Jump to content
Amphoran

First burger try a bit weird

Recommended Posts

OK, OK, I wimped out. What with visiting relatives, work and everything, my first cook was simple direct burgers - both salmon and beef patties.

I filled the basket with lump (cowboy), got the top going with a weed burner, opened everything wide, and the grill was reading 400 in about ten minutes. So far so good.

I shut down the lower and upper dampers and the temp stabilized quickly at 350, so I put the patties on the main grill. They didn't act like they were at 350. Instead of the normal 4-5 minutes per side, they took almost twice that long! (the beef burgers did develop a beautiful smoke ring, though!) and everything tasted great, once done.

So here's the question - do I need to let it ride up to 500 or so on the initial heat up before choking off the air, in order to get the grills nice and hot? Should direct quick cooks be done on the lower grill?

Second (first REAL cook is all afternoon today - 3 big racks of St Louis ribs. Pics will follow!)

Thanks,

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The grill may be considerably further away from your heat source than you are used to as well. For example, on my K5 I can do burgers at about 375-400 dome, since the vessel is smaller and the grill is closer to the fire. I need to keep my temps reasonable because my burgers are typically over an inch thick.

On the KK i let it heat soak a bit more, and go for about 425-450 direct, about 8 minutes on one side, then flip.

If you have the lower grill, you can give that a shot, but I think you will like cooking things that you need to tend (like burgers) on the main grill better. It can get pretty hot reaching down into the lower grill to flip burgers :!:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

350 has worked very well for years on the old steel gashog - after letting it run up to 500, then kill the middle burner and turn the other two all the way down. With the lid closed, that stabilizes the internal temp right at 350.

The rules are clearly different with the ceramic, and I'm learning!

Thanks, all. The ribs are in for the afternoon cook, and I'm trying to bump the heat down to the 230 range.

Here's the picture as they went in.

Ribs1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And here is the result of the first real cook. 6.5 hours at 250 direct.

Falling off the bone, with a fair amount of nicely crusty bark.

Couldn't taste the rub, though. Either I used too little (about 4 oz for the 3 racks), or the flavor just evaporates over the course of the cook. Any comments on that?

Hot off the grill

hotoffthegrill.jpg

cutting up

cuttingup.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ive never had a rub melt off the food, so either there wasnt enough for you to have a distinct flavor, or the rub itself was not powerful enough.

you didnt say what your rub was?

Its not necessarily a bad thing if you couldnt taste any overwhelming flavor from your rub. Maybe you got a nice complimentary flavor, that jus t wasnt as pronounced as you were expecting?

They looked good, though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, looks like you nailed the ribs :D

And yeah, like PC said, burgers can be done low too, just takes a lot longer. And If I'm cooking a butt or ribs and want burgers I'll do them low. But usually I do them at about 600-650 cause it's fast and they are darn good. They are good low too...just take longer and definately not better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The rub was one of may compromises made this week due to the shortage of time.

It was Stubbs Chili Lime rub, and it was very fragrant while being rubbed in, a couple of hours before they went on the grill. Don't get me wrong, the ribs were delicious, but I couldn't taste the chili and lime in them.

I've got a half-dozen rub recipes I'd like to try out, so my next step is to put in a Penzey's order for some nice fresh spices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couldn't taste the rub' date=' though. Either I used too little (about 4 oz for the 3 racks), or the flavor just evaporates over the course of the cook. Any comments on that?[/quote']

I find that pork ribs "sweat" off alot of their moisture, and carry away the rub. This seems to happen in a ceramic or a steelie.

In the first 90 minutes, I usually mop and reapply rub twice to counter that loss of seasoning. I make my dry rub with relatively little salt, or else my finished product would be too salty. Also, when the pores of the meat are open and sweating, the meat absorbs the flavors I reapply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

try this on your ribs next time, to avoid the "sweating" loss... ribs and other meats that have a salt/sugar base rub applied develop a "pelllicle" by drawing out moisture and moisture-soluble proteins. what you want to do is dry that pellicle while it is forming on the meat.

after rubbing your ribs down, place them on an elevated rack over a shallow pan and let sit for 20-30 min. during this time, you'll see fluid begin to show on the surface of the meat. place close to that rack a small, table-top fan, and turn it on low, blowing over the meat. this will help dry out the pellicle, and cause it to become more tacky than "wet". a well developed pellicle will react very nicely in the smoker and develop a very healthy smoke ring.

just before placing on the grill, hit the ribs with a bit more rub, to cause that pellicle to dry up just a little bit more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

try this on your ribs next time, to avoid the "sweating" loss... ribs and other meats that have a salt/sugar base rub applied develop a "pelllicle" by drawing out moisture and moisture-soluble proteins. what you want to do is dry that pellicle while it is forming on the meat.

Or just use mustard. It will be neutral in flavor and hold the rub.

-=Jasen=-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

try this on your ribs next time, to avoid the "sweating" loss... ribs and other meats that have a salt/sugar base rub applied develop a "pelllicle" by drawing out moisture and moisture-soluble proteins. what you want to do is dry that pellicle while it is forming on the meat.

Or just use mustard. It will be neutral in flavor and hold the rub.

-=Jasen=-

I agree, I'm really not sure about pellicles :oops:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

try this on your ribs next time, to avoid the "sweating" loss... ribs and other meats that have a salt/sugar base rub applied develop a "pelllicle" by drawing out moisture and moisture-soluble proteins. what you want to do is dry that pellicle while it is forming on the meat.

Or just use mustard. It will be neutral in flavor and hold the rub.

-=Jasen=-

I agree, I'm really not sure about pellicles :oops:

I use PC's method for smoking fish - it is a must for good texture. Except I do it in the fridge.

-=Jasen=-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...