When are the coals ready?
 

I bought a Chimney [Weber] as everyone advised me to and I would like to
ask just how will I know "when" the coals are ready to be placed into the
grill please?

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
>I bought a Chimney [Weber] as everyone advised me to and I would like to
> ask just how will I know "when" the coals are ready to be placed into the
> grill please?
>

It takes maybe 10 minutes to get the coals more gray than black, then dump
them in the grill.

"Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote in message
...
>
> "mikehende" > wrote in message
> lkaboutcooking.com...
> >I bought a Chimney [Weber] as everyone advised me to and I would like to
> > ask just how will I know "when" the coals are ready to be placed into
the
> > grill please?
> >
>
> It takes maybe 10 minutes to get the coals more gray than black, then dump
> them in the grill.
>

What sort of coals? It makes a difference you know.

On 15-Jun-2005, "mikehende" > wrote:

> I bought a Chimney [Weber] as everyone advised me to and I would like to
> ask just how will I know "when" the coals are ready to be placed into the
> grill please?

I observe my chimney from the sliding doors leading to my lanai, (
about ten feet from the lit chimney). When I see no smoke from
the chimney I dump it into the firebox. It is plain upon close inspection
that the whole chimney is well lit. YMMV
--
The Brick® said that ( Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak,
throats become dry, and they think irrationally
when a woman wears leather clothing?

?? .....BECAUSE SHE SMELLS LIKE A NEW TRUCK )

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

The coals I am using is "Kingsford" brand. To know when the coals are ready
to be put into the grill, do count "minutes", say 10, 15? Or, is there a
certain "color" for the coals, half "white" or totally white?

Grey is the color you are looking for. You want all of the coals to be well
lit, not just the bottom ones. When you dump the coals in the grill you
want them all to be burning evenly, not just the ones that were on the
bottom. If you dump before all of them are well lit then you get a slow
start because the smoker won't be up to temp until all of the coals ignite.
When just the lower ones are gray and you dump it takes a while for the
others to catch up. The purpose of the chimney is not only to get the coals
lit but get them lit evenly. I often cheat a little but I always wait until
at least the bottoms of the ones on top are gray.

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
> The coals I am using is "Kingsford" brand. To know when the coals are
> ready
> to be put into the grill, do count "minutes", say 10, 15? Or, is there a
> certain "color" for the coals, half "white" or totally white?
>

I was told that when all of the coals are "gray" [I call this "white"],
that they are 1/2 burnt out so they will not last long, what's your take
on this please?

"mikehende" > wrote in message
> I was told that when all of the coals are "gray" [I call this "white"],
> that they are 1/2 burnt out so they will not last long, what's your take
> on this please?

It's been a while since I've used Killford but used them long enough to
remember that they'd cover up with ash well before being half consumed. It
depends on your own tatsebuds, lighting up is when coals put out the most
smoke residue, this is a good thing with lump or wood, but pretty
problematic with Killford because they are putting out some nasty (to me
anyway) tasting smoke. By the time K'fords have some ash they have also
passed their peak outgassing. Since a cooker takes a few minutes to heat up
anyway dumping them out of the chimney when they still are 1/2 to 2/3 black
or so is probably about right.

D
--

Thanks all, I think I will start with "2/3" Grey and experiment from there.
Another question I hadn't considered, how does the "smoke" figure into all
of this now that you mention it? Are you saying that the coals will give
off smoke more at one time than another, then when should I actually put
the meat on? I had assumed that I would pour the coals from the Chimney
into the grill and put the meat on immediately?

mikehende wrote:
> Thanks all, I think I will start with "2/3" Grey and experiment from there.
> Another question I hadn't considered, how does the "smoke" figure into all
> of this now that you mention it? Are you saying that the coals will give
> off smoke more at one time than another, then when should I actually put
> the meat on? I had assumed that I would pour the coals from the Chimney
> into the grill and put the meat on immediately?
>

Well, I think that I saw that you're using Kingsford. First suggestion
that I'd make is switch to lump charcoal. Do a cook with that only and
see how you like it.

On subsequent burns you can add small, soaked in water pieces of your
favorite wood until you hit on a combo that you like. Note that IMO
anyhow you shouldn't really be able to see plumes of smoke. A bare
"wiff" at most works for us. Of course YMMV.

At a minimum I'd suggest that you switch to lump.

--
Steve
Ever notice that putting the and IRS together makes "theirs"?

ok but I already bought 2 big double bags of Kingsford from Costco so i
will have to use those out before switching to "lumps". If I understand
your answer to my question, you're saying that the coals are ready for the
meat when I DON'T see any or much smoke coming from the coals, is this
correct?

mikehende wrote:

> ok but I already bought 2 big double bags of Kingsford from Costco so i
> will have to use those out before switching to "lumps". If I understand
> your answer to my question, you're saying that the coals are ready for the
> meat when I DON'T see any or much smoke coming from the coals, is this
> correct?
>

well, as I said it's been a loooooong time since I used it but I'd
probably dump 'em out of the chimney when they are around 75-80% "white"
ash on the outside. If I needed to add more during the cook, I'd start
'em separately until grey/white and then add them to the unit. I
wouldn't put them in "cold". Just my two cents (which may only be worth
..1 ;-) )

--
Steve
Ever notice that putting the and IRS together makes "theirs"?

ok, nice tip, another issue, I see guys spraying ordinary "water" on the
grill while cooking from time to time, what's the reason for this and when
should it be done?

On 16-Jun-2005, "mikehende" > wrote:

> ok, nice tip, another issue, I see guys spraying ordinary "water" on the
> grill while cooking from time to time, what's the reason for this and when
> should it be done?

That's a favorite trick used by grill cooks to keep flare-ups from ruining
their meat. It's done whenever flames threaten the meat. It is used only
to douse the flames, not to cool the fire.

--
The Brick® said that ( Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak,
throats become dry, and they think irrationally
when a woman wears leather clothing?

?? .....BECAUSE SHE SMELLS LIKE A NEW TRUCK )

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
> I bought a Chimney [Weber] as everyone advised me to and I would like to
> ask just how will I know "when" the coals are ready to be placed into the
> grill please?
>

As soon as you see flames coming up, out the top of the coals and you can
see the coals have started to turn grey arund the edges on the coals at the
top. Unless you use starter fluid you don't have to wait for all the coals
to ash over.

--
Mike Willsey (Piedmont)
The Practical Bar B Q'r at,
http://groups.msn.com/ThePracticalBarBQr/_whatsnew.msnw

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
> I was told that when all of the coals are "gray" [I call this "white"],
> that they are 1/2 burnt out so they will not last long, what's your take
> on this please?
>

I don't think half burnt is correct, as in my prior post, I have found that
I don't have wait for all coals to be ashed over, I found that the ashing
over will occur fasting if I dumped them out when half ashed over, then dump
onto coal grate.


--
Mike Willsey (Piedmont)
The Practical Bar B Q'r at,
http://groups.msn.com/ThePracticalBarBQr/_whatsnew.msnw

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
> ok, nice tip, another issue, I see guys spraying ordinary "water" on the
> grill while cooking from time to time, what's the reason for this and when
> should it be done?
>

For any number of reasons, to reduce flames (which shouldn't be a problem on
a kettle cooker, just put the lid on). To add flavor to meat. To help keep
meat moist. I never spray.

--
Mike Willsey (Piedmont)
The Practical Bar B Q'r at,
http://groups.msn.com/ThePracticalBarBQr/_whatsnew.msnw

> On 16-Jun-2005, "mikehende" > wrote:
>
> > ok, nice tip, another issue, I see guys spraying ordinary "water" on the
> > grill while cooking from time to time, what's the reason for this and
when
> > should it be done?

IMO, never.

If you're doing it for flare ups, all you're doing is putting off the
inevitable and much worse, letting the fuel source grow so the fire will
become huge and long..
Let flare ups burn off. If they're bad, move the damn meat, it'll settle
down soon enough.

Lets not take this coal thing too far. Just wait until you see the top
coals beginning to catch and dump them in. We are just lighting a fire here
not launching a rocket. You simply want to get each and every one of the
coals started so that you aren't waiting around for the smoker to come up to
temp. Half gray, all gray, 2/3 gray, white, just get them all started. I
don't wait long after dumping coals to put the meat in. The temp is usually
around 200 by that time and climbing. Kingsford is fine and is used by many
great BBQ cooks. Lump is more expensive and burns faster. Lump is just
partially burned chunks of wood. And don't soak your wood. You want your
wood to burn cleanly. You don't have to see the smoke to taste it.


"Piedmont" > wrote in message
...
>
> "mikehende" > wrote in message
> lkaboutcooking.com...
>> I was told that when all of the coals are "gray" [I call this "white"],
>> that they are 1/2 burnt out so they will not last long, what's your take
>> on this please?
>>
>
> I don't think half burnt is correct, as in my prior post, I have found
> that
> I don't have wait for all coals to be ashed over, I found that the ashing
> over will occur fasting if I dumped them out when half ashed over, then
> dump
> onto coal grate.
>
>
> --
> Mike Willsey (Piedmont)
> The Practical Bar B Q'r at,
> http://groups.msn.com/ThePracticalBarBQr/_whatsnew.msnw
>
>

It is what you do when you don't have a dial (like on your kitchen stove) to
adjust the heat. Cooking on a grill (if you are using charcoal) can be very
challenging because of the lack of precise heat control. Usually you want
to wait until the coals have mellowed into a nice even, moderate heat. But
even then you will have problems with flare ups from dripping fat. The
water spray does two things, it helps douse the fire and keep temps under
control.


"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
> ok, nice tip, another issue, I see guys spraying ordinary "water" on the
> grill while cooking from time to time, what's the reason for this and when
> should it be done?
>

On 16-Jun-2005, "mikehende" > wrote:

> ok, nice tip, another issue, I see guys spraying ordinary "water" on the
> grill while cooking from time to time, what's the reason for this and when
> should it be done?

That's a favorite trick used by grill cooks to keep flare-ups from ruining
their meat. It's done whenever flames threaten the meat. It is used only
to douse the flames, not to cool the fire.

--
The Brick® said that ( Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak,
throats become dry, and they think irrationally
when a woman wears leather clothing?

?? .....BECAUSE SHE SMELLS LIKE A NEW TRUCK )

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----