Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler First timer with BBq'ing (tips?)

hey, its me again (I usually hang out in the HT forums) and I am showing keen interest into the tasty world of BBQ. I am in a conquest to take pride of my BBQ'ing skills and shall be named the 'BBQ King'. I shall reign supreme!!!

*ahem*

Anyways, I got some BBQ food over the summer and setup my BBQ and wondering if you could gimme any helpful tips (especially on how to cook them) and good BBQ recipes I should try.

These are the item I have obtained/acquired so far in my quest:

Pork side ribs
Pork Chops (3/4" center cut)
New York steaks
Bacon wrapped tenderloin
Shrimp

I first of all shall know how to cook these items, and then obtained top secret hidden recipes.


I will inform you about my quest, and shall take pictures are these desired items.

Thanks.

So, Paul, is the beer cold in Calgary tonight?

I think you'd probably "grill" the steaks, shrimp and chops, and "barbeque" the ribs.

I very highly recommend The Cook's Illustrated Guide To Grilling And Barbecue

Seems like we've ruminated upon this topic quite a bit. My opinion is that it's more about technique than recipes.

Steaks are easy. Chops are easy. Hot fire, flip once, check temperature. Ribs are harder, at least on a grill. I imagine they're fairly easy on a smoker. Never tried shrimp.

I suggest that you also grill veggies. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic can do wonders to green onions, eggplant, turnip, tomatoes and cabbage. Corn brushed with olive oil and chipotle is awesome too.

no no no. If you have thick chops, you want medium to low heat so the outside doesn't get tough while the inside reaches a safe temp.

Chops and steaks I always go medium to low heat on the grill, I've made to much charcol playing with the high heats.

Oops. Pay no attention to the guy who hasn't grilled chops in a few years.

ok i am going to BBQ today. To start off, going to BBQ New York steaks and BBQ'ed shrimp.

I am going to marinate my steaks and wondering how long should I cook them on each side to achieve a medium well? I heard you only flip the steak once on medium/low. Is this true? And for how long?

For the shrimp, thinking of making garlic buttered shrimp. Should I cook a set for about 2-3 minutes and during that time flipping them over?

Many people I know (that work in restaurants serving steak) use the hand method of testing doneness:
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Using the palm of your hand, follow the instructions below. This is how meat will feel to the touch when it has reached the indicated doneness.

Rare: Squeeze the pad at the base of your thumb. It should feel spongy and offer very little resistance.

Medium: Press on the middle of the palm of your outstretched hand. It should feel firm and snap back quickly.

Well-Done: Squeeze the base of your small finger. It should feel very firm with almost no give. (For best flavor it is not recommended that you cook your steak to well-done.)
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Personally I just make an incision and look at it. So if you don't like anyone making the first cut into your steak, don't have me make it. Meat thermometers don't work worth jack in things like steaks, I find.

When it doubt, check it out.

Also, steakhouses seem to undercook steaks by 1 or 2 levels... and there's usually a level or so difference in people's judgements...

Mine are:
Well - solid colour throughout, no free running juices
Medium well - inside is slightly pink, juices mostly colourless
Medium - inside is pink, juices run pink to red
Medium Rare - inside is pink to red, juices run red
Rare - inside is red, blood everywhere
Blue Rare - I wave an acetylene torch near your steak, enjoy your tapeworm



Bren R.

Paul,

This is the best marinade and cooking method I have found. To make it work, your BBQ must be really hot and use steaks no more than 1" thick. I get my BBQ up to at least 700F before I throw the steaks on.

Also check out this thread.