Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 at
3:54 pm
Question by leatherbiker040: Temperature of Medium heat barbecue to grill a whole chicken indirectly?
Living on the continent we are not used to indirect grilling. Now I’ve bought a big charcoal barbecue with integrated thermometer, capable of indirect grilling. My first “project”:-) is grilling a whole chicken. I’ve marinated it according to recipes. Most recipes talk about “medium” heat. I guess for a gaz-barbecue this is easy, but how hot is this in a charcoal barbecue?
Best answer:
Answer by Twevle R
How much charcoal to add to achieve a certain temperature is a very tricky question to answer.
You can roughly approximate the temperature by how many seconds you can hold your hand over the coals. I usually hold my hand about 1 inch over the grates to do this little test. Count how many seconds you can hold your hand over the coals before you are in pain. If you can hold your hand over the coals for 5 seconds, you are dealing with low heat. 4 seconds – medium heat. 3 seconds – medium high heat. 2 seconds – high heat. If you can’t hold your hand there for 1 second or less, you are not ready to cook!
For indirect grilling on a charcoal grill, start the fire and let burn until the coals are glowing red. Distribute the coals into two piles on opposite sides of the grill, and place a foil drip pan in the center (I use a disposable pie tin in my kettle grill), between the piles of coals. Sometimes, especially if your recipe requires a very long cooking time, you will want to put water in the pan in order to keep the food moist while cooking. If you plan on using wood chips for adding smoke flavor to the food, add a handful or so of soaked chips to each pile of hot coals before putting the cooking grate into place. Place your food on the grill and close the lid. Add more wood chips as needed for the desired amount of smoke flavor.
Add 12-15 more hot briquettes or pieces of lump charcoal every hour or so to keep the fire hot enough (use the chimney starter to ignite these briquettes before adding to grill).
Since your grilling with indirect heat, the temp of the grill is not an issue. just make sure it does not get to cool or your fire goes out.
What do you think? Answer below!
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Friday, January 14th, 2011 at
7:58 pm
Some cool Gas Charcoal Grill images:
Happy Father’s Day
Image by BarelyFitz
I got a new grill for Father’s Day so I cut up a whole chicken and gave it a go. My old grill ("franken-grill" as I called it) had seen better days and had few of its original parts).
wild salmon grilled on a cedar plank
Image by woodleywonderworks
— Best Salmon on the Planet —
Woodley’s Salmon Herb Marinade
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped (sprigs, too)
Sprigs of rosemary – have to use them if they are in your garden
¼ cup dry white whine
juice from 2-3 limes / or slices
2 Tbsp fresh parsley. Chopped
1 ~15-inch alder or cedar grilling plank
4 6-8 ounce fillets or just fill up your plank
Soak the planks overnight if you get your act together. Even an hour should be fine. Get the grill heated to about 400 degreed. Put the planks out there for about 3 minutes and flip them over for 3 more. They will be producing some smoke which will be a welcome memory should you have transitioned recently from charcoal/wood to gas. Put the salmon right on the planks and cook about 10 minutes. One of the best fish I’ve ever tasted from the grill!
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Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at
4:33 am
Some outdoor cooks prefer barbecue while others prefer the slower method of smoking. While both methods have their advantages, many swear by the distinct flavor advantages of smoker cooking. While cooking with heated smoke will take considerably longer than with straight heat, it is a more flavorful way of cooking.
Typically, smoker cooking has an offset fire chamber, which provides a means of the heat and smoke from the burner to pass over and through the meat. The flame itself never comes into contact with the food and therefore will not burn it. Neither will the oils and juices that drip from the cooking meat ignite short bursts of flame that can cause flare ups and scorched food.
The type of wood used in smoker cooking also helps determine the flavor with most people using hickory to provide a heavy smoky flavor to the meat. Apple and pecan wood is sometimes added to lighten the wood smoke flavor and wood from fruit trees will make for a slightly sweeter flavor.
Smoker Cooking Not For The Impatient
When smoker cooking it must be realized that this type of cooking cannot be hurried. It is going to take time to properly cook your food in a smoker. On average, depending on the cut of your meat and temperature at which you maintain the grill, smoker cooking a four-pound piece of meat will take over two hours. By comparison, the same size slab on a conventional grill will take less than an hour.
There is no limit to the types of meat you can cook in a smoker, beef, pork, poultry and fish and there are many recipes available to offer instruction on how to prepare them all. Some of the more popular meats for smoker cooking are spare ribs, large fish fillets as well as beef briskets. A four pound whole chicken will take about four hours to be thoroughly cooked in a smoker. The best way to tell if the chicken is done is to insert a thermometer into the thick part of the bird without touching any bones and making sure it reads 165 degrees.
You can rub the chicken or other meat with spices to prepare it for smoker cooking and add other sauces during and after. If you a smoker cooking without an automatic turning device, you will need to turn it occasionally to ensure even cooking and browning.
Ann Marier
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/longer-smoker-cooking-adds-a-different-flavor-129561.html
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