Bar B Experts: Tips for a Memorable BBQ

[wolram]

Next week we are going to have a bar b and i want to make it a bar b to remember, so come on you lot cough up your secrets, i know Ivan is an
ace bar b man, i only have a standard charcoal bar b, can i do smoked meat on it? and what about relishes, i like hot and spicy, kia likes mayonaisey stuff
What meat should i buy? and kebabs what makes a good one?

 

[brewnog]

With a proper charcoal bar b the golden rule is not to start cooking until the coals have all turned white, then you get the real searing heat and the proper bar b flavour. Don't cook on flames cook on embers.

Here's my recipe for bbq kebabs:

Cut some chicken breast or lamb steaks into inch cubes. Rub salt and lemon juice into the meat, and leave it while you do the next bit. Mix a couple of tablespoons of greek yoghurt with: a teaspoon of each of chilli powder, ground cumin, ground corriander, and turmeric. Put in a pinch of ginger if you want them hot, and a little sprinkling of black pepper. Blitz all this up with 2 garlic cloves and some olive oil (don't use sunflower oil). Then, once the meat has been sat for 30 mins or so, liberally coat it with the spice paste, and leave it for as long as possible, preferably overnight, in the fridge.

Then 30 mins before food time, put the meat on some skewers spaced with red onions and green peppers. Give them a good cooking, and serve them in pitta bread with mint yoghurt, mango chutney, lettuce and cucumber. GORGEOUS!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm only an ace at one thing on the BB: Rib-eye steaks.

Note that the experts say the propane doesn't get hot enough to properly cook a steak. Slow heating dries the steak and makes it tough.

Add real wood to cover about 25% of the coal bed - prefferably oak - in addition to the coals that you would normally use. You have to be very careful using real wood. It gets so hot that I have ignited the paint on the outsider of the BBQ, which resulted in ten foot flames. It will also make charcoal out of steak in about a minute if things get away from you. It is important that you can cut the oxygen supply as needed when closing the cover. This is the only way to prevent a complete run-away fire.

When the charcoal is ready, make sure that the wood is burning well before putting on the steaks. The key is to have as much heat as possible. If the wood is not burning it will steal heat as well as not producing any.

Sear the first side for about 1 minute, rotate the steaks 45 degrees, then close the lid to smoke and reduce the heat. Open the lid just before the steak is ready to turn, which will be in about one to two minutes. This allows the fire to rebuild and provides the heat needed to sear the other side of the steak.

Note also that I find I must constantly rearrange the steaks to ensure even heating. No matter how hard I try, it seems that there are always cool spots.

Turn only once and never over-cook.

Garlic salt and lemon pepper to taste

Cook as close to the coals as possible. I manage to get mine to within about an inch of the coals; less on a good day.

The rest is pretty much practice - not destroying the dinner with so much heat. I have cooked large, one-inch [~ 1.2 Lbs with bone] steaks to medium, in less than five minutes before.

btw, Integral grills an excellent tri-tip roast. I came home from their place in pain last night. The food was all just too good to stop eating!

 

[mattmns]

Am I the only one who thought "Bar b" was "barbie" ? Reading that first post thinking that way sure was interesting I guess you can put smoked meat on Barbie

 

[Lisa!]

Dear God! And I thought it was only me who suckes in understanding the point of a thread from the title!

Am I the only one who thought "Bar b" was "barbie" ? Reading that first post thinking that way sure was interesting I guess you can put smoked meat on Barbie

 

[Danger]

The main trick to a successful 'Q' is lots and lots of beer.

 

[wolram]

The main trick to a successful 'Q' is lots and lots of beer.

Ok, you are invited

 

[Integral]

Ivan and I have way different grills, mine is propane and simply does not get hot enough to cook a steak right, it does real good with thicker cuts which need a longer slower roast. I even threw on baked potatoes on with the roast this weekend, did some in foil and some bare. I was not sure what we would get, but surely it would be better then microwaved "baked" potatoes... It was... both the foil and the bare were perfect... Some times you get lucky!

Ivan cooking steaks is quite the scene, Smoke and flames are about all you see. Ivan comes out of the cloud surrounding the grill, looks at his watch and says.. we have 12 minutes... 12 minutes later he disappears back into the smoke, flames erupt and he comes out with a platter full of mouth watering good steaks... When are we doing that again Ivan? I have made myself hungry thinking about it!

 

[rcgldr]

Does your barbeque have a top that allows you to enclose the food you cook for a more smoked flavor (like a Weber type barbeque)?

Better yet, a true smoker has the coals in a chamber, and the heat / smoke travels horizontally into a second chamber where the food is cooked, but these are hard to find. Since I left Texas, the only time I've had smoked beef was at a company picnic where they had a large smoker.

EVO's from Texas, maybe she can offer some ideas, if she's not busy pruning her trees with that new lopper of hers.

 

[wolram]

Does your barbeque have a top that allows you to enclose the food you cook for a more smoked flavor (like a Weber type barbeque)?

Better yet, a true smoker has the coals in a chamber, and the heat / smoke travels horizontally into a second chamber where the food is cooked, but these are hard to find. Since I left Texas, the only time I've had smoked beef was at a company picnic where they had a large smoker.

EVO's from Texas, maybe she can offer some ideas, if she's not busy pruning her trees with that new lopper of hers.

Jeff, i have a spherical shaped one, the lid does close but there is no vent in it, the Evo lady is all ways up to some jiggery pokery, but for all that's wonderful do tell her about explosives

 

[Chi Meson]

Lots and lots of lighter fluid. Keep soakin it. Put a lot of alcohol around too. Keep drinkin. Drinkin and soakin. Throw all sorts of meat on when the flames are still orange. Sing a lot while doing this. keep drinkin. When the flames die down a little bit, say "Watch this" and squeeze the lighter fluid right into the middle of the blaze. People will be talking about this BBQ for years!

 

[wolram]

Lots and lots of lighter fluid. Keep soakin it. Put a lot of alcohol around too. Keep drinkin. Drinkin and soakin. Throw all sorts of meat on when the flames are still orange. Sing a lot while doing this. keep drinkin. When the flames die down a little bit, say "Watch this" and squeeze the lighter fluid right into the middle of the blaze. People will be talking about this BBQ for years!

It just goes to show you know nothing about bar b qing Chi me son
napalm is the best for a quick starting bar b

 

[Moonbear]

Ivan cooking steaks is quite the scene, Smoke and flames are about all you see. Ivan comes out of the cloud surrounding the grill, looks at his watch and says.. we have 12 minutes... 12 minutes later he disappears back into the smoke, flames erupt and he comes out with a platter full of mouth watering good steaks... When are we doing that again Ivan? I have made myself hungry thinking about it!

12 minutes?! They'd be way overcooked!

My propane grill gets hot enough to grill steaks, but then again, I don't fight the flare-ups as the fats drip down...I figure those help add to the flavor...and they probably help keep the heat higher. I still have the traditional charcoal grill too, but just don't usually have time to wait for it to get to the right temperature, so got a propane grill for more day-to-day use. I'll break out the charcoal grill for special events when I have time to get it started properly.

 

[wolram]

How about a potters kiln would that be hot enough?

 

[FredGarvin]

I always try to do what restaurants do...Sear the buhjeezus out of it (as hot as I can get it) and then finish it at a lower temp. Always have to wait and let the meat rest for 10 minutes after taking off the heat too. That's the tough part. If you let it rest, it will be juicier.

 

[Danger]

Ivan and I have way different grills, mine is propane and simply does not get hot enough to cook a steak right

What on Earth kind of propane do you get down there? I just bought a little on-sale Q a month or so back, and it hits 400 degrees F. within a few minutes. It would go a lot higher if I didn't turn it down at that point, but that's just right for a steak.

 

[wolram]

Does your barbeque have a top that allows you to enclose the food you cook for a more smoked flavor (like a Weber type barbeque)?

Better yet, a true smoker has the coals in a chamber, and the heat / smoke travels horizontally into a second chamber where the food is cooked, but these are hard to find. Since I left Texas, the only time I've had smoked beef was at a company picnic where they had a large smoker.

Jeff could i make one out of old oil drums or some such?

 

[Danger]

Sure. Cut a 50 gal. drum in half lengthwise, lay it down, and weld a perforated steel plate from one end to the other, vertically. Mount a shelf, grill, whatever on one side, and put your fuel in the other. Hinge the second half of the barrel to the first to make a lid. You can use it as a regular Q as well, by putting the fuel under the grill on the other side.

(PS: Clean the petrol or oil off before welding. )

 

[Lisa!]

(PS: Clean the petrol or oil off before welding. )

I misread it wedding!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

12 minutes?! They'd be way overcooked!

That's when I put on the wood, not the steaks.

My propane grill gets hot enough to grill steaks, but then again, I don't fight the flare-ups as the fats drip down...I figure those help add to the flavor...and they probably help keep the heat higher.

I think the real issue is the distance to the flame and the BTU output. The fire itself is more than hot enough. Charcoal burns at a little over 2000F, and propane at 3500F.

I've always meant to look into this, but something happens that tenderizes the meat when cooked so quickly. There is a distinct change that happens to the meat when cooked just right.

Monique once posted something about a noted place in The Netherlands that cooks their steaks at tremendously high temps. I'll try to dig that up.

 

[Danger]

I misread it wedding!

Freudian slip?

 

[larkspur]

The main trick to a successful 'Q' is lots and lots of beer.

I boil my pork ribs in beer before I grill them. It does take lots and lots of beer...

but I'm sure that's not what you meant...right?​

 

[Integral]

What on Earth kind of propane do you get down there? I just bought a little on-sale Q a month or so back, and it hits 400 degrees F. within a few minutes. It would go a lot higher if I didn't turn it down at that point, but that's just right for a steak.

I think it is an issue of the distance of the flame from the cooking surface and the distribution of the flame. I can only get the temp high enough with the lid closed and it takes awhile, but then it is more baking then grilling. It is my understanding that the difference between grilling and BBQ is the temperature and time of cooking. Mine seems to do better at lower temperature longer times, this would be a BBQ. Ivan grills his steak, very high heat and short cook times.

 

[larkspur]

I cook my steaks fast and my pulled pork or ribs very slowly in a charcoal smoker.

 

[Lisa!]

Freudian slip?

Anyway I forgot that you never talk about wedding and marriage!

 

[Danger]

I boil my pork ribs in beer before I grill them. It does take lots and lots of beer...

but I'm sure that's not what you meant...right?​

Not quite. At my place, I get boiled and the meat gets grilled.

Int, I never knew that anyone differentiated between Qing and grilling. We use the terms interchangeably up here.