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The cooler weather is here and the weather is spectacular for outdoor cooking! Now, is the time to maximize your grill and savor the flavor. |
Your Barbecue Super Store |
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So, you may be thinking about becoming a barbecue judge ... or perhaps you just want to know what it is that the judges are looking for (and tasting) when judging great barbecue. Who are the table captains? And what do they do? Who officiates the contests? Overcooked? Under cooked? Too Salty? Too flat tasting? Mushy? Tough? and many more.
Check out the 2013 Judging Classes and find one near you! |
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Featured BBQ'n
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Popular Gas Grills
Cooking On The Gas Grill
Now We're Ready to Cook!
Now that we have purchased our Popular Gas Grill, let's look at using the grill to cook great steaks, briskets, chicken, turkey and fish.
The Gas Grill is quite versatile. We can cook low and slow for smoking, medium for great barbecue or on high for great grilling. For now, we are going to cover just the basics. In the future, we will be going into greater detail on the techniques for producing great barbecue.
So let us begin. . . . .
Rule No. 1 - LET'S NOT BLOW OURSELVES UP!
Some recreational hobbies have inherent risks: sky diving, bungy jumping, scuba diving . . . . . . But one would little suspect barbecuing would be one of them! Normally true, but gas grilling can be a different matter. You may cause serious injury to yourself, your company and most importantly your food if you do not follow the proper procedures which come with your Gas Grill.
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Our Comments:
Always light the grill with the hood open, even on windy days! If you place a lighted match in the hole with the gas on and the lid down, you have created bomb-like conditions. Not fun unless you are just looking for a great way so spoil a really good cookout (In such case, we suggest you immediately cease and desist this tiresome reading and click on to see how George lights his fire in 3 seconds!.) Remember, though, the food in the hospital will not taste as good, even on your worst day of grilling!
While similar to the above, but after the fire is going, do not allow your clothing to catch fire. Remember you are trying to cook barbecue, not the barbecuer! So much for that. . . be careful.
Finally, if the fire does not start right away, turn the gas off, allow the gas to dissipate for several minutes and then retry. The wind may pose particular problems, but be patient. If necessary, get someone to assist you in shielding the wind so the fire can be lit or you can use a hand held butane lighter (use the type with a "BARREL" and the flame at the tip so your hands are not over the grill when it ignites) which has an adjustable flame control. Again, be careful!
Rule No. 2 - KNOW YOUR GRILL'S INTERNAL TEMPERATURE
If your grill did not come with a thermometer, install a quality one yourself. Check with the hardware store and see if they have a thermometer with a range of 0 degrees to 600 or 700 degrees. There is no reason for one with higher readings than this. Gas Grills can easily obtain temperatures in excess of 700 or 800 degrees. Man, that's hot!
HINT: If your grill already has a thermometer installed which does not reflect degrees (i.e. shades of red), then take an oven thermometer which does reflect degrees and mark on the built-in thermometer the temperature as reflected on the oven thermometer. This way, your built-in thermometer can reflect approximate actual degrees.
The only time necessary for the higher temperatures is when burning off accumulated grease or cooking that thick steak. A good way to burn off residue grease on the rocks is to rotate the rocks and heat them on high for 10 to 15 minutes or until most of the smoke is gone.
As for proper cooking temperatures, it will depend upon how tender you desire the meat to be. Always remember, when cooking in indirect heat, the slower is better to a point. Check the internal temperature of the meat with an instant read thermometer (see BBQ Tools) and the recommended internal cooking temperatures (see Our Little Secrets). Do not over-cook with either time or temperature!
Also, when cooking indirectly, it is a good idea to use a second thermometer. Place this second thermometer on the side of the grill where the meat is actually being cooked. The temperature will be lower there and the primary thermometer will be reading an average of the pit if located in the center. You may have to raise the temperature in the overall grill area if you are using only the center thermometer.
Rule No. 3 - KEEP YOUR FIRE UNDER CONTROL!
A gas grill is great for wanting to rage out of control if left alone for very long. The reason is simple. While cooking, the meat will, through a natural process, release fatty juices. These juices will drop to the rocks below and continue to build up. After a while, these juices will seep down and finally come in direct contact with the flame. Once this happens, it takes little time for the flame to flare up and use the rest of the juices for its fuel. Once the flame has started consuming the grease situated on the rocks, it then begins to consuming your brisket, chicken or turkey! Almost like it has a life of its own.
The cure is to use a glass of water or a spray bottle to put water on the source of the fire. You are not putting the gas fire out, because the gas flame is protected by the way the construction of the burners. You are putting out the grease fire. The best indicator of a fire is the amount of black smoke the grill is omitting. Keep your eye on this flaring-up problem. The cure is simple; the results of an unattended fire are dire!
In our effort to offer some basic information on the types of features available on and what to look for in purchasing a Gas Grill, we have not yet included information such as additional techniques and tips on using the Gas Grill. In the near future, look for more information relating to the Gas Grill!
|On to the Manufacturers | Back to the Popular Grills |
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