Might not be relevant, but, one of the standard barbecue/braai items we
use at times here in South Africa is a form of separate grill/grid, but,
which is one that sort of folds open/closed, with a long handle on one
side, so you can do things like place multiple pieces of meat, or even
forms of toasted sandwiches in it, and then just turn them all over in
one motion, without having to worry about them moving around, etc.
I used a slightly smaller version a little while ago with a sort of
replica of the george foreman counter top grill, since it was easy to
just turn all pieces of meat over in one go, and this smaller sized one
happened to perfectly match the size of the counter to grill itself,
but, you can get a couple of different sizes here, at various outdoor
warehouses, etc.
Stay well
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
"Resistance is futile, acceptance is versatile"
On 2016-05-09 5:44 AM, Jonathan Rawlings wrote:
Hi Rob:
It has been one crazy weekend around here, and I haven't had much
time until now to even check my email. To answer your questions about
charcoal; the only suggestions that come to mind are to use the chimney
starter to get all the coals lit, then, when you pour the coals out, use
a long-handled spatula or something to gather them all together so they
all burn down and burn hotter. As far as how to turn the food, I will
have to look into that. I don't like using a spatula of any kind on the
grill because I feel I don't have as much control over where the food
ends up as I do when I use tongs. I could check to see if "Cooks'
Illustrated has done any tests on what tongs and spatulas are best for
grilling, if you like. For me, right now, grilling and smoking are
something I am just kind of muddling through as best I can. I realized
last week that I badly need a new set of tools for the grill as mine are
either lost or damaged. I had the set a very long time, so I guess it
has to be done. It's just one more thing I want to buy that I don't
have the funds for right now. Let me know if you'd like me to check for
the equipment reviews and I'll check and post what I find.
Jon
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob" <captinlogic@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2016 10:11 PM
Subject: [blindcooks] A Couple of Grilling Questions
How can you make sure all the coals are involved when you start a fire
in your grill. This morning, when I went to clear it out after using it
last night, I was left with a bunch of unburnt charcoal. Obviously, you
can't stick your hand in there while it is lit to check it out. Any
ideas? Reusing charcoal is not good--charcoal is an absorbant and will
thus catch flavors from the last thing you cooked on it--but I hate to
waste it too.
The other question involves turning items on the cooking grate. I kept
finding my spatula going underneat the grate instead of underneath the
food item. When I cook in a pan, I can dart my left hand briefly in
there to feel the edge of the food item I want to turn and then use my
spatula to turn it. Not so easy on a grill. It's a much hotter
environment and you could get burned. The tongs that come with barbecue
tool kits are rather long and noarrow and not really good for grasping
things; I actually think you're supposed to use them to move coals into
place. Using a fork is a bad idea, because once you stick it in the meat
or vegetable you're cooking, it lets out all the juices.
I gave some thought to trying to find something like a pair of salad
tongs. Those things are scooped so you can grab a bunch of greens at
once. However, all the ones I have found are equipped with short
handles, and, more importantly, are plastic--not a good thing to use on
a grill.
I'd welcome any further suggestions.
