I love to barbecue because it tastes different (hopefully better), is easy to clean up and I get to do it outdoors. Grilling (what most people do with gas barbecues) does little for me because it is just another way to transfer BTU's, although it is outside and has little clean-up. Most people who eat my barbecue (regardless of food source) ask me what is special about my approach and why it tastes better than what they do. Since this is the one area where I have spent more time tweaking than audio, I thought it only appropriate to share what I have learned and let whomever is reading this to judge for themselves.
First of all, why do people use gas grills (there's that world again) instead of true barbecues? I believe there are two reasons: first, and more important, is convenience and time to heat up; second is cleanliness of the chef, not the food. The problem is that unless you use wood chips, the only flavor that you impart to your food is from the residue in your barbecue, which many consider probably carcinogenic. This is because a grill is essentially an outdoor gas oven.
Granted many put some sauce on the food in a grill because it is outside and the smoke and mess are less of an issue than in the oven in the kitchen. But they are not getting the most from barbecuing.
I would like to offer four easy tips that can greatly help your grilling, even better, barbecuing efforts.
1) Weber makes an incredible, inexpensive ($300) and easy to use barbecue that is a modified version of their top of their line Weber Kettle. It is called the Performa and is little more than their best Kettle (closed natural induction barbecue) with a simple added feature, a propane ignitor to get the grill going fast and with a minimum of mess. In fact, it heats up faster than my Weber gas grill. Once the barbecue is going, just shut off the gas and you have a rip roaring charcoal, or preferably wood-fired barbecue. BTW, buy a conversion hose and use a 20# propane tank instead of the camp bottles. It is much cheaper and one fill lasts a season of 2-3 uses per week.
Weber Kettles have been around for years and were the pioneers in covered barbecuing for the masses. Covered barbecuing is important for several reasons, there is not enough oxygen to support a flame so flare-ups are essentially impossible, producing less trashed/over cooked food. The other key reason that covered barbecuing is important is that this turns the barbecue into a quasi smoker, which in the case of the Weber Kettle uses induction to move the smoke systematically around and over the food.
2) While smoking imparts a nice taste in general, it can become truly special if you get a bit creative and use some of the same God Given OCD traits that have served you so well in audio tweaking. The flavor from smoke is determined by what the smoke represents. In other words, burn charcoal and it will taste like charcoal. Burn hard wood charcoal, it will taste like the hardwood and burn much hotter changing the BTU deal with more external searing for juice retention, while preserving a moist and more flavorful interior. Supplement the hardwood charcoal with WET wood chips (mesquite, hickory, apple, chardonnay, cabernet, etc.) and you have that secret ingredient that makes guests ask about your secret.
Lowes of all places is where you can get what you need. Cowboy brand lump hardwood charcoal is sold throughout the chain. It is slightly more expensive, but much cheaper than if Transparent or Nordost made it. Right next to the Cowboy charcoal are packages of wood chips from hickory, mesquite and apple. Soak a couple of handfuls in hot water for about 15 minutes before use so that they will last longer and smoke more because they are wet. Adjust the quantity to the amount of flavor you want to impart. Bad case of OCD needing a new focus? Soak them in some left over table wine with strong flavor to add that flavor to the smoke. Want to be exotic, Williams Sonoma sells vine ships from various vineyards which makes a huge difference when barbecuing fish. BTW, beware of the blast of smoke when you first put the chips on and shut the cover fast and protect your eyes.
3) Grill Grates are a really cool gadget that relies solely on physics to do their magic. They are aircraft grade aluminum fins with holes in their channels to let smoke through, juices out, while blocking the flames from destroying the food because they never come in direct contact. They come with a spatula that fits into the groves and lifts the food off of the fins without destroying the food. They are great for vegetables, pizza's, fish and the standard stuff.
A word of warning, the cooking time with Grill Grates decreases by at least 30% so err on the conservative side. You can poor flammable sauces on the food without having to worry about flair-ups and trips to the ER. If I have your attention and you are willing to go for it, go to grillgrates.com even if you use a gas grill. If you have a kettle, go to google and enter "round grill grates" and it will offer you special ones made for Weber Kettles, which come in three parts so you can vary the smoke impact versus cooking surface. I bought the large Kettle rounded ones and a spatula for about $110 and love them.
4) Hoboken Eddie's is probably the finest line of barbecue sauces I have ever tasted, and I love to experiment. Their url is hobokeneddies.com and a must try. They are inexpensive $5-7 and probably better than what you or grandma can come up with.
If anyone tries any of these recommendations, I would love to hear how it works out for you.
First of all, why do people use gas grills (there's that world again) instead of true barbecues? I believe there are two reasons: first, and more important, is convenience and time to heat up; second is cleanliness of the chef, not the food. The problem is that unless you use wood chips, the only flavor that you impart to your food is from the residue in your barbecue, which many consider probably carcinogenic. This is because a grill is essentially an outdoor gas oven.
Granted many put some sauce on the food in a grill because it is outside and the smoke and mess are less of an issue than in the oven in the kitchen. But they are not getting the most from barbecuing.
I would like to offer four easy tips that can greatly help your grilling, even better, barbecuing efforts.
1) Weber makes an incredible, inexpensive ($300) and easy to use barbecue that is a modified version of their top of their line Weber Kettle. It is called the Performa and is little more than their best Kettle (closed natural induction barbecue) with a simple added feature, a propane ignitor to get the grill going fast and with a minimum of mess. In fact, it heats up faster than my Weber gas grill. Once the barbecue is going, just shut off the gas and you have a rip roaring charcoal, or preferably wood-fired barbecue. BTW, buy a conversion hose and use a 20# propane tank instead of the camp bottles. It is much cheaper and one fill lasts a season of 2-3 uses per week.
Weber Kettles have been around for years and were the pioneers in covered barbecuing for the masses. Covered barbecuing is important for several reasons, there is not enough oxygen to support a flame so flare-ups are essentially impossible, producing less trashed/over cooked food. The other key reason that covered barbecuing is important is that this turns the barbecue into a quasi smoker, which in the case of the Weber Kettle uses induction to move the smoke systematically around and over the food.
2) While smoking imparts a nice taste in general, it can become truly special if you get a bit creative and use some of the same God Given OCD traits that have served you so well in audio tweaking. The flavor from smoke is determined by what the smoke represents. In other words, burn charcoal and it will taste like charcoal. Burn hard wood charcoal, it will taste like the hardwood and burn much hotter changing the BTU deal with more external searing for juice retention, while preserving a moist and more flavorful interior. Supplement the hardwood charcoal with WET wood chips (mesquite, hickory, apple, chardonnay, cabernet, etc.) and you have that secret ingredient that makes guests ask about your secret.
Lowes of all places is where you can get what you need. Cowboy brand lump hardwood charcoal is sold throughout the chain. It is slightly more expensive, but much cheaper than if Transparent or Nordost made it. Right next to the Cowboy charcoal are packages of wood chips from hickory, mesquite and apple. Soak a couple of handfuls in hot water for about 15 minutes before use so that they will last longer and smoke more because they are wet. Adjust the quantity to the amount of flavor you want to impart. Bad case of OCD needing a new focus? Soak them in some left over table wine with strong flavor to add that flavor to the smoke. Want to be exotic, Williams Sonoma sells vine ships from various vineyards which makes a huge difference when barbecuing fish. BTW, beware of the blast of smoke when you first put the chips on and shut the cover fast and protect your eyes.
3) Grill Grates are a really cool gadget that relies solely on physics to do their magic. They are aircraft grade aluminum fins with holes in their channels to let smoke through, juices out, while blocking the flames from destroying the food because they never come in direct contact. They come with a spatula that fits into the groves and lifts the food off of the fins without destroying the food. They are great for vegetables, pizza's, fish and the standard stuff.
A word of warning, the cooking time with Grill Grates decreases by at least 30% so err on the conservative side. You can poor flammable sauces on the food without having to worry about flair-ups and trips to the ER. If I have your attention and you are willing to go for it, go to grillgrates.com even if you use a gas grill. If you have a kettle, go to google and enter "round grill grates" and it will offer you special ones made for Weber Kettles, which come in three parts so you can vary the smoke impact versus cooking surface. I bought the large Kettle rounded ones and a spatula for about $110 and love them.
4) Hoboken Eddie's is probably the finest line of barbecue sauces I have ever tasted, and I love to experiment. Their url is hobokeneddies.com and a must try. They are inexpensive $5-7 and probably better than what you or grandma can come up with.
If anyone tries any of these recommendations, I would love to hear how it works out for you.