Happy Holidays

Just wanted to tell everyone, "Happy Holidays" and show you a picture of my "kitchen" -

I took this last night before I dusted it off to do some brats on the grill for my family.  The secret to doing brats on the grill is to keep them high and turn them often. The grease that will shoot out will cause some serious flameage, so be careful.

Again, Happy Holidays to everyone!

Brushing The Snow Away

It is an interesting thing to have to shovel your way out to the grill, and then brush the accumulated snow off the top before you can fire it up. The other evening (-4 F) that is what I had to do to get a few of my favorite steaks on the fire. My wife took a picture because to keep my hands warm I was placing them on top of the grill. I had on some light cloth gloves, but it was still a 400 degree grill and I could put my hands right on the top for several seconds to warm them up.

But true to my observations last winter, a higher flame and a closed lid are the way to go with steak. I do mine about four to five minutes per side at that temp, but they are trimmed a little thin and we like ours a little more than rare.

Still, it was fun to see the porch light smoking in the night as the bulb warmed up and the frost subliminated off the sides.

Hey, if you have some favorites recipes you like to do in the winter on the grill, just let me know. I am happy to post them here and will give you full credit for your work.

Til next time...

Welcome Back!

Welcome back, grilling enthusiasts! I hope you are enjoying the start of winter as I am by keeping your grill warm and your hot plate mitt close at hand. We are up to about 30 inches of snow with temps ranging from the low teens to the single digits below - perfect time for Arctic Grilling!

Here are a couple of tips I want to pass along to you.  Last winter we were living in an apartment with no deck, so the grill had to live in the garage. Wasn't so bad, I just had to roll the beastie out every time I wanted to grill (which was a LOT). Anyway, grilling in that fashion left a couple of things un-discovered.

1. Propane stops flowing as readily as the temperature drops. While I was storing my grill in my garage, which always stayed at 65 degrees or so, it was not a problem. Now that it is outside, it takes a little longer to warm things up.  Once I get one burner lit, I have to wait a few seconds before lighting the next one, and then the next. Gives the propane in the tubes time to expand.
2. That little metal knob on top of the propane valve is just that - metal. Once the temperature drops below zero, that little piece of steel can stick to your hand really fast. It's best to have on a glove or use your hot plate mitt to keep from leaving part of your paw under the grill.  Oh, and don't think it is going to warm up while you are cooking.  The heat goes up, away from the tank, and that little knob stays just as cold as it was.
3. During the summer it is nice to put the grill at the edge of the deck next to the house. That way you can always stand under the eave of the roof for the occassionaly shower. But before you fire that grill up in the winter time, I suggest you move it out from under that eave.  The effect of a hot grill on a twelve to fifteen inch snow-load hanging on the edge of the eave is not one you want to experiece. Trust me on this one!

Well, keep you grills hot and your meat turning. If you have a favorite recipe for the wintertime grill, drop it off here. I would certainly like to try it!

More late...