I'm no good at Q'in - please give me some tips!

[alank2]

Hi everyone,

Ok, I've got one skill, and you're going to laugh (or pity me). I can throw those premade walmart 85/15 burger patties on the grill for 5 minutes, flip them, 5 minutes, done! They actually turn out quite good, but....

I can't cook anything else worth a darn... I've got a Weber 3 burner grill so I have 3 burners I can control, for my burgers I just do medium on all 3 if I'm cooking a bunch.

I've cooked a few steaks and they come out ok. Sometimes not bad, sometimes bad.

I would like to cook some chicken, but it always turns out dry. What tips do you have for me? ANY TIPS PLEASE@! !:!

Thanks,

Alan

[ept000]

If you want real Q, your gonna have to use wood. Propane grilling can be good, but it will never be Q. So it's not all your fault! To keep chicken moist (or better yet pork) try brining first.

[jawjaboy]

ET be true on da wood part there Alan. Never tried brining, can't speak to that. Que in general don't hardly ever need to go over 250F in ya cook space, and for a goodly time period. Premium Que takes time, patience, Love, Glory, and experimentation. Stick around here, read all, it a come to ya. :thumbsup:

[Pitmaster]

There's a big difference between barbecue and grilling. They are two separate and distinct cooking techniques. Grilling is cooking direct over high heat. The intent is to caramelize the outside of the meat by searing it.

Barbecue is slow cooking pork butts, briskets, and some other meats to break down the collagen and fat inside which makes the meat become tender. Time ranges from 6-8 hours and up depending upon many variables.

I can give you some tips on either method but I want to make sure we're speaking the same language first.

Check out the BBQ FAQ, (http://www.bbq-porch.org/faq/) a great resource.

[alank2]

Hi,

Ah heck, you guys are showing me I know even less than I already thought I did!!

Lets start with grilling since that is what I have. How do you brine chicken or pork?

Thanks everyone!!

Alan

[ept000]

Hi,

Ah heck, you guys are showing me I know even less than I already thought I did!!

Lets start with grilling since that is what I have. How do you brine chicken or pork?

Thanks everyone!!

Alan
Simple. I mix equal amounts of salt and molasses in a bucket of water. Mix it until it all dissolves, then soak the meat in it. How long depends on the size of the meat. A pork butt I will soak over night. Take the meat out and dry it, add a dry rub, and on to the grill it goes. Grilling can be dry and brining really helps. BBQ is usually moist and brining makes it better!

[Pitmaster]

Hi,
Lets start with grilling since that is what I have.

Gas or charcoal?:)

[alank2]

Hi,

Propane Gas.

Thanks!

Alan

[Pitmaster]

First thing is fire up your burners as hot as you can get them. Preheat for 5-10 minutes to get the rocks and grates hot. Toss a steak on for 2-4 minutes or until you get a nice sear on the outside. Turn your fire down by half. and flip your meat. Let cook until you get the meat to your preference. I use an digital instant read thermometer. Rare is 125º, medium 135º, and well done ain't worth eating.

For a hamburger the same applies unless you grind your own hamburger. its okay to cook to rare or medium. If you buy your hamburger pre ground you should cook it to 140º+. The higher the temperature the more it dries out. Juices should run clear but DO NOT smash it to squeeze them out. What making your hamburger patties make the center a little thinner than the outer edge. Your burgers will cook more evenly. Season with whatever you like and experiment. Don't pack your hamburger when making the patties. You are much better off forming them by lightly pushing them down.

Pork chops need to be cooked to 140º. They might be a tad pink inside but they are safe to eat. Most pork today doesn't have enough fat in it to stay good and moist. That's where brining can come in.

Chicken-You want to cook chicken at a medium temperature. Preheat to high but turn to medium when you toss them on. Start skin side down. Turn every five minutes or so. Chicken is done at 160º for white meat and 170º for dark meat. Don't sauce until the last few minutes or it will burn. You can marinate or brine, but if your marinade has oil in it that can burn quicker so keep an eye on it. Chicken juices should be clear.

Start with the above and then adjust to your preference the next time. Until you get the hang of what your want its best to stay nearby and keep an eye on things. Avoid opening the lid a lot. Booze can be distracting to the learning process.

If something starts to burn or you get a flame move the meat to a cooler part of the fire. Most grills have hot and cool spots. You will have to learn them by experimenting.


Let meat rest on a plate covered with foil for 5 minutes or so to let juices reabsorb back into the meat.

You might consider dedicating several evening meals in a row to cooking the same thing or every other day. You can more easily remember mistakes and what worked well before you forget them.

Hamburger is cheap and easy to learn on. So is chicken.

There are a lot variables regarding what kind of gas grill you cook on. Most grills you buy at Wal-mart, Lowes, etc. aren't great. They don't cook very even and don't always get hot enough to do a good steak. Hamburgers and chicken do better.

Weber grills and smokers are the best bang for the buck on the market. If you spend $500 on a Weber grill it will last at laeast 3x as long as the $200 grills.

The Smokering (http://www.thesmokering.com/default.jsp) is a great site to explore for grilling and BBQ. Here's a link to the their forum. (http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/index.php?sid=7656bb2f806bd7cc5a07c5c2f926b2fa)

I've got an article on brining but its too large to post here. But the above sites will have some good info.

[alank2]

Hi Pitmaster,

Thanks for the informative post!! I've got a Weber 3 burner and it has been holding up good, even survived being blown off the porch in a storm.

So if I start with some chicken breasts, should I brine them first? How much salt/molasses do you put in the water? Do you keep them refrigerated during this process? How long for some fresh chicken breasts would you think?

Thanks,

Alan

[BigSlick]

OK,

Here go a sure fire chicken method.

Orange juice
crushed garlic
sliced onion
cilantro
black pepper
lil bit a oil

Combine all ya ingredients in a big bowl or ziploc, add in ya checken breast or other parts. Let it sit in da fridge for about 3 hours, no more than 4

Set ya grill on it's hottest setting, all da burners on one side (or da rear) wide open. Let em go a good 15-20 minutes.

Take ya chicken outta dat marinade an pat it dry wit a paper towel. Hit it wit some Lawry's Season salt, or soul food seasonin (not a hell of a lot, just enough so it don't need salt) an some ground black pepper (from a can instead of a grinder is best here)

Toss it right on top a da hottest part of a slightly oiled grill surface. Let em sit for three minutes. Turn em over an let sit for 2 minutes. Watch da first batch ya do, just in case ya grill is incineratin hot (prolly it ain't) when they got some good brownin on em, flip - once.

Then set em off da heat on da cooler part a da grill. drop ya grill temp in half an close da lid. Wait 5 minutes.

Take em off, let em sit for about 5 minutes, then eat.

They a be juicy, they a be damn good too.

For real

[Pitmaster]

Hi Pitmaster,

Thanks for the informative post!! I've got a Weber 3 burner and it has been holding up good, even survived being blown off the porch in a storm.

So if I start with some chicken breasts, should I brine them first? How much salt/molasses do you put in the water? Do you keep them refrigerated during this process? How long for some fresh chicken breasts would you think?

Thanks,

Alan

Get fresh chicken breasts with bone and skin. Don't use boneless, they dry out too fast. Wash and dry the breasts, Season with a rub from the store or make your own. Here's a basic starting recipe.

3 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon Lemon Pepper
1 teaspoons garlic powder.
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Or just salt and pepper.

Sprinkle moderately and massage the meat on and under the skin with the rub Keep skin on as best you can. Put in refrigerator for an hour or so. Take out, put on counter, (keep dogs off counter) and go heat up your grill with all three burners. After 10 minutes or so turn fire down by turning the middle burner off and the other burners to medium, go get chicken and put chicken skin side up on grill and close lid. Cook for 5 minutes, flip, repeat as needed. If cooking too fast move to cooler side of grill or turn fire down a little. As juices begin dripping you want to flip meat. After flipping once you can cook with the lid up. But your temperature may need to be a little hotter.

If you got to use skinless and boneless. Marinate in Italian dressing or a bottled seasoning and cook slower. Once you can cook the chicken without brining, your skills will improve making brining easier to teach and experiment with.

Brining is basically 1 cup of kosher salt and 1 cup of a sweetener, i.e. brown sugar, sugar, syrup, molasses, honey etc. to a 3/4 gallon of water. Mix well and dissolve salt and sweetener. Hot water works best. Boiling even better. Cut recipe in half for lesser amounts.

While water is cooling down add whatever seasonings you want AND add about 2-3 trays of ice cubes. Some folks add oranges, lemons, or juice of. Don't add the chicken until the water is cold. At least 40º. Put in refrigerator for 4-6 hours. I use plastic buckets, stainless steel pots, and even zip top bags (double or triple bag). I've got 3 refrigerators at home and usually am doing large quantities. I usually do whole chickens or turkeys, cornish hens, etc.. Except goose and ducks. They have a lot of fat.

The same method can be done with pork chops, pork loin, etc. Not needed with butts or shoulders, sausage, ribs. etc.

Buttermilk can be substituted for the water to brine poultry and lamb. I've never tried it with beef or pork. Buttermilk brined leg of lamb is great. Use lots of garlic.

There is some variance in the above info depending upon your tastes. If you brine too long meat can get salty. To prevent that use less salt and brine longer. I will use less salt and brine overnight to cook the next day.

[alank2]

Hi,

Thanks for the info!!! I'll see what I can figure out!!

Appreciate it,

Alan