January - What's on the grill and how low can you go?

PH,

Let me know what your impressions of the 2001 Termes are.

P.S. Projected temperature tonight here is 66 degrees Farenheit. (so much for a winter)

Will do, Sapril, but it's the 2002, not the 2001. My mistake.

PH

PH
Does last week count ???
Planeta Merlot 2002, with striploin steak on the BBQ...
Had to shovel the snow off and around the BBQ.

The temp was around -10C, I think that's about 10-12F

JL

Good God, Vinaigre! That's cold. I wonder, in weather like this, does your grill work differently? Even in 20-30 F weather, I believe my grill temperature suffers from the cold. Searing seems to take longer and temps seem noticeably lower.

PH

In this weather you have to stick to the simple cuts, nothing fancy.

I run the BBQ full blast 20-30 min. till it reaches around 450F, and put the steaks on one side of the BBQ, when its done, I flip the to the other side, that way it sears well.

Got to love BBQing, but it is the only way I have steaks.

JL

BBQ (charcoal) a prime rib last night for New Year’s Eve dinner at 52 F!

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Originally posted by Sapril Nguyen:
PH,

Let me know what your impressions of the 2001 Termes are.

P.S. Projected temperature tonight here is 66 degrees Farenheit. (so much for a winter)

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Sapril - here you go.

Perhaps you drank it to soon after opening? I'd give this another try. I'm looking forward to seeing how this does against a well charred burger.

PH

Ha ha...I don't burn ground beef

Our dinner that night when this wine was opened was close to 1 1/2 hours. So maybe I didn't give it enough time to open up.

I have another 3 or 4 bottles. Like I have mentioned to others, the Termes is not a bad wine, it's a solid wine but doesn't deserve to be #3.

PS I still have to share with you my sirloin steak story

We were also BBQ-ing several nights last week, and while it was not quite as cold as it was in Montreal, it was close.

But last week was a fluke heat wave. We do not usually BBQ when the temperature is below zero.

It's not so much the cold as the dark after 5pm, as we don't have a proper light near the BBQ.

Last week it was in the 50's at dinner time, so grilling with my rusted out Thermos charcoal grill was possible. One of those suare ones with rounded corners that are second only to the Weber kettle grill in poularity at the nearby trailer court. I don't even know where we got this grill. I've been wanting to replace it becauee my wife is balking at paying $100 (!) for a new grill when "we've got a perfectly good one already." I keep showing her ads for the $3000 gas grills that my friends want, but she still doesn't appreciate my relatively simple tastes.

Anyways, I mixed up some barbecue sauce and marinated chicken breasts for a couple of hours and grilled them with sweet potatoes that were partially cooked in the microwave. Those were served with broccoli and carrots dressed with butter and black pepper and steamed for 5 minutes in the microwave in a covered glass bowl. Served with a 2002 Altos de la Hoya Monastrell. Simple but tasty.

Posted by Sapril Nguyen,

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Ha ha...I don't burn ground beef

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I do! At least I like 'em well striped on the outside. The combo of the Termes and the sirloin burger was a very good match BTW.

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PS I still have to share with you my sirloin steak story

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The forum is overdue for another Sapril cooking tale!

PH

I grill all year. Even when it is below freezing. It might take a little longer but it's worth it.
Lowest temp I've grilled at - probably -10.

Last week grilled on a day that never reached 0 degrees F. That's when I implement the dash out-flip-dash in technique that Minnesotans have mastered over the years....

Grilled some steaks at about 35 degrees F last week. Worked fine... just let the grill heat up a bit longer than usual. A strip and a filet, along w/ some onions and peppers on skewers turned out well.

LJ

On the best side of the globe, for entree tiger prawns marinated in sweet chili sauce for 30 minutes, the butterflied and grilled. For lunch marinated spangled emperor and sweetlip (marinade being a friend's secret recipe, and fish caught the previous night).

Temperature just under 35 degrees (about 90F) on the beach.

Sunday I tossed a NY striploin and radicchio from Treviso on the BBQ.

on saturday nite, the 2nd, we grilled a tenderloin. we must be getting good, because no one ever wants us to send it back anymore (used to happen quite a bit). the women are happy with medium at the ends, the boys like it still mooing in the center. costco tenderloin, can't beat it.

I'll be doing some Porterhouse steaks this weekend so whatever temp it gets down to, that's how low I'm going.

Costco and Sams have great meats - sometimes not the best prices but consistent prices and good quality. They were stocked for the holidays - I almost took home a standing rib roast or two but the freezer was full.

BTW - none of that gas junk for me. I do it charcoal or nothing. And not those briquettes either - got to have the real wood charcoal. The taste makes up for the difference in price. It also lights faster and burns a bit cooler than the briquettes so it is easier to control the temperature.

In the summer, I sometimes smoke ribs or brisket or a pork shoulder - for that I always use the cheap stuff - briquettes. You get most of the flavor from the smoke anyways and it's just a waste of the good stuff to use the real wood charcoal for smoking especially when you're smoking something for 10 hours - takes a lot of charcoal.

Gyro's. It's been too long since we've made these... they are soooo good.

At grilling time, the temp was 39F (4C)... and it wasn't a problem.

Grilled ribeye last night for my wife's 40th birthday. -21 degrees F !!!! It got to -31 for a low last night.
I grill all year long but usually wouldn't be nuts enough to be out in this weather. However, my kitchen is being re-done right now. So it's either grill or Lucky Charms!

RRW,
Your crazy!!! What temp does the inside of the grill get to?

I bought some prime Porterhouse to grill tomorrow and it's snowing outside. Won't be the first time.

I'm grilling chicken breasts (on the bone), quickly marinated in oil, salt, rosemary, lemon juice, bla,bla, the usual stuff. My question is for the thermonuclear physicists out there - i cook breasts skin side down first, and then flip'em and cover them with metal bowls...one is smaller than the other? Is it just me, or is the smaller one cooks the meat faster?

So, here, that's what is on my plate tonight: chicken breasts with saffron rice and two salsas from Peru, Aji Amarillo and Rocoto. Oh, yeah, and some old french wine too. Cheers all! Don't freeze your butts off!

My assumption is that the bigger bowl would cook faster since there is more metal, and more metal means more surface area for heat conduction?

I'm happy to report both pieces came out very, very tender.
Houston, we have a visual!

Smaller ones will cook faster... less volume under the bowl; therefore, shorter time to fill (and keep full) of the hot air.

I grill year round, but the worst thing about grilling this time of year is that Costco and Home Depot don't carry charcoal . I hate paying twice the price elsewhere

Cmon Eric, A rich guy like you can afford a gas grill!

Hunter - I prefer my weber with real coals! I'm old school

Besides, I am so used to cooking with real fire I screw up every time I try cooking on a gas grill!

Grill year round using charcoal and a weber kettle. On very cold days like Christmas, somewhere around 0 or negative temps, I just use more coals. The heat from the grill gives you about a 2 foot area to stay warm in.

Eric, I agree its hard to find charcoal in the winter, especially in MN, but I usually stock up when everybody discounts it at the end of the season. I probably buy 100 pounds. Unless someone tells me differently, I don't think charcoal gets bad.

I agree with Eric. Real charcoal and wood give meat the best flavor when grilled, but I use a gas grill for several reasons; it's easier both to grill and to duplicate the cooking conditions,and there's no or relatively no mess from a gass grill. My patio would look horrible with ashes on it.

I think most everyone here is crazy, you all need to move further South! (except Pauly)

Will be grilling ribs this weekend with a temperature of about 80 degrees, sunny and clear. Both grilling and eating outdoors this time of year is perfect in South Florida as the summer months are too humid and rainy. (although I have been crazy enough to grill during a rainstorm)

benchland,
I use a gas grill exclusively in the winter. Turn up the heat a bit and it works just fine. I agree that charcoal tastes better and do most of my grilling that way, but when it's cold out speed is a factor.

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Originally posted by Emilio:
I think most everyone here is crazy

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Agreed! When I read about futronic's adventures with the grill, I have goosebumps all over and have a strange desire to put mittens on. I think I even caught a cold once while reading about his grilling escapades. What's next, grilling on the Moon??!!
For crying outloud, man, apologize to your wife or girlfriend, and tell her you can't live in a garage anymore. Mention raccons and rabies, and she'll let you back in. Dude, it's embarrasing, cold and uncomfortable!!! It's time to meet your best friend, Stove. Stove, Futronic, Futronic, Stove. Have fun with each other.

haha, grunny. Listen, just to make you happy, I christened my new 6.5 Qt Le Crueset Oval Oven by preparing Osso Buco in the house.

Besides, it was too warm to BBQ last night - it was a balmy -1C!

Edited for horrible grammar.

futronic,

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I christen my new 6.5 Qt Le Crueset Oval Oven by preparing Osso Buco in the house.

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Osso Buco!! I have Barolo and can travel!!

PH

I've got leftovers, so if you can get to Toronto tonight, you're on!

...here is a "grill" story. We have a 20 foot grill that was trucked out here from Texas {company called Pitts and Spits} two years ago. We haul it from our house to the winery when we have events. It is a dream grill, especially for the guys. It has everything imagineable on it. The girls said no to the T.V. that the guys wanted on it. Anyway, for those of you who have been to the caves in the past couple of months, you may have noticed Bob {caveman or mrs. cavegirl} is missing the end of his little finger. He was adjusting the huge grill on the trailor and got his finger caught between the hitch and the liscence plate. I rushed him to the hospital. They patched him up but could not save his pinkie tip. The same day, after his hand surgery, high on morphine he wanted to come back to the Caves. He thought he could still do a barrel tasting with some clients. We let him wander around with the wine theif for awhile and took him home. That was in October. He still shys away from the grill. I guess it is like getting back on the horse after a fall. He has retreated to the indoor grill and the other night cooked some beautiful steaks we got from a client in Wisconsin. Come summer I think we will begin "therapy" to get him to use the grill again.