Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

"iBoaterer" wrote in message
...

In article ,
says...

"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
...

On 6/22/13 8:06 PM, Califbill wrote:
"Earl" wrote in message
...

wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning
grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the
broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of
mess to
clean up.
That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.
I use my smoker about once a month. There is no need to soak the
smoking wood. It's actually better to get as much early smoke as
possible. When the meat is "sealed" from the heat it can't absorb much
more smoke. I learned this many years ago but started with the same
theory as you - to provide constant smoke by soaking the wood.
-------

Not soaking the chips get flames and little smoke in my experience.



I remember reading some connection between smokers and carcinogens, so I
googled it...lots of hits. Here's one:

The carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) is mainly benzo[a]pyrene
(structure is shown), though other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are present and can cause cancer,
too. PAHs are in smoke from incomplete combustion, so if you can taste
smoke on your food, expect it contains those chemicals. Most of the PAHs
are associated with smoke or char, so you can scrape them off of your
food and reduce your risk from them (though that kind of defeats the
point of a toasted marshmallow). HCAs, on the other hand, are produced
by a chemical reaction between meat and high or prolonged heat. You'll
find these chemicals in fried meat as well as barbeque. You can't cut or
scrape away this class of carcinogens, but you can limit the amount that
is produced by cooking your meat just until it's done, not blackening it
into oblivion.

Just how dangerous are these chemicals? The truth is, it's very hard to
quantify the risk. There is no established 'this amount will cause
cancer' limit because the genetic damage that leads to cancer is complex
and affected by many other factors. For example, if you drink alcohol
with your char, you further increase your risk, since alcohol, though it
doesn't cause cancer, acts as a promoter. This means it increases the
likelihood a carcinogen will be able to induce cancer. Similarly, other
foods may lessen your risk. What is known is PAH's and HCA's
definitively cause cancer in humans, but they are also a part of
everyday life, so your body has mechanisms for detoxifying them. What
you want to do is try to limit your exposure. I guess that means you
should take the time to toast the perfect marshmallow rather than go for
the quick sugary fireball, but that's just so hard...


http://chemistry.about.com/b/2013/05...arcinogens.htm

Eat up, boys, and pass around those beers!


==================

Yup, so is most of the other stuff around us carcinogenic. Or just really
bad for you. I have a theory that a lot of the autism is environmental.
Like all the plastic in cars, etc. When you see the amount of plasticizer
on the inside of the windshield after a week from the last wash, think how
much stuff entered your body.

It's not the wood.


---

Maybe it is.

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

John H wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 20:49:51 -0400, Earl wrote:

John H wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 11:26:10 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 6/21/13 11:18 AM, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:
On 6/21/2013 10:53 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 06:08:51 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

Wow...you guys are really serious about grilling! I got a steal two
years ago on a huge Weber gas grill, a model that was being upgraded,
and Home Despot apparently had a lot of inventory. A kazillion pieces
and parts in a really heavy box.

Anyway, we just use it as an outdoor cooker on the deck cooker,
typically for chicken or fish and some veggies in a pan, and once in a
while for a burger or steak. We don't eat a lot of beef, so we're not
into "high level" barbecuing.

The grates are now clean, thanks to the self-cleaning oven, and the only
messy part left is the big drip pan at the bottom of the grill that
supposedly channels the goop to a tossable aluminum foil tray.
I have to clean the grill on the deck by disassembling it partially and
taking the parts inside or into the yard. I don't want a big mess on the
deck.
Mine is always such a mess when I get around to cleaning it that I
have to take it to a part of the yard away from anything I care about
I take out the grates and burners, tip it over and blast it with the
pressure cleaner. Crap goes everywhere.
The drip tray that came with it gave up the ghost a while ago so I
made a new one from 18ga galvanized. That seems to be doing OK.
Other than that the thing seems to be doing OK

Again, I am in the same boat... It's bbq for ****'s sake. It's suppose
to be down and dirty.
I figure it is dangerous enough eating barbecue without having bits and
pieces of year old food from previous grillings falling onto it. :) I
don't mind a "patina" of grease and whatever on the grill, though I do
like keeping the grates reasonably sanitary.
How would your bits and pieces of year old food from previous grillings fall onto your food? My bits
and pieces fall through the grate, and I don't ever put new food under the grate. In fact, I've
never even heard of that.

John H.
Give him a break. He's trying to be part of the discussion. Roll with it!
Actually, it was just a question. I couldn't figure out what he was saying.

John H.
Neither could he.

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

Califbill wrote:
"Earl" wrote in message
...

wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the
broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of
mess to
clean up.
That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.
I use my smoker about once a month. There is no need to soak the
smoking wood. It's actually better to get as much early smoke as
possible. When the meat is "sealed" from the heat it can't absorb much
more smoke. I learned this many years ago but started with the same
theory as you - to provide constant smoke by soaking the wood.
-------

Not soaking the chips get flames and little smoke in my experience.

There are two sides on that subject. I use both larger pieces and chips
with similar results and plenty of smoke. Maybe you need to use more
smoking wood? The wet chips delay the process. You want the meat to
get hit with a lot of smoke as early as possible.

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

John H wrote:
My smoker is electric, so I never get flames - just smoldering. I got rid of the charcoal smoker
many years ago. Too much trouble when smoking a turkey.

John H.
Smoking was the only way I prepared a turkey - until I learned about
deep-frying! I've never gone back except one year when we had a large
group and I did one each way. The only left overs were from the
smoked turkey.

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

F.O.A.D. wrote:
On 6/24/13 8:30 AM, Eisboch wrote:


"John H" wrote in message
...

On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 07:34:48 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 01:08:25 -0400, wrote:

This is just a pulse width controller from a stove burner that pulses
the power.

===

I think I'm hearing the electrical noise from that up here on my SSB
radio. :-)

Actually, if you know the secret, it's pretty simple:

http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/SecretsOfArduinoPWM

Eisboch's probably got a couple of these out back in the shed. Just hook
it up to the old Brinkman
and away you go:

http://tinyurl.com/mxcp93p

John (Gun Nut) H.

-------------------------------------------------

Being the nerd I am, I have to comment:

Pulse width modulation is how the "Super Audio" CD's were made and are
vastly superior to conventional CD's in terms of fidelity, dynamic range
and sound reproduction. Don't hear about them much anymore due to the
general interest in quantity over quality in music reproduction and
storage. I still have a super cd player hooked up to a fairly decent
sound system. "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits never sounded so
good. It really shines if you get in the mood for a little "hi brow"
classical music as well.





Hmm. I've got the "Brothers in Arms" super audio CD somewhere. Sounds
great.
That was my first CD.

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 19:53:17 -0400, Earl wrote:

Califbill wrote:
"Earl" wrote in message
...

wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the
broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of
mess to
clean up.
That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.
I use my smoker about once a month. There is no need to soak the
smoking wood. It's actually better to get as much early smoke as
possible. When the meat is "sealed" from the heat it can't absorb much
more smoke. I learned this many years ago but started with the same
theory as you - to provide constant smoke by soaking the wood.
-------

Not soaking the chips get flames and little smoke in my experience.

There are two sides on that subject. I use both larger pieces and chips
with similar results and plenty of smoke. Maybe you need to use more
smoking wood? The wet chips delay the process. You want the meat to
get hit with a lot of smoke as early as possible.

I learned that also, use chips with a few larger chunks on top. The chip start smolder quickly and
get the large chunks going.

I don't have problems with flames, but that may be because I use an electric element and a baking
pan for the chips.

John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 19:57:16 -0400, Earl wrote:

John H wrote:
My smoker is electric, so I never get flames - just smoldering. I got rid of the charcoal smoker
many years ago. Too much trouble when smoking a turkey.

John H.
Smoking was the only way I prepared a turkey - until I learned about
deep-frying! I've never gone back except one year when we had a large
group and I did one each way. The only left overs were from the
smoked turkey.

I've never deep fried a turkey. I started putting the turkey on a rotisserie over charcoal. Wow. The
Weber will handle a 15lb'er pretty well. They come off much more moist than in the smoker. Some
smoke flavor can be added by putting some aluminum foil wrapped chips on top of the charcoal.

John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

John H wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 19:53:17 -0400, Earl wrote:

Califbill wrote:
"Earl" wrote in message
...

wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the
broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of
mess to
clean up.
That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.
I use my smoker about once a month. There is no need to soak the
smoking wood. It's actually better to get as much early smoke as
possible. When the meat is "sealed" from the heat it can't absorb much
more smoke. I learned this many years ago but started with the same
theory as you - to provide constant smoke by soaking the wood.
-------

Not soaking the chips get flames and little smoke in my experience.

There are two sides on that subject. I use both larger pieces and chips
with similar results and plenty of smoke. Maybe you need to use more
smoking wood? The wet chips delay the process. You want the meat to
get hit with a lot of smoke as early as possible.
I learned that also, use chips with a few larger chunks on top. The chip start smolder quickly and
get the large chunks going.

I don't have problems with flames, but that may be because I use an electric element and a baking
pan for the chips.

John (Gun Nut) H.
I put the smoking wood right on the red-hot charcoal. That would make a
difference.

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

John H wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 19:57:16 -0400, Earl wrote:

John H wrote:
My smoker is electric, so I never get flames - just smoldering. I got rid of the charcoal smoker
many years ago. Too much trouble when smoking a turkey.

John H.
Smoking was the only way I prepared a turkey - until I learned about
deep-frying! I've never gone back except one year when we had a large
group and I did one each way. The only left overs were from the
smoked turkey.
I've never deep fried a turkey. I started putting the turkey on a rotisserie over charcoal. Wow. The
Weber will handle a 15lb'er pretty well. They come off much more moist than in the smoker. Some
smoke flavor can be added by putting some aluminum foil wrapped chips on top of the charcoal.

John (Gun Nut) H.
Try it and you'll never go back. A 12# turkey is done in less than an
hour and tastes great! It's not greasy at all. The hot oil seems to
seal it up quickly. I've never tried injecting mine like many do - they
tasted too good already.

Barbecue Grill Advice - Could Be On Topic
 

On 6/25/2013 8:31 PM, Earl wrote:
John H wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jun 2013 19:57:16 -0400, Earl wrote:

John H wrote:
My smoker is electric, so I never get flames - just smoldering. I
got rid of the charcoal smoker
many years ago. Too much trouble when smoking a turkey.

John H.
Smoking was the only way I prepared a turkey - until I learned about
deep-frying! I've never gone back except one year when we had a large
group and I did one each way. The only left overs were from the
smoked turkey.
I've never deep fried a turkey. I started putting the turkey on a
rotisserie over charcoal. Wow. The
Weber will handle a 15lb'er pretty well. They come off much more moist
than in the smoker. Some
smoke flavor can be added by putting some aluminum foil wrapped chips
on top of the charcoal.

John (Gun Nut) H.
Try it and you'll never go back. A 12# turkey is done in less than an
hour and tastes great! It's not greasy at all. The hot oil seems to
seal it up quickly. I've never tried injecting mine like many do - they
tasted too good already.

I inject with a Balsamic Vinegar / Honey mix.. About half and half in
the injector needle under the skin and in the meat.