The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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Grilling. Do you grill? What do you grill? How do you grill? What are you grilling with? How often?
Recently I had an incident where I wanted to cook a meal at my grandmother's house, but for four people, I didn't see any way to make multiple pounds of nicely and uncontroversially roasted meat without using an oven. So now I want to learn charcoal grilling, but the Weber charcoal chimney is in the mail, so I must burn with passion regarding grilling quietly to myself. Charcoal grilling seems a lot better to me because it's a lot more unique than stovetop, offers unique flavors, offers variety like smoking meats, and has way less moving parts and the grills cost a lot less and they seem generally more portable. Also I hate running out of propane in the middle of a cook. I actually haven't used the propane grill much because it feels like a hassle compared to stovetop. So if it's a hassle either way, I might as well pick charcoal, is the way I see it.
https://old.reddit.com/r/redneckengineering/comments/vhhsvf/homemade_charcoal_starter_actually_worked_quite/
this is all you need.
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Such thing is btw quite cheap to design yourself - just take 2-3-4 donner burners and the rest is just protection, housing and copper pipe.
good thing - you could prepare absurd quantities of meat before and it is the tenderest possible. But it takes away all the romance.
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I do grill. I grill various things like steak, burgers, brats, salmon, etc. I also smoke things on occasion, which I would say is pretty different from grilling and really counts as its own thing.
First, you don't have to wait for your Weber chimney. Lighter fluid is vastly over-hated by the extremely online grilling crowd; I use it from time to time and I can't taste any difference in the food at all. Plus it's fun to watch a big flame shoot up as the fluid ignites. I would say try it for yourself and see if it works for you or not, don't take the claims that you must use a chimney starter on faith.
I definitely prefer charcoal to gas for grilling, though I do have a gas grill (from back when I lived at a place that strictly prohibited charcoal). I don't find it to be that much of a hassle, basically you get the coals going and walk away for 15 minutes. No biggie. I have a Weber Summit Kamado grill, and I love it. The design means that it holds temperature very well for long cooks, and it also is airtight enough that you can shut the dampers and the fire will go out (so you can save that unused fuel for next time). I've had various grills over the years ranging from El cheapo to not so cheap, and this one has been by far the best.
Biggest tip I would say is learn to control temp. Your charcoal grill is going to take in air on the bottom and vent exhaust out the top; both those things can be used to control air flow (and thus fire temp), but the intake matters more than the exhaust. If your grill lets you adjust coal height that also will make a big difference in how the food cooks. You don't want the fire to be rip-roaring hot because your food will burn on the outside before it cooks on the inside (though maybe you like it rare on the inside, but not all things are good that way). That temperature control is something you'll learn with time, and IMO is the real skill element in cooking with fire.
If you are going to cook bigger things (thick steaks, chicken and the like), you should use a two-zone cooking technique. When you put the coals in the grill, put them only on one half. Then you let your items cook through (or almost through) on the cool side, before moving them to the hot side to brown the outside nicely. This is a great technique and really effective, though the effectiveness does depend on there being enough thickness of meat so that you can get the outside nice and hot without heating the inside up too much. Doesn't really work super well on burgers or small steaks etc.
If you're interested in smoking, look up Meathead's articles at amazingribs.com. Dude knows his stuff and writes very informative articles, it helped me a lot when I first started smoking.
Overall, have fun! Grilling is a great way to cook, the fire hits you right in the caveman brain and it's very chill (especially if you smoke things). And keep us updated on how it goes, I look forward to hearing it!
Yes! Yes! This is the grilling content I wanted! Thanks for the amazingribs link.
I do not possess lighter fluid. I figured even if it was true that lighter fluid burned off before it got on the food, a charcoal chimney would probably be cheaper over a long period of time because you do not have to buy fluid continuously.
I have a very tiny 14 inch used Char-Broil tabletop kettle grill. We'll see if I can do two-zone with that.
I think the first thing I cook will be brats and chicken thighs and then maybe chicken leg quarters, too. I might try grilling up the cabbage in the fridge. Do you do marinades or anything like that? My lazy air frying usually involves just seasoned salt and a meat and it usually turns out pretty great, but then my uncle (who grills a lot) avails me of his complicated adventures involving brining and marinades and rubs and I feel bad.
I'm too cheap to experiment with steaks. Steaks are very expensive, especially lately.
I would think that this is a wash, because you still need something to ignite the coals when you use a chimney starter (just throwing a match in there doesn't cut it in my experience). I use paraffin wax cubes for that purpose, which means I'm still buying consumable stuff to get the coals going. Newspaper does work, so if you have it sitting around you can always use that at no marginal cost to yourself. I just don't have anything like that.
I suspect that a 14" tabletop grill is going to be too small to do two zone cooking, but I certainly could be wrong. I don't have direct experience with those.
As far as food prep goes, it depends on the specific thing I'm cooking. I do use a marinade for making jerk chicken, and something like a marinade for salmon (I cover the fillets with a mixture of brown sugar and Dijon mustard, them cook them indirectly). For burgers and steaks, I just do salt and pepper as a rule. For brats I do nothing at all - they are seasoned enough already that you don't need to add more, and I'm not a beer brat kind of man (though many people do like that).
When I was learning how to grill, I found that brats are surprisingly tricky to cook. This was where I learned the importance of temp control, because I was turning out brats that were blackened on the outside but were raw inside. Even now I probably don't do an amazing job (I think that I have a tendency to overcook them so they come out dry), but at least they aren't raw. You might find them easier, but just something to look out for.
Steaks, by comparison, are trivial! Which is good because they are expensive as you said. Salt and pepper, maybe a seasoning mix, and then you cook them like 3-4 minutes per side. And if you really want to be thorough, you can use a thermometer to temp them, though I generally don't bother.
Another thing which is really good is grilled corn. I've done a couple of different methods, but the one I have found I prefer is to peel back the husk (don't remove it), take the silk out, and then put the husk back. Then you soak the ears of corn in water for a long while (I do overnight), and cook them directly over the coals, turning the ears every now and then, until the husk is dried out and brown/black on all sides. The corn inside should be perfectly cooked and it's delicious (with the usual salt and butter of course).
Soak kitchen paper or cotton in cooking oil. can get a chimney starter to emit blue flame in 6 minutes.
I didn't know that one, I'll try it out. But my overall point was just that you need to use something to get the chimney starter going, and that something (probably) coats you money. Using oil and paper towels is cheap, but so is lighter fluid. So my guess is that no matter what method you use to light coals, it'll be similar in costs.
For me, our house gets a bunch of Chewy boxes in the mail, so spare cardboard is handy at about any moment.
I hope I abuse this smaller grill enough to break it so I can get a proper Weber kettle soon.
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The objections against lighter fluid are usually taste not cost wise. Never used the stuff so I can't comment.
But I think that for me this is more of a - a knife never runs out of bullets situation. If you are grilling you will have paper towels and cooking oil nearby, buy you can run out of lighter fluid.
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You don't get any junk mail or grocery store circulars? I agree that the "lighter fluid bad" crowd tends to be a bit overzealous, but the problem I have with it is more one of consistency—unless you're very careful about how you apply it, there are always a few briquettes that don't seem to light, and you usually have to stir the pot a bit to get everything going. Match-light charcoal avoids this, but it's also the most expensive solution. This is the same reason why I think lump charcoal is an affectation as well. It looks cooler but is more expensive to produce and doesn't give the consistency that good 'ol Kingsford blue bag does.
I do, although to be honest I have never thought to keep them for that purpose. I just throw them out immediately. It's a good idea, though, and one I will probably start implementing. The paraffin wax cubes I currently use to light my chimney starter are not super expensive, but free is even better.
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I think that a lot of people still live with the first seasons of good eats, not realizing that the 80s suburbia is long gone. More and more briquettes are pressed dust with some starch as binder. And they deprive themselves of the brilliant asian briquettes with hole - those things can make your local blacksmith passing by to ask if they can use your forge for some minor work.
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Chicken is difficult because it is non-uniform in thickness, and non-uniform in density (bone-in). Brats are easy because they are uniform, as are steaks (cut to thickness). Chicken thighs can handle some abuse, but bone-in leg quarters seem challenging to me. Hard to get the inside cooked without burning the outside. It's easier to cook those in the oven where you can control temperature better, but then you're roasting, not grilling.
I would absolutely use a marinade on the chicken. Acid, salt, and fat are what you need, along with aromatics. Acid is usually lemon or lime juice, but can be vinegar or even wine (red wine makes dark chicken). Salt is salt, or soy sauce (again, dark chicken). Fat is some liquid oil. Aromatics would be garlic and fresh herbs. How's your herb garden looking this spring? If you don't want to make one, use a bottled salad dressing, or a bottled sauce.
Seasoned salt will work fine, as will salt and pepper. Powdered spices to include on top of just S&P would be garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and so on, depending on what flavors you want. Garlic powder as the only addition to S&P is the simplest and will get you great results on steaks.
Brining is nice to do. Dry brine just means salt well ahead of time and leave uncovered in the fridge. Pat dry when you remove. This pulls out moisture and usually leaves better crust and browning on the outside, while transmitting some of the salt into the meat. Wet brine is basically a marinade with only salt and aromatics, no fat or acid. If you're marinating, you're usually brining by default. Wet brines can help keep moisture in the meat, so for chicken especially it's useful, since dry chicken is the common failure. There's a reason your Thanksgiving turkey comes packed in brine.
I've experimented a little with marinades before when trying to perfect my fajitas, but there are some things I am unsure about with them still. For instance, do you always throw your marinade out once you're done with the meat? It seems a bit of a waste to me. Glazing it on is an option I've seen floated, but that seems like it adds extra considerations. And let's say that my marinade is 100% acid. How long is it safe to leave the meat marinating in it? How about 50%? I know that meat gets mealy if you marinate too long, but I don't know how long it needs to get an effect at all.
Since fajitas are just about my favorite meal, maybe I can give grilled pork or chicken fajitas a shot. Also, I can see clearly that I'll need to order a couple thermometers to do grilling correctly. Thankfully, chicken thighs are forgiving. I will take your leg quarter advice under consideration. They do really well in the oven anyway. I tried a soy honey marinade once with leg quarters, and then baked it in with the marinade, but it just turned out really watery and the soy honey flavor didn't come through very well.
If you have a really fantastic marinade that you want to use as a sauce, put it in a small saucepan and cook it down to a thicker consistency.
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Yes, and honestly I don't feel bad about it because it was just there to flavor the meat. It did its job, no need to keep it around.
Marinating is something where you will generally want to spend hours to get any effect. When I do jerk chicken, I marinate overnight. It's perfectly safe as far as I'm aware and I've never had negative results.
You don't need to (lots of cooks have made great meals without thermometers), but they can be helpful for sure. I highly recommend Thermapens. They read temperature near instantly, and they hold up to use very well. They are on the pricy side but I find that worth it for a tool you'll have for a long time to come.
Also if you get into smoking, consider getting a remote probe setup. Ideally it would have at least two probes (one for the meat and one to clip to the grill surface), and the remote will let you monitor the temperature from anywhere in your house. That way you can kick back and relax with (insert beverage of choice here), which is really the best part of smoking meat.
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Yes, you typically toss the marinade, or use it as a glaze while cooking. Just glazing doesn't give you the time that you need. Cooking with the marinade means too much water, which means lower heat (212F), which means no browning.
Long exposure to acid will chemically 'cook' the meat. This is ceviche, for example. 100% acid I would do for no more than an hour, but I don't have a hard and fast rule. A typical marinade with equal parts oil and lemon juice is fine overnight, but I might hesitate doing multiple days.
Thermometers are not 100% necessary, but I would recommend them for chicken leg quarters. I like them in general, so an instant-read is a good tool to have in your kitchen.
For evenly cut steaks, you can use the muscle of your thumb as a guide. Thumb touching pinky, and the thumb muscle feels like well done. Ring finger, medium; middle finger, medium-rare; index finger, rare. I use this for beef and lamb, I'm sure it works for pork, and I don't grill fish at all.
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I have a traditional Russian box grill, but I don't grill this much, because we both hate cleaning the grate and my wife doesn't like skewers for some reason.
I love grilled gilthead and European seabass.
usually grills are self cleaning if you raise the temperature enough to glow in the dark.
What isn't, then?
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I prefer charcoal. Mostly because of cost: I buy a $50ish charcoal grill every five years or so, and when it rusts out I scrap it and buy a new one. Where good gas grills are hundreds or thousands, and I'm not sure they last all that long anyway.
Consider using different kinds of charcoal. Most stores carry regular briquettes, but also lump charcoal and various hardwood flavor charcoals. You can get really interesting flavors, and sometimes just blending a little bit of expensive stuff in with your briquettes can get you the flavor. Lump charcoal is often a little harder to manage than briquettes, and it's important to make sure you get an even burn, but it can add a lot to the process.
On that note: get a small metal fan to blow on the charcoal, along with good fireplace. This will help you manage heat, get everything hot quickly, keep it even across the grill. You have to be careful to make sure you don't have a hot spot at one end where the burgers burn and a cold spot at the other where they're raw. A certain degree of unevenness is probably inevitable, and you want to rotate things to make sure all of them get heated evenly.
Grill everything. Vegetable, fish, sausages, burnt ends, fruit. Have fun with it!
If you're grilling at least a couple times a month, the price of the grill ends up being negligible compared to the price of the stuff you're cooking on it. My bottom-of-the-barrel gas grill from home-depot has lasted 5 years so far and still works great and looks like new, and I find that the fine-grained temperature control I get with a gas grill is helpful when I want to cook a bunch of stuff and have it all finish on the grill at the same time.
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$50 grill, are you buying used? About the only new thing I see in that price is a Weber Smokey Joe, which is probably not most people's ideal grill for most things. What model you got?
Two-zone grilling follows a philosophy of having a hot spot and a cold spot so that you have indirect cooking and direct cooking. Sear and then move over. You don't do that?
I have no idea. It's red, it's from home depot's clearance sale in the fall three years ago, and it's got a picture of a Kangaroo somewhere in the logo. Tbf, the price quoted is based on having purchased them A) years ago and B) on Clearance in the fall. The thing about Charcoal grills is that the cheap ones work just fine. Unless you're getting something like a big green egg or a pizza oven, all you need is a piece of tin that holds the charcoal and the rest is details.
There's a difference between intentionally having evenly burning areas at different temperatures, and unintentionally having cold spots where you don't want them. If you're trying to have different areas of the grill at different temps, you need to be even more careful to make sure you have each "zone" burning evenly.
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An old hairdryer will also do
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Yes.
Let me get my translation guide... Usually a combination of Tenderloin, Ribeye, Short Rib, Flank, Skirt, Pork Rose Meat, black pudding and Chorizo, though I have dabbled in weirder cuts/meats.
You put the meat on the grill, turn it around and then serve it. The "hard" part of grilling is the logistics: knowing where to buy, knowing what the people you're grilling for like, and staggering so as to keep the cuts flowing in the "correct" order (sausages and thin cuts first, and then proceed to the meatier stuff).
Charcoal built grill, no shade to propane, it's just what I was raised with (also, running out of gas in the middle of grilling is truly a nightmare, though in reality making sure you have enough is probably easier than going out to buy charcoal bags every time), sometimes add wood for extra smokey flavour, sometimes do it only with wood for the spectacle.
About once a week.
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