Grilling 101

[xcanuck]

How often do I need to add charcoal? For a regular 22" Weber, how much should I start with? One or two chimney starters worth?

I'd suggest using one chimney starter worth and separating into two piles as others have said. Control the temperature using the vents and try to keep it around the 350-400F mark. If you've used good quality briquettes (I wouldn't suggest hardwood charcoal as they'lll burn off too quickly) then I think you can make do with a single chimney starter. Otherwise, towards the end, you'll have to open the hinge grates (assuming you have them) and pop in a few extra coals per side.

A well soaked chunk of alder, cherry, or apple might be a nice addition, too!

[Banco]

How often do I need to add charcoal? For a regular 22" Weber, how much should I start with? One or two chimney starters worth?

Usually I get away with one starter full, though it depends on the charcoal. Formed briquettes a la Kingsford burn long and reliably, so one chimney-full should be fine. Natural lump charcoal is more temperamental; it burns hotter initially but can peter out too soon. So with lump charcoal I might have another chimney-full going in case I need to add any fuel later, especially if my bird is 3.5 lbs or over. Your larger grill will also tend to consume more charcoal. (I do my chickens on an 18".)

I would add the fuel when you notice its volume reduced to about a third and the heat is tapering off, but this isn't rocket science; use common sense.

[bioesq]

What do I baste with?

That depends upon what you're looking for at the end of the trail. Sometimes I'll use cider vinegar and a fair dose of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning; other occasions might call for melted butter, herbs and white wine, or variations thereof. Relax, use your imagination and have a good time.

[bioesq]

The chickens I charcoal roast in my Weber Kettle are a little bit smaller, but this still seems like too long. You don't want to overcook and dry out a bird that you've gone to a lot of trouble to brine. With a chimney starter full of hot coals, my brined chickens are done in an hour. I roast directly on the grate, cause they don't fit under the lid standing up on a verticle roaster or a beer can. I rotate twice and turn the bird over once, so that all sides of the chicken have equal time in close proximity to the coals.

I should have been more specific and noted that I use less than a full chimney starter of charcoal and, too, that having coals just one one side of the grill slows down the process a bit more than grilling in the middle with charcoal on each side. I have, over the years, found different ways to make this a long and pleasant afternoon's work, and it's time well spent for a wretch like me.

[MarkS]

My webber uses Gas, just turned it on!!

For those who think gas is bad, Ray's uses a gas grill to cook those steaks..

But in defense of Charcoal, El Pollo Rico uses Charcoal.

So there we have the two great extremes in grilling.

[zoramargolis]

I oil my bird, which has been drying in the fridge for 24 hours, and use a spice rub that I make, and I do not baste. Sometimes I put lemon wedges and/or garlic inside the cavity.

[blakegwinn]

My webber uses Gas, just turned it on!!

For those who think gas is bad, Ray's uses a gas grill to cook those steaks..

But in defense of Charcoal, El Pollo Rico uses Charcoal.

So there we have the two great extremes in grilling.

I have gas grills at my apartment complex but if I am doing something that I want smoke flavor I will just put some of my chips into a foil pouch (single layer, if it doubles up it insulates too much) and then poke holes on one side. About 10-15 minutes before I put the food I lift up the grate and put the pouch, holes side up, down on the bottom of the grill. I get some great smoke and just remove the pouch and set it on the concrete to cool off when I am done. No ashes or anything. I tried soaking the chips but lately have just put them on dry because they start smoldering a lot quicker.

About the chicken, I like doing mine tripod/beer can style as well but just to offer another suggestion, about the easiest quickest dinner I make is a butterfly chicken and whatever vegetables look good. I drizzle everything with olive oil, s&p and sprinkle with whatever fresh herbs I have in the kitchen. I have a few bricks I got from Strosneiders wrapped in foil and I will put those on the grill while it heats up. When I put everything on I put a brick on top of each half of the chicken. It is so easy to do variations on this also.

Sometimes for the vegetables I grill red bell peppers, red onion, jalapenos, roma tomatoes, corn and some green onions. I bring everything back inside, shred the chicken and toss with a bit of white vinegar, cilantro, lime juice. Can of black beans from the cabinet and some tortillas and done.

Last week I grilled zuccini, summer squash, shiitake mushrooms, roma tomatoes, and asparagus and cut the chicken into strips. Once back inside I sauteed some garlic and shallot in butter and olive oil, added some white wine and then tossed everything together with pasta.

I know that these are kind of a waste of nicely brined chicken but just some ideas for other quick healthy meals with normal chickens.

[xcanuck]

My webber uses Gas, just turned it on!!

For those who think gas is bad, Ray's uses a gas grill to cook those steaks..

But in defense of Charcoal, El Pollo Rico uses Charcoal.

So there we have the two great extremes in grilling.

I think the only thing that mitigates the fact that Michael uses gas is the intense heat he gets out of his grill, which yields a beautiful and tasty charred exterior. I go to RtC when I have a craving for char, and my backyard when I have a craving for smoke.

I need to try DanCole's chimney starter method. Maybe I can get the best of both worlds and then not to have to sign over a paycheque to Landrum every month

[MarkS]

My Weber Gas grill sits on the deck outside my kitchen and has a direct gas connection. Last night it was reading about 550f bout fifteen minutes after lighting it. My RibEyes did not have Ray's char but they did have the cross hatch grill marks.

[xcanuck]

My Weber Gas grill sits on the deck outside my kitchen and has a direct gas connection. Last night it was reading about 550f bout fifteen minutes after lighting it. My RibEyes did not have Ray's char but they did have the cross hatch grill marks.

I think professional grills get to about 1600F - something us home grillers can never aspire to.

[mdt]

I think professional grills get to about 1600F - something us home grillers can never aspire to.

That seems a bit high. Aluminum melts at around 1200F so that would mean that you could not put those type of pans on the grill, which restaurants do. Not sure that you could cook anything at that temp w/o turning the outside to carbon.

[blakegwinn]

That seems a bit high. Aluminum melts at around 1200F so that would mean that you could not put those type of pans on the grill, which restaurants do. Not sure that you could cook anything at that temp w/o turning the outside to carbon.

Yeah that seemed like a crazy temperature to me as well. My heavy duty calphalon pans said they would start to break down at 700.

[Al Dente]

My heavy duty calphalon pans said they would start to break down at 700.

Those talk too? I can't get my AllClads to shut up sometimes.

[MarkS]

I have cooked in L'academie both in the recreational kitchens(Bethesda) as well as the professional Kitchen(Gaithersburg). Their grill may be a drop hotter then mine but not by much.

[Al Dente]

I picked up a great grill the other day. The best part? The cost!

[DanCole42]

I picked up a great grill the other day. The best part? The cost!

Nothing safer than a cooking apparatus where you have to lean way over into the heat source to manage your food. Maybe you could use it as a hobo trap.

[DLB]

My Weber Performer arrived last night, I was not expecting it in green, but I like the color. Any suggestions out there on the first thing I should cook? I am thinking about pork burgers and maybe some ribs or even fish. Is lump charcoal that much better than Kingsford?

[DanCole42]

My Weber Performer arrived last night, I was not expecting it in green, but I like the color. Any suggestions out there on the first thing I should cook? I am thinking about pork burgers and maybe some ribs or even fish. Is lump charcoal that much better than Kingsford?

Assuming you're using Kingsford as a genericized trademark to mean "briquettes," then no, one is not necessarily better than another. Kingsford brand, which makes both briquettes and lump, as a rule sucks on both fronts.

In my experience, lump charcoal burns hotter (and therefore faster), and is thus better suited to direct grilling. Think burgers, steaks, chicken breasts, kabobs, sturdy fish.

Briquettes are generally more stable and will burn long, making them the choice for indirect heat. Roasts, whole birds, delicate, flaky fish. Some people say that briquettes impart their own unwanted flavors to the food because of the additives (nitrates, binders), but just buy a high quality brand (read: not Kingsford) and you should be fine.

Of course, there are those who feel as vehemently ardent about lump vs. briqs as charcoal vs. gas.

To sum up:

Lump charcoal - Direct heat grilling

Briquettes - Indirect heat roasting

[Pete]

Not sure why this article was in the Home & Garden section as opposed to the Food & Dining section of the Washington Post.

Grill Power: Gas vs. Charcoal

[DanCole42]

It's confirmed - grilling steak directly over the chimney starter is the way to go.

Over 1,000 degrees. Beautiful.

[rkduggins]

I smoked my first brisket this Saturday! It came out tender, juicy and with an amazing bright pink smoke ring around the whole circumference. My boyfriend took one bite of the "test" slice, came around the counter and embraced me declaring that if he wasn't already sure I was the love of his life, the brisket would remove all lingering doubts.

Starting with a two pound flat cut brisket, I brined it for three hours then applied a liberal mixture of salt, pepper and a little sugar, wrapped in tinfoil and stuck it back in the fridge until grill time. I don't have a coal chimney, so I set a bed of unlit coals on one side of the kettle grill and lit the beginning coals on the other. Meanwhile I soaked two chunks of hickory wood in water for an hour. I'm getting a chimney for my next smoking session, because the coals took forever to get ashy. I set the bottom vents at half closed, and moved the hot coals to the unlit layer quickly with tongs and set the soaked hickory chunks on the whole thing. Then I set a tinfoil pan with two cups of water on the side of the grill that was now empty, set the cooking grill in place and put the lid on, also half vented. Once the grill had heated up for about 5 minutes, I put the room temp brisket on, thickest part facing the coals and tented foil over the meat, then put the lid on with the vent facing away from the coals. I had read that this helps draw the smoke across the meat. After an hour and a half, I added ten more briquettes to the fire, removed the foil tent and filpped the brisket so that the thick side was now facing away from the coals and opened the bottom grill vent completely. Another hour of cooking, then 30 minutes rest and BBQ sandwiches were served!

I'm going to try smoking some pork this weekend. If it's even half as good, I'll be happy.

[DanCole42]

So I've gotten a lot of mileage out of my Weber 22" kettle. I've grilled and smoked. I've used lump charcoal and briquettes. I've cooked any number of dishes (including things that were never intended to be made on a grill, like lobster-smoked biscuits).

One thing I HAVEN'T done, though, is used wood as a heat source. I can't find any really good information on it on-line, either. Can the Weber kettle be used for this? Will any chemical buildup from the wood damage the Weber? How is it done - do I just build a little campfire in the bottom? Do I cook over the burning wood or wait for them to reduce to coals?

Thanks!

I like fire.

[ol_ironstomach]

One thing I HAVEN'T done, though, is used wood as a heat source. I can't find any really good information on it on-line, either. Can the Weber kettle be used for this? Will any chemical buildup from the wood damage the Weber? How is it done - do I just build a little campfire in the bottom? Do I cook over the burning wood or wait for them to reduce to coals?

Cooking over wood is one of those pleasures that's probably more about the process than the end result...the flavor is great, but consistency is hard to get. As a fuel, wood's heat output varies tremendously with species, proportion of heartwood/sapwood/bark, and moisture content/degree of seasoning. Start your fire extra early and try to get a good pile of coals going...it's radiant heat that does the work, not open flame. You'll probably need to rake coals to adjust heat and distance-to-grate, moreso than with manufactured charcoal. Otherwise, just treat the Weber like a raised firepit.

I tend to stick to basic camping fare over fire - grilled meats, veggies triple-wrapped in foil, and so forth. Grilled corn is usually a winner; trim the silks but leave the husks on, and soak for at least 10 minutes before grilling. Foil-wrapped potatoes go directly into the coals; try the old Boy Scout trick of first driving a large, clean (and preferably stainless) nail down the center of the potato to conduct heat to its core. I haven't had much luck with baking over an open fire, and am not that fond of bannock. However, paella really is better over fire...I think it's the surface area.

Chemical build-up? Cooking over treated lumber or plywood is a no-no. Quartered firewood obviously comes in bigger pieces than charcoal, so you'll need to be extra-careful about knocking-down or burning out your fire when you're done. Combustion might still be going on deep in the nooks and crannies of a log even if it looks like you've soaked the surface. As with charcoal, clean the bottom of the kettle when you're finished and everything has burned down cold, but additionally wash down the lid. Creosote and other products of partial combustion will eventually form acids when combined with rainwater or condensation in the kettle, which can eventually damage the metal body from the inside, through pinholes or hidden damage to the porcelain.

[DanCole42]

Cooking over wood is one of those pleasures that's probably more about the process than the end result...the flavor is great, but consistency is hard to get. As a fuel, wood's heat output varies tremendously with species, proportion of heartwood/sapwood/bark, and moisture content/degree of seasoning. Start your fire extra early and try to get a good pile of coals going...it's radiant heat that does the work, not open flame. You'll probably need to rake coals to adjust heat and distance-to-grate, moreso than with manufactured charcoal. Otherwise, just treat the Weber like a raised firepit.

I tend to stick to basic camping fare over fire - grilled meats, veggies triple-wrapped in foil, and so forth. Grilled corn is usually a winner; trim the silks but leave the husks on, and soak for at least 10 minutes before grilling. Foil-wrapped potatoes go directly into the coals; try the old Boy Scout trick of first driving a large, clean (and preferably stainless) nail down the center of the potato to conduct heat to its core. I haven't had much luck with baking over an open fire, and am not that fond of bannock. However, paella really is better over fire...I think it's the surface area.

Chemical build-up? Cooking over treated lumber or plywood is a no-no. Quartered firewood obviously comes in bigger pieces than charcoal, so you'll need to be extra-careful about knocking-down or burning out your fire when you're done. Combustion might still be going on deep in the nooks and crannies of a log even if it looks like you've soaked the surface. As with charcoal, clean the bottom of the kettle when you're finished and everything has burned down cold, but additionally wash down the lid. Creosote and other products of partial combustion will eventually form acids when combined with rainwater or condensation in the kettle, which can eventually damage the metal body from the inside, through pinholes or hidden damage to the porcelain.

Thanks, Iron Man! I try to keep my kettle covered and away from water whenever possible.

One last question, seeing as I don't live in the forest, where can I buy grill-quality hardwood (oak, maple)?

[mdt]

Thanks, Iron Man! I try to keep my kettle covered and away from water whenever possible.

One last question, seeing as I don't live in the forest, where can I buy grill-quality hardwood (oak, maple)?

If you don't want to buy a huge load of wood you can buy chunks of various types at BBQ Galore. These can be mixed with charcoal or used alone.

Or you can find a friend with a tree that needs to be removed and show up with a chainsaw.

[ol_ironstomach]

One last question, seeing as I don't live in the forest, where can I buy grill-quality hardwood (oak, maple)?

Ha, I say! You buy a 50cc+ Stihl/Husqvarna/Jonsered, a wood maul, some splitting wedges, and this book. And venture forth into the King's forests.

Or if you have an unloved snowmobile lying around --> click

[DanCole42]

I bought my Weber kettle right after they discontinued making cast iron grates, so I've been stuck with the candy-ass nickel-plated steel one. I've been looking for something like this for years:

http://www.cast-iron-grate.com/

I am so, so, so, so happy. I am counting down the days until it arrives in the mail!!!

[Banco]

I bought my Weber kettle right after they discontinued making cast iron grates, so I've been stuck with the candy-ass nickel-plated steel one. I've been looking for something like this for years:

http://www.cast-iron-grate.com/

I am so, so, so, so happy. I am counting down the days until it arrives in the mail!!!

Dan, THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting that link. I've also been looking for something like that for years and had long since given up. (I didn't even know Weber used to make a cast iron grate, and I've had my oldest kettle for over 10 years now.)

Interesting that it's a German company. You'd think an American firm would have thought of this years ago, but it appears to be the only source for such a thing.

[xcanuck]

I bought my Weber kettle right after they discontinued making cast iron grates, so I've been stuck with the candy-ass nickel-plated steel one. I've been looking for something like this for years:

http://www.cast-iron-grate.com/

I am so, so, so, so happy. I am counting down the days until it arrives in the mail!!!

Dan - this is awesome!! Thanks sooo much for posting this. Can't wait to grill steak on this baby!!

[mdt]

Dan - this is awesome!! Thanks sooo much for posting this. Can't wait to grill steak on this baby!!

While a great add-on, it is not much cheaper than buying this, and getting a bunch more cooking area. Of course if you already have a webber...

[KeithA]

So I just got my first grill. A gas Char-broil unit with 4 burners. So far I've done hot dogs, tuna, veggies, and chicken a few ways. Each with increasingly better results. I'm looking for some good recipes for rubs, sauces, or whole dishes. Please share. Also, I'd appreciate any grilling tips as I'm knew to cooking. So far I've realized bug spray helps when cooking outdoors.

[zoramargolis]

So I just got my first grill. A gas Char-broil unit with 4 burners. So far I've done hot dogs, tuna, veggies, and chicken a few ways. Each with increasingly better results. I'm looking for some good recipes for rubs, sauces, or whole dishes. Please share. Also, I'd appreciate any grilling tips as I'm knew to cooking. So far I've realized bug spray helps when cooking outdoors.

Pick up a copy of Steve Raichlin's Barbecue Bible.

[xcanuck]

I bought my Weber kettle right after they discontinued making cast iron grates, so I've been stuck with the candy-ass nickel-plated steel one. I've been looking for something like this for years:

http://www.cast-iron-grate.com/

I am so, so, so, so happy. I am counting down the days until it arrives in the mail!!!

So my cast iron grates arrived yesterday. I'm guessing that - like any other kind of cast iron utensil - they should be seasoned before use. Would you agree? I'm guessing just brush with oil and get really hot before cooking anything on it. Other suggestions?

[tfbrennan]

Per their website:

Using Your Cast Iron Grate for the first time

Rinse with hot water (do not use soap), and dry thoroughly.

Before cooking, apply vegetable oil to the cooking surface

Once the grate is properly pre-heated, you are ready to cook.

Happy belated Canada Day, by the way.

[ICD]

Pick up a copy of Steve Raichlin's Barbecue Bible.

I second Zora's suggestion and add Elizabeth Karmel's Taming the Flame.

[thistle]

I'm sure everyone's looking forward to summer grilling (it feels like summer already)-I picked up a really cute grill yesterday, a terracotta pig, at World Market, it's small, 18" w/ a 6 x 8" grilling area-it looks like a sweet tabletop grill for apps or sides, & heck, if it doesn't work as a grill, I'll use it as a planter, it was quite inexpensive. I looked for a pic on their website, but couldn't find it, it was packaged so well, that I bet if you dropped it out of an airplane, it would be fine-it was fun getting it unwrapped.

I heard a rumor, from a friend, that the Smitty's Hardware on Rt. 1 (which is close to me) was sold to a Korean company & that they might put in an H-mart. I would love it, if that happened-I trekked over to the H-mart in Annandale today, probably less than 20 miles from me, but it took 45 minutes to get there. I have to admit, I'm getting kind of tired of living in the hinterlands...

[thistle]

Love the new commercial, regular folks dancing around, sometimes I wish I had got a Weber grill, but I love my cut price Camp Chef stove-got a childs' bday party coming up this weekend, don't know that I'm confident enough to grill, but I do have that super-cute world market pig grill, maybe s'mores?

[MelGold]

Want the chance to win a new Weber kettle for summer? Today's your last chance to enter. Check out the full So You Think You Can Grill? contest thread under Events & Gatherings.