Any Time is Grillin Time

[jbenham]

It doesn't often get above freezing in the winter up here. We have had about 18" of snow so far. Our area depends a lot on snowmobilers for business. Last year, by the time we got a decent snow fall it was too late in the season.

Anyhoo, I don't do chicken on the grill. We go out for that. From reading these posts, you guys are a lot more advanced at grilling then I am, although I do admit to hogging the grill duties when we get invited to a BBQ. Does anyone else measure cooking time by beer consumption?

 

[BigCiX]

You bought that grill with the Packer emblem?

 

[cjr72]

Where I live in Texas the winter if you can call it that here is my favorite time to grill. My backyard faces west and in the afternoon summer sun along with the heat radiating off of the concrete patio it's like a blast furnace.

 

[olbriar]

I bet that does make for some nice grilling weather in the winter. Does it get way hot in the summer? My patio faces East. It is covered so rain or snow doesn't bother me. My only problem in the winter is it gets dark so darn early. I have two lights above my grill but it's not nearly like daylight for grilling. I've seen lights that are designed to mount on the hood of a grill. I've never used one but have thought about it some for the winter months.

 

[Petrah]

As many times as I've seen this thread title, and for some reason had never opened it. I should have much sooner!!

My boyfriend loves to grill and will even do so out in 3 foot of snow (weather has no meaning when this man wants to grill!). We finally had to get rid of the one he had (I don't remember what brand, but it was propane) last summer when he rebuilt the back deck (it's above ground.. basement sliding glass doors walk-out is directly underneath the deck). I don't remember offhand what was wrong with the grill but he had it for many years I think.

I can tell he's jonesing and wanting to get another grill soon, so will point him to this thread.

 

[BigCiX]

As many times as I've seen this thread title, and for some reason had never opened it. I should have much sooner!!

My boyfriend loves to grill and will even do so out in 3 foot of snow (weather has no meaning when this man wants to grill!). We finally had to get rid of the one he had (I don't remember what brand, but it was propane) last summer when he rebuilt the back deck (it's above ground.. basement sliding glass doors walk-out is directly underneath the deck). I don't remember offhand what was wrong with the grill but he had it for many years I think.

I can tell he's jonesing and wanting to get another grill soon, so will point him to this thread.

Valentine's is coming soon. Surprise him!

 

[breadnatty08]

I hear Big Green Egg grills are great. Never used one. Only problem is, they cost a small fortune.

 

[cjr72]

I bet that does make for some nice grilling weather in the winter. Does it get way hot in the summer? My patio faces East. It is covered so rain or snow doesn't bother me. My only problem in the winter is it gets dark so darn early. I have two lights above my grill but it's not nearly like daylight for grilling. I've seen lights that are designed to mount on the hood of a grill. I've never used one but have thought about it some for the winter months.

Yeah it gets pretty hot in the summer. Usually somewhere between 90 to 95 Fahrenheit (32 -35 Celsius) and often higher I would say pretty relentlessly from maybe May through September. It's also very humid. But yes the winter is very nice time to grill for me. I have flood lights in the backyard that do fairly well when I'm grilling after 5:30 pm or so when the sunlight starts to fade away.

 

[Liamo_210]

We can go all summer here and it can never stop raining. We are lucky if we even get some sunshine.

 

[Petrah]

We can go all summer here and it can never stop raining. We are lucky if we even get some sunshine.

Some will say I'm crazy, but I love weather like that. Dark, dreary, overcast, icky, wet, rainy, thunder, lightening... my kind of weather! And yes, tornadoes fascinate me.

 

[olbriar]

Tornadoes we have plenty of in Oz. Rain is another matter entirely. At least the last couple of summers have been very arid. I seem to recall 30 inches yearly the average rainfall. We get enough rain that it's nice to have a cover on the patio.
I can grill a mean steak in the middle of a downpour.

As for liking rain. I love a good thunderstorm to sleep by.

 

[breadnatty08]

As for liking rain. I love a good thunderstorm to sleep by.

Yes! We didn't get too many this past summer. Hopefully we'll get some more this year.

 

[Liamo_210]

Move to Ireland and rain is ball you will ever see. No tornadoes though or any thing of the sorts.

 

[olbriar]

Move to Ireland and rain is ball you will ever see. No tornadoes though or any thing of the sorts.

No dust storms... ah.. tough luck

 

[Liamo_210]

You can't have it all

 

[jbenham]

You bought that grill with the Packer emblem?

Yup. After I bought it they raised the price $30. Actually it was a Christmas present from the wife.

 

[olbriar]

Yup. After I bought it they raised the price $30. Actually it was a Christmas present from the wife.

Sweet Christmas present. I should have such a wife.

I've been lately thinking about some sort of wood burning grill. Something barrel or tub shaped with a body heavy enough for a wood fire. I'm not after a two stage.. just something for direct heat for serious steak grilling.

 

[jbenham]

That would be something. Couldn't have it on the deck, though. You would have the whole neighborhood over there.

 

[olbriar]

That would be something. Couldn't have it on the deck, though. You would have the whole neighborhood over there.

They already hate me I'm always grilling something and normally smoke something on the weekend. I haven't seen them drooling like a hungry dog but they sure have that look in their eyes.

I'm the only one that cooks out in my neighborhood. It's a mostly retired or divorced single area. I guess they don't want to mess with it. I would far rather grill something than make a mess in the kitchen. Besides, it's far better for ya.

 

[jbenham]

We only have one other permanent resident in our neighborhood. All the rest are weekenders. My brother and I smoked a turkey once for our family reunion at Thanksgiving. That was a blast. We scrubbed out a couple of garbage cans. Poked holes in on and used the other for a cover. We smoked it with apple wood. Best turkey ever.

 

[olbriar]

I like apple smoke. I've only smoked two turkeys so far, both with apple. I like to do my ribs with apple as well. I heavily smoke them for a few hours, wrap then in foil with some apple juice, then finish them up unwrapped for an hour or so. It's just a great flavor.

I've never tried peach. I've been thinking about peach and poultry lately. Hmmmm, maybe next weekend.

 

[jbenham]

I'd love to try ribs on the grill sometime.

 

[olbriar]

I use to grill ribs a few times a year before getting a smoker. If you can keep your grill temps in the mid 200f it's doable. I had a cast iron smoke box.. I think I got it at a hardware store.. that I would fill with soaked chips. The ribs never turned out that smoky but they were tender and tasty. You will have to give it a go sometime.
You can buy some decent rib rub or just make one of your own. Rub them down the night before. Toss them on the grill for two-three hours. Wrap them in foil.. I like apple juice with the ribs. Bake them for another couple of hours. If you like them pretty wet.. just continue baking until the meat starts shrinking up the ends of the ribs a bit. If you like them a bit dryer than that.. just unwrap for the last hour.

You will have the best luck if you have a large gas grill with three or four burners. Place the ribs over the burners that are off and letting the heat come from across the grill. Directly over flame I would suggest a double layer of foil on your grill to divert some of that direct flame heat.

My mom baked ribs in the kitchen oven when I was growing up. They had zero smoke but they were tasty. She cooked them on the rack with a large casserole dish below to catch the drippings. When they were about done she would smother them in her honey bbq sauce concoction. Messy and tasty lol.

 

[jbenham]

Okay, I am printing that post out and will maybe give it a go sometime. I usually use Sweet Baby Rays, but would probably want something tangier. When we lived in Milwaukee, the dude across the alley was from Jamaica and he made the most awesome BBQ sauce. My wife isn't in to BBQ sauce that much which means when I want ribs, we go out. Fortunately there are a couple places that have good ones. What is the sense of having a 3 burner grill, if you don't experiment a bit, right? This sounds like a good project for summer when we can invite over a few guinea pigs, er friends, to try it out on.

 

[olbriar]

It's always fun to experiment. When I want to try something new... google is my bbq buddy. I find something that looks good and try it I am by no means the end source for your rib adventure. I'm still learning... will always be learning different approaches to the perfect rib... which varies depending on the taster.

I am late to the game of smoking. For two decades or so.. a guy down the street smoked commercially. He set up shop in a grocery store parking lot every weekend.
He was the grandson of some dude from Tulsa that made his living off smoking meats. I always bought my ribs from my neighbor... they were excellent!
The guy moved and quit smoking for the public. That prompted my entry into smoking ribs. He graced me with a large supply of his "secret spice/rub" but I've used it all up. Now I'm trying to duplicate his spicy but sweet rub... and it's proving to be impossible. He also used a smoker the size of a Buick on a trailer and I have a pellet grill... a lot of difference there. I'm getting better at smoking but I'm a long ways from competing in the BBQ Pitmasters Cookoff lol.