Do it all on your Grill
April 9th, 2008
It’s been awhile ago, but I have discussed before the age-old question of which outdoor-cooking method is best: Charcoal or Propane. The answer of course is both and neither. For convenience, you can’t beat the propane. For taste, you gotta go for the charcoal. For initial outlay of cash, the charcoal grill is cheaper. But in the long run, buying charcoal instead of propane costs more. Deciding between the two is quite a dilemma.
A few weeks ago, my longtime friend the propane grill bit the big one. I had replaced the burner in it several times and had vowed I wouldn’t do so again, since the bottom was well on its way to being rusted out. So, when we ran out of fuel, we said our last goodbyes and left it out on the curb. Sniff, sniff.
For various reasons, we decided to go for a charcoal grill this time around. DH has been wanting one for 6 years, and I wanted a bigger cooking area without laying out the initial bucks. Still, to get a decent-sized charcoal grill, we paid $75 plus we bought a chimney/starter thingy and some long-handled tongs. Add lighter fluid and charcoal and we still dropped a hundred dollars.
Because I’m not good at and don’t enjoy lighting the darn thing, I’m trying to really put it to use when I do get it lit. I’ve been putting extra meat on it, enough for at least one meal of leftovers, and also some vegetables… potatoes, onions, mushrooms etc.
Last week, we had this meal on it… the entire meal was cooked on the grill…
Lemon Pepper Pork boneless pork chops
Lemon Pepper Asparagus spears
Sliced Potatoes and onions
Sliced Potatoes and Onions
Thinly slice small redskin potatoes and some sweet onions. Lately I’ve been buying Mayan Sweets at the grocery and they have a really good flavor when cooked. Tear off two or three rectangles of foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the spuds and onions in the center of the foil, spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Maybe some garlic powder, too. Fold the sides over — the potatoes don’t have to be covered, but we don’t want to lose any! These will take 20 minutes or so on a hot grill. Get them going over the hottest part and then shift them away when you need to put the meat on.
Lemon Pepper Asparagus Spears
Same routine as the potatoes. Spray the foil with cooking spray. Lay the washed spears on top, spray the spears. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper. Fold the foil over. These will take about 10-15 minutes on a hot grill, so put them on just a few minutes after the potatoes.
Lemon Pepper Pork Chops
Earlier in the day, marinade the pork in a ziploc baggie with water, soy sauce, and either worcestershire sauce or lemon juice. When the coals are hot, pat them dry and cover with lemon pepper. Add to the hottest part of the grill when the potatoes have been on for 15 minutes. Cook 5 minutes or so, then flip and cook another 5.
Cooking times, of course, depend on how hot your fire is. This can be difficult to fine-tune. White coals are the hottest, of course. If you hold your hand over the coals and have to pull away, that’s a good hot fire.
ENJOY!
Entry Filed under: Recipes