One of my favorite things to grill is chicken kabobs. I used to use the old standby, Italian dressing, as a marinade. However, this can sometimes result in dry chicken. Recently I've been using a yogurt/olive oil based marinade that I got from Cook's Country magazine. The yogurt really seems to give the chicken a good flavor and results in unfailingly moist chicken.

Ribeye, mmmmmmmmm.

I have heard that a big blob of butter put on right at the end of cooking is the thing to do. Do you do the butter thing regularly?

costco has a great pack of non frozen thick ones. they also have great frozen steak burgers too.

Also, for fish, I like to put a big piece of salmon into a tin foil boat and fill that with spices. You can buy those oven bags or make a boat out of any tin foil.

lastly, did people know that in new england, it's called a cookout and not a BBQ?

:DMM

does not taste as good and it defeats the whole purpose of this thread !!!:rolleyes:

I use cornish hens since they taste better and I leave about 1/2 to 3/4 of the can...for a chicken leave a bit more than 3/4 full, and for a bigger chicken get the "tall boys'

cokk this on med-high in the center of your grill - cover down

for a hen, it takes 20-30 mins and if you have meat thermometer, wait till it reads poultry but stick that thermometer in deep in the thigh !!!!

try this next if you like spicy chicken kebabs...\

go to your local ethnic store and buy tandoori marnade...mix with yogurt and leave overnight...cook next day....

let us know how it turns out....

Here's a trick I learned at one of the better restaurants in the French Quarter in NO. It's been so long ago that I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but.....

Right before you take your steak off of the grill, take some finely grated horseradish & smear it over the top side of the steak. It should almost melt into the meat & disappear. Most excellent flavor!!!

The first time I tried it, I had to be convinced to let the chef do it. They promised me another steak if I didn't like it. I did not ask for another steak.

yes, MOD have that poster removed. hehehehe :D

OK. I have heard this enough times, gotta try it. Thanks!

I don't know, I have (in the early years) grilled some rather questionable quality stuff. Although, I can guarantee I had more fun grilling bad food than I ever did buying "good" food!!

here is another tip....when you melt the butter, mash some fresh garlic/chives and melt it with that....HMMMMMM !!!

Add some Jalapenos if you want to give it a kick !!!

but remember to take the butter as soon you take the steak off the grill....

Reading this thread this morning made start craving grilled swordfish, so I had to stop on the way home. Made a quick rub of pepper, paprika, cajun seasoning, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and probably a couple other things from the spice rack. Basted both sides with olive oil and sprinkled rub. Basted grill with olive oil to prevent sticking. About seven minutes on each side (about 3/4" thick) over a medium grill. Came out excellent, but I did use a little too much salt.

I need to learn to measure stuff so I can later duplicate things that come out good.

I agree with the poster who recommended Weber Grills, I have a weber that Ive had for 10 years and is going strong still. One thing nice about the webers is that for about 80-100 bucks you can replace the grates, flavorizer bars and the grill is good as new IMO.
Once a year (usually in the spring) I take my grill to the car wash (do it yourself kind) spray a whole can of oven cleaner on it blast it with the pressure hose, works great.

My brother in law just gave away his 1000 dollar Jenn-air because it didnt cook as well as his 400 dollar weber

One of the best secret grilling weapons I have, I discovered when I use to work at Morton's....certain steaks they would tenderize by using this product called the jaccard meat tenderizer...

Works like a charm by using these piercing forks to tenderize the meat without damaging it, therefore giving your marinades better absorbing power into the meat and as an added bonus, it also decreases cooking time!^:D

Check it out for yourself at

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...ywords=jaccard

dry steak rub: season salt/lemon pepper/garlic powder equal parts mixed. this works for me every time and doesnt overwhelm the taste of the steak.

Grilling Tuna on Weber
 

Anyone have any tips for cooking tuna on the grill? I have never cooked tuna before and want to try. From what I have had in restaurants it looks like the hardest part is know when its done. Somewhere between overcooked and sushi.

I usually coat mine in olive oil and dust them with a little salt and pepper.

The key to how long to grill does take some practice, unfortunately. Too many variables to give a once-size-fits-all solution, but I have a charcoal grill and I usually buy 1" thick tuna steaks. I also like mine on the medium well side...still just a hint of pink in the center. On my grill, I can accomplish this in 3 - 4 minutes per side, but you have to take into account distance from coals and the heat of the coals, which is often determined by how much charcoal you use and how long you've let it burn down.

When I take them off the grill, I squeeze on some fresh lime or lemon juice and snip a little fresh dill weed over the top as a garnish.

Man. Now, I may have to do this again fairly soon. ;)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

I have cooked tuna steaks by making a marinade with spices, rub and oils, plus lemon and lime, and then placing the whole mix with the fish into the same kind of tin foil "boat" I mentioned above with Salmon. letting it grille on a low setting for a while is key. practice with smaller pieces. Ummmmmm! good!

:DMM

Lemon slices cooking salmon
 

For grilling Salmon I always find slicing up a lemon and placing it on the grate with the fish on top keeps the salmon from sticking but also adds some flavor to the fish.

Yeah, I'm with you on the tin-foil boat for salmon (although brushed with teriyaki sauce and topped with slices of lemon)...but I like grill marks on my tuna steaks. :)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Thanks for the tips on the tuna Lurker and Marathon Man. As this is a celebratory dinner for my brother and his new fiancee (its her favorite meal), I think I will do some practice runs before they get here. There is a restaurant in the Intercontinental across the street from my office. They make a tuna burger that is cooked just right. Good to know it is only a few minutes each side as I tend to overcook new things on the grill.

"Done" is the kicker. I have used my charcoal chimney (about 3/4 full when supper hot). Put the cooking grate right on top of the chimney and sear all sides for less than 1 minute. If the tuna is shaped like a box, this will get you a seared out side, and that just warmed middle. If you have steaks, I can't help you.

Could you elaborate a bit on the spice rub? I would like to try it with (pan fried) sword-and other fish sometimes.

I just grab things from my spice rack and mix them up in a small bowl. I find it is easier to distribute it over the meat by hand instead of trying to sprinkle from individual spice bottles. It was probably roughly equal parts of each spice, but I didn't measure so can't be sure. I did use too much salt, so I would probably skip that next time and salt afterwards if necessary.



Tonight will be chicken kabobs with Italian dressing marinade (because I'm lazy today), green/red peppers, vidalia onion and mushroom caps. After assembly on a skewer brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic pepper.

Thanks for the input

My thanks to you too.

You must watch Good Eats ;)

Thanks a lot. I'm still learning about herbs and spices. :)

One more: Make sure you turn the gas off when done cooking. Wasted 75% of a tank of propane last week. :mad:

At least you had an end to that tank. Mine is hard plumbed into the natural gas line. My wife wondered what I was cooking for breakfast on the grill the next morning....

Cedar plank grilling is awesome !!!!
 

A few nights ago, Mrs Sweet Willie & I had what was perhaps one of the best grilled fish we've ever had.

Fresh Lake Trout on a cedar plank. INCREDIBLE^

I've also been using cedar planks with of course salmon, but also shrimp, scallops (wait for the plank to start to smoke before placing the latter on the plank)

edited to add: Lake Trout was <$5 a pound, not on sale, what a price !

--

Grilling on planks?
 

I found a couple tips on plank grilling in the grilling tips thread, but want as much info in advance. I have a 4 pack of small planks and will attempt salmon fillets tonight. What I know so far, mostly thanks to cblaisd:

1. Soak the plank at least an hour.
2. Oil before adding fish.

What I'd also like to know:

1. How reusable are they? How long do they last?
2. Do they clean up well?
3. What am I aiming for - smoke flavor? Any conflicts between seasoning/marinade & smokiness?
4. What else can I cook on planks? Meat?
5. Gas grill same as a charcoal grill?
6. What have I not though of?

Just made grilled cedar plank salmon, living where both wild salmon and western redcedar (Thuja plicata) are still somewhat plentiful if not available for now, so:

1. have had at least 2 uses out of the planks. Then again I do soak them for at least 8-12 hours. Looking at the planks I used last night, I think may be good for a 3rd go, if not a bit charred underneath.

2. Yes, they clean up well. just scrub them off.

3. The flavour you're aiming for it thujones, the aromatic chemical found in Thuja spp and reportedly also what you find in absinthe. No smokiness unless you burned the board. It is more of a dry steaming process.

I find that reusing the board results in less Thujoney flavorful fish each time so if you want to full effect, use new wood. What you can also do is soak the boards in as little water as you can so the thujones aren't diluted away (you see the water becoming dark as it is leached out).

5. Never tried it with charcoal/coal dust. Just gas.

6. Don't buy planks. Buy untreated cedar fence board (lot cheaper -$3 for a 4' long 6" wide fence board here) instead and look for the dark rich red colour of the heartwood, not the white sapwood. You should be able to smell the thujones.

I don't oil the fish but put the fillet skin side down. Not need for it as the (pacific) salmon is plenty oily.

That's funny. I work for a company that makes wooden fence. I wonder what anyone would say if I ordered boards (have to ship from Canada) and told them I was using them to cook. :D

:blush:

1. Not at all. One grilling
2. N/A
3. "Woody flavor." No. Although something really strong like hoisin sauce would mask the "woody" flavor. (A simple favorite is shoyu [i.e., soy sauce], grated fresh gingerroot [a hunk of this keeps in the freezer forever], and brown sugar).
4. Pork chops work well if they're boneless.
5. Sell the gas grill on Craigslist
6. The time to do planked fish, if it's a thick cut, correlates nicely with the time to do corn on the cob on the grill. (put ear or two of corn, dab of butter, and one ice cube in double-wrapped foil package and turn frequently over direct heat on grill). Planking works really well with fish that it's impossible to do directly on the grill, like think tilapia or catfish filets.

Don't forget your food will continue to cook until you take the food off, and get the plank in cold water quickly if you are going to re-use it, because your house will start to smell like smoking wood and you also want to save as much of the plank as you can. I like the "final use" when I just take the food off and watch the chunks of plank fall into the coals.

Wild goose (breasts) cooked on cedar planks/shingles.

Build campfire.
Season goose breasts (Don't worry about grease/oil/lube. Geese have plenty).
Attach goose breast to planks or cedar shingles UNTREATED! (Don't use painted nails/tacks, either).
Stand planks upright around fire (Be sure an have some props).
Switch ends occasionally to even out cooking.
When done, detach breasts.
Discard goose breasts, and eat planks/shingles.

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Tour: BlackBerry9630/4.7.1.61 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I know better than to start an argument on the relative merits of gas and charcoal grills. I will say, however, that we have grilled salmon several times using cedar planks on our propane grill to great effect. We haven't been able to re-use the planks, though. The direct heat really seems to do a number on them. Maybe we're just not soaking them long enough.

My first attempt was a semi-disaster. I soaked the planks for 65 minutes but that was clearly insufficient. They caught fire in minutes. I ended up shutting off a burner and letting them cook indirectly. The flavor was superb and Mrs BV was a big fan too. There will be no reusing these bad boys however.

Change in the next batch? Soak for hours with a weight on top!

My experience using these is limited. I think I've done it twice. Once was with salmon on alder planks; the other with tuna on oak planks. Both turned out with excellent results, but the first time I only soaked the wood for about 4 hours and the second time I let them soak overnight. Using your cooking brick to weigh them down is definitely a must. I could not have used the first planks a second time, but probably could have used the second round planks if I took the trouble to clean and store them properly. Too much hassle for me personally. YMMV.

Best regards,

William