First photo set

[whmaine]

Fourth grill in about 2 weeks... first one since I actually registered. If I get this right, there will be pictures.

Okay, so I'm not a picture pro yet, but here's an album link, and they were taken with an ipod, so don't expect too much.


Those of you who saw my new member post, this is the tiny grill, and here are my results! One pack of hot dogs, and three chicken breasts after a couple of hours in the marinade. I think I've got trouble based on the distance between the coals and the grate, because any decent number of coals pretty much takes most of the gap away. Probably a good idea to tighten up the vents and go longer and/or more indirect, I just need to find the balance where I don't get chem flavors in my meat from cheap charcoal.

Thanks, gang.

[dledmo]

Thanks for the pics! Welcome to the world of cooking over fire, it's awesome. Yes, that is a tiny grill. You have the right idea by placing the coals on one side, however you have too many for your grill. Reduce by 1/3 at least. Also kind of a lot of meat on all at the same time which reduces your flexibility. If you were doing just the chicken breasts for example, start them over the hot side over the coals to get a nice sear and grill marks for about 8 min or so depending on grill temp. Move them to the not as hot side to finish cooking. Amount of time on the not as hot side will vary depending on size of breasts. The dogs could go the most of the time on the not so hot side then a quick bit on the hot side for grill marks. This is called the reverse sear method.
If you notice on many of the other members pics they like to have room on their grill to move something that is cooking too fast to a cooler spot or vice versa. Also, if you are interested in a larger grill watch for garage sales, craigslist, etc. especially as fall is coming. I picked up a 22" Weber for $10 a couple of years back!!!

[whmaine]

Originally Posted by dledmo

Thanks for the pics! Welcome to the world of cooking over fire, it's awesome. Yes, that is a tiny grill. You have the right idea by placing the coals on one side, however you have too many for your grill. Reduce by 1/3 at least. Also kind of a lot of meat on all at the same time which reduces your flexibility. If you were doing just the chicken breasts for example, start them over the hot side over the coals to get a nice sear and grill marks for about 8 min or so depending on grill temp. Move them to the not as hot side to finish cooking. Amount of time on the not as hot side will vary depending on size of breasts. The dogs could go the most of the time on the not so hot side then a quick bit on the hot side for grill marks. This is called the reverse sear method.
If you notice on many of the other members pics they like to have room on their grill to move something that is cooking too fast to a cooler spot or vice versa. Also, if you are interested in a larger grill watch for garage sales, craigslist, etc. especially as fall is coming. I picked up a 22" Weber for $10 a couple of years back!!!

Thanks for the feedback! I started with the coals banked because I am temporarily without a chimney, so it was mostly just to get them going, then I spread them out and added fresh on top. Good to know that I should be cutting back- it's hard to tell, since every grill I've seen in use is so much bigger, and I'm used to seeing more coals.

I did the chicken solo for 4 min/side directly over the heat, then moved it to the outside, put the lid on (all vents wide open) and gave them about 5 more. The dogs pretty much just needed heating through and some grill marks, so I put them on direct and kept them moving for just a few minutes while the chicken continued to get some love farther from the coals.

So I should stick with trying to fit direct and indirect zones, rather than a consistent heat almost everywhere... hmm. This is to sear the outsides, then move to indirect to finish off. *learning achieved.* Thank you.

On an unrelated note that I should probably make it's own thread...
I keep reading posts on smoking with folks getting meat up to the right internal temp, then "foiling" and cooking indirect roughly until the meat gives up and dies. I understand that to "foil" is to surround with aluminum foil, but are we talking tight? Loose? edges folded up/over to completely seal it? I know wet wood can be foiled with holes in the foil for smoking, but when it comes to the meat, what's the method? This may be simple but I haven't had the chance to learn it yet.

Have a great day, y'all.

[Nick Prochilo]

Larry can give you all the ins and outs about cooking a grill that size! He can cook a 7 course dinner over a book of matches!

[whmaine]

I'm busy swiping wisdom from Larry. Tonight it's the onions from the other day (unbreaded bloomin' style) and sliced taters. Inside the pork is going...