slow cooking

[chilliman64]

does anyone (or everyone) slow cook large cuts of meat on the bbq? I recently bought a marinade injector and with it came a few ebooks. the author, an Aussie, raves about the superior bbq skills of North Americans. now I am the first to admit to being more of a griller than a cook when it comes to using the gas barbecue and I'm always willing to learn from those with better techniques. so...

in the article it states that the larger cuts of pork, lamb or beef should be cooked at 110 deg Celsius for around 3 hours per kilo - that's around 230 deg F for around 3 hours per 2.2lbs. does this seem a little low and slow? it does to me, but as I said, I don't know.

I have ordered a BBQ book by Steve Raichlen from alibris.com to complement his book Sauces, Rubs and Marinades which I got recently. I'll gladly take any tips.

btw, what does the term 'pulled' mean when referring to say a joint of pork?

Mark

[thehotpepper.com]

Low and slow is good! Low is about 220 degrees F. Cook with indirect heat so there is no burning. Pulled refers to meat that is pulled apart by hand. It's usually pulled and then chopped.

[bowhunter]

low and slow is the only way to grill it lets the fat and eatable gristle melt in to the meat to tenderiz it. Like THP said pulled is meat pulled from the bone buy hand then chopped or use two froks to pull apart more.
Dan


LET IT BURN

[chilliman64]

thanks THP and BH

I'm going to try a chicken on the rotisserie this weekend, I've just been reading up on indirect cooking. I have a five burner gas bbq, should I place the chook over the three middle unlit burners with the first and last ones lit only? any thoughts on a rub or baste? I was going to coat in spray oil then rub on a seasoned salt. maybe some sort of sweet fatalii glaze to finish off...

[Scotty]

Try a big chuck roast some time. Cook at 225 to internal temp of 160, foil, cook to 200, remove and let rest. It'll pull apart just like a pork butt.
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s96/ScottyDaQ/chuck/th_PICT0796-1.jpg (http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s96/ScottyDaQ/chuck/PICT0796-1.jpg)

[csigi_chili_sauce]

Indirect heat on something like a charcoal grill works amazing. I'll sometimes do the 'ring around a pan of water' on the bottom grate. This way there is a good deal of moisture at all times while the meat is cooking.

Two years ago for Thanksgiving, I made a turkey on my Weber grill this way. The bones practically fell out of the bird by the time it was finished. Best damn turkey I've ever eaten! -Lars-

[cheezydemon]

thanks THP and BH

I'm going to try a chicken on the rotisserie this weekend, I've just been reading up on indirect cooking. I have a five burner gas bbq, should I place the chook over the three middle unlit burners with the first and last ones lit only? any thoughts on a rub or baste? I was going to coat in spray oil then rub on a seasoned salt. maybe some sort of sweet fatalii glaze to finish off...

You want to have the burners under the meat OFF. I think that is what you were saying.
You need a drip pan under the meat. This can just be several layers of foil, shaped into a bowl.
I love to put seasoned butter under the skin of the bird and in the cavity. Injecting is also great, but you want to be sure to add flavor, not water. I recommend putting seasonings on BEER and injecting that into both sides of the breast and both legs.
You want to truss that baby up too. Floppy wings and legs make for uneven cooking and risk tearing or coming loose entirely.
I would also add smoke by whatever means cecessary. I won't go on any longer, but if you need tips on smoking or anything else just ask.

[LUCKYDOG]

Try a big chuck roast some time. Cook at 225 to internal temp of 160, foil, cook to 200, remove and let rest. It'll pull apart just like a pork butt.
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s96/ScottyDaQ/chuck/th_PICT0796-1.jpg (http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s96/ScottyDaQ/chuck/PICT0796-1.jpg)

I do this for one of my chili meats :shh:

[chilliman64]

You want to have the burners under the meat OFF. I think that is what you were saying.
You need a drip pan under the meat. This can just be several layers of foil, shaped into a bowl.
I love to put seasoned butter under the skin of the bird and in the cavity. Injecting is also great, but you want to be sure to add flavor, not water. I recommend putting seasonings on BEER and injecting that into both sides of the breast and both legs.
You want to truss that baby up too. Floppy wings and legs make for uneven cooking and risk tearing or coming loose entirely.
I would also add smoke by whatever means cecessary. I won't go on any longer, but if you need tips on smoking or anything else just ask.

mate, thankyou very much!

[bowhunter]

Sorry Chilliman64 been working 12hr days have not been on,do what cheezydemon said for the bird no flame under it or you will get flame ups for sure useing a butter, if you what the skin chrunchy rub olive or peanut oil on it before putting on grill. put some hickory wood in for a fast smoke taste to, if you want.let us know how it comes out. I put two Boston Butts on the smoker 1am be done about 2pm slow smoke at 180 to 200 did not take picture before but willtry to remember when done.If you are just grilling you do not have to soak wood for the flavor.

Dan


LET IT BURN

[Dyce51]

Books by Steve Raichlen are very good books! His books have taught me alot. Low and slow is the only way to BBQ!!! meat turns out tastier and juicier!!!

[xgrafcorex]

You want to truss that baby up too. Floppy wings and legs make for uneven cooking and risk tearing or coming loose entirely.

i've never cooked a whole bird..hell never even cooked turkey before. what exactly to you mean here? talking about how they'll have the bird tied up with a thin rope (or a fat string)?

[chilliman64]

Sorry Chilliman64 been working 12hr days have not been on,do what cheezydemon said for the bird no flame under it or you will get flame ups for sure useing a butter, if you what the skin chrunchy rub olive or peanut oil on it before putting on grill. put some hickory wood in for a fast smoke taste to, if you want.let us know how it comes out. I put two Boston Butts on the smoker 1am be done about 2pm slow smoke at 180 to 200 did not take picture before but willtry to remember when done.If you are just grilling you do not have to soak wood for the flavor.

Dan


LET IT BURN

damn you guys are making me hungry! I do like hickory smoke, thanks for the advice.

[Hot Canuck]

CM, sometimes there is nothing better than practice. I used my gas BBQ as a smoker this year, and ranged from good results to great. The basic premise is to have one side lit, with your smoke product on the lit burner, while your meat is on the grill on the unlit side. Now, I don't have some of the high tech controls others on here have ( though I am looking at scoring some of them ), but I find cooking with your lit control at medium high to be best. Lower than that, for me, doesn't seem to generate the smoke I am looking for.

My suggestion - start everything with ingredieants you know you like. Pick a meat, rub, sauce, and smoke flavour that is your preference. That way, if it doesn't turn out perfect, you are likely to be able to figure out what you might have done wrong. My best successes were with pork and beef.

Last tip - for your injecting marinade - pick a thinner, clear sauce. Thicker sauces, with visible spices, just clog up the injector.

[xgrafcorex]

have you tried putting some kind of divider in the bottom to further separate the meat from the direct heat? just a thought..haven't seen anyone do that before. was actually thinking of car intakes w/ heat shields. :lol:

[Scotty]

have you tried putting some kind of divider in the bottom to further separate the meat from the direct heat? just a thought..haven't seen anyone do that before. was actually think of car intakes w/ heat shields. :lol:

They have those for Weber Kettles.
http://smokenator.com/
http://smokenator.com/images/FourSelections.gif

[chilliman64]

Scotty, what's that on the left of the bird? is that the smoker unit?

[Hot Canuck]

Scotty, what's that on the left of the bird? is that the smoker unit?

No - it's R2-D2...

[Scotty]

Yeah, that's the little backet that you put the coals in. Water goes in the pan up top.
"The Smokenator contains the Hot coals channeling heat upward and shields food from direct heat. Food is cooked by convection and gentle radiation through the 18 gage stainless shield. A pan of water is set low near the coals"

[xgrafcorex]

sounds like a nice product if you already have a kettle grill. i've only had a few ideas that i've never seen that haven't already been made. this not being one of them. :rolleyes:

[chilliman64]

well after all my talk about slow cooking a chicken, I decided to do a lamb leg instead!

I made up an injector marinade last night with chicken stock, a little salt, black pepper, some liquid smoke, rosemary, a commercial rub containing hab powder, oil, and a tabasco style hot sauce.

next, the rub - mild (American) mustard, more rosemary, hickory powder (I didn't have any hickory chips), some more of the Rub From Hell.

the leg was shot and rubbed and left covered in the fridge overnight. this morning I loaded it on the rotisserie with a tray of water beneath it. I plan on leaving it at around 120 deg C for 6-7 hours, when I will wrap it in foil and place it in the esky for an hour or two and see how it comes out.

I made extra marinade and added some butter to it and have been basting it every hour. it looks good and I've trimmed off a little and it tastes pretty good too.

[chilliman64]

ok, the final timings were:

6.5 hours at 120 deg C
2 hours at 135

then wrapped in foil and clingwrap and placed in an insulated bag for 3 hours.

internal temp meat reached in bbq was 70 deg C

weight of leg - 2 kg (4.4lbs)

result: moist, tender lamb. slight pink colour, no blood, not 'pulled' tender. didn't crust however I did try to keep it moist so I'm not disappointed with this result. I will increase the amount of flavour injected next time and also boost the salt a little. overall, I'm very pleased!

thanks to all who got me started. need to try it again now. maybe I'll cut back on the time it was wrapped and try the hotter setting up front in order to get the internal temp up sooner then back off the heat. your comments will be appreciated.

[LUCKYDOG]

Does that calculate to ~158 F internal temp? Ive never done a lamb -- but I wouldnt go much higher in temp than that? Maybe someone else has done lamb.... wrapping will soften the crust a bit as well...
Sounds good to me --- it takes a few times and you'll know when its right ...

I dont know haw many briskets it took me :D

[chilliman64]

yeah Dog, 70 C is 158 F. I was cheered by the result though I think next time I'll get the temp up a bit higher for the first few hours and cut back on the overall cooking time. I'm not discouraged by any means, quite the opposite, I'll keep trying as I want to experience my own homecooked pulled lamb leg!