If you enjoy the ritual of it, absolutely.
Meanwhile, pork shoulder went on the smoker last night before bed. Should be good to go in another 7 hours or so.
I get that. I actually enjoy getting good charcoal, starting the charcoal, etc. But the fact that it does take a lot of time, and especially the difficulty as we do things like chicken and fish, to hit a desired temp and keep it (as well as wanting to at some point quickly raise or lower the temperature) results in us rarely using the grill when I get home for work or other times when I don’t have a ton of time to devote to it. When we had a gas grill in the past I would often just spontaneously in the evening say “Hey, let’s grill some (whatever) for dinner tonight.”
In my ideal world I’d have a good gas grill and a good pellet smoker on the back deck. Maybe get the grill this year and the pellet smoker next year (budget constraints!)
Sweet. I have a gas salamander that I converted from propane to natural gas (I have a NG stub right there), but it is hardly getting used these days. Everything we do is either on the smoker or souls vide -> cast iron inside.
Living sous vida loca. :) Pork ribs, sous vide then cooled and grilled. Limited grill marks because I didn’t want to over cook. Not shown, home made potato salad, deviled eggs and chickpea salad (chickpeas, shallots, oregano, balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil) and baked beans. Happy 4th folks.
Oh yeah, nice! Love ribs!
My efforts were pretty good too :). Grilled Filet, roasted asparagus, stuff white mushrooms, and a baked tomato. Chased with some summer love ale.
Happy 4th!
That looks lovely, @grahamiam. Please tell me what you did with the mushrooms and tomato. They look really good.
I had some big trouble with the grill on the 4th. Well medium trouble. The new gas tank seems to outlet differently than the old one. I mean, the grill burns hotter. I’m pretty precise with timing and placement, and the salmon fillets always are done just right. This time the skin-side down was really burned in places, and the zucchini got done way too fast. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, or how to regulate it. But it just feels different with this tank than the first one.
I adjusted and the fish was fine. Luckily we use salmon with skin on it, which protected the meat, but dangit, I really should have trusted my nose at the 6-minute mark.
I’d also really like it if anybody has ideas about avocado on the grill. My girlfriend had it somewhere and it was nice. I tried it and it turned out too mushy.
-xtien
For the avocado I halve it, squeeze on some lime juice, brush with olive oil and salt. Make sure the grill is hot and put them cut side down just long enough to get grill marks. Of course leave the skin on. If you wish you can fill the hollow with salsa. Also make sure the avocado isn’t too ripe to begin with. They seem to go from hard to mush in 60 seconds.
Thanks Rich.
I left the skin on, but i don’t think the grate was hot enough to make the marks, and I left it on too long to try to achieve that. Which turned it mushy.
I have seen versions with it sliced, with the skin on, rather than halved, so I thought that’s where I went wrong. Because we just halved it.
Serving it was difficult though. I’m not quite sure how to do that.
-xtien
Yes. We did
but it just felt weird serving it that way to nine people. So I wondered if we were doing it wrong.
-xtien
Like Rich said, olive oil and salt on a halved and cored avocado is what we do. I put them skin-side down first, then oil and salt on the flesh side while the skin gets some grill marks. Then flip to get the marks on the flesh side. Remove, scoop, and serve. Or slice after scooping. The kids like it that way. Wife and I keep the halves - fill with seafood salad or potato salad.
Great. Thank you Chowhound.
-xtien
That’s interesting. Grilling the skin side never occurred to me. Thanks.
Dude you are cooking for people. Never worry about doing it wrong. Unless you’re serving crap, the people owe you thanks. Ever notice that sometimes you’re the last one to eat? That means you care. You are the mensch. Kudos to you.
Thanks Rich. That’s a really nice thing to say.
I love cooking for people, so it works both ways. Plus, being able to grill effectively makes it possible for us to cultivate and nourish friendships, which is difficult for introverts. But still necessary.
-xtien
If you are a friend of @tomchick and @fire you are a friend of mine. I’m not so much an introvert as that I have social anxiety. But I have found that a small group, maybe 4 or 5 people is something I can deal with. Buspirone helps. :) If you become (or in your case have become) a grill meister, you have to be a magician and a showman. Look I will now make this icky looking meat into a delicacy. Stand back and watch me do my magic.
You go man. Be yourself. Rock the grill and rock the people that eat your food!
I have a weird blend of introvert in me. I can turn on for a crowd or a group, but it is an energy drain. That’s why I love being the cook/grill person. I can make talk and funny with the people, but turn to the task at hand as well to escape for a bit.
It’s fun working the grill for a group of people. It involves timing and space orchestration, which are stressful, but if you can do it it ultimately feels good. Because feeding people feels good.
My son has an interesting blend of this as well, although he’s more on the social spectrum side of his mother. Which is to say, way more social. Which I am grateful for, honestly. However, there are times he needs to disappear as well. Sometimes when I’m grilling for a party my son will ask, “Dad. Is there anything I can do to help?” And he asks this because he needs a little space. He says it in his pleading voice. Not his dutiful voice.
I give the standard Aliens Apone return line of, “I don’t know. Is there anything you can do?” Then I set him on a task. Like cleaning the grill or prepping something or grabbing me something I need from the kitchen.
-xtien
No problem! It heats it thoroughly, and gives a pretty even texture throughout.
It’s like you are speaking to the inner me. I never knew that was a reason why I liked grilling so much but it totally is. Meat doesn’t need smalltalk.