How accurate is the lid thermometer in the One touch premium? And other newbie Q's!


 

Dave Stevens

TVWBB Member
I'll be doing my first cook on my new 57cm kettle and I'm wondering about using the lid thermometer as a guide to know when I'm at the right temp. Is it usable? I've also got a cheap oven thermometer to pop on the grate. My thermapen hasn't arrived yet. Expensive hobby this bbq lark isn't it!

I'm going to start easy with a few jerk chicken quarters. How long would you cook quarters on indirect and at what temp?

And I might add a few sausages towards the end then grill some prawns and scallops for the wife. Will I need to add fresh charcoal to get to temp high enough for direct grilling once the chicken is done?

Cheers

Dave
 
That's the beauty of indirect grilling. One side is very hot (more than enough to do the prawns and scallops) and the other side is cooler for the chicken. Case in point:

IR_0204_zps4172d874.jpg


This is my 18.5 OTG set up for indirect grilling (infrared). You can see the distinct difference is sides.

I wouldn't get too concerned about exact grilling temperature. It's the meat temperature that's important.


Russ
 
I have a WSM but mostly use my 22.5" OTG for chicken parts. I place two firebricks across the bottom and dump one chimney full behind the bricks. I cook the parts indirect and start saucing the parts after 35 minutes. I sauce every five minutes for a maximum of three times (each time closing the lid to let the sauce set. I'm building layers of flavor. At the end, when I have judged the parts are done, I then put them over direct for about a minute a side to get just a bit of char and to crisp the skin (I essentially do wings the same way). I have lots of charcoal left (I use Kingsford Original) and could do another meal over direct if need be. Normally, the chicken parts are finished somewhat less than an hour. I watch carefully so as not to overcook.

I might mention that I always brine chicken whether in parts or 1/4, or 1/2 chickens. As a matter if interest, I have been doing chicken halves (including Cornish Game Hens) on my WSM with no pan and at about 350 degrees. If I didn't have a WSM, the Performer or OTG is perfectly suited to this task, also. I have a Maverick Thermometer and on the OTG I run a grate temperature of 300 degrees when doing indirect.

Dale53
 
For what it's worth, the temp guage on the lids of both my Performer and 26.75 register hotter than the grate level actually is, as much as 50 degrees. So, being one to normally smoke at around 250 degrees, if the lid guages read about 300 degrees, I am right in the ballpark.
 

 

Back
Top