The Aurora Project and some BBQing tips

[entropywins]

Hey Ken,
Any idea when you might get some of those copies of their first CD? I actaully managed to find it on itunes, which blew me away but there is no substitute for actaully having the disc.

As for BBQ tips, I was thinking, maybe you could have a separate section of this forum just related to grilling as you seem to be quite the grill master.
Whaddya think?
What are you suggestions for not having food stick? I've tried grill spray, using some olive oil on the food, and coating the grill with veg. oil before putting the food on. Never seems to matter--it all sticks--chicken, burgers....
and the grill surface is porcelain coated cast iron.

Any advice appreciated!

 

[lasercd]

I can check with the band - they told me they expected to get back copies from the label.

Food sticks to the grill when you try to remove it too early. First off PAM for grill works pretty good - olive oil as well. Second make sure you are cooking at a high enough temperature. If you are cooking at high heat sticking should be less of an issue but the primary culprit is you are peeking too damn early! Also shy away from sugar based marinades and sauces. They burn real quickly and just turn the grill into a gloppy mess.

(I assume you are cooking with gas (ugh!))

 

[entropywins]

Thanks, Ken! If you could check with the band, that would be great!
Thanks also for the grilling tips and you do assume correctly--I'm using gas....and peeking too damn early.

I take it you prefer the old school charcoal? Why do you like charcoal better?

 

[lasercd]

No comparison between cooking with charcoal and gas. I have a gorgeous $2000 DCS gasser that has two inches of cobwebs on it. Sitting next to it is the incredible Primo XL ceramic grill. I use it every night...in fact some honey garlic rubbed chicken breasts will be going in there in about one hour.

Cooking with hardwood charcoal has a much better taste. It's obvious from the first bite and once you experience it you can never go back. I'm also able to maintain a precise temperature over a long period of time. Gas grills are great if you want to toss a few hot dogs on and have a quick bite. Serious cooking is using hardwood charcoal with a few chunks of your favorite wood (hickory, alder, apple, pecan, etc), for a low and slow cook of a pork butt or searing a 2 inch thick porterhouse at 600 degrees.

www.primogrill.com for a life changing experience.

 

[DJ's Locker]

Reference the chicken. Do you let it soak for a bit or just rub it on and grill? I do a lot of steaks buy my wife has been bugging me to grill chicken. I'm ok with that but I need to add some extra flavor for my palette. Any other suggestions to enhance the flavor?

 

[lasercd]

I rarely use marinades (but I do use them on ocassion). I'm a rub kind of a guy. I have a million recipe books and do throw together rubs but I have some favorite store bought rubs which are so good I really don't see the point of making my own. IMHO, chicken is far and away the hardest thing to cook. Most people burn it to cinders and dry it out. Find a rub you like (good example - one of the many varieties of Char Crust) and rub it under the skin and on the skin. If you really want to do some kind of marinade mix the rub with olive oil and soak the chicken overnight - personally I just go straight with the rub.

The key to cooking chicken properly is to cook the breast to 160 degrees and legs/thighs to 180 degrees. Then they are done - beyond that they are drying out. If you can set up a cool zone on your grill where you can cook the chicken indirect you've got a good shot at great chicken. Basically you are cooking the chicken indirectly by keeping it away from the flame. Towards the end you can move it directly over the flame and sear it. If you cook it direct over the flame the entire time you will wind up with chicken burnt to a crisp. Oh yeah...always cook with the lid down.

 

[DJ's Locker]

Sweet!! Thanks for the info.