Occasion
Meal before leaving for the Orange Conference in ATL.
Partakers
M4 crew, Melanie's mom, and Grandma Tiffin
On The Grill
6 hamburger patties about 1/3+ lbs each.
Preparation
I made up the patties to about 1/3 lb each. One thing I can't stand is a hamburger patty too small.
I wanted to try something besides my regular burger recipe. I used Lea & Perrins, some Lawry's, and a new ingredient this time: Fiesta Ranch dip dry seasoning. This is the ranch dip that is in a pouch, except it's the Fiesta style, a little spicy.
Grilling
Preheated the grill to about 600 degrees. I cooked the burgers on high heat, flipping every 4 minutes until done. I backed off on the temp once I got the burgers on the grill. Added cheese with about a minute left in cooking.
Results
Burgers were good. The Fiesta Ranch rub was ok. I expected more of that flavor to come out, but it wasn't very strong. It was worth a shot, and wasn't bad at all.
Improvement
I may add more of the Fiesta Ranch rub next time.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter grill meal: Pork Tenderloin
Occasion
Easter Sunday Meal
Partakers
The M4 Crew (that's my family btw)
On The Grill
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
Squash, Zucchini, and onions
(The tenderloin looks small on my new grill)
Preparation
Basically no prep for the pork tenderloin. I cheated this time and bought one from WalMart. I rarely buy meat from WalMart, but I made an exception. Two reasons, we wanted pork and I haven't done many pork tenderloins. So no big loss if it wasn't good. I got the garlic and pepper one pre-marinated.
Melanie cut up the squash, zucchini, and onions. She sprinkled a little Tony's on them, and I believe some olive oil. We wrapped them in foil.
Grilling
I decided that I would turn the pork tenderloin only once. I have heard of others not having to turn them at all. I cooked on indirect heat for an hour. (Indirect heat being my left and right burners on medium and my middle burner off...with the meat sitting over the middle burner). No flame up with indirect heating, and no burning the outside of the meat.
My grill temp stayed around 350 degrees. I didn't "smoke" the meat, but didn't try to cook it too quick. If I would've had more time, I probably could've dropped the temp some too. The tenderloin took about an hour to cook. The main thing is getting the inside of the meat to about 165-170 degrees
The veggies were wrapped to begin with, but I wound up grilling them over direct heat for a short time, then put them back in the foil.
Results
Meat was very tender. The pre-marinade was decent. A little too much pepper in it. And we like pepper. Still was a little much. The tenderloin was tender enough to cut with a fork. So all was good. Micah LOVED it. I think he wound up eating more of it than any of us.
Improvement
I really should spend the extra few minutes to do my own rub and marinade. It probably would've turned out better.
Easter Sunday Meal
Partakers
The M4 Crew (that's my family btw)
On The Grill
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
Squash, Zucchini, and onions
Preparation
Basically no prep for the pork tenderloin. I cheated this time and bought one from WalMart. I rarely buy meat from WalMart, but I made an exception. Two reasons, we wanted pork and I haven't done many pork tenderloins. So no big loss if it wasn't good. I got the garlic and pepper one pre-marinated.
Melanie cut up the squash, zucchini, and onions. She sprinkled a little Tony's on them, and I believe some olive oil. We wrapped them in foil.
Grilling
I decided that I would turn the pork tenderloin only once. I have heard of others not having to turn them at all. I cooked on indirect heat for an hour. (Indirect heat being my left and right burners on medium and my middle burner off...with the meat sitting over the middle burner). No flame up with indirect heating, and no burning the outside of the meat.
My grill temp stayed around 350 degrees. I didn't "smoke" the meat, but didn't try to cook it too quick. If I would've had more time, I probably could've dropped the temp some too. The tenderloin took about an hour to cook. The main thing is getting the inside of the meat to about 165-170 degrees
The veggies were wrapped to begin with, but I wound up grilling them over direct heat for a short time, then put them back in the foil.
Results
Meat was very tender. The pre-marinade was decent. A little too much pepper in it. And we like pepper. Still was a little much. The tenderloin was tender enough to cut with a fork. So all was good. Micah LOVED it. I think he wound up eating more of it than any of us.
Improvement
I really should spend the extra few minutes to do my own rub and marinade. It probably would've turned out better.
Hawaiian Chicken
Occasion
Family Meal
Partakers
Melanie, Micah, Malaree, and me.
On The Grill
Boneless Chicken Breasts-3
Preparation
We had intended to eat this meal the night before, but I wound up buying a truck and picking it up. So our original Monday night meal got delayed until Tuesday.
Marinade--Lawry's Hawaiian marinade. Probably the best pre-made marinade that Lawry's does. Has some citrus flavor in it.
Since I got delayed, the chicken actually marinated a full 24 hours. This made a HUGE difference in the amount of flavor in the chicken. I believe they are actually 30 minute marinades, so as you know it was much more flavorful.
Grilling
I didn't use the sear burner for the chicken. I cooked on medium to high heat. I flip my chicken about every 4 minutes or so. These chicken breasts were bigger than what I normally get, so cooking time was a bit longer.
Results
The chicken turned out good. I believe we had a type of rice pilaf and some green beans for the sides. It made for a very healthy meal that was fairly quick.
Improvement
The chicken started to get a little charred from the marinade. I probably should have dropped the temperature down on the grill a bit. I'll have to remember that for next time.
Family Meal
Partakers
Melanie, Micah, Malaree, and me.
On The Grill
Boneless Chicken Breasts-3
Preparation
We had intended to eat this meal the night before, but I wound up buying a truck and picking it up. So our original Monday night meal got delayed until Tuesday.
Marinade--Lawry's Hawaiian marinade. Probably the best pre-made marinade that Lawry's does. Has some citrus flavor in it.
Since I got delayed, the chicken actually marinated a full 24 hours. This made a HUGE difference in the amount of flavor in the chicken. I believe they are actually 30 minute marinades, so as you know it was much more flavorful.
Grilling
I didn't use the sear burner for the chicken. I cooked on medium to high heat. I flip my chicken about every 4 minutes or so. These chicken breasts were bigger than what I normally get, so cooking time was a bit longer.
Results
The chicken turned out good. I believe we had a type of rice pilaf and some green beans for the sides. It made for a very healthy meal that was fairly quick.
Improvement
The chicken started to get a little charred from the marinade. I probably should have dropped the temperature down on the grill a bit. I'll have to remember that for next time.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
First meal on the new grill
Occasion
Breaking in the new grill.
Partakers
Melanie, Micah, Malaree, and me.
On The Grill
--1 in. thick center-cut pork chops from Seal's Meat Market in Lucedale. When I grill chops, I get them between 3/4 in and 1 in. This seems to make them big enough to be juicy and not dry out.
--Pineapple. Melanie cut it up into slices. One of our favorite non-meat items to grill.
--Onion.
Preparation
Meat seems to do better when it is close to room temperature. However, these didn't get to complete room temperature before grilling. Here's what I put on my chops....and many other things for that matter: Lea & Perrins Worchestshire sauce (don't use another brand. To me, other brands seem to have too much of a soy flavor.), Lawry's seasoned salt (reduced sodium), and Garlic powder. I put the Lea & Perrins on first, so the Lawry's & garlic powder don't roll off.
Pineapple prep--just slice vertical, not horizontal. It keeps you from getting the "hard" part of the pineapple when you are grilling.
Onion--Put some butter, a little soy sauce, about 2-3 drops of Texas Pete hot sauce, and some garlic powder, and a little pepper. Wrap in aluminum foil.
Grilling
I grill my chops on high heat for 4 min. on each side, and then I flip them on each side for another 3 min each. I then just check it. I usually back the heat down a little after each side has been grilled once.
The pineapple. I only grill this for 3-4 min. Long enough to get it hot and it starts to semi-caramelize with the sugar in it.
Results
Everything was great for the first run on the new grill. I was reminded how much I like the cast-iron grates. This is one of our favorite meals.
Breaking in the new grill.
Partakers
Melanie, Micah, Malaree, and me.
On The Grill
--1 in. thick center-cut pork chops from Seal's Meat Market in Lucedale. When I grill chops, I get them between 3/4 in and 1 in. This seems to make them big enough to be juicy and not dry out.
--Pineapple. Melanie cut it up into slices. One of our favorite non-meat items to grill.
--Onion.
Preparation
Meat seems to do better when it is close to room temperature. However, these didn't get to complete room temperature before grilling. Here's what I put on my chops....and many other things for that matter: Lea & Perrins Worchestshire sauce (don't use another brand. To me, other brands seem to have too much of a soy flavor.), Lawry's seasoned salt (reduced sodium), and Garlic powder. I put the Lea & Perrins on first, so the Lawry's & garlic powder don't roll off.
Pineapple prep--just slice vertical, not horizontal. It keeps you from getting the "hard" part of the pineapple when you are grilling.
Onion--Put some butter, a little soy sauce, about 2-3 drops of Texas Pete hot sauce, and some garlic powder, and a little pepper. Wrap in aluminum foil.
Grilling
I grill my chops on high heat for 4 min. on each side, and then I flip them on each side for another 3 min each. I then just check it. I usually back the heat down a little after each side has been grilled once.
The pineapple. I only grill this for 3-4 min. Long enough to get it hot and it starts to semi-caramelize with the sugar in it.
Results
Everything was great for the first run on the new grill. I was reminded how much I like the cast-iron grates. This is one of our favorite meals.
My grill: Weber E330
I purchased a new grill at the beginning of April 2011. I ordered the Weber E330 from Amazon.com, which was drop-shipped straight from Weber. Why did I order from Amazon.com and not from Weber or Lowe's? Free shipping. I did have to put the grill together. However, I do know that it was done right, and nothing is missing.
Here are a few pics of the new grill right after it was assembled. Assembly time was about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
The grill has 3 main burners. It also has an extra burner called a "sear station". It is a full extra burner between the left and center burner. Purpose: For searing a piece of meat to keep the juices in. It works great. Once you sear the meat, you can turn that burner off.
The grill also has a side burner on the right side. It is flush, so the side can still be used as extra space.
The starter is electric, sending a spark to each individual burner. It uses one AA battery. So far, it works well. Starters always seem to be the first thing to go on grills. We'll see how this one does.
Grates: I opted for the cast iron grates. I've had cast-iron, stainless, and porcelain before. No question that I like the cast iron the best.
I had to "season" the grates before using the grill the first time. No big deal though.
Here are a few pics of the new grill right after it was assembled. Assembly time was about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
The grill has 3 main burners. It also has an extra burner called a "sear station". It is a full extra burner between the left and center burner. Purpose: For searing a piece of meat to keep the juices in. It works great. Once you sear the meat, you can turn that burner off.
The grill also has a side burner on the right side. It is flush, so the side can still be used as extra space.
The starter is electric, sending a spark to each individual burner. It uses one AA battery. So far, it works well. Starters always seem to be the first thing to go on grills. We'll see how this one does.
Grates: I opted for the cast iron grates. I've had cast-iron, stainless, and porcelain before. No question that I like the cast iron the best.
I had to "season" the grates before using the grill the first time. No big deal though.
My grilling blog
I contemplated whether or not I should start a new blog just for my hobby of grilling. I could and may still post some of these to www.markwilliamslive.typepad.com.
Why a blog just for grilling? Well, it is one of those things that I really enjoy doing. It is multi-fold. I love food. I love grilled food. Grilled food is often a very healthy choice of cooking. It's fun for me. It's never a chore. It gets me outside. And everybody's gotta eat sometime.
What am I going to say about grilling? I will have a couple of headings in each blog where I've grilled something. I hope to be able to take pics every time as well. I'll let you know what I did in preparation for the grilling. I'll also give you the recipe for what I'm grilling. I'm not one of these "secret sauce" guys. I believe in sharing the love with others. So if I find something that works well for me, I'll let you know. Also, if you have recommendations for me, then please feel free to comment. All suggestions are welcome.
If you want to submit a grilling recipe, I'll post it on here. Like I said....share it. We're all better when we do that.
Basically, this will give you a look at me grilling.
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT AN EXPERT!! I would actually say that I am a novice griller. I don't "smoke" a lot of meats. I don't cook tons of different things. I hope that this will allow me the opportunity to experiment a little more with my grilling. So....there you have it. Hope you enjoy.
Why a blog just for grilling? Well, it is one of those things that I really enjoy doing. It is multi-fold. I love food. I love grilled food. Grilled food is often a very healthy choice of cooking. It's fun for me. It's never a chore. It gets me outside. And everybody's gotta eat sometime.
What am I going to say about grilling? I will have a couple of headings in each blog where I've grilled something. I hope to be able to take pics every time as well. I'll let you know what I did in preparation for the grilling. I'll also give you the recipe for what I'm grilling. I'm not one of these "secret sauce" guys. I believe in sharing the love with others. So if I find something that works well for me, I'll let you know. Also, if you have recommendations for me, then please feel free to comment. All suggestions are welcome.
If you want to submit a grilling recipe, I'll post it on here. Like I said....share it. We're all better when we do that.
Basically, this will give you a look at me grilling.
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT AN EXPERT!! I would actually say that I am a novice griller. I don't "smoke" a lot of meats. I don't cook tons of different things. I hope that this will allow me the opportunity to experiment a little more with my grilling. So....there you have it. Hope you enjoy.
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