Winter Grilling

Hard to believe its been a couple of months since I have been able to BBQ. In the Northeast we have seen record snowfalls where it seems that my kids have been home at least one snow day every week. This past weekend we saw temperatures soar into the 50s degrees Farenheit which meant that I was not going to let that oppurtunity pass me by. Considering that it had been a while, I decided to go to Loews to restock on some charcoal and fire up the Weber Smokey Mountain and my One Touch Gold.

For this smoke, I decided to go with some hickory wood chunks that I had picked up.

If you recall, I recommended adding bricks to the bottom of your smoker to help maintain and retain heat inside the smoker. I then put down about 60 unlit briquettes and lit about 30 briquettes in the chimney.

After pouring the charcoal, I added the woodchunks and covered the smoker to bring it to temperature.

For this smoke, I did sweet potatoes and chicken with a spice rub and a little olive oil.

I let the smoke go for about 3 hours....

On the Weber One Touch I made burgers

And now as I sit and wait for the snow to come back this week, I have had to cover my grills again and set them for hibernation until the warmer weather arrives.

Winter Culinary Sundays

On Sundays in this house, I like to refer to them as #CulinarySundays. Its an oppurtunity to flex my inner gourmet self and put some thoughts towards making something that I don't usually have time to make during the week.

On Friday we had a some weather come our way and as you can see, there is some serious snow outside on my BBQ backyard and the temperature is too low to have a successful BBQ/Smoke.

I decided to make Chinese Potstickers (AKA Pan Fried Dumplings).

While these were not done on a grill, I have been thinking (as I watch the snow melt outside) how to do a smoked version of these when the weather gets warmer.

Grilling in December

My son and I had a little bet going whether or not I would be able to get the grill hot enough with it being 35 degrees Farenheit outside. Since he had been doing so well in school I wanted to reward him with an unexpected BBQ that he would also have a chance to participate in.

The Smoking Version of Chirp and Turf

For those following this blog for a while, you may recall my original Chirp and Turf recipe and technique post. Now that I recently added a smoker to my BBQ backyard, it was time to reload this recipe and technique.

Recipe:

(1) dry rub recipe 

(2) Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Sweet Potatoes

Italian Sausage

Chicken

3 pound rack of beef short ribs

Step 1: Seperate some of the dry rub recipe and add the brown sugar for the beef ribs. Liberally coat the ribs and let come to room temperature.

Step 2: Pour 1 chimney full of charcoal into the bottom of the smoker

Step 3: Light 3/4 of a chimney with charcoal and light it.

Step 4: When the charcoal is lit, pour it into the chimney and bring it to temperature

Step 5: Add the ribs to the bottom level of the smoker and close the top. While this is happening, prepare the chicken with the rub, sweet potatoes and sausages

Step 6: After an hour, add the chicken, sweet potatoes, and sausage to the top level of the smoker

Step 7: Replace the cover and and let the smoking magic begin

Step 8: After a few hours check the chicken. There is a good chance that the ribs will need a little while longer.

Step 9: Pull the ribs off and let them rest for a few minutes before slicing

Step 10: Slice the ribs in between the bones and enjoy the smoke ring!

Making things a bit smokey

I have spoken about how when doing "Chirp and Turf" it is important to first smoke the wings and then get the fire hotter for the hamburgers. Its a great way to smoke and grill, but as I have worked with this incredible charcoal Weber One Touch for the last 4 years, I really wanted a dedicated smoker that didn't need as much involvement like the One Touch does when I use that to smoke. I decided it was time to take Everything is Better Grilled to the next level and get a dedicated smoker.

While there are many different smokers available on the market, I am a big fan of Weber's products and quality and went with the 22.5" Weber Smokey Mountain.

For this Sundays BBQ with friends, I started the smoker first since this would be cooking the longest.

Like the One Touch, you start with filling and lighting the chimney

Once the chimney is lit, you add the ring that keeps the charcoal in place and pour your charcoal and wait until the smoker comes up to temperature. Add your wood chips and your food and let it go. Since I was doing a variation of chicken and sweet potatoes for my first smoke, I waited an hour before starting the chimney for my grill.

As you can see, this turned my backyard into a real BBQ House!!

The good part about doing these separately was that the grill was able to get super hot for the hamburgers and hot dogs

Around the time that the burgers and spiral hot dogs were done..........

....the smoker was done too. Since the smoker has two levels, I put the sweet potatoes under the chicken so that when the chicken smoked, those juices landed on the potatoes giving them some extra flavor.

Needless to say, there were very little leftovers. Stay tuned for more smoking and grilling recipes over the coming weeks.