie Anderson: Do you have any grilling tips for those of us who are beginners?
Anthony Carrino: “For sure, especially with the charcoal grill. This is an absolutely incredible gadget, it’s the iGrill by Weber (please see video above for details). The Bluetooth goes to your phone and you just leave this on the side of the grill. The meat thermometer is going to send wirelessly the internal temperature of the meat. For example a pork butt is going to be 195 degrees internal temperature before it comes off the grill. You’re going to know without ever having to open this lid and that’s the key. You’ve got to keep the lid closed when you’re smoking meats. You need that temperature retained in there so it brings that center core of the meat higher, and you also want that smoke staying in there so it imparts flavor. You want the smokiness of the charcoal and you want that beautiful flavor from whatever wood chips you decide to put in there. For me, I like using hickory when it comes to a pork shoulder.”
How To Grill Vegetables
Candie Anderson: I’m a huge fan of grilled vegetables. Do you have any tips you can share please?
Anthony Carrino: “Definitely keep your vegetables thicker. A lot of people get this confused – vegetables take longer to grill than meat does.
Number one: You want to put them on first and then you want to put your meat.
Number two: Cut your vegetables thicker, so that they don’t wilt and slide through these grates. If you keep your vegetables thick, you’re going to get a real nice char on them. They soften up really well, they’ll start to shrink and be more the size you’re used to before you know it. Start larger and let the heat shrink them up a little bit.”
Anthony Carrino Dishes On His New Full Digital Series TheBuild.tv
Candie Anderson: When you’re not revamping kitchens and not hanging out in your own backyard, what’s on tap for you in the coming months?
Anthony Carrino: “I’m actually starting a new home renovation project of my own. I’m creating a full digital series around it. It’s going to be at TheBuild.tv. The goal is to give people real actionable information for their own home renovations to save them a little time, money and heartache through what can be a very complicated process. If you’re interested in anything like that, check out TheBuild.tv. You can sign up for notifications. We’ll be launching it next month.
Candie Anderson: I saw you have an Instagram page for that too!
Anthony Carrino: “Absolutely, it’s @thebuildtv.”
How To Find More Information
Candie Anderson: Where can we go for more information on everything you mentioned?
Anthony Carrino: “For all we’re talking about check out lowes.com. Their sale runs from June 27th to July 10th. Happy grilling season everybody!”
Anthony Carrino Bio
Discovering his creative side while attending business school, and leaning on his early teenage years working construction Anthony and his father Alfonso, co-founded Brunelleschi Construction in Feb of 2004 and built a successful Development, General Contracting and Design firm with a focus on restoring old, architecturally significant structures within the urban core of Jersey City and Hoboken. Now on their fourth TV series, Anthony & his cousin John have been the driving creative force behind Kitchen Cousins, Cousins On Call, Cousins Undercover, and now America’s Most Desperate Kitchens. Their shows can been seen both on HGTV and the DIY Network.
