Reprinted with permission from Grill Fire ©2017 by Lex Taylor, Sterling Epicure. Photography by Bill Milne
As grilling season gets underway, we revisited a favorite cookbook feature from the archives of Healthy Aging® Magazine: Grill Fire: 100+ Recipes & Techniques for Mastering the Flame by Lex Taylor.
Part cookbook, part travel-inspired meditation on cooking over fire, the Grill Fire cookbook blends humor, grilling techniques, and globally influenced flavors. Following is an adapted excerpt from the original Healthy Aging® Magazine feature along with one recipe — Herb-Blazed Arctic Char. Additional recipes from the original article remain available in the digital magazine edition.
There’s something timeless about cooking over fire. Long before stainless steel kitchens and air fryers, meals were prepared outdoors over glowing embers, guided more by instinct than timers and temperature gauges. That spirit is exactly what chef and grill master Lex Taylor captures in his Grill Fire cookbook.
Taylor, a grill master who has appeared as a judge on Beat Bobby Flay and won Esquire’s The Next Great Burger, approaches grilling not just as a cooking method, but as a deeply human experience rooted in history, travel, and flavor. In the introduction to the book, he reflects on how early humans first cooked over fire and how that primal connection still resonates today.
“I’m drawn to grilling because to grill is to be human in a timeless continuum,” Taylor writes.
More Than a Grilling Cookbook
That philosophy carries throughout the cookbook, which combines practical grilling knowledge with globally inspired dishes gathered from Taylor’s travels. Readers will find recipes ranging from Japanese Kobe beef with umami tare sauces to Mexican rotisserie chicken and even crème brûlée pork chops. Yet despite the international influences, Taylor keeps his focus grounded in approachable grilling favorites and American classics.
One of the refreshing things about Grill Fire is that it is not simply a cookbook full of recipes and glossy food photography. Taylor is funny, opinionated, and highly entertaining. His commentary on burgers alone is worth the read.
“The amount of stuff people try to shove into a single burger does injustice to its portability and ergonomics,” Taylor jokes before taking aim at what he calls the “bacon bandage” phenomenon.
Humor aside, the book also offers genuinely useful grilling instruction. Taylor reviews the fundamentals of direct and indirect grilling, fuel choices, fire management, grill tools, and techniques for achieving the proper heat. One particularly helpful feature is his explanation of the “hand test,” a practical way to judge grill temperature by holding your hand over the coals for a certain number of seconds. The guide provides an intuitive alternative to relying solely on thermometers and gadgets.
Taylor even pokes fun at his own reluctance to use gas grills.
“To be honest, I have never used a gas grill. Not even once…” he writes. “I can’t help but always think I will blow myself up.”
Still, he reassures readers that all of the recipes in the book can be adapted for gas grilling as well.
Herb-Blazed Arctic Char
One of the featured recipes in Healthy Aging® Magazine is Herb-Blazed Arctic Char, a dish inspired by cooking along the remote shoreline in Pang, hundreds of miles above the treeline. There, driftwood pallets washed ashore become fuel for the fire, while fragrant heather moss from the surrounding hills adds aroma and flavor. Stones are used to shield the fish from the wind and lift it gently above the coals.
The recipe reflects the adventurous, elemental approach that defines much of Taylor’s cooking style. It also highlights the appeal of grilling as an experience that encourages slowing down, cooking outdoors, and gathering with others around a fire.
Candied Chicken Pops. Reprinted with permission from Grill Fire ©2017 by Lex Taylor, Sterling Epicure. Photography by Bill Milne
The full Healthy Aging® Magazine article also includes additional recipes and commentary from Taylor, including Candied Chicken Pops and Whole Duck with Honey and Cantaloupe. In his colorful descriptions, Taylor explains why sweet glazed meats pair beautifully with fresh greens and why duck fat deserves a starring role in future meals.
Whether you are an experienced grill enthusiast or simply looking for fresh inspiration for summer cooking, Grill Fire offers more than recipes. It captures the ritual, humor, and creativity of cooking outdoors — one flame at a time.
Following is the Herb-Blazed Arctic Char recipe from Grill Fire. Subscribers can access additional recipes and the complete article in the digital edition of Healthy Aging® Magazine.
Reprinted with permission from Grill Fire ©2017 by Lex Taylor, Sterling Epicure. Photography by Bill Milne
Herb-Blazed Arctic Char
Makes 2 servings
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 arctic char, 1 1⁄2 pounds, cleaned and gutted
- 2 large bundles of fresh herbs—such as thyme, basil, rosemary (in moderation), bay leaves, tarragon, and so forth, about 1 bushel altogether
- Coarse sea salt
- 1 lemon, sliced (optional)
Bring the grill to medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt the butter, being careful not to burn it. Set it aside.
Rinse the fish and pat it dry. Stuff the cavity with a handful of the herbs. Then brush the exterior of the fish with the melted butter and sprinkle the fish with salt.
Grab half of the remaining bundle of herbs and make it into a dense nest.
Lay the nest over direct coals and place the fish on top of the nest. Cook it for 10 minutes, until the herbs have burned to ashes. Remove the fish and brush off any ash. Place the remaining bundle of herbs over the fire, flip the fish over, and lay it back on the herb nest.
Cook the fish for another 10 minutes.
Lift the fish from the embers with a wide spatula or knife, clean it off, and plate it.
Remove the herbs from the cavity.
Garnish with lemon slices, if using.
Reprinted with permission from Grill Fire ©2017 by Lex Taylor, Sterling Epicure. Photography by Bill Milne.
