![]() Sure, it works in a pinch, but it requires frequent charcoal changes and keeping a nearly constant eye on the temperature. You can transform a kettle grill into a smoker, but my experience with this has been mixed. At this temperature the fat and connective tissue in ribs, pork shoulders, and briskets slowly, but surely begin to break down, transforming the toughest cuts into moist and tender delights that gives me purpose. ![]() When you're this low, you're no longer grilling, but barbecuing (as long as you add smoke into the equation). The heat's going to start fading quicker when you reach this range too, but never being one to waste heat, if I'm not replenishing at this point, my grill goes from cooker to warmer-reheating anything that may be sitting around that went cold, and I do mean anything-once even bringing a hardened zeppole back to delicious life. If you're working with direct grilling, it's time to replenish those coals and get the grill back up to temperature. Once you drop to around the 300☏ mark, you're dealing with a fire that isn't going to brown anything effectively. A well-seasoned grill with the lid on can easily keep in the medium range for 45 to 60 minutes, which is perfect for those longer cooking items. This is the king of the indirect cook-chickens, turkeys, and other roasts all love a soothing medium heat. Totally middle of the road, offering everything the name implies-a fire low enough to gently cook, while still hot enough to brown outsides nicely during longer cooking times. The medium-high range will sustain longer than high, but you're still looking at about a 10 to 15 minute window with the grill uncovered. The power of the sear is still in full effect, but with a slightly lower temperature the food is afforded more time to cook properly and thoroughly. This is the temperature that makes things like burgers, sliced veggies, and fish really shine. It will only take about 5 to 10 minutes to go from high heat to medium-high, and a lot of your direct grilling will most likely be done in this range. The second the charcoal is lit and spread out, it starts loosing heat. If there's a skirt steak or thin pork chop that's going benefit from a quick and hot cook, now's the time to get that done. ![]() Now you should be more in the area of 2 to 3 seconds, and also playing with a temperature that won't be sustained long. You may be ranging more around the 1-second mark here, which is why this is the time to let the coals heat up that dirty cooking grate for about 5 minutes, then scrub it off and test again. Right after the coals are dumped from the chimney, the heat is extreme-too hot to cook a lot of things. With the findings, you can determine if the fire is. Hover your hand about four to five inches above the cooking grate and count the seconds it takes until you're positive your skin will melt off if you leave it there any longer. I do have a high end ThermoWorks Thermocouple with a high temp alligator clip probe that I could bust out and attach to the grilling grate, but I generally let that cruddy Weber thermometer give me a general idea of the range I'm in, even if it is more than 25° off from reality.īarring a thermometer, there's another useful tool for gauging the heat that is completely free, somewhat accurate, and always on hand. Those hood mounted thermometers on grills are usually pure crap, but sometimes crap is good enough for something as imprecise as grilling, where instinct trumps accuracy. The best way to know how hot your grill is a thermometer. Different foods like different heats-while a steak will appreciate a nice searing heat, over the same fire a chicken will quickly burn to a crisp before it ever has the chance to cook-so gauging your fire's temperature is a crucial step before slamming down some food. Continuing on the trend of dispersing some grilling basics over this summer, after finding the best coal arrangement for your cook, the next biggest thing is getting to know how hot your fire is and how to control it.
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