Couple of stupic questions

[stickorock]

I've got a mate coming over tonight and thought as the sun's slightly out I'd fire up the grill! Just going to go for a couple of thighs, burgers and sausages.

Is it just a case of searing the meat and cooking indirect over the drip tray? Is it really that easy? I think because my beer can chicken cooked in an hour I'm slightly concerned that I'll have ti so hot I burn everything or over compensate and have nothing cooked for ages!!

Still not got a thermometer but I've got one to slide in the vent and an ET-732 coming from the US so I might actually have some control over stuff soon!

Thanks!

[JEC]

Yup really is that easy. Set your grill for indirect cooking, I.e coals on one side drip pan on the other, clean the grill add chicken with a little smoke wood, put the thighs on the indirect side only, keep the lid vent over the indirect side too, after 15 mins add your burgers and sausages on the direct side, sear them all on both sides and then move to indirect area to cook through, you could even skip the indirect bit for the burgers if they're not too thick. Chicken is normally done in 30 mins, either stick your probe in the thickest part of the thigh or wait for juices to run clear, no need to constantly monitor the temp.

Most important rule, chill out and have a beer

[stickorock]

That's what I like to hear!! I hadn't even thought about where the best place for the vent would be but it makes sense to have it over the indirect side - is that to make sure the smoke/air flows over the food?

Thanks for the write up, it's really appreciated!

I don't think chilling out with a beer is going to be a problem at all

[Curlie028]

If you have time mate, a very simple but fantastic burger is 2 parts minced steak, 1 part minced pork, 1 part grated vintage cheddar or to taste.
Shape them into approx 5 or 6 oz burgers (I use a wee gadget from Lakeland that cost £4.99), stick them into the fridge for a couple of hours. Then just before grilling salt and pepper top and bottom, sear, then onto the indirect heat and they come off the grill (160 internal) lovely and juicy.
Can't recommend the Simple American Slaw enough that is on the "sides" forum.
Both can be prepared well in advance of visitors arriving. Perhaps more effort than you had planned but your mate will buy all the beers next time, just to get another invite.

Enjoy!

[JEC]

Yes vent above indirect side allows smoke to travel across the food. No problem happy to help

[LM600]

How did it all turn out Fella?

[stickorock]

How did it all turn out Fella?

Really good thanks mate! Everything was really juicy and tasty, thanks to the help from you guys! I don't think I'll be going back to burnt sausages and burgers again!

There were only a couple of things that I'd refine next time, that's leaving the sausages over the coals a little longer - the skins were a bit loose and like condoms so I think a bit more direct cooking would help with that and I had no idea when stuff was done (particularly the chicken) so I need a temperature probe. I'm a bit annoyed with myself about that though, Amazon had thermapens for £35 but now they've gone back up to around £60 again!

I've got a picnic that I'm going to at the weekend so I think I'm going to cook some wings up on the bbq friday night so we can have them cold at the picnic.

Got a thermometer through the post so I can finally see what effect I'm having on the temperature using different amount of coals and opening/closing the vents.

It's all a huge learning curve but it's a fun one! I think once I've mastered the grill and indirect a bit better I'll invest in a bullet and think about entering some of the competitions next year!

Curlie - thanks for the burger recipe but I ended up getting some from Sainsburys because I couldn't be bothered to make them to be honest but I did make the slaw and it was excellent so thanks for the suggestion, I'll be making some more for the afore mentioned picnic!

[jotch]

Remember if you call ETI directly and say that you're a member of the BBBQS then you can get a discount

[stickorock]

Remember if you call ETI directly and say that you're a member of the BBBQS then you can get a discount

Oh wow - I didn't realise that, thanks for the pointer!

[Curlie028]

Glad all went well stick.
Enjoy the picnic.