BAR*B*Q Recipes

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi there everyone ...

My name is MrsDarlinJoy and I am a challanged BBQ''r!!!

Ok, really ... I think maybe if I had some recipes to use, I might be able to reverse this embarassing madness!

So, I would appreciated any and all BBQ type recipes. Have any tips ... Let me know!

Thanks!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

I really am wanting to learn how to BBQ ... and it be edible ... so I am trying to learn ...

Neighbor told me that just prior to starting to prepare the fire, that I should take out the meat from the fridge and let it set out on the counter to help take some of the "chill" off. He said the meat should cook more even this way. He said about 20-30 mins should do it.

Anyone else do this too?

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Guess what I found! I found this "beginner web site with instructions!" Maybe there will be some hope for me!

http://www.barbecuen.com/

I''ll put some info here, maybe it will help other BBQ challenged people!

LESSON NUMBER 1 - "Seasoning a New Grill" - Now this may seem strange to the beginner, but YES, you really should "season" the grill. And no, we are not discussing spices and marinades . . . . Each grill manufactured will contain some impurities resulting from the manufacturing process. To "season" the grill and remove the impurities or residue and residual metals, simply build a fire in the grill or barbecue pit and simply allow it to burn at 350 degrees (more or less) for several hours. The weekend before would be a great time to do this. It''ll give you practice also. When the fire has died down [or turned off and cooled for gas grills] simply take some old rags and rub down the cooking grids where the food rests when cooking and the inside of the lid. Remove all ashes for charcoal grills and you are then ready for the first formal cookout! If you find this to be too much trouble, it can be omitted - but we don''t recommend it. How to start the fire will be discussed in the grill or barbecue section .

LESSON NUMBER 2 - "Seasoning the meat" - Each person has confronted the statement "If I told you what was in this seasoning, I''d have to kill you!" The truth of the matter is that most seasonings, and this would include liquid marinades, contain many common ingredients found in your spice rack and refrigerator. For the beginner, we recommend start by using someone else''s premixed rubs and marinades. These are available in the local grocery store or butcher shop. Read the labels and then try several to determine which one works for your pallets. Later, you may want to visit our "World of Spices Pages" [currently under construction] and begin preparing your own secret mixtures.

Additionally, we want to dispell some misconceptions that are prevalent in the beginning of each barbecuer''s evolution. Everyone knows dried out meat and wants to avoid it at all cost. The most common mistake involves the use of barbecue sauce being spread on the meat while it is cooking. Our advice: DON''T DO IT! Most commercial barbecue sauce is made with sugar and tomatoes. Both of these items burn at very low temperatures. Use them only when the fire has been either turned off [gas grill] or the charcoal is almost out. Allow the temperature to drop significantly before adding barbecue sauce to the meat. The temperature should only be hot enough to dry the liquid out of the sauce, not cook/burn it.

I can hear it now . . . . "So what do I use to keep the meat from drying out?" There are several options to consider. You can use a barbecue sauce that does not contain sugars or tomatoes and thin it with water, apple juice or beer/wine. Many salad dressings make excellent marinades. We would also thin these in the same manner. Play around with different ideas and see what fits your palate. But don''t burn the sauce!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

LESSON NUMBER 3 - "Temperature of the Fire" - Is my fire too hot? Not hot enough? Am I doing this right? Soon, and with some practice, you will learn the answers to these questions. Two factors are in your favor, for adjusting for the proper amount of heat . . . . . First, it is always possible to add additional charcoal or turn up the gas when the fire is not hot enough [this is not usually the case with gas grills]. On charcoal grills, there is normally an adjustable cooking grid that may be lowered closer to the heat.

Secondly, if things are too hot, Raise the meat on charcoal. You can also close the air intake holes and slow down the fire. Do not close the ones on top unless you desire to kill the fire entirely. On gas grills, first turn down the amount of gas being applied to the fire. If this is not enough, then you can open the door about an inch and place a piece of metal to hold it open. Adjust opening size accordingly. OK, now that we can adjust the heat levels, how hot is it at the cooking service?

"Simple" is the answer. Just set someone''s hand on down close to the grills cooking surface [the grates] CAREFULLY! and only after reading the following guidelines for determining the approximate temperature of the heat.

DEPENDING UPON HOW LONG ONE CAN MAINTAIN AN OPEN HAND IN PLACE WILL DETERMINE THE APPROXIMATE TEMPERATURE [ROUGHLY] OF THE SURFACE OF THE GRILL

One Second (or less) = Very Hot Fire - 600 degrees or higher
Two Seconds = Hot Fire - 500 to 650 degrees
Three Seconds = Medium Hot Fire - 450 to 550 degrees
Four Seconds = Medium Fire - 400 to 500 degrees
Five Seconds = Low Medium Fire - 300 to 400 degrees
Six Seconds (or more) = Very Low Fire - 300 degrees or less
These are rough estimates and can vary depending upon where on the surface of the grill the hand is placed. For example, there may be more heat in one location than another.

Careful attention needs to be paid to the meat when grilling. Grilling as opposed to "barbecuing" requires much higher cooking temperature, because grilling needs to cook the meat quicker to prevent it from being dried out. Remember one important fact, the meat is located directly over the heat sources and as such, has the direct effect of offering large quantities of dry, hot heat to the entree. Therefore, the possibility of burning is much greater than when "barbecuing".

LESSON NUMBER 4 - "Open or Closed Lid Cooking" - When grilling, we recommend using the grill with the lid in the up position. The reason is that when cooking with the grill lid down, it has the tendency to smother the fire, create soot and thus taint the meat. The lid is, however, useful for putting out the fire when flame-ups occur.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

LESSON NUMBER 5 - "Time vs. Temperature - A Discussion" - Over and over, we are asked "How long should I cook a ________?" The truth of the matter is that we don''t know! Now that may seem a little strange at first glance, but here is the truth of the matter. To even attempt to answer that question, we have our own questions that must be addressed . . .

How hot is the fire at the surface . . . in the chamber?
How far is the meat from the heat - directly above or offset?
How thick is the meat that is being cooked?
Is the cooking area open or closed . . . lid or no lid?
What is the outdoor temperature 40 degrees. and 20 mph wind?
How often is the meat basted . . . or lid opened to look?
Do you want rare, medium, well done or charred meat?
As you can see, cooking by time creates more problems that it solves. Besides, some of these variables will change each time you cook and one set time to cook the food one day may not be right the next day. We seek consistency in our meals and we want you to know how good barbecue cooks prepare consistently good products.

LESSON NUMBER 6 - "When do I turn the meat?" - is a favorite question received by us. It usually varies depending upon what is being cooked and how hot the fire is. Our "catch all" answer is you turn the meat after the meat begins to turn color [usu. browning occurs] and after the meat is released from the cooking grates [i.e. when it does not stick to the surface any longer]. Turning frequently does not hurt or harm the meat, however we try to obtain a good cooking on each side before turning it over.

LESSON NUMBER 7 - "When is the sucker done?" - Simple again . . . . it is a matter of relationships of temperature, heat and time. To get a handle on the internal meat temperatures and doneness, we strongly suggest visiting the Barbecue''n''s Cooking Temperatures. We''ll discuss "doneness" in more detail later on.

The common denominator to great outdoor cooking is to cook the food the same way every time. In order to obtain this consistency, we strongly recommend using a bi-therm instant read thermometer. These thermometers, when inserted into the meat, will determine the meat''s internal temperature. No guess work, no under cooked chicken which can be dangerous to eat. As you can see from the thermometer to the left, they have a narrow probe that is inserted into the meat and after 10 to 15 seconds, can tell how far along the meat is done. ONLY in this manner will you really know if the meat is cooked to the desired doneness. One of these thermometers costs about $10 to $12 and will save hundreds of dollars in meat which might otherwise be ruined on the grill or in the pit.

One additional tip thrown in here dealing with when the meat is done . . . . always take the meat off just before the meat reaches it''s doneness because it will continue to cook for several minutes after being removed from the grill and while the places are being taken at the table.

And for those of you who would like to estimate the doneness of the meat [with less consistency], we have another slight of hand trick for your use. Try pushing against the meat with a fork or spatula and check it''s elasticity.

If the meat is very elastic and soft, the meat is probably between raw and rare. Next, if the meat is somewhat firm but maybe described as having a spring to its feel, it is probably equal to a medium doneness. Following this, if the meat is very firm yet still has some movement to it, the meat is medium-well to well done and needs to be removed from the grill before death and disaster take over. Finally, if the meat does not move and is rock hard firm, call in the mortician, it is dead. Although we must admit, some folks like ''em that way.

 

[Mara]

haha ms dj...i actually find BBQ'ing the easiest manner of cooking, period. it's really hard for me to ruin something on the grill. but my MOM is pretty BBQ challenged as well. so i learned to BBQ and figured out how to do it pretty well on my own!

what i have found is the EASIEST way to a tasty bbq is to use a gas grill, and keep it on a low-medium flame. i have no patience for charcoal anything or waiting for them to heat up and cool down. i also find with gas it's great for quick cooking and also you don't have to be a rocket scientist to use the grill. i find it's harder to mess up with a gas grill because you can just turn the heat up or down.

we do alot of steaks and chickens and fish. the steaks are the easiest for us because if you aren't too picky about level of doneness, you can typically just slap it on, cook for a while and then take it off and it 99% of the time works out to be the 'right' level for us. we don't even use meat therms or anything though supposedly that would be fairly easy to check into.

i love grilling tri-tip steaks (the big ones) or london broil or something really fat and juicy. i find the thicker the steak the juicier the end product tastes. i also like doing super thin skirt steak but it's not as juicy as the fatter pieces. and i don't mean fat as in fatty, i mean as in thickness of meat. tri-tip is one of the least fatty steaks though so i like the lean texture. i use alot of dry rubs on the steaks, i am not the biggest fan of marinades because typically you have to plan ahead and let them soak BUT even if you do that, the level of flavor that the meat picks up is typically not enough for me. so dry rubs are an easy way to really get some flavor ON the meat in a short period of time. my fave from the store is the montreal steak seasoning from mccormicks...so simple and yet when we have bbq's, our friends are always like 'mara can you make that great steak'...and all it is is montreal dry rubbed onto the meat!

i also pick up various herb and salt and pepper dry rubs when we travel and go to food stores and the like so i always have something on hand to try if the montreal is boring us. but even barring that you can make your own with things like a mix of herbs, garlic salt, cracked black pepper, etc. one of the fave rubs that we also have is one of the cajun ones you can pick up at the grocery store. sometimes i use that with a mix of garlic salt and black pepper and it's wonderfully spicy and tart...yum.

we also do alot of chickens, i find that they pick up marinade flavors a little easier than steaks/beefs seem to. we use things like mango teriyaki and also whole foods has a FAB one that we use all the time on chickens called souxie wow...it's in a bottle and it's great on fish and chicken.

for veggies, it can be as simple as putting corn on the cob IN the husk on the grill and then shucking and seasoning it later, or we use a mix of herbed salts from williams sonoma to put with olive oil onto the corn, wrap in aluminum foil and put on the grill, the flavor of the olive oil and salts and herbs is baked into the corn, gets alot of rave reviews from people on this one too...or sometimes we just put asparagus into a foil packet, season with salt and pepper and lemon juice, put it on the grill along with the meat and then that taste wonderful too. you can do that with almost any veggie. alot of people love tomatoes on the grill with a little salt and pepper to serve.

last week we also had a great dish that my friend made which was just sliced veggies, aka mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus in a pyrex dish, and she did a dry mix with a bunch of various herbs like rosemary, oregano and then garlic salt, pepper, some cayennee pepper and poured it all over the veggies, and then put some olive oil and also italian salad dressing and marinated the veggies in it for an hour or so. we put the whole pyrex dish ON the grill itself and the veggies were SO YUMMY. going to try that at home for sure.

we even toast hot dog buns and french bread on the top rack of the grill as well. oh and i also love doing something like cutup slices of red potatoes with rosemary, garlic and olive oil in a foil packet on top of the grill too. the heat from the grill is great for the foil packets because it really steams the veggies inside and the herbs and salt just seem to be infused directly into the item for max flavor. be careful with using things like cayenne as a little can go a LONG way when you grill or foil packet i have found.

lastly...i read this recently and was amazed i had never heard it before, when cooking meats, and especialyl things like steaks or beef, let the meat sit for up to 20 minutes after cooking (though that is way too long for me, i leave it for maybe 5-7 minutes cuz im typically dying by then!) because that lets the meat settle a bit so that it won't toughen up after you cut it and it's exposed to air. supposed to inspire max juiciness or something.

the thing that probably happens the most with things like meats is overcooking, also with fish as well. do you have a fish basket? if not, get one from WS or sur la table or whatever, and put things like fish fillets in it like orange roughy or tilapia or halibut. be sure that the hole openings are SMALL so that when the fish flakes it does not fall out. i love using rubs and also marinades and herbs on fish. you can then top with a fun salsa or something as well.

anyway, guess that's enough info for now, we do ALOT of grilling (3-5 times a week from march to november!) here and we love the taste of stuff fresh off the grill and it's typically healthier too!! have fun and don't stress out. if you are worried about overcooking, err on the side of a little less done as also a guy told me recently at a food store that fish and meats will CONTINUE to cook for a few minutes after you remove them from the heat, so you don't want to overcook and then remove and then they get even more overcooked. take things off a minute or two before you think they will be truly done.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

WOW Mara ...

Sounds like your the BBQ"ing Queen!

Maybe my problem has been that I have used the charcol.

The first time the ribeye's tasted like lighter fluid

So ... we threw it out and orderd a pizza.

Second time I tried chicken breasts ... burned and it was so tough I barely could cut them with a knife ... they were so bad that even my dog wouldn't / couldn't eat them!

Third time I tried ribs ... again ... burned to a crisp! Threw them away ...

It is just getting to time consuming and I hate throwing away food that should have otherwise been edible!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Mara,

Did you actually put a pyrex dish on your grill??

My first reaction was "And it didn''t break or crack"

Was this on the med-low flame temp and not over a direct flame?

 

[Mara]

Date: 6/18/2006 6:25:40 PM
Author: Mrs Darlin Joy
Mara,

Did you actually put a pyrex dish on your grill??

My first reaction was ''And it didn''t break or crack''

Was this on the med-low flame temp and not over a direct flame?

yanno i didn''t cook that day, we were at a friend''s house but i think she did put it directly onto the grill...the main part. but the flames don''t necessarily REACH the grill part...she probably had it on lower heat. i will have to ask but i remember her handing me the pyrex dish, i took it out to the gal on the grill and then it was served in the same dish so i figured it was cooked on the grill in the dish!!

regarding charcoal, some purists swear by the yummy charcoal taste and say that gas grilling is not like the real thing or whatever but honestly i don''t care about the charcoal taste, you can buy briquets to put in a gas grill if you want more of a smokey flavor or similar, but i just like how easy the gas grills are to use...like a gas range, which i prefer over electric anyhow, because you can adjust temperatures or similar. with charcoal it''s more of a guessing game and you can''t ''cool'' it down as easily or heat it up again quickly etc.

i LOVE our gas grill...!!

 

[Apsara]

Pyrex can crack if the heat source is directly under it (saw it myself when my husband accidentally put a pyrex pan on top of the stove burner

)....My guess is that it was on part of the grill where indirect heat was used.

 

[Lorelei]

Buttered onions is a favourite of ours and very easy. Slice some large onions into rings and place in a parcel of double thickness heavy duty foil. Sprinkle over some olive oil and add a large knob of butter. Season and wrap tightly, place on cooler part of the grill - not in direct heat for about 20 mins or until soft. Be careful unwrapping the foil as these can get hot and steamy. Also you can vary these by adding too a tbs of brown sugar - yummy!

 

[VegasAngel]

Here is an easy recipe my husband & I really like & make all the time.

Grilled Sesame Asparagus
Wooden toothpicks or bamboo skewers
1 pound asparagus
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Salt and black pepper
In a shallow pan, soak skewers in cold water for 1 hour, then drain and set aside.
Preheat grill to high. Snap off the woody bases of the asparagus and discard. Skewer 4 or 5 asparagus spears together, using the toothpicks or 2 bamboo skewers, forming a raft shape.

In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic and stir with a fork to mix. Brush this mixture on the asparagus rafts on both sides. Season the asparagus with a little salt and lots of pepper.

When ready to cook, place the asparagus rafts on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds as they grill. You can serve the asparagus as rafts or unskewered.

 

[movie zombie]

don''t know if i''m bbq challeneged or not but will find out. i figure its trial and error.....

we just bought a new weber Performer which while using charcoal has a gas igniter. no matches, no lighter fluid, no charcoal chimney to light and pour coals out of. put it together yesterday and used it last night to do pork chops and asparagus. starting was so very simple that i have no regrets for spending the $$ for the Performer. my husband who is rather critical of such things said it was really well made.

directions for direct and indirect cooking were included in two different manuals but varied slightly. i thought i got the chops on too soon so i punted did a combination of direct and indirect. i had the chops at room temperature, oiled them on both sides and did fresh ground pepper and sea salt on one side only. i also merely oiled the asparagus and placed the spears directly on the grill. both turned out very very well and were very tasty....espeically given i had to punt.

i''m going to read your link with great interest!

i now have several packages of meet thawing to experiment with. we have a freezer filled with organic pork so i''m set to experiement. during the winter i had a fresh ham that i ''brined'' for 7 days and then oven cooked which turned out great. i''ve got one thawing now and am going to brine it again for 7 days before trying it out on the bbq.

we got the bbq for the sole purpose of moving cooking outdoors during the heat of the summer. a further motivator was a freezer full of meat to be used. otherwise, it was another summer of almost strictly salads!

movie zombie

 

[msdarlinjoy]

This is really embarassing madness!

I am a pretty darn good cook inside ... something just happens when I step out that door to the covered patio!

Well, I already see the mistakes I have made. I didn''t season the grill, I have been slathering sauces on the meats that burn easily, never figured out about fire temp ... the fire was obviously too dang hot so it burnt the meat or cooked it tooo fast and then burned???, I don''t think I let the lighter fluid burn off completely

before I put those ribeyes on

... tried cooking with the lid down!

Did you know there is a difference between "Grilling" and "BBQ''ing" ???

You know it''s eye-rolling

ebarassment

when someone gives you a BBQ''ing house-warming gift and it''s a little wooden heart shape plaque you hang on a hook or nail that says ...

"Welcome to my BBQ
... Hope you survive!"

Did the "Cave-women" have these kinds of problems???

If you see smoke rising in the PNW ... It''s just me!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Oh Thanks Lorelei ~

I love onions

... and those sound really good!

And ... if I burn them, at least I didn''t throw away alot of $$$ for the onion!

Take care,

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi Vegasangel ~

My hubby loves asparagus ... I will try this with Lorelei''s onions ... maybe I just need to start small, you know ... take baby steps. Start w/ side dishes, etc ... get a feel for the heat / time thing! That way if I do screw up ... I won''t feel so bad wasting expensive meat!

I hope my children don''t run screaming when they see me trying to start up the BBQ''r ... "AAAHhhhh!"
"Mom''s at it again!"

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 6/19/2006 2:11:05 PM
Author: movie zombie

i''m going to read your link with great interest!

Movie zombie ~

Isn''t that link so full of info! Holy-cow! I guess they have been doing this for over 10 yrs!

Did you check out the list of links for all the weekly recipes??? I am afraid I will have to work my way up ... starting out small!

Maybe I could get them out to my place and do a whole new reality show ... BBQ Mishaps ... eat this to win $1,000,000.00! Who would like to be my first victim?

 

[Mara]

We didn''t season our grill either!! I guess we just got lucky. hehehe. But yeah I think with old fashioned charcoal things are just more tricky!! Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[movie zombie]

heavy sigh of relief: we had leftovers from my first attempt to bbq on sunday...which i sent with him for lunch yesterday. he says he thinks i underestimated my success on sunday as the pork chop was wonderful reheated: not too dry and tasty. says he thinks i did a better job of searing it than i originally thought.

going to now read those links!

btw, there are tons of things on the internet and people sharing so much information because of their love of cooking outdoors. their as rabid about their bbq as we are about our stones!

eta: i researched the internet lots before deciding to get the Weber Performer....just like i came to pricescope looking for info on diamonds [but ended up with a spess instead]. i did not 'cure' the Weber before throwing the meat on as 1-it seemed to me the heat was sufficient for long enough time to have taken care of any problems and 2-it wasn't in the instructions. did not end up with any off flavors......but then again lighter is not used and i think that eliminates lots off taste issues.

movie zombie

 

[fire&ice]

Yeah, all meat should really stand before slicing/cutting - whole chickens needing at least 15 minutes.

We hate our grill and are thinking about throwing it over the porch. It wasn''t cheap either. I just loved the exterior look of it. Should have bought the Weber - no one I know who has the Weber has been unsatisfied - gas or charcoal. The flare ups are the worst on our grill.

Regarding Ribs - being married to a southerner - I had to learn to cook them. Really, they are best when you precook them in the oven for about an hour. Let them stand - then throw them on the grill for a bit.

Grilling is an art that must be experimented. Hubby is still learning & has had some successes & failures. One just always must have something else in reserve to eat!

I''m not a big fan of marinades. I like the beef to taste like beef - I just squirt w/ a light garlic olive oil & salt and pepper it. For chicken - something simple - like a mixture of BBQ sauce & balsamic vinegar OR Garlic olive oil & balsamic vinegar. Meat do take longer to flavor than chicken - 5 hours tops for chicken or else all the flavor will be the marinade.

Cept not applying a sugar based BBQ sauce until the end, what can one do to controll the flareups - or do we have that sucky a grill?

Also, I''ve heard the reverse - that meat should be coldest before cooking - in fact, frozen is good! So, the current thought is that the meat should be closer to room temp?

 

[movie zombie]

how''s it going Mrs Darlin Joy?

i''ve been playing with the weber and have had good results....some better than others but all eatable. i even soaked/brined my own fresh ham and then cooked it over indirect heat....geez, that was good. i had to keep reminding myself that it wasn''t nitrated ham!

however, i broke down this week and bought the weber cookbook as i figure i can''t have too much advice. i''m sort of alternating yet to see what works between indirect and direct grilling.

then i found this: http://new.cbbqa.com/grilling/chicken_grilling_faq13.htm

lots of good info all around the website....these people have even rated charcoal brands.....and tell how to make your own charcoal! while we have more oak wood cut and stacked than we can possibly use in the next 5 years, i don''t see myself sitting down and reducing it with a hatchet to pieces the size of my fist.

movie zombie

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi all ~

I have been way to embarassed to post! Lorelei''s onions turned out ok ... but the sesame asparagus ... what a disaster!

I am not getting the hang of the charcol thang! I feel like giving up ... especially after the 4th of July and my back door neighbor bbq''d for us, and I brought all the side dishes and desserts.

OH MY GOSH! I have never in my life had a ribeye like that! You could litteraly cut it with a plastic fork & flimsy knife! She told me her secret marinade, but she said to throw out the charcol bbq and get me an electric smoker bbq''er. She had a charcol bbq on the side of the house by the trash can, and her propane bbq grill hasn''t been touched in 3 years and is now a decorative device on her patio. Go Figure!

My children, my hubby ... oh my ... they are beggin'' me to buy one of these electric smoker/bbq''rs ... but I am nervous. What if I screw this up too? She made it look soooo easy!

Did I mention that the hamburgers were so juicy!?

I need a "take home chef BBQ-man!"

Ok ... here is her secret marinade:

3 bottles of Black Butte Porter Beer
Fill one empty beer bottle with soy sauce
Mash up a whole head of garlic
A few BIG shakes of Montreal seasoning

Mix all together in big bowl or pitcher.

Put meat into gallon size ziplock bag with enough marinade to coat ribeye well, turn every hour or so.
(I''m not kidding you, these ribeyes were huge, only one would barely fit into the gallon size ziplock bags ... they were about 2 inches thick to boot!)

I think she said that she marinaded these for about 6 hours. Then she smoked them on her smoker/bbq''r!

Take care ...

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 6/20/2006 5:31:42 PM
Author: fire&ice
Yeah, all meat should really stand before slicing/cutting - whole chickens needing at least 15 minutes.

We hate our grill and are thinking about throwing it over the porch. It wasn''t cheap either. I just loved the exterior look of it. Should have bought the Weber - no one I know who has the Weber has been unsatisfied - gas or charcoal. The flare ups are the worst on our grill.

Regarding Ribs - being married to a southerner - I had to learn to cook them. Really, they are best when you precook them in the oven for about an hour. Let them stand - then throw them on the grill for a bit.

Grilling is an art that must be experimented. Hubby is still learning & has had some successes & failures. One just always must have something else in reserve to eat!

I''m not a big fan of marinades. I like the beef to taste like beef - I just squirt w/ a light garlic olive oil & salt and pepper it. For chicken - something simple - like a mixture of BBQ sauce & balsamic vinegar OR Garlic olive oil & balsamic vinegar. Meat do take longer to flavor than chicken - 5 hours tops for chicken or else all the flavor will be the marinade.

Cept not applying a sugar based BBQ sauce until the end, what can one do to controll the flareups - or do we have that sucky a grill?

Also, I''ve heard the reverse - that meat should be coldest before cooking - in fact, frozen is good! So, the current thought is that the meat should be closer to room temp?

Fire & Ice ... I feel the exact same way! I feel like chucking it!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 7/7/2006 11:48:47 PM
Author: movie zombie
how''s it going Mrs Darlin Joy?

i''ve been playing with the weber and have had good results....some better than others but all eatable. i even soaked/brined my own fresh ham and then cooked it over indirect heat....geez, that was good. i had to keep reminding myself that it wasn''t nitrated ham!

however, i broke down this week and bought the weber cookbook as i figure i can''t have too much advice. i''m sort of alternating yet to see what works between indirect and direct grilling.

then i found this: http://new.cbbqa.com/grilling/chicken_grilling_faq13.htm

lots of good info all around the website....these people have even rated charcoal brands.....and tell how to make your own charcoal! while we have more oak wood cut and stacked than we can possibly use in the next 5 years, i don''t see myself sitting down and reducing it with a hatchet to pieces the size of my fist.

movie zombie

Hey MZ ~

That ham of yours sounds pretty good, how & what did you brine it with, and how were you able to cook it over indirect heat, and still get it done?

How is the webber cookbook coming along? See anything interesting or yummy?

I will check out the link ... Sometimes ... I feel hopeless in this department!

And, I can just see you sitting on a stump ... with your whitling knife ... and a potato sack full of fist sized oak briquettes!

"Honey just a couple more, and we''ll have enough to do the steaks!"

Talk with you soon,

 

[movie zombie]

i think the secret is starting easy and not doing recipes. sort of just getting the hang of the charcoal, etc. simple meals. i did asparagus and it was divine but i didn't do anything but give it some oil and a bit of fresh ground pepper. ditto different summer squashes, onions, fingerling potatoes.

i did a patty thing:

2 pounds very very very very very lean ground pork
1 pound very very very very lean ground sirloin
added some herbs
mixed up really really really well and let it chill for at least 4 hours to get the flavors to blend...in the refrigerator and already shaped as 6 patties.
cooked direct heat in the beginning to get the grill marks and sear the outside to seal in the juices.
then alternated to indirect heat and back to direct heat before i was done. coals were down at that point.
inbetween the alternations, i did my veggies.

i'll have to pull together what i did for the fresh ham. last december we had the opportunity to buy a whole organic pig which is now in the freezer. i did not have the hams nitrated for 'ham' but left as fresh ham roasts. it is this cut that i used and i find that in general it is a very tough cut of meat that needs to be well brined/marinated anyway. i use olive oil, wine vinegar, and pickling spices as my 'brine'. now your going to gasp over this one: i let it sit covered in the frigerator turning twice a day in the brine for ......gasp.....7 days. at that time, i take it out of the frig and ....double gasp....let it sit in the kitchen covered for at least 12 hours. cooking indirect heat: started with 50 briquettes which were then divided onto two sides of the weber. aluminum pan in the middle. on the grilling grill i used the weber roast rack. never even had to turn the roast. however, i did have to add 16 briquettes per hour of cooking time.

i found that everything takes me longer on the grill than what the recipes/books say except for the roast which went real quick. weber was cookiing away with lid on at about 400-450F for the first hour and only 300-350 after that. lost heat when added the briquettes. but it was perfect as the juices were sealed in and the reduced heat then just gave it the time to smoke and finish cooking.

i wouldn't trade my weber performer for anything at this point. the only difference between it and the regular weber is that it is gas ignited so no ligher fluid, no chimney, no starter. just load her up and push the button. oh, and it has a thermometer in the lid. comes with a table which i can't imagine not having.

tonight the grand experiment is chicken!

btw, i'm using olive oil or grapeseed oil to oil my veggies and meet. grapeseed oil doesn't impart a lot of flavor, seems 'lighter', and takes high heat.

movie zombie

eta: weber has a customer service 800 number line which i've called a few times; 'tracy' has been very helpful!

ETA 2ND TIME: i think i forgot to mention dry vermouth as an additive to my 'brine' for the ham.

 

[hlmr]

Hi Mrs. Darling Joy:

Here is a great tip for BBQ''ing chicken so it won''t turn out burned on the outside and raw on the inside.

Grill chicken pieces over indirect medium heat until juices run clear (approx 25 minutes) and then transfer to direct heat to crisp and colour (approx 5 minutes).

Happy grilling!!!!!

 

[Mara]

i am tempted to try one of those electric bbq things but we really love our propane and greg has gotten quite good on it. we had seasoned homemade burgers for 4th but everyone raves about the tri-tip and rib-eye that we do here at the house too. montreal steak sesasoning is the old classic, that always comes out divine...you can also shake in some creole seasoning for a kick.

i agree re: just being patient and also staying away from 'recipes'...it's easy to rub something onto a steak and then really pay attention to cooking the STEAK the right way, rather than basting something on or this or getting distracted doing something else. once it comes out right you will remember it for the future. but i'm not a fan of charcoal anyway so i would get rid of that thing and get a propane or something else...hehee.

everyone has their own way that works i guess!!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi ya''ll ...

Thanks for all your help ... trust me ... I need it.

Ok, I have a question. Which of the below would you consider indirect heat?

One Second (or less) = Very Hot Fire - 600 degrees or higher
Two Seconds = Hot Fire - 500 to 650 degrees
Three Seconds = Medium Hot Fire - 450 to 550 degrees
Four Seconds = Medium Fire - 400 to 500 degrees
Five Seconds = Low Medium Fire - 300 to 400 degrees
Six Seconds (or more) = Very Low Fire - 300 degrees or less

Maybe I''ll try it again. And I''ll try to be patient, and have a good attitude for some better tasting "Karma Burgers!"

Thanks, and have a great day!

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 7/8/2006 1:01:08 PM
Author: hlmr
Hi Mrs. Darling Joy:

Here is a great tip for BBQ''ing chicken so it won''t turn out burned on the outside and raw on the inside.

Grill chicken pieces over indirect medium heat until juices run clear (approx 25 minutes) and then transfer to direct heat to crisp and colour (approx 5 minutes).

Happy grilling!!!!!

that''s what the link above says.....for parts, that is. whole chicken is a different story. my project tonight is a whole chicken....and i''m going to pull tips from a variety of sources. oh, and according to the link above, it depends on if you have skin on or off, too!

movie zombie

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 7/8/2006 4:15:23 PM
Author: Mrs Darlin Joy
Hi ya''ll ...

Thanks for all your help ... trust me ... I need it.

Ok, I have a question. Which of the below would you consider indirect heat?

One Second (or less) = Very Hot Fire - 600 degrees or higher
Two Seconds = Hot Fire - 500 to 650 degrees
Three Seconds = Medium Hot Fire - 450 to 550 degrees
Four Seconds = Medium Fire - 400 to 500 degrees
Five Seconds = Low Medium Fire - 300 to 400 degrees
Six Seconds (or more) = Very Low Fire - 300 degrees or less

Maybe I''ll try it again. And I''ll try to be patient, and have a good attitude for some better tasting ''Karma Burgers!''

Thanks, and have a great day!

none of the above is indirect heat! those are merely temperatures.
indirect heat is a cooking method.
see the link i posted and/or go to weber.com

direct heat is flesh and/or veggies over the fire.
indirect heat is flesh and/or veggies not over the fire.
simple as that.

you can achieve the above temperatures by either method.

there is much written on how to manuever your charcoal to get indirect heat. charcoal should not touch the aluminum drip pan in the middle and water can be in the pan in the middle or not, as you wish.

i personally find the taste of charcoal better than any of the other methods. i have also purchased a bag of lazzari mezzquite wood charcoal to play with along with the regular kingsford.

again, i''d highly recommend visiting the weber website, purchasing the weber cookbook, reading the link i posted today, and/or calling weber and asking ''tracy'' questions. the simpler i keep it the more i learn and the better things turn out. i am not known for my patience....in fact, it is a trait i need to further develop....but one of the things i like about this weber and charcoal is that it forces me to slow down, pay attention, and really be here now.

don''t give up! if i can do it, anyone can do it. don''t be afraid to move stuff around on the grill, either. also, playing with the vents is my newest thing. its amazing how much control you really do have over the weber with those vents.

movie zombie

eta: i have found that beer does assist in the process.......me drinking it, that is!