Hitman Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Did some chicken thighs tonight, using a recipe from the Naked Whiz website. Somewhat oriental marinade, lots of soy, ginger, and garlic. I subsituted Myers dark rum for the bourbon, only marinated for two hours. Started with a partial basket of Kingsford Competition charcoal, because that's what I had on hand. Used a chimney to start some coals, dumped them on top of the basket. Lots of smoke at first, but tapered down. Stabilized the temps at 350 for over 20 minutes. Had the lower grill with the heat deflector, and the drip pan above that. I put some soaked cherry wood chips on the coal bed, put the chicken thighs on the upper grill, closed the lid. The temps dropped immediately from 350 to 225, took almost 10 minutes to get up to 350 again. I opened the bottom air vent to about 50%, had the upper vent open 2 full turns. I flipped the thighs after 15 minutes, ended up grilling a total time of almost 40 minutes. Meat temp was 160. The chicken was extremely moist, but the fatter thighs were not quite cooked through. Next time I will try heat soaking the grill to 400 degrees, then opening the vents enough to recover back to 400 within a fe minutes, then cutting back the air to stabilize the temps. I can see that temp control is key for repeatable results, need to gain some experience. BTW, the chicken was absolutely delicious, just not quite perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetzervalve Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I always set the lower vent at 100%* and use the top damper to control the temp. I am able to deal with only one variable and can get repeatable temp setting consistently. *Pizza and steaks I pull the lower door out an inch or so for super high temps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 I'm sure they looked de-lish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 Be careful using the full open lower door technique on one of the new firebowl models - I have found that having the dial full open will put you in the 500 degree neighborhood, even when you choke the top down. There is a lot of charcoal in that bowl, and its only inches from the draft door so it doesnt need as much draft through the grill as the old style did. Hitman - try putting your heat deflector on the handles of your charcoal basket. They were designed to be able to hold the deflector, and it will free up another grate for bigger cooks. I think the deflector on the basket handles gives a more even indirect heat across the grill, too. You didnt put your deflector on at the same time as the meat did you? If so, that woudl explain the 10 minutes to come back to temp. The deflector should come up to temp alond with the grill after you light it. You can toss your smoke wood down around the egdes of the basket with the deflector in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted August 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 Thanks again for the helpful hints. I will try leaving the lower vent half open (EZ to remember) and control the temp with just the upper vent, see how that works for me. No, I did not put the heat deflector in at the same time as the chicken, but it was sitting on top of the lower grill. Next time I will put it on the charcoal basket, per your suggestion. The Kingsford Competition charcoal was pretty crummy. I put a little more than a full (large) chimney load in, and it was completely burned up. Today I picked up two bags of Cowboy lump (only type of lump they carry at Home Depot), and completely filled the basket. Not sure what I'll be cooking tonight. Question 1: How can you plug the small hole in the side of the cooker --- I think it's for the rotisserie shaft? Question 2: Can I use that hole for the sensor on my digital cooking thermometer? If I do that, and place the sensor into the meat, will it accurately register the meat temp, or will it be affected by the interior dome temp? Guess one way to check is to compare its temp reading with the Tel Tru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted August 22, 2009 Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 you should get a hotter fire and quicker response from the cowboy. That hole is actually intended for a guru or wireless thermometer probe. You can plug it with a silicone plug. If you didnt get one with your grill, Dennis can send you one. Otherwise, dont worry about it...its not drawing enough air to make a difference. The rotis goes into the sguare holes on each side of the grill...they rotate in their housing, and so they are sealed already Your temp probe if placed in the meat will read the meat temp accurately. You will probably want to loosely wrap the probe wire with foil to help protect it from the fire and high heat. Remember that if you are using the deflector, there is a higher heat around the outside of the grill, and so you should protect your probes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted August 27, 2009 Report Share Posted August 27, 2009 Moved to Cooking General.. Moved to Cooking General.. This area is for new members to check in and say hello.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
