calibrating your grill or smoker with dry runs - grill with side burner

The first thing is to close your eyes and say "I'm smarter than My Grill ".
I won't let it ruin the meal, make me look like a fool, and make my family sick. " -
Remember, your grill or smoker is just an oven when you close the hood.
The main difference between the outdoor oven and the indoor oven is that most of the grill is not controlled by a thermostat, the insulation is not good, the cooking temperature is affected by the sun, wind, rain, in my house, snow.
The other big difference is that the things on the grill taste better.
In order to take advantage of the delicacy offered by the grill, you need to control the temperature and you need to know the temperature of the cooking surface at any time.
Like inside.
The first step to becoming an excellent outdoor chef is to master your instrument and the best way to do it is to calibrate it with a dry run. No food needed.
The goal is to make you feel how your cooker reacts to you, but most importantly, how to reach the target temperature in the recipe.
Food, especially meat, is a complex chemical mixture whose chemical properties change with temperature.
For more information on this topic, please read my article on meat science. Because the 2-
The area or indirect setting is the best technique that an outdoor chef uses to cook most things (
It prevents combustion, provides a safe area, produces a uniform temperature at the center of the thick cut)
, It is very important that you click on the link above to read my article on this topic and pass for 2-zone cooking.
These are common goals in my recipes.
At a temperature of 225 degrees F, you cook low and slow, muscle fibers do not catch and squeeze out all the juice, which is perfect for hard meats like ribs and pig shoulders
Although the water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the water in the meat is mixed with protein and other compounds, so at 225 degrees Fahrenheit, the water is not hot enough to produce steam.
You cook hot enough at 325 degrees F, and the Ballard effect can make the surface protein yellow, caramel sugar, render fat and crisp skin yellow.
It usually starts at about 310 degrees F.
This is the temperature I recommend to most turkeys and chicken skins.
You want to know what the top is because you will want it because of the grilled steak surface and grilled pizza.
The basic concept is to ignite your cooker, make an adjustment to change the temperature one variable at a time, and take notes with the cooking log.
Click on the link to download the one I used
Don't forget to write down the weather conditions around you.
Your Grill will be hotter on sunny days than a breeze or a rainy day.
You do experiments here, so it's important to apply an important rule in scientific methods: change only one variable at a time.
From experiments to experiments, doing everything is exactly the same, changing only one thing and you will learn some facts.
You definitely need a good oven thermometer to calibrate and Cook.
Think you can guess that the temperature is reckless by putting your hands on the grill.
Everyone's sensitivity to heat is different, because when you leave the heat source, the heat will dissipate quickly, and it can have a significant impact as long as it moves up or down a few inches.
The thermometer probe needs to be located at the grate level where the food is located, not in the lid.
There may be a big temperature difference. Get a digital.
It is much more precise than the dial thermometer, which can turn off up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Please read my thermometer purchase Guide. 2)
Check hot spots now.
Buy some ready-made tubes
I like pearsbury cookies for biscuits (
Click on the link, there are usually coupons).
Turn all the burners to medium and close the lid to stabilize the temperature.
After about 15 minutes, place the cookies in the grid on the grill with 1 to 2 pieces in the middle.
Cover the entire cooking surface.
Move quickly or get someone to help you.
Close the lid and don't open it unless you smell burnt.
After about 10 minutes, open the lid and flip quickly.
Take photos after flipping.
You will see some hot spots in your grill.
Print the photos so you know where they are.
If the cookies are not golden, let them cook longer on the second side and flip the shot.
Cook the biscuits, make some sausage gravy, and eat them. 3)
Repeat the test with the water pan, as I described in my article on the best setup of the gas grill.
The water pan above the burner is a good way to stabilize the heat and increase the humidity of the oven.
The humidity changes the heat transfer, dehydration of the food and is mixed with the combustion gas to improve the taste.
If you have a gas grill with only one burner, you need to master this setting.
But you should really consider upgrading to a multi-burner grill.
It gives you more versatility. 2)
Open all the vents all the way.
Most of the time, when you cook, you will want to keep the vent on the top to prevent too much smoke and impurity oil from piling up in the oven.
You will control the heat by controlling the oxygen that reaches the coal, which means only the bottom or inlet vents are controlled. 3)Set up for 2-
Regional or indirect cooking.
This means that you will pour all the coal on half of the grill and the other half is not.
One side of coal is the direct hot side, and the one side without coal is the indirect hot side. 4)
Place the thermometer probe in the middle of the indirect side cooking grate.
Count the rows of grates from the edge where the probe is placed, so that you can put it in exactly the same position in the repeat test. Write it down.
Cover with the vent on the indirect side.
Keep in mind that opening the lid allows heat and oxygen to enter.
Wait for the temperature to stabilize by observing the thermometer, probably for at least 5 minutes.
Read it and write it down. 5)
Move the probe to the center of the direct side, cover the lid and read when the temperature is stable.
Make sure that the thermometer you are using can withstand high temperatures.
On the hot side, it can get 600 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
Write down the reading. 6)
Close the bottom vent to 1/2 open and keep the vent open all the time.
Wait for the temperature to drop and read.
This can take 15 minutes or more.
Don't consider how long it will take to stabilize.
Move the probe to the indirect side. Wait and read.
Turn the air inlet off to 1/4 open and repeat.
Close the entrance all the way and repeat.
Open all, repeat it.
Watch the temperature drop when coal burns. 7)
If you can't go down to 225 degrees F, do another dry run with half a chimney. 8)
If you have a charcoal grill, please read my article on the best settings for the charcoal grill.
The water Pan continues to calibrate.
The water pan is a great way to stabilize the heat and increase the humidity of the oven.
The humidity changes the heat transfer, dehydration of the food and is mixed with the combustion gas to improve the taste. 9)
Learn and remember what you have learned.
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