- May 31, 2018
- 21
- 11
Odd question that’s been circulating in my head recently, don’t know quite how to phrase it but here goes nothing, you guys always give great advice.
I’ve been grilling or smoking very regularly since buying our house a little better than a year ago when I also treated myself to a 26” Kettle with a slow n’ sear.
Lately I’ve felt my cooking, particularly my grilling, has hit a bit of a brick wall. Grilling writer’s block, if you will. I’m thinking part of the reason for this is because of the pattern of cooking I’ve developed with the slow n’ sear. It makes indirect cooking SO easy that I’ve become a slave to the method, every time whether I’m making steaks, burgers, chicken, whatever, it’s the same pattern. Load up the slow n sear with a chimney of lit charcoal, let the grill warm up for a bit, place food on the indirect side for 15-30 minutes depending on what I’m cooking, quick sear (or not, depending on type of food), serve. Results are consistently pretty good, sometimes great, but I feel like I must be missing out on some of the finer points of grilling, particularly over direct heat. I’m so indoctrinated in this more controlled method that at this point I wouldn’t dare attempt steaks, even thin ones, directly over the coals for the duration of a cook.
Is there such a thing as too much indirect heat grilling? Perhaps I need to ditch the slow n sear for awhile and play with different charcoal arrangements, medium heat zones, etc?
Not knocking the slow n sear at all, I love mine. It’s a fabulous tool and makes smoking on the kettle a breeze. I just feel that I’ve become such a slave to this indirect grilling method and need to experiment a little more.
I’ve been grilling or smoking very regularly since buying our house a little better than a year ago when I also treated myself to a 26” Kettle with a slow n’ sear.
Lately I’ve felt my cooking, particularly my grilling, has hit a bit of a brick wall. Grilling writer’s block, if you will. I’m thinking part of the reason for this is because of the pattern of cooking I’ve developed with the slow n’ sear. It makes indirect cooking SO easy that I’ve become a slave to the method, every time whether I’m making steaks, burgers, chicken, whatever, it’s the same pattern. Load up the slow n sear with a chimney of lit charcoal, let the grill warm up for a bit, place food on the indirect side for 15-30 minutes depending on what I’m cooking, quick sear (or not, depending on type of food), serve. Results are consistently pretty good, sometimes great, but I feel like I must be missing out on some of the finer points of grilling, particularly over direct heat. I’m so indoctrinated in this more controlled method that at this point I wouldn’t dare attempt steaks, even thin ones, directly over the coals for the duration of a cook.
Is there such a thing as too much indirect heat grilling? Perhaps I need to ditch the slow n sear for awhile and play with different charcoal arrangements, medium heat zones, etc?
Not knocking the slow n sear at all, I love mine. It’s a fabulous tool and makes smoking on the kettle a breeze. I just feel that I’ve become such a slave to this indirect grilling method and need to experiment a little more.