Expert: John Langenfelder - 12/2/2008

Question
I just purchased my first grill. It's a simple Weber Kettle grill and I've performed one meal. It just so happened to be part of Thanksgiving dinner, but it's just one meal.

I've got two questions.

First is I understand that for certain meats (chicken, fish, etc) you want lower heat compared to beef when you'll need higher heat. Give me some tips that I can use to control that such as how much air to let into the fire, how much charcoal, etc.

And this question is a debate that has gone on with the men in my family for many years. To clean my grill grates or not to clean them? The argument against cleaning it is that when the food leavings cook off they'll just fall into the fire creating smoke however if the grate stays dirty it'll wear out faster and the food could stick more. I'm not overthinking this, am I?

I may be a neophyte but I really want to learn and get good on the grill. I've always enjoyed that type of food and love the health benefits of direct cooking like that.

thanks for your time.

Answer
Ryan,

You can never go wrong buying a Weber grill.  My biggest complaint with the Weber charcoal grills is they don't come with a temp gauge.

Question 1: you do not need lower temps for chicken/fish etc.  All meats will be grilled per recipe instructions.  It mainly depends on what you are doing.  You will need to learn how to use the grill by the direct and indirect methods.  Weber's manual describes the technique.  Fish and many thin or delicate meats or roasts or whole chicken and turkeys will be done indirect.  Chicken (pieces) or steaks are normally done direct. Some meats (like ribs, pork butts, beef briskets are done low and slow - temps around 250 - for several hours - indirect method.  With Weber’s, you’ll need to get a grill temp gauge (any long temp probe will do) and put into the vent holes.  Then begin adjusting the bottom and upper vents to reach the proper temp.  Once you become familiar with the grill, it becomes easier.  Bear in mind that outside temperatures and weather conditions will have a big affect on the grill.  350 on a warm summer day can be like 300 on a cold winter day.  Get a chimney starter (again Weber makes the best one) and fill it with charcoal to start your grill, depending on what you are cooking will depend on whether to add more charcoal to the grill or just use what is in the chimney starter.  For indirect cooking, take a piece of aluminum foil, fold in half a couple of times and place it in the middle of the grill as a divider between the area with charcoal and the area without charcoal.  

Weber’s website has a lot of good tips so take a look:

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/recipe/grilling101/directindirect.aspx

Another nice web site for Weber (although dedicated to the Weber bullet smoker) is:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html


Question 2: As far as cleaning the grates go, Weber grates are coated so they won't rust under normal circumstances. Just brush them off with a grate brush and put a little oil on a paper towel and use a pair of tongs to clean the grate and oil it a bit. You have a charcoal grill.  You already have smoke.  You want flavor?  Add a few pieces of hickory, apple, oak or other fruit wood.  All you get from burnt food is burnt food…

Good luck!