Topic: Charcoal Grilling/Smokeing

[bigdl]

So based off of a tip from a fellow member I bought,

https://www.lowes.ca/charcoal-bbqs-grills/kingsford-22-63-in-kettle-charcoal-grill_12533255.html?af=3632&cse=3632&gclid=COvLkNzUmMgCFUVhfgodpGcMWg&gclsrc=aw.ds

cheap and it lets me dip my toes into charcoal without that much of an investment.  If I really enjoy it a lot I can easily pick up a larger high quality one instead of a gas grill post wedding.


What do you guys like to cook on your charcoal grill, I know its pretty much end of the season but it was hard to pass up the grill for $50.

[Rich]

I know its pretty much end of the season

Grilling season NEVER ends.

Get one of these if you get the chance.  Why bother running in and out of the house when you have technology?

[Claw]

After doing a couple of briskets on my propane grill, I bought a Weber 18.5" Smokey Mountain off Kijiji a few months ago.  I did a 10 hr smoke of a ~5 lb pork shoulder butt yesterday, ended up with some frickin' amazerling pulled pork.

You'll want to get some sort of instant-read thermometer.  I have a Thermapen.  I also have a couple of their Dots for monitoring air temp inside the smoker and a ChefAlarm stuck in whatever I'm cooking at the time.

I just ordered a PitMaster IQ120 electronic thermal regulator, because running out to adjust vents is a royal PITA. 

AmazingRibs.com is a great resource...  so is another member here, he's helped with lots of tips and encouragement.

I might have to pick up an ice fishing tent if I intend to smoke all winter.  Ha.

Kingsford charcoal is on sale at Walmart right now, pick up a few dozen bags if you have space to store it. 

Have fun!

[SpdDmn]

Grilling season NEVER ends.

Get one of these if you get the chance.  Why bother running in and out of the house when you have technology?

This is the exact thermometer we have! When we've smoked overnight, that thing is as needy as I'm lead to believe a newborn baby is... ugh alarms!

We've got the Broil King Keg, since June this year.

So far have had awesome success with pork side ribs (3-2-1 with smoke, foil wrapped+ juice, final smoke with bbq sauce), a huge brisket, and a pork shoulder. The brisket didn't "crack" to become perfect shredded texture, but it was the most moist phenomenal texture pork evar. So it wasn't a total loss!

It's tough to keep it at a low enough temp without it going out. We're refining our vent open/closing techniques, charcoal placement and amount, etc. Once we're better, it'll be lower temp smokes for fish (salmon!) and hard cheeses, and jerky. Mmmm...

Pretty pumped to keep having amazing smoked meat all winter!

[Rich]

I picked up a couple bags of kingsford at home depot for 8.98 last week.  Give them a look see

[10secdream]

Last fall I won a Traeger Wood Pellet grill at a raffle and it makes the best cooked meat.

If I knew what I was getting into I would have bought one years ago.

Here is a link to the one that I won. Its massive. I plan to cook the turkey on it this year.

http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BBQ075.04#.VgloDnpVhBc

[bigdl]

what do you use for fuel?  just the basic not easy start charcoal? I just bought a cheap bag of lump charcoal when i picked it up last night.,

[10secdream]

Mine isn't a charcoal grill but I figured I would contribute to the thread because we are talking about smoking. My grill uses flavored wood pellets that are auger fed and the grill/smoker is temperature controlled automatically.

[Hound]

what do you use for fuel?  just the basic not easy start charcoal? I just bought a cheap bag of lump charcoal when i picked it up last night.,

I've tried lump charcoal and I am not a fan.  I'd much rather use charcoal briquettes. 

[bigdl]

did some more chicken drumsticks, started a bit high at 300 but got it to drop down to 225-250, tasty results so far and I am in love. 

I also picked up one of these, it made life much easier not too bad for $13

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/outdoor-living/bbqs-smokers-accessories/bbq-accessories-toolkits/bbq-tools-cooking-accessories/cuisinart-wing-rack-0851707p.html?utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=SearchVoice&utm_source=RatingsAndReviews&utm_content=Default

[Hound]

did some more chicken drumsticks, started a bit high at 300 but got it to drop down to 225-250, tasty results so far and I am in love. 

FWIW, low cooking temperature means rubbery chicken skin.  I prefer mine to be crispy so I tend to cook them at a higher temperature (300+).

[Rexy11]

+1 on the chicken skin. I've smoked as low as 250 without the skin being rubbery, but 275-300 is prime to make it crispy and delicious. Low 'n' slow doesn't work so much for chicken, unless you can crisp up the skin before/after the smoke. It's fun to play around with, and I've never ruined chicken messing around with the processes!

[Rich]

Skin crisps up nicely for me when I finish off the chicken directly over the coals for a couple of minutes.

[cha0tik]

Last fall I won a Traeger Wood Pellet grill at a raffle and it makes the best cooked meat.

If I knew what I was getting into I would have bought one years ago.

Here is a link to the one that I won. Its massive. I plan to cook the turkey on it this year.

http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BBQ075.04#.VgloDnpVhBc

You sparked my interest in one of these. Do you use it in the winter at all? If so, how are you finding it?

[Hound]

You sparked my interest in one of these. Do you use it in the winter at all? If so, how are you finding it?

Both my brother and brother inlaw have one and they use them over winter with no issues.

Costco sells them if you're looking to buy.

[bigdl]

I finish the chicken over the hot coals for yummy skin.  Also with drum sticks being hard to screw up and so cheap I been playing around.  I am doing another batch tonight.

[Rexy11]

I finish the chicken over the hot coals for yummy skin.  Also with drum sticks being hard to screw up and so cheap I been playing around.  I am doing another batch tonight.

They're a blast to mess around with - a couple weeks ago, I did a chipotle dry rub and suicide hot sauce with 4 habaneros in it, with maple smoke. The flavor was very complex, and the heat was a bit much for some of my friends. Gotta love when everyone gets the hiccups a couple bites in!

It's difficult to get the perfect skin in an electric smoker, so I usually just throw them on the grill for a couple minutes at the end. But this way, if you want them saucy too, you better save some for when they're served!

[RedndWhite]

They're a blast to mess around with - a couple weeks ago, I did a chipotle dry rub and suicide hot sauce with 4 habaneros in it, with maple smoke. The flavor was very complex, and the heat was a bit much for some of my friends. Gotta love when everyone gets the hiccups a couple bites in!

It's difficult to get the perfect skin in an electric smoker, so I usually just throw them on the grill for a couple minutes at the end. But this way, if you want them saucy too, you better save some for when they're served!

That excessively hot maple smoke sounds intriguing, and relatively simple to make... I'll have to give it a go.

[Rexy11]

That excessively hot maple smoke sounds intriguing, and relatively simple to make... I'll have to give it a go.

Very simple! Here are a couple guidelines to go off of, but feel free to make it your own. As stated before, it's difficult to ruin them.

Here's a sort of hot sauce base recipe that I use:
http://www.food.com/recipe/suicide-chicken-wings-279367

I blend additional peppers and cook it into the sauce, but if you don't like insanely spicy stuff, I'd recommend one or none of the habaneros to add. 4 was on the high side for me, and I enjoy some pretty spicy stuff.

Here's a decent cooking procedure, as well, but with charcoal, feel free to crank it up to 275-300 and cook for about half an hour shorter:
http://www.goodtimeboysradio.com/bradley-smoked-chicken-wings-scrumptious/

I use a yellow mustard/tobasco mixture to make the dry rub stick, but using oil may help with skin crispiness. Something I still have to play around with, but I love using mustard too much - it really adds to the flavor!

[JimmEh]

I want to get into a big green egg or primo ceramic. For now I just have a little smoker box that fits on the side burner of my bbq and it works fine if you don't try to put too much in ti.

[bigdl]

So Rich, after 3 attempts now I think I got some basics figured out on our grill.  This is using the standard kingsford stuff.

after initial burn using a 2x2 snake I can hold about 220-230 when it is just the snake lit, this was this afternoon when weather was in the 20's.  I am thinking for our grill 2 on the bottom row and 3 on the top might work well and gives you some extra lee way if its a bit colder out.  When the initial coals were lit and some of the snake was lit as well, it was steady near 240 peaking at 260.   I will probably try to do a pork shoulder in 2 weeks or so, hopefully the weather stays nice.

[cha0tik]

Both my brother and brother inlaw have one and they use them over winter with no issues.

Costco sells them if you're looking to buy.

Awesome, thanks. Gonna check these out next time I'm in Edmonton.

[bigdl]

Have any of you bought meat from Fat Kee in Lamda supermarket?  My future MIL likes shopping there as the prices are good but how about their quality?

[Canuckrz]

[Claw]

Have any of you bought meat from Fat Kee in Lamda supermarket?  My future MIL likes shopping there as the prices are good but how about their quality?

No.. but I checked out full uncut beef Tenderloin recently...

Costco AAA: >$100 per
T&T Non-Graded:  $55 per

I just made a centre cut tenderloin with a Costco piece and it came out super delicious.  Probably a reason the Chinese meat markets are cheaper.