Suggestions for small volume, weekday grilling


 
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Shantanu Sharma

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Folks

I need some tips on grilling small amount of food. I want to use the Weber Performer on a regular basis but rarely have to grill more than a 4 chicken thighs or drumsticks or a whole fish. I'm new to grilling and so far I've followed directions and lit up 50 briquettes for a 22" grill and done my small volume grilling. I have had a hard time controlling the temperature and have learnt that burnt meat isn't the same as grilled meat. Should I light fewer briquettes? How do I bring down the temperature from the initial 550+ to say 400 in a relatively short amount of time.

I could of course grill more and have left over but I guess I want to "optimize" the process to the right amount of briquettes and time.

I'd appreciate any and every suggestions from the gurus on this forum.
 
Dont be obsessed w/ the thermo temp on the lid. You will learn how much coal to use overtime. You can have different "zone" fires by how the coals are arranged/stacked. I really reccommend watching some of Jamie Purviance videos. You can go the the weber site and find them through there. I think its "weber nation" or something. But they are very informitive. I would also pick up Webers book, the art of cooking with live fire (I think thats the title) Dont get discouraged, practice...read on this forum. But again...Id watch the videos on webers site...very good
 
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You don't, but I am not sure why you would want to. I cook small amounts on a 22" all the time. If I really want lower heat I simply use less lit to start. But for something like chicken thighs (and numerous other items) I don't want low heat. I'm quite pleased with temps over 500?.

The key here is not to cook directly over the heat - not at the outset anyway, and maybe not at all, depending on what you are cooking. I do thighs, often just 4, occasionally 6, or a couple game hens, or a single pork tenderloin - whatever - at over 500? most of the time. I might go direct on the thighs after they have nearly finished cooking indirectly; game hens, pork tenderloin I almost never go direct at all.

So, your choice. Start with maybe half the amount of lit you have been using and cook (direct or indirect) at a lower temp, or go with the same amount and cook at a higher temp, cooking the food indirect for most of the time, going direct, if desired, to finish.
 
Thanks Kevin. Any suggestions for a grilling a whole fish? I usually make whole, firm fish like butter fish or grouper.

Gary: I guess being an engineer makes me want to be all precise and stuff. Hence the obsession with the thermometer and exact temps
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. I will definitely follow your advise. Thanks.
 
There is no reason to worry about those temps. I think your problem with burning the food is all technique. Your probably cooking it too long over direct heat. Learn to build a 2-zone fire and cook indirect. And worry more about the internal temp of the food rather than the temp of the grill. The videos on weber nation are the perfect start, great suggestion.
 
what i was refering to and worded it badly is that the amount of food seemed kinda small to be messing with the 22. sure it can be done. i used to do small amounts on my kettle all the time before i got my sj's. but i find the sj much better at it now and don;t bother with the kettle for small quick cooks.
 
I wish I could get 550* using just 50 briquettes in my 22 kettle. I get up to maybe 425-450. At any rate, the posters are right about using the side opposite the coals. You'll have much more control and can always go direct at the end to crisp if you want to
 
Shantanu,

This is the second summer for me grilling over charcoal. I had been a lifelong gasser and decided to make the jump after getting a few grilling cookbooks as a gift. All the recipes seemed to be geared toward using charcoal. A OTG is relatively cheap so I decided to give it a try. Now my gas grill is were my tongs, wireless thermometer and timers rest while cooking on the OTG and WSM. I literally never use it for cooking.

The hardest part for me was learning temperature control especially for small meals (it's just my wife, my 3 year old and me). This site took years off the learning curve and now it's kind of second nature. Read as many posts as you can here, follow the suggestions, cook, cook, cook and it will click.

As others have said zoned fires are the key and a full chimney (which is ~50 briquettes I think) is rarely needed. Here are links, with pics for two cooks I did this week. Both indirect, both small meals and both using less than a full chimney.

http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/fo...80069052/m/928102512

http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/fo...80069052/m/343100412

Keep at it. Successful cooks will give you confidence...Unsuccessful cooks will give you knowledge
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Edited: Looking back I think I used a full chimney on the kebabs and I did cook the fajitas direct but you get the picture
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If your looking for some more heat...use some lump. when I do steaks, I will often dump some briquettes from the chimey, spread them out a bit and throw some unlit lump on top. Leave the lid off while the lump gets glowing...throw your steaks or whatever on...good to go.
 
I use my performer for relatively small amounts of food as well (I use the Smokey Joe when I'm cooking only for me).

I will pretty much always use a chimney of lit, and the temps will shoot up past 500 degrees pretty quickly. If I want to get a lower temp - and like Kevin, most of the time I don't - then I shut all the vents and drink a beer. After a spell the temps will start to drop and I'll open the top vent and then open the bottom vents by half or so when the temps get just about where I want.

Once the vents are opened a little bit, the temp will stabilize pretty close to where I want it.

I like to use more charcoal than I need then use the vents to bring the temp down and hold it so I don't have a problem with the coals burning out before I finish cooking everything I have to put on the grill.

It takes some practice and experimentation, but that's all part of the fun!

Pat
 
What I finally did after burning everything from a to z was to lay out unlit charcoal on the charcoal grate to see how many it took to evenly cover the bottom. The answer to that question was 60 pieces or about 3/4 of a Weber chimney. It's perfect for hotdogs & burgers but would need tweeking for other foods.
 
if I am "cooking" light I use the charcoal tray {one of the two that sit on the sides to leave the center as indirect} and fill it then dump that into a chimney { almost any OTHER chimney is smaller than the Weber} and fire it off.

If I am doing direct I dump in in the center between the two bins, or in a bin and slide it toward the center.

As for food, you might just throw on some corn on the cob and fire up the hole grill
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I also have a mini Weber type of gas grill, small and I will be using that to do some fast cooking like a hot dog for lunch and grilling peppers to remove the skin. I guess that is why they make more than one type of grill
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Some (grilled) food for thought....

I try to plan out my meals for the week. If I'm grilling a weekend meal for my wife and I, I'll buy and grill extra. For example, I grilled brats a while back, we ate 2 each that night, but I grilled 8 for use during the week for lunches. If I make chicken or turkey breasts on the grill, I'll grill extra to cut up and put in salads later in the week. When I grill steaks, I always grill an extra for steak and eggs or maybe for tacos later in the week.

There you go!
 
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