The Grilling and Cooking Thread

[Popeman38]

Doing grilled halibut as I post. Olive oil, salt, pepper. Easy and quick.

[zoony]

OK, can someone reconcile for me Thomas Keller's roast chicken method which does everything he can to keep moisture off the bird, and beer can chicken which essentially steams it from the inside out?

 

Moisture good or bad?

Sure. one is a 3 starred Michelin chef, owner of the greatest restaurant in US history and probably one of the top 5 in the world. The other is a recipe out of Bubbas grillin secrets on the clearance rack at a truck stop

You don't need moisture to cook chicken properly. Basting is one of the worst things you can do along with injecting, etc.

In all seriousness though if someone likes beer can chicken more power to them. It's about enjoying yourself and cooking what you like so go for it. I would never cook a good chicken that way, however

Both?

I quit making beer-can chicken, years ago.

I spatch**** the bird, dry-brine with kosher salt, and use whatever rub I'm feeling at the time.

Skin is crispy, and the chicken is moist.

I'm a FIRM believer in letting the chicken get to room temperature

Stays on the counter for at least two hours in a plastic bag. Cold chicken = bad

I've dry brined when I did some momofuku wings from David chang. Tried it again without dry brining didn't really notice a difference. There are so many variables in cooking it's hard to isolate certain things

[Going Commando]

Well??

What's the name of the restaurant?

It's called Chow. They make the best southern/comfort food. Unpretentious and unrepentantly heavy and fattening--the portions are enormous. Their fried green tomatoes and fried pickles are outstanding. Solid beer menu too. Another meal I got from there that I really liked was this crispy pork belly and duck sandwich that had a spicy jalapeno slaw.

[Going Commando]

One of my family members from NY supposedly knows one of David Chang's childhood friends, and that guy says Chang is kind of a jerk. But I think David Chang is cool as hell. I'd like to meet him one day, I like the way he talks about food. I saw on his TV Show that his dream is to own the Redskins one day. I hope that happens.

[zoony]

One of my family members from NY supposedly knows one of David Chang's childhood friends, and that guy says Chang is kind of a jerk. But I think David Chang is cool as hell. I'd like to meet him one day, I like the way he talks about food. I saw on his TV Show that his dream is to own the Redskins one day. I hope that happens.

His brother is a long time member here, he used to PM me quite a bit. Haven't seen him post for a while, but he seemed like a great guy

As for him being a jerk, I doubt it. I think he's just a perfectionist and lacks patience. I got to meet Alan Benton and hang out with him for a few hours in his smokehouse. He gave me and my family a tour... nicest guy ever and he spoke very highly of Chang the person.

[Skinsfan1311]

Sure. one is a 3 starred Michelin chef, owner of the greatest restaurant in US history and probably one of the top 5 in the world. The other is a recipe out of Bubbas grillin secrets on the clearance rack at a truck stop

You don't need moisture to cook chicken properly. Basting is one of the worst things you can do along with injecting, etc.

In all seriousness though if someone likes beer can chicken more power to them. It's about enjoying yourself and cooking what you like so go for it. I would never cook a good chicken that way, however

I'm a FIRM believer in letting the chicken get to room temperature

Stays on the counter for at least two hours in a plastic bag. Cold chicken = bad

I've dry brined when I did some momofuku wings from David chang. Tried it again without dry brining didn't really notice a difference. There are so many variables in cooking it's hard to isolate certain things

 

Some people let the FDA scare people, concerning safe food temps and, most of the time, with good reason.   In the case of chicken,  with the exception of wings, I, (almost), always let it get to room temp, before cooking.  It's the best way to ensure that it cooks evenly.  No one's gotten sick on my watch.  The heat kills the bad guys

 

I'd venture to say that you didn't notice a difference, with the wings, because they're so small. .  That's just a wild-ass guess, because I've never even tried.   It makes a definitive difference, for us anyway, when we dry-brine whole birds, steaks and porks.

 

As far as injecting goes, I do inject beef broth, into briskets and bottom rounds, before smoking.  I don't know if it makes a difference, because I've never done them any other way.  All I know is that the briskets are tender, and they're both delicious.     You're spot on with bastes.  I've never understood how pouring/brushing liquid over hot food, adds anything.   It looks like it just rolls off the meat.   All it does, IMHO, is extend cook times, because it cools off, whatever you're cooking.  

 

You have to lift the lid to baste. If you're peakin', you ain't cookin'

Edited June 4, 2016 by Skinsfan1311

[HOF44]

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[dfitzo53]

Going to grill something today, just not sure what

[GoCommiesGo]

Just got a smoky mountain on Friday. Smoking three racks of baby back ribs. Also have 8lbs of spare ribs to cut down for tomorrow (weather depending).

[dfitzo53]

Ended up pulling a hanger steak out of the freezer. Salt and pepper, hit it with direct heat, flipped it, and let it get to 135. Turned out very tasty, it'll make great sandwiches this week.

[GoCommiesGo]

Turned out very good. Have a couple of modifications to make going forward but for a first run, better than expected.

[zoony]

I am usually not in the habit of giving advice, but with regard to anyone interested in cooking and grilling, I would encourage you to master the basics. I cooked for a lot of years trying all kinds of recipes and complicated techniques and looking back it was mostly a waste of time

Learn how to cook a steak properly with nothing but salt. Learn how to roast a bird. Properly. Learn how to butcher and trim meat. Stay away from sauces and spices and marinades. Learn to manipulate flavors with salt and heat only. THEN you can start with the marinades and other stuff, though I bet you find you don't need them

Think of it like you're Daniel san. Don't try the crane kick until you wax on and wax off a million times.

/soapbox

It rained like hell this evening so I had to fire up the gas grill on the porch. Did some chicken with a dry rub of Kosher salt, paprika, garlic powder, and a little cayenne. Wish I had time to cook more often, no food you can buy anywhere is better

[jpage520]

I am usually not in the habit of giving advice, but with regard to anyone interested in cooking and grilling, I would encourage you to master the basics. I cooked for a lot of years trying all kinds of recipes and complicated techniques and looking back it was mostly a waste of time

Learn how to cook a steak properly with nothing but salt. Learn how to roast a bird. Properly. Learn how to butcher and trim meat. Stay away from sauces and spices and marinades. Learn to manipulate flavors with salt and heat only. THEN you can start with the marinades and other stuff, though I bet you find you don't need them

 

Agreed. Not just for grilling, for cooking in general. Learn how to build a shelter that stands up strong before diving right into handcrafting fancy shutters. Learn your "danger zones" and proper temperatures. Learn how different food reacts in different scenarios. Learn to season with just salt and pepper. And most importantly, above ANY AND ALL, keep trying things and challenging yourself. Understand that cooking involves trial and error. Sometimes food looks great on the surface and is pure yuck once you bite in.

 

That stuff is so important because it builds your foundations of technique and expands your ability to blend flavors and create pure artwork on a plate. You begin to develop your own methods and standards which eventually leads to your own style. This tends to be where the line gets drawn between cooking for necessity, and anything further than that. From labor to live, to labor of love.

[The 12th Commandment]

Great advice above.  I want to mention that there is a unlimited amount of instruction for building "shelters" by way of online recipe databases and old fashioned cook books.  The Joy of Cooking taught me more than any other source (thanks Mom, for the gift when I was 19).  Cook by following recipes religiously at first, you learn what flavors work well together, cooking times and cooking methods and next thing you know your looking at them briefly for ideas before you do your own thing using the recipe as nothing more than a guide.

[jpage520]

 Cook by following recipes religiously at first, you learn what flavors work well together, cooking times and cooking methods and next thing you know your looking at them briefly for ideas before you do your own thing using the recipe as nothing more than a guide.

 

Bingo!

 

This is exactly how a dish/recipe goes from just that to "______'s recipe".

[NoCalMike]

Get good with making the base of sauce/marinade and go from there with experimenting.

 

For example, so many sauces and marinades the base is soy sauce or some kind of juice, oil etc and then beyond that it is just throwing in flavors you like.

 

Soy sauce, olive oil salt, pepper, garlic,  is extremely common for how a marinade begins.  Begin with THAT as a base and just add stuff you like.

 

I used to make a really good honey-garlic marinade for salmon, it ended up turning into a maple-mustard glaze once I started experimenting.  

[DCSaints_fan]

I swear by brining chicken.   I've tried it a couple times where I've not brined, and the brined is vastly superior.   Whenever I eat chicken at someone elses place, who 95% of them don't brine, it tastes bland and woody and I secrely think to myself my chicken kicks their butt six ways from Sunday.

[jpage520]

So I looked up a few mods to make on my offset smoker to help with any heat leaks and boost the quality of my cooks. I've settled on a few that I think are manageable and will hopefully take on these little projects soon.

 

1. Nomex gasket seal rated up to 800degrees. Put this stuff on the cooking chamber edge where the lid comes down. Same with the firebox.

 

2. Lay a few fire bricks down in the cooking chamber.

 

3. Install a metal plate where the firebox meets the cooking chamber angling the smoke and heat downward.

 

4. Extend exhaust down to grill grate.

 

If anyone has any experience doing these, let me know. Any things to watch out for? Pitfalls or non apparent difficulties?

[Popeman38]

So, I made my own barbecue sauce last night.  Used most of a recipe from the Neely's (Food Network), but augmented with a few ingredients to add some zest. Not gonna lie, I was nervous as hell while it was simmering and thickening. But it turned out fantastic! Used some on some grilled chicken thighs and sealed the rest in a mason jar in the fridge. Should keep for a few months.

[zoony]

So I looked up a few mods to make on my offset smoker to help with any heat leaks and boost the quality of my cooks. I've settled on a few that I think are manageable and will hopefully take on these little projects soon.

1. Nomex gasket seal rated up to 800degrees. Put this stuff on the cooking chamber edge where the lid comes down. Same with the firebox.

2. Lay a few fire bricks down in the cooking chamber.

3. Install a metal plate where the firebox meets the cooking chamber angling the smoke and heat downward.

4. Extend exhaust down to grill grate.

If anyone has any experience doing these, let me know. Any things to watch out for? Pitfalls or non apparent difficulties?

I'm not very familiar with your smoker but I think you want to make sure the smoke has a good escape up top. If you seal it up too much I think you end up with a lot of bitter smokes

Good luck though let us know how it turns out. Wish I could offer some help

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

So I looked up a few mods to make on my offset smoker to help with any heat leaks and boost the quality of my cooks. I've settled on a few that I think are manageable and will hopefully take on these little projects soon.

 

1. Nomex gasket seal rated up to 800degrees. Put this stuff on the cooking chamber edge where the lid comes down. Same with the firebox.

 

2. Lay a few fire bricks down in the cooking chamber.

 

3. Install a metal plate where the firebox meets the cooking chamber angling the smoke and heat downward.

 

4. Extend exhaust down to grill grate.

 

If anyone has any experience doing these, let me know. Any things to watch out for? Pitfalls or non apparent difficulties?

 

JP, can you post a pic of your set-up?  

[Skinsfan1311]

I'm not very familiar with your smoker but I think you want to make sure the smoke has a good escape up top. If you seal it up too much I think you end up with a lot of bitter smokes

Good luck though let us know how it turns out. Wish I could offer some help

Agreed.

I learned this, early on, through personal experience.

A little smoke goes a long way and can quickly overwhelm food. Too much, and it's bitter. For some cooks, (prime rib, most vegetables and some fish), I don't use any smoke at all.

The mods sound great. Keep us posted on how it works.

[jpage520]

I'm not very familiar with your smoker but I think you want to make sure the smoke has a good escape up top. If you seal it up too much I think you end up with a lot of bitter smokes

Good luck though let us know how it turns out. Wish I could offer some help

 

It's a pretty standard cheap offset. One of those Home Depot $200 setups. It has potential, and I really like it. Huge barrel style cooking surface with a removable upper shelf. Decent material. Adjustable coal height in the cooking chamber, grates in the firebox for small grilling during a smoke, coal trays with grates in the chamber and firebox to avoid direct coal to barrel contact, which is removable in the firebox for quick cleanup between smokes.

 

I love the grill/smoker combo factor of it. It's nice being able to come home from work in the evening, throw a few coals on and grill up dinner for my wife and I on a weeknight, and then be able to load up the firebox and do a pork butt or brisket on a Saturday afternoon without needing two separate units taking up space on my already small back deck (I'm in a townhouse).

 

So far I've smoked a London Broil and a beer can chicken. They came out okay minus any issues I've noted here. But my reasoning for the mods have come from noticing that on those cooks, the heat was uneven in the cook chamber, and I had leaks around the lid. Causing me to have to keep an extra close eye on my temps.

[jpage520]

JP, can you post a pic of your set-up?  

 

 

Tried to post a picture of mine in action where you can actually see the smoke leaking out the lid but the file was too big. But this is it.

Edited June 7, 2016 by jpage520

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

 

 

Tried to post a picture of mine in action where you can actually see the smoke leaking out the lid but the file was too big. But this is it.

 

Ok, so in the firebox side attachment is where you are leaking smoke?  Out of the top and where it connects to the main grill?

 

Edit:  You have the meat in the main grill with the firebox attachment as an indirect heat source correct?  I'd probably start with using that sealant around where it connects to the main grill.  My guess is heat is escaping there.  

 

Fire it up and measure the grill temps on the indirect side after that and see how hot it gets.  If you can't reach 350, then seal the lid.  Fire it up, take temps again.  Take it one step at a time, last thing you want is too much smoke as Zoony pointed out.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Dont Taze Me Bro