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Charcoal Noob from Ontario, Canada


 
R

REldridge

New member
Hello all,

My name is Ryan, and I'm a noobie to charcoal grilling. I turned 35 yesterday, and I treated myself to a 22.5" OTS (clearance sale at Walmart FTW!). I've been a big propane 'griller' for years with my trust Broil King, but I haven't touched charcoal since I was probably about 5 years old (ok, I watched my dad swear at his old hibachi before he went to propane). I'll be assembling it this weekend, and doing my first cook this Thanksgiving Monday (Canadian, eh?).

Is there any seasoning that needs to take place on an OTS first? I know that I'll need to 'burn it off' first before adding any meat. Is there anything else I should do?

I live close to the NY border (south of Ottawa, near the St. Lawrence), so I'll hopefully be hitting up Lowe's for some accessories soon (cover, chimney, hinged grate, lighter cubes...). The bulk of my cooks will be ribs, chicken, burgers and the odd pulled pork thrown in. Is there anything else I should look for?

TIA for any tips or tricks you can offer on breaking it in. I've been lurking around here for awhile, and trying to absorb what I can!

Ryan
 
REldridge said:
Hello all,

I've been a big propane 'griller' for years with my trust Broil King, but I haven't touched charcoal since I was probably about 5 years old (ok, I watched my dad swear at his old hibachi before he went to propane).


Ryan
Click to expand...

welcome to the forum Ryan. You'll be a good addition with that sense of humor! I felt the same way about charcoal til I discovered this forum. Now I'd much rather cook on charcoal(although , I haven't junked my gas grill)
i think you've got a good grill in that OTS and you shouldn't need much more than the chimney to get started.
theres aaaaaaall kinds of gadgets and doodads that you can get to enhance your bbq experience , but let me highly recommend the thermapen instant read thermometer. Best money I've spent since I bought my weber smoker.
good luck with your charcoal adventures and happy thanksgiving. ( Canadian , eh?)
 
Welcome aboard Ryan! The only thing you really need to do with that OTS is wash the grates
with soap and water then start cooking. It will season itself the more you use it. That is all I
have ever done without any problems.
 
G'day from the valley Ryan. You may want to get yourself a couple firebricks for doing an indirect set up, you can get them at Rona. Great to have another Ottawa lad around here.
 
Ryan,

I agree with others about the Thermapen.

Here's my generic cooking method for everything.

Bank the charcoal to one side or use the charcoal baskets if you have them. Just be sure to keep the lid closed while cooking. Once the coals are ashed over, put the food off to the side of the fire, close the lid and flip the food about every 15 minutes until the food is up to temp.

You won't get as much much browning cooking indirect, but you'll probably get more than you'd expect. When I'm using the baskets, I usually don't ever put the food directly over the fire. If I bank the charcoals to one side, I usually put the meat over the fire *with the lid closed* for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Then, I move the food off to the side and flip the food every 10 to 15 minutes until cooked.

There a number of ways to light the charcoal. Do you have a chimney starter? I tried the Weber wax starter cubes for the first time the other day (a tip that I picked up here) and am now a believer.
 
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