Complete Weber Newb Questions


 
B

BKBurkhead

New member
Hi all,

If there is an faq for basic questions, feel free to point me to it...didn't see one.

Used charcoal grill for the first time yesterday with mixed results....chicken didn't cook all the way through.

1. Stupid newb question #1-used pre-soaked charcoal and waited until the fire went down a bit before putting the chicken on. Based on what I had read elsewhere online put the lid on, turned once, put lid back on, and then closed until cooking time elapsed. Any thoughts?

2. Stupid newb question #2 - is there a preferred charcoal for use with the weber?

Thanks, all responses appreciated.

bkburkhead
 
First rule of grilling is to forget the clock. Cook until the food is done, not until an amount of time has elapsed. In my opinion, this is more true for chicken than anything else. A good number of us here use an instant read thermometer called a Thermapen.

If by "pre-soaked" charcoal you mean something like Kingsford's "MatchLight"....don't use that. It is expensive to buy, burns inefficiently and can leave a nasty after-taste. Don't use lighter fluid, either. Get a chimney and a wad of newspaper and your fire will be ready faster without any petrochemicals or gunpowder.

A good number of frequent posters on here, myself excluded, favor original Kingsford blue bag briquettes. Nothing wrong with them, particularly when you're getting your feet on the ground. I personally prefer lump charcoal, but I would suggest you stick to Kingsford briquettes until you feel confident enough in your skills to experiment a little.

Don't let early failures get you down. We've all been there.
 
I agree with Jeff. For now, stick with KBB until you are getting things right. Always use a chimney for lighting. Just use a sheet of newspaper with a little cooking oil on it. Again, no petroleum taste. Check out www.thermoworks.com and look at the Thermapen or the Thermopop. Temp is the only way to ensure safe chicken. Even my wife has started to use them. Give yourself some time and you will learn to love that kettle.
 
Agreed on using a chimney instead of self-lighting or fluid and using a thermometer, but to answer your immediate question -- your coals aren't ready for cooking until they've all started to turn light gray.

It sounds like maybe your coals were still not ready when you started cooking, so your fire probably wasn't hot enough.

Keep at it!
 
Hey - welcome aboard and congrats on your decision to buy a Weber grill. Your questions are not stupid at all. Grilling is a great hobby that is as much art as it is science. Art being part of the equation means that there are many interpretations about how to achieve results. This forum is a great place to learn the basics and get ideas on how to expand your art. The main thing is to experiment and learn as you go. Every cook is an opportunity to learn. Before long you will be dispensing advice on here with everyone else. Just keep cooking and don't get too discouraged when things don't go as you'd hoped.

I too use a charcoal chimney to light my coals. It takes a little longer but the results are much better (and healthier) than using charcoal lighting fluid. In a Weber grill, you control the temperature of the grill with airflow (by adjusting the bottom and top vents to increase or decrease the temperature inside the grill - vents open wider = higher temp). Mastering this ability is critical to success in a wide range of cooking styles - get to know your grill and learn how to fluctuate your temperature. Setting up your grill for cooking is also important depending upon what you intend to cook. Many dishes (like chicken) use two cooking zones - a direct zone where you cook right over the coals (which acts like your broiler) and an indirect zone where you cook with no coals under the meat (like your oven). To set up for a two zone grilling session, you would light your chimney full of coals and when they are ready, dump them out and spread them evenly over 1/2 of the grill grate leaving the other half with no coals.

Chicken is actually one of the harder things for beginners to successfully cook. It can be finicky and is not safe to eat if undercooked. My preferred technique is to cook the seasoned (but un-sauced) pieces of chicken over direct coals turning frequently for about 5-8 minutes. This allows the bird to take on some color and render some fat. Care should be taken not to burn the chicken at this stage. Once the pieces have taken on some color, I move them to the indirect side of the grill and cover. Chicken requires a fairly high heat approach (IMO - others will disagree - that whole art thing I talked about above). High heat makes the skin crispy (which is a characteristic desired by my family). To achieve this kind of heat in my grill I run with the bottom vents open about 40% and the top vent wide open. I turn the bird a couple of times and cook to an internal temperature (IT) of about 150 to 155 (more great advice above about getting a thermo of some sort). Once this temperature is reached, I begin saucing (if I am going to) and turning every five minutes or so until the bird reaches an IT of 170. At this point the bird can be pulled for resting and service or you can put it back on the direct side to set the sauce a bit (this step is dangerous because the sauce can burn very quickly so pay attention if you do this).

There are many other techniques for chicken and you will find variations of all of them in these forums. Just keep grilling and learning and before you know it, you will be the expert! Hope this helps!

Good luck!

Regards,

John
 
I use a chimney, but I have never experienced any off flavor from using lighter fluid, and that's all I used for over 15 years. I like the chimney, but flavor really has nothing to do with it. In fact, I sometimes miss the smell of the lighter fluid.

As others have mentioned, let the charcoal ash over before you put your food on. And, do yourself a favor and buy that Thermapen. It's expensive. But, they are worth the money. It made more difference in how my food came out than anything else I can think of. I no longer cook "just a little longer to be on the safe side". Regardless of what meat I'm cooking, I know when it's done and it comes off. Thermoworks also makes a Chef Alarm. It's probe that stays in the food while it is cooking. It is also less expensive and can be used to keep an eye on things being heated in a sauce pan (like a custard or grease for frying). Maverick makes one that has 2 probes, one for the pit temp and one for the food. It use RF to remote display the temps.

Finally, when I cook chicken, most of the time I use the charcoal trays that come with some model Webers and cook in the center between them. If you don't have those, you can just push the coals over to the side. I still do it that way sometimes, too. I usually do not put my chicken over the flame. I flip it every 15 minutes. And, depending upon the size of the pieces and how hot my fire is, it takes me anywhere from about 40 to 90 min. I normally start checking the temp at about 30 - 45 min, depending upon how it's looking. If I get impatient, sometimes I will start rotating some pieces between indirect and directly over the fire to put a little more char or speed it up. But, I get good results without ever putting chicken over the flame. When the white meat reaches 165, it's done. If you have a reliable thermometer, you don't have to guess. Anything over 165 and you are just drying it out. I will let dark meat go a little longer because it's harder to dry out. Sometimes on accident, I'll let it go as high as 180-190 and it's still juicy.
 
I might also add that you need to keep the lid on as much as possible for 2 reasons. One, the extra air flow will cause the charcoal to flame up which can really be a problem if your food is actually over the coals at the time. The other reason is that you need to keep that heat in, especially when not cooking directly over the coals. Either way, your results will be better if you keep the lid closed after the food goes on.

I suggest trying to cook everything indirect first, then gradually experiment with moving the food to direct heat later in the cook for extra browning. Remember, keep the lid closed as much as possible though. With the lid closed, you'll be surprised how much browning you'll get cooking indirect. Just flip the food every so often to promote even browning.

When I'm using my kettles, I never worry about pit temperature. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, I'm just saying that I get results that satisfy my family without worrying about it. But, since I'm usually cooking indirectly, the only thing that pit temp really affects on my cooks is overall cook time. So, I would say, start simple. Keep it fun. And, don't start adding variables like pit temp until you get comfortable.
 
Welocme!
I was in your shoes not long ago.
First, the Weber Rapidfire chimney starter (larger size) is $15 very well spent. The cheaper ones do not hold up or work as well. You can get the Weber starter cubes or use a paper towel with cooking oil. It doesn't take much to get the charcoal going once it is in the chimney. Ditch the Match Light and get some regular Kingsford or Royal Oak. I've found that most of the store brands are made by Royal Oak.
Second, if you are poor like me, you may want to consider the Thermowand instead of the Thermapen. They are $25 at Amazon and work great. It makes cooking much easier and safer.
Third, get ALL of the charcoal at least a little grey before you dump it in to cook.
Fourth, close the vents completely after the cook and re-use that charcoal for next time.

For chicken breast, I like to sear it over the pile of coals on each side and then move it to the side to cook indirectly until the center hits 160-165. Leave the lid on as much as possible and adjust the temp down using the vents after searing. Lately, I've been rubbing them with "Poultry Seasoning" and cilantro, letting them sit in the fridge overnight, then when they are almost cooked I put a slice of provolone cheese on each one with some salsa on top. Delicious and healthy (okay, you can skip the cheese if you are on a diet).
 
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