Choosing a Charcoal and/or Propane Grill

With so many grilling options, choosing the right grill for your needs can be confusing. Is more expensive really better? Which features are most important, and where can you skimp? The following tips will help you decide.

Charcoal VS. Gas or Propane Grills

Charcoal grills use charcoal briquettes, wood or a combination of both. Charcoal cooking imparts a more intense smoked flavor than its gas grilled counterpart. Charcoal grills burn hotter, which is handy when searing steaks and other cuts of quickly grilled foods.

One of the biggest advantages of charcoal over gas, in my opinion, is that they are better for smoking. If you have a large kettle grill, there is no need for special smoking apparatus (unless you plan on smoking really large quantities of meat).

On the downside, cooking over charcoal requires more time than a gas grill which is ready to cook on about 10 minutes after lighting. A charcoal grill should be ready to cook in 15-30 minutes after lighting, depending on the size of the grill and the type of wood or number and type of briquettes. Charcoal grills also need more tending and attention during the cooking process, which if you are a true grilling fan, is part of the fun.

Gas grills come with built in igniters -- push-button, rotary or an electronic lighter -- so starting the fire is fast and easy. After about 10 minutes of preheating, you're ready to cook. A standard 20 pounds tank of liquid propane with the burners on high, should last about 9 hours. Cooking at average temperatures, you should get 25 to 30 meals per tank.

The flavor produced by charcoal grilling comes from the food juices dripping onto the hot charcoal. Gas grills use several materials accomplish this:

• Lava rock heats quickly and disperses the heat to the interior of the grill. On the downside, lava is porous and allows grease to accumulate, lessening its efficiency and increasing fire flare-ups. In order to keep your lava rock gas grill working at its peak, turn the rocks over to expose a fresh surface frequently and replace them annually.
• Pumice stone works just like lava rocks, but it collects less residue and therefore needs less maintenance and doesn't need to be replaced as often.
• Ceramic briquettes are more pricey than lava rocks or pumice stone and but they last much longer. The briquettes are easy to maintain as food residue bakes off during the cooking process and no other cleaning is necessary.
• Metal heat plates or bars built into the grill work much the same as ceramic briquettes -- dripping juices dissipate when they fall on the hot metal.

Help with Choosing a Grill
Once you have decided on a charcoal or gas grill, narrow your search further by asking yourself these questions:

What will you be cooking?
What you plan to cook effects the type of grill you need. A lot of people only use their grill for grilling a quick entree like steaks, burgers, chicken or fish. If that's you, then you probably don't need a very big grill. But if you want to cook ribs, brisket, roasts, turkeys or other large cut of meat, you will need a larger grill. While we're at it, why limit yourself to just entrees? We have grill recipes for an entire menu. Get a bigger grill and expand your grilling repertoire and your menu will never be limited by your grilling equipment.

How many people will you be serving?
If you regularly cook for large crowds, you need more cooking space. Better get a bigger grill. Always do a visual inspection to see if the cooking surface is big enough for your needs, as often the manufacturer's specifications on the box include side burners or warming racks in their measurements.

How often and when will you be grilling?
Charcoal grills can take 15 minutes or longer to get ready and they take more time and effort to light. If you use your grill often, you may want the convenience of a gas grill. If you only grill occasionally or when you have lots of time (like weekends and holidays), then the time and effort of a charcoal grill is well worth the effort.

What is your budget?
The prices of grills vary from under $50.00 (and under $10.00 in the case of simple, disposable type grills) to thousands of dollars. Buy the best grill you can afford for your budget. In general, charcoal grills cost less to buy, but gas grill cost less to operate (unless you have a large supply of free cooking wood).

Grill Grids
The cooking grid gives your food the telltale stripes associated with grilled foods. Grids can be made of different materials, each with its own merits and detriments:

• Cast iron grids require curing in the same way that cast iron cookware does in order to prevent rust. This is really not difficult (see link below for instructions in our cast iron cookware tutorial). Once cured, the heavy cast iron grill grids wear well, cook well, and distribute heat more evenly than the other types of grids.
• Stainless steel grids are rust-resistant, but food can stick to hem if they are not well greased.
• Porcelain-coated cast iron grids are rust-resistant and are most desirable for heat retention and ease of cleaning.

More Essential Grilling Information

• Specific Things to Look for In Charcoal and Gas Grills
• Charcoal Grill Cleaning and Maintenance Tips
• Propane Grill Cleaning and Maintenance Tips
• How To Build and Maintain a Fire in a Charcoal Grill
• The Basics of Direct and Indirect Grilling
  
• Grilling Safety Tips
  

Making Deep Fried Turkey

Throughout the next month, look for several posts that can help with Thanksgiving dinner. This is the first.

When I was a kid, Thanksgiving dinner was exactly the same every year. Good. But the same. Roast turkey, dressing, mashed and sweet potatoes, and a smorgasbord of pies. Oh, and some sort of veggie -- usually peas, hastily heated up out of a can -- Mom always insisted on having a vegetable.

In my grown up home, I have frequently played with the concept -- keeping the major ingredient players, but putting new twists on them. My favorite of these has got to be the Deep Fried Turkey.

Deep frying a turkey may sound like a strange concept, but trust me, it doesn't come out like you'd think. Deep fried turkey is moist and delicious and not at all greasy.

Of course, an idea like fried turkey originated in the south, the frying capital of the United States, but it is gaining popularity nationwide. In fact, a recent block party I attended in South Central Los Angeles had three fried turkeys going. Several groups of neighbors had gotten together and split the cost of the oil and special equipment needed to make this dish. Needless to say, their tables were some of the most popular.

You Will Need
In addition to a turkey, you'll need a 40 or 60 quart pot with basket or turkey frying hardware, plus a propane gas tank and burner, a candy/deep fry thermometer, a meat thermometer and lots of oil. Use oils that have a high smoke point, such as corn, peanut or canola oils.

You should also keep a fire extinguisher and plenty of heavy duty pot holders nearby. An injector to add marinades and seasonings to the meat is also good to have, although you can make a plain turkey without it.

As far as the turkey itself goes, smaller birds work better for frying. Try not to go over 15 pounds.

For the most flavorful birds, Before cooking you can inject the turkey with your favorite marinade (see below) and/or rub it with a dry spice rub. You will also need about 3 1/2 - 5 gallons of oil in which to fry the turkey (see "How To Fry" Below).

Where to Fry
Because so much oil is flammable, you should never fry a turkey indoors. Place the fryer, outdoors, on a level dirt or grassy area. Avoid frying on wood decks, which could catch fire. You will also want to avoid concrete surfaces, unless you don't mind oil stains. Always keep a fire extinguisher nearby.

Before You Fry
Before beginning, (and before you even season or marinate your turkey) determine the amount of oil you'll need by placing the turkey in the basket (or on the hanger, depending on the type of fryer you are using) and putting it in the pot. Add water until it reaches about two inches above the turkey. Remove the turkey and note the water level by using a ruler to measure the distance from the top of the pot to the surface of the water. Remove the water and thoroughly dry the pot. Now add enough oil to equal what the water level was without the turkey in the pot.

How to Fry a Turkey
Using the candy thermometer to determine temperature, heat the oil to about 325°F and no higher than 350°F. This usually takes between 20 to 30 minutes.

Once the oil is hot enough, place the turkey in the basket or on the turkey hanger (follow instructions that came with your turkey frying kit) and slowly lower it into the pot.
Not let her fry. With whole turkeys, you can estimate on about three minutes per pound to cook.
Remove turkey and check the temperature with a meat thermometer. The temperature should reach 170° F. in the breast and 180° F. in the thigh.

Using an Injector to Marinade Your Turkey
An injector, which resembles a large hypodermic needle, allows you to inject a marinade directly into the meat. While you can make a fried turkey without this step and get a moist bird, it won't be as flavorful as if you take the time to inject your bird with marinade about a half hour or so before frying.

While we tried many of the injector needles on the market, the plastic models are our favorite. We found that the metal needles break easily and the plastic ones tend to be more flexible. We found ours at a dollar store.

Fill your syringe with marinade and inject it into both sides of the breast, the legs and the thighs of the turkey. Don't be afraid to move the needle around to get the marinade into the whole bird. Sometimes it's easier to get the thighs from the inside of the cavity.

Injector Marinades
There are a plethora of commercial jarred injectable marinades available at the supermarket or gourmet shops, but why buy something that's so easy to make yourself?

I've come up with some terrific injectable marinade recipes (see related recipe links below), but it's easy to come up with your own too. Just remember, the injector needles are small so you must use ingredients that dissolve or that are pureed so finely they won't clog the needle. As such, garlic and onion powder work better than their fresh counterparts.

Also look for concentrated liquid spices in gourmet shops or like those sold by Watkins. Watkins also makes an incredible barbecue sauce concentrate that I use in one of the recipes below. These potent sauce concentrates make great flavor bases for barbecue flavored fried turkeys and they are always a huge hit with crowds.

Turkey Frying Tips & Troubleshooting

• Do not stuff turkeys you plan on frying, it just doesn't work and food safety issues come into play..
• Be sure to measure for the amount of oil you'll need BEFORE you marinate or bread the turkey.
• Immediately wash hands, utensils, equipment and surfaces that have come in contact with raw turkey to avoid cross contamination.
• Keep an eye on the time, fried turkeys cook quickly. It only takes about 3 minutes per pound. Overcooking is one of the biggest mistakes beginners make. We should know, we cooked our first turkey so much the outside was charred completely black. Surprisingly, the meat inside the burnt shell was still delicious, so know that if you make this mistake, all may not be lost.
• Consume cooked turkey immediately and store leftovers in the refrigerator within two hours of cooking.
• Never leave the hot oil unattended.
• Don't allow children or pets near the cooking area.
• Allow oil to cool completely before disposing or storing it.

Related Recipes and Links

• BBQ Injectable Marinade Recipe
• Lemon Pepper Injectable Marinade Recipe
  
• Shop for Turkey Fryers at Amazon.com.
• Shop for Liquid Spice and BBQ Sauce Concentrate at WatkinsOnline.com