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#11
06-12-2007, 01:19 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
Was thinking of getting a charcoal grill and saw these two at Sears:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=07113400000 http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=07116242000 The first one is a $80 Weber. The second is a $40 Companion (the Sears house brand). Any opinions on either? 
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#12
06-12-2007, 03:00 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
[ QUOTE ]
Was thinking of getting a charcoal grill and saw these two at Sears: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=07113400000 http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=07116242000 The first one is a $80 Weber. The second is a $40 Companion (the Sears house brand). Any opinions on either? [/ QUOTE ] Some things I'd look for - Does the lid feel nice and heavy and have a snug fit? Does the entire unit feel sturdy/put together well? Can I regulate the air intake on both the lid and below the charcoal? Is the metal thicker on one of the models? (important for heat retention) What are the grates made of? What is the size of the total cooking area? Is the grate height above the heat source adjustable? Will cleanup be easy? These are things that you should be looking for - if you are buying online without physically inspecting either one I'd go with the Weber. But if you are going to the store and the other one seems to match up I'd save the $40.
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#13
06-12-2007, 05:22 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
[ QUOTE ]
Was thinking of getting a charcoal grill and saw these two at Sears: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=07113400000 http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=07116242000 The first one is a $80 Weber. The second is a $40 Companion (the Sears house brand). Any opinions on either? [/ QUOTE ] I have the Weber and love it, you can easily adjust the air vents and if you take care of it it will last forever. Be sure to get yourself a charcoal chimney if you don't have one as well. Last night I got two Rib-eye steak's from the butcher. A Cayenne pepper, Chilli powder, salt and fresh ground pepper rub. Cooked it over a mesquite fire for about 5 minutes on each side, just between medium and medium rare. Outstanding. Perfect spicyness. A little kick, a little sweat, but nothing that makes you reach for a drink.
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#14
06-12-2007, 07:23 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
I like the following marinade for chicken:
equal parts: soy sauce lemon juice vinegar vegetable oil Marinate the chicken (I prefer thighs) for a few hours and then grill. This is good with grilled asparagus (just add a little butter / salt / pepper) and your favorite pasta with pesto. It's a pretty simple meal, but impressive enough that you can cook it as a date meal. Also I think it's pretty healthy and it's definitely delicious.
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#15
06-13-2007, 03:06 AM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
Cooking has been a hobby for me for a few years now. Putting on Food Network on when doing something else to gather up more ideas was always helpful. And I would suggest you go to the library and get Bobby Flay's grilling cookbooks. Like with poker, talking to people who also enjoy cooking, and are good at it, is invaluable.
When desiring healthy meat recipes in general, it would serve you best to learn a lot about marinades, becoming familiar with ingredients used in marinades. Once your marinade ingredient vocabulary is large enough it is very difficult to run out of ideas, because you can experiment very easily without going wrong. Even playing with the same 3-4 ingredients in one marinade works to keep things interesting, making one ingredient more potent, decreasing another, etc. You can also take a spice rub direction too, or combine both. If you have no space for a grill, become familiar with broiling meat in the oven, you can get some very nice results doing this. Edit: For what it's worth, a charcoal grill for an apartment balcony for /everyday/ cooking is not worth the hassle. It's too messy and time consuming. I did have one when I last lived in an apartment, but it was used only once a week at most. You also have to be concerned about neighbors being bothered by the smoke if you're not on the top floor (I was). And neighbors/landlords concerned about it being a fire hazard. A small propane camping grill/stove might be more practical for your situation, and you could use it more often.
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#16
06-13-2007, 11:43 AM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
Get some steak and poultry buttons
http://www.bbqtoolsdepot.com/thermometers.asp If you don't lose it, you only need one of each. For steak, let's say you are cooking steaks for 3 and desired donenesses are med rare, med, and med well. Put the button in the steak that is to be med well. When it reads med rare, take a steak off and it should be med rare. When it reads med, take the second steak off and it should be med. When it reads med well, then obviously that steak is done.
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#17
06-13-2007, 12:56 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
[ QUOTE ]
Get some steak and poultry buttons http://www.bbqtoolsdepot.com/thermometers.asp If you don't lose it, you only need one of each. For steak, let's say you are cooking steaks for 3 and desired donenesses are med rare, med, and med well. Put the button in the steak that is to be med well. When it reads med rare, take a steak off and it should be med rare. When it reads med, take the second steak off and it should be med. When it reads med well, then obviously that steak is done. [/ QUOTE ] quick chef trick: touch your thumb to your index finger, feel the pad of your hand under your thumb, that is what rare meat feels like, touch your middle finger, thats what medium/med rare is, touch your ring finger, thats what well-done should feel like.
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#18
06-13-2007, 02:36 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Get some steak and poultry buttons http://www.bbqtoolsdepot.com/thermometers.asp [/ QUOTE ] quick chef trick: touch your thumb to your index finger, feel the pad of your hand under your thumb, that is what rare meat feels like, touch your middle finger, thats what medium/med rare is, touch your ring finger, thats what well-done should feel like. [/ QUOTE ] Difficult to believe that can work for all thicknesses of meat. By the way, just saw those buttons in my local grocery store for 2.99.
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#19
06-13-2007, 02:45 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Get some steak and poultry buttons http://www.bbqtoolsdepot.com/thermometers.asp [/ QUOTE ] quick chef trick: touch your thumb to your index finger, feel the pad of your hand under your thumb, that is what rare meat feels like, touch your middle finger, thats what medium/med rare is, touch your ring finger, thats what well-done should feel like. [/ QUOTE ] Difficult to believe that can work for all thicknesses of meat. By the way, just saw those buttons in my local grocery store for 2.99. [/ QUOTE ] it will work for any cut of chicken, most cuts of steak etc. those buttons arent really the best thing in the world, they let a lot of moisture leak out, from everything that Ive been told.
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#20
06-13-2007, 03:01 PM
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Re: Summer Grilling Thread
[ QUOTE ]
those buttons arent really the best thing in the world, they let a lot of moisture leak out, from everything that Ive been told. [/ QUOTE ] Come on, it's like putting a small nail in the side of a steak, it doesn't leak unless you pull it out, and even then it's not going to let a "lot of moisture" out. They work well. In any case, you need one for a whole grill full of steaks. Use it on your own and your guest's go untouched if you like. Or, use it to calibrate the timing for different doneness until you can do it without it. But frankly, I don't think they cause any problem anyway.
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