That’s why they invented self-serve car washes in the first place.
I clean the grill by preheating (I have propane) then brush it all down before I put the food on. The burners get cleaned by pressure washer once or twice a year. Or when the built up gunk catches on fire. 
I know where you are coming from, but I have to confess that I have been partially seduced by the dark side. I’ve always been a charcoal/hardwood devote, I’ve been downright militant about it at times too, sneering at gas grill users and their “upside-down broilers”, I’ve been known to take the piss out of the entire province of Alberta at times for their gas fixation.
Then last weekend I got one of these.
For free. (FREE!!! A thousand dollar grill!!!)
OH. MY. GOD.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got my smoker, I’ve still got my great big charcoal grill, and they will continue to be used for appropriate foods, but the ease of just firing up this Weber for burgers and dogs and the like…we’ve grilled every night since I got it, and it fucking ROCKS!!!
No Easy Off. I scrub the grill with a grill brush before every cook. I use charcoal, so I don’t have any advice on the what to do with the burners. At the end of grill season, when I want to get my grill completely clean, I stick it in the oven on the self-clean cycle. That will obliterate any gunk you have left.
My favorite thing to grill at the moment is jerk chicken. I do it over an indirect heat in a Weber Kettle or direct heat in a Weber Smokey Mountain (waterpan removed). It should properly be cooked over pimento (allspice) wood, but there’s only one supplier of that in the US that I know of, and it’s rather pricey. I just use a mixture of lump hardwood charcoal and a little bit of fruit wood (apple or cherry).
So, the jerk paste:
8-12 Scotch bonnets or habanero peppers
2-3 tablespoons freshly ground allspice
2-3 tablespoons fresh thyme (or half the amount dried)
6-8 cloves garlic
1 red onion
1/2 C dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/4 lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
You can also throw in about 2 inches of fresh, grated ginger, and about 1/2 cup of green onions or chives.
Blend all ingredients together in a food processor to make a coarse paste. You can add a little lime juice or water if it seems too thick, but you want this to be a paste.
This recipe is very spicy, so you may want to go easy on the Scotch bonnets/habaneros, perhaps even cutting it down to one or two. The most important components here are the peppers, allspice, and thyme. Do not skip any of those. You can get away with missing some of the other ingredients, though.
Coat chicken (or pork) in paste. (Whole chicken, chicken pinwheels, chicken wings, and pork loin work the best.) If you have sensitive skin and follow the recipe as I’ve given it, you’ll want to wear gloves. Get some paste under the skin, if you can. Let the paste and meat mingle for at least 4 hours, preferably 8 or more. (I’ve gone as long as 24 hours.) Grill until done (use whatever method of grilling you’re comfortable with. Either a low, direct fire, or an indirect fire. Use a little wood, about two fist-sized chunks, for flavor. If you must use gas, set to around 300-325.)
I reserve a little of the paste before I coat the meat to serve on the side.
First off scrape the grill down as soon as you take the food off. It is much easier than waiting until the junk has had a chance to harden for a day or three.
Secondly, what is this burner you guys are talking about cleaning? All I have to do is scrape out the ashes, and load more charcoal and I am good to go.
Sounds good - basically you’re brining it first, which is always a Good Thing :). One nitpick tho: if you’re starting with a gallon of water, then a 1-gallon Ziploc won’t hold the whole mess.
Some general questions: What exactly is the advantage of cooking on a plank vs. just cooking on the grate? Slower cooking? does it actually add flavor? I’ve never planked, but it seems like this would reduce the chance of turning one’s poultry into charcoal, right? And do you re-use the plank or toss it after a single use?
And if I may hijack… I want to try smoking some food. [rasta]do we eat it? no no NOOOOO no. Do we drink it? no no NOOOOOOO no. Do we SMOKE it? yes yes YESSSSSS yes![/rasta]
Our gas grill has 3 burners (straight lines, front-to-back). Above them is a layer of sheet metal bent into a corrugated shape, like this:
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Then at the top are the grates - just two of them, side by side. They’re coated metal rather than pure wrought iron.
I understand I need to get a smoker box (or make a pouch out of heavy-duty foil), soak some wood chips, put them in the box, and lay that on the grill.
My assumption is: I remove one of the two grates, place the pouch/box on the corrugated part, and turn on just the burner under the smoker box. When it starts giving off a bit of smoke, I put the food on the other half of the grill, directly on the grate. Then I cook it on low? for many hours until a meat thermometer says it won’t kill me.
Is this basically what I need to do? am I missing or messing up any critical steps?
Please do, I don’t have my smoker anymore and would love to know the right way of pulling this off on a propane grill.
On propane smoking: Smoke packet on hot side, food on cold side. Keep the temperature below 250° F. Smoke for several hours, then wrap in foil and finish cooking at higher temps. until done. There is really no purpose in smoking meats longer than that if you are planning on eating them at once. Saves a lot of time, too.
And a recipe contribution - this was nabbed from the grocery chain’s website and has been a fave for years:
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
1/2 cup red raspberry preserves
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tsp. fresh garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 lemon wedges (for garnish)
In a baking dish, whip together the first five ingredients. Marinate chicken breasts for 5-10 minutes or until the coals are gray throughout and reach a medium temperature. Grill the chicken breasts, uncovered, about 7 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. The chicken may also be broiled in the oven, 4" from the heat source for 6 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Serve on a clean platter and garnish with lemon wedges.
The instructions say to marinate for 10 minutes which seems hideously short to me - we always give it a couple of hours or even overnight. I’ve been known to assemble this, and toss the chicken + marinade in the freezer, when there’s a big sale on boneless chicken.
Here’s a video at epicurious (you have to watch a brief ad first). It wouldn’t have occurred to me to use a disposable pan. That video doesn’t go into what you actually do with the meat, aside from “not directly over the chips”.
Silenus - thanks. Do you put the meat directly on the grate? or on some sort of pan? (seems like planking would work but perhaps overkill with the wood chips).
Meat on grate, just like you were grilling it normally.
I saw a demo on TV the other day that said to use 2/3 soaked wood chips and 1/3 dry chips in the foil packet or tray to get the smoke going. I haven’t tried it myself – would this work, or should they all be soaked?
You are correct about 1 gallon of fluid + chicken all fitting into a 1 gallon bag. However some people might not be able to find larger bags in which case you might be able to get all the chicken (cut up) plus most of the brine into a 1 gallon bag. Or yo can use two 1 gallon bags.
The advantage of cooling on the plank is that the flavor from the cedar is infused into the chicken (or fish, or whatever) to a greater degree than it will be with chips. It takes about the same cooking time as direct on the grill, and you are correct, the chicken does not burn.
You toss the plank when done.
one word of warning when cooking via a plank, if you decide to pull the entire plank out of the BBQ make damn sure you place it on things that are fire proof and are heat proof. The bottom of the plank will be more or less on fire, so do not set your burning plank directly on your nice new dinning room table.
What are you trying to smoke would be my first question.
As far as time goes I have smoked steaks for less than 1 hour (see the link I posted up thread for the recipe) and I have smoked beef briskets and pork butts for 18-24 hours.
:eek:
Yeah, that would kinda suck.
Unless your dining table was made of some flavorful wood that would add even more to the taste of the food 
Woohoo I love Memorial day loss-leaders on steak!
Tonight I went and got my steak supplies for saturday. I’m only on a grocery store budget these days, not a butcher shop, hence the loss-leader stuff, but score 
There were none out yet, but according to the M-day flyer the sale starts today, so I asked the butcher. and with a knowing smile he asked what I wanted. Three top sirloin at $2.99 a pound, and 3 top loin strips at $4.29 all high-choice. I think the butcher appreciated someone who asks for what they want and gave me the best choice he had, much better than the non-sale choice cuts showing in the case.
Meat in the fridge, ready for the grill, makes me happy.
I hear ya! We’re hitting the store after work tomorrow for that very reason. Steaks and ribs and chicken, all on sale. The freezer is going to be packed.
Yup, it started last night here too. I got some filet at $5 a pound, so there’s now 4 pounds of filet mignon just chilling in the freezer, 8oz boneless pork chops were a buck each, so there’s 10 of those too. The chicken wasn’t on super sale, so I just bought a pound and a half and grilled them right away. Rubbed them down with my own rub that was eyeballed amounts of:
Mustard powder
Ground ginger
Ground chipotle red pepper
Garlic powder
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
I just dipped each breast in the stuff and then worked it in and around with my hands until they were nicely coated. I let it sit in the fridge for an hour, made some Zatarains black beans and rice on the stove, fired up the grill and grilled the chicken perfectly (if I do say so) and with just a few minutes remaining I slathered them in jerk sauce. It was outstanding.