Outdoor Grills and Smokers

What is the quickest way to Barbecue Chicken?

Chicken is one of the most versatile meats you can put on the grill or in the smoker. Easy to cook and capable of taking on almost any flavor, it also has the added attraction of being low fat and able to take most any seasoning.

When it comes to grilling most people either grill skinless breasts or parts. The problems people have are the breasts drying out or the parts catching fire. To keep skinless chicken from getting too dry try a marinade. First you need to decide what flavor of marinade to use. We prefer Lemon Pepper, Teriyaki or Carribean Jerk Marinades. Take your thawed skinless chicken, place in a zip-lock plastic bag, pour in the marinade of your choice. Seal and place in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours. Now you are ready to grill. When grilling this will trap in the moisture. Grill at a low temperature to reduce flare ups. If you want to baste with more marinade, use fresh, do not use the marinade that is left in the bag.

When people talk about barbecue chicken they are typically talking about grilled chicken with a good thick sauce. You can make great chicken easily with a hot grill and any sauce you prefer. First you cook the chicken in the microwave 5-7 minutes, reducing your grilling time, which would reduce the chance of burning the chicken on the grill. You will need to keep a close eye on the grill to avoid flare-ups, especially if you are using a sweet sauce that can cause burning. The biggest mistake people make is to add the barbecue sauce too early. Wait until the very end or you will get charred chicken, not very appetizing. Basting is the quickest way to barbecue chicken.

You can greatly extend the versatility of chicken with a smoker. Slow smoked chicken is a great meal that deserves greater attention than it gets in the barbecue world. Whether you want a whole tea smoked chicken, smoked chicken breasts or shredded barbecue chicken, smoking adds great flavor and in much less time than whole pork shoulders. Smoking chicken is a great way to learn the ins and outs of smoking and to improve you skill at a reasonable price.

The true versatility of chicken can only be expressed in the incredible multitude of recipes. Experiment with the different marinades or wood flavor for the smoker grill.

These listings are for outdoor cooking on a gas or charcoal grill. Make sure that chicken, hamburgers, and seafood are fully cooked before serving. Steaks can be cooked to any desired texture. Pork and lamb products should be cooked until the interior is pink.

MEAT & GRILLING TIMES for your Gas Grill or Charcoal Grill

BONELESS STEAK - Marinate if desired. Steak should be 1/2 - 1″ thick. Grill for 8 - 14 minutes for medium rare, 12 - 18 minutes for medium, turning once.

BONE-IN STEAK - Marinate if desired. Steak should be 1/2 - 1″ thick. Grill for 7 - 14 minutes for medium rare, 11 - 18 minutes for medium, turning once.

CHICKEN BREASTS - Boneless products cook more evenly. Chicken breasts can be cooked as is, or pounded thin for quicker cooking time. Grill until thoroughly done and juices run clear, about 8 - 12 minutes, turning once.

FISH FILLETS - Cook until fillets flake easily when tested with a fork. Grill for 4 - 6 minutes per 1/2″ of thickness, turning once.

FISH STEAKS - Tuna, salmon, halibut, swordfish steaks should be 1/2 - 1″ thick. Marinate before cooking if desired. Grill for 4 - 6 minutes for each 1/2″ thickness.

GROUND BEEF PATTIES - Patties should be 1/2 - 3/4″ thick. Grill until thoroughly cooked. Cook for 10 - 16 minutes, turning once.

HAM STEAK - Precooked ham steaks should be grilled until heated through, 6 - 10 minutes, turning once.

HOTDOGS AND SAUSAGES - For precooked products, cook until heated through, 4 - 6 minutes. For raw products, first precook in skillet until almost done, then finish cooking on grill 8 - 12 minutes until thoroughly cooked, turning frequently.

LAMB CHOPS - Chops can be bone-in or boneless, 1/2 - 1″ thick. Grill for 12 - 16 minutes, turning once.

PORK CHOPS - Chops can be bone-in or boneless, 1/2 - 3/4″ thick. Grill until only slightly pink in center, about 12 - 16 minutes.

PORK TENDERLOIN - Cut boneless tenderloin in half lengthwise. Cook for 12 - 18 minutes, turning several times.

SHRIMP - Grill until shrimp turn pink and are springy to the touch. Cook for 5 - 7 minutes.

No matter what you are grilling, the flavor will be determined by what you cook it on, as in a gas grill, charcoal grill or wood flavored grill.

Outdoor Grills and Smokers

With the approach of winter, I know that some of you are thinking it’s time to pack your grill away until spring. And I also know that some of you are planning on forgetting and just letting your grill sit under a foot of snow all winter. Of course that’s not what anyone plans on doing, it just happens that way. If you do you deserve to find your trusty barbecue rusted come spring.

After a long summer of grilling you probably have a good build up of black, greasy gunk in your grill. Nasty as it sounds, you want to get in there and get all of that cleaned out. This stuff can be corrosive burners. Dismantling your gas grill and cleaning off the individual parts is actually the easiest way to go. Once you have the grill stripped down to the shell you can clean it out easily with warm soapy water and a good rinse from the hose. The burners and grates can be cleaned up inside. You should also make note of any part that is rusted through and need replacing. You might not be able to find those parts in the off season but you will know exactly what you need when the stores roll out their barbecue selection next year. This is an excellent time to repaint your grill either entirely or parts that need paint.

With the shell and all the components clean you can reassemble the grill. Fire it up one last time to make sure that it is completely dry. Now you can go over the metal parts with some cooking oil or spray. This will repel any moisture that might build up during the winter. Now you should cover your grill and park it in a place where it will be sheltered from the elements. An important note about gas grills is that while a nice dry corner of the garage is the perfect place for the grill, it is not the place for the gas tank. Never store propane bottles in an enclosed area. Even the slowest of leaks can flood an area with explosive gas. It’s best to keep the tank in a well ventilate area, protected from the weather.

If you have a charcoal grill the same basic rules apply. But you’ll have a much easier time of it. Charcoal grills and smokers tend to only need a light coat of oil over the cooking grates and don’t need to be oiled down like a gas grill. When spring arrives always let your grill or smoker heat up completely before you cook. This will burn off this protective oil covering.

Outdoor Grills and Smokers

There are several cuts of meat to that you can choose to grill.  I personally like the T-bone steak grilled on a gas grill.  You can also use a charcoal grill or wood smoker to cook your steaks to taste.  The T-bone steak is cut from the Loin part of the steer.  My wife would rather have a top sirloin steak which ironically would be cut from the Sirloin part of the steer.  I am fortunate in the fact that I live in cattle country and my father is a farmer who raises cattle.  Once a year he takes a steer to the local butcher for processing.  You cannot buy a steak in a resturaunt that will have the flavor of a home grown steak.  In fact when we go out to eat I do not order steaks, because I know that the flavor and quality will not be matched.  I like to slow cook the steak on my gas grill, usually only turning it over once.  This will keep the steaks from drying out.  The more you turn them the more juice that you lose.  If you like it rare, you could turn up the heat and grill the exterior of the steak keeping the interior rare.

Outdoor Grills and Smokers