Tips & Tricks

[JohnVee]

I didn't find a "Tips" thread in here, so here goes... Whatcha got?

Use your oiled paper towel left over from oiling your grill grate to start your next batch of coals in your chimney starter. I just keep it inside my other grill till I need it. You'll end up with one every time you grill. Now I don't have to worry about newspaper.

--john

 

[rusty_tlc]

Cough syrup bottles from the pharmacy to store oil and such, free for the asking and I've never had a leak.

 

[spressomon]

My grill lube'n mop: White face cloth, rolled and tied with butchers twine, doused in grape seed oil that resides in one of those glass storage containers with the locking lid in the fridge. The grape seed oil stays liquid at fridge temps...darn thing just about lasts forever.

Good call Rusty on the cough syrup containers!

 

[rusty_tlc]

Pill bottles work well for spices, also free.

Another trick, I pack the grill for my portable propane grill inside a brown paper bag with a couple of pieces of corrugated card board on each side. this pretty much eliminates rattles on rough roads.

Stuff grocery bags inside the roll of paper towels, it keeps them handy for garbage bags when cooking.


DO NOT store the green propane cylinders in the picnic hamper, if they leak it will ruin everything, including the hamper, ask me how I know.

 

[e9999]

gave up on cleaning and oiling the grille on my grills with paper towels, oil brushes etc. A pain. Now a quick pass with a metal brush and then 2 sprays of PAM (from Costco - cheap) sideways, 1 each direction. All of 10 secs instead of 10 mins... Cans last a long time. Very nicely seasoned grilles now. Plus can do a quick squirt right before putting something on.

 

[JohnVee]

Put thin cuts of meat, like those pork chops that were on sale, in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes before grilling them. This gives the outside time to get a crust before they dry out.

--john

 

[FLATU8ER]

I'll keep and old pickle jar or old tuperware container by the grill filled with lighter fluid and enough briquettes to stay wet. I use one briquette in the middle of the pile or chimney starter and will not have to use paper under it.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Save the black plastic pot from the next 10 gallon plant you buy for the yard, it is the perfect size for a propane tank. Put the LPG tank inside and it won't roll around in your truck going to and from the exchange or fill station.

 

[JohnVee]

Somebody was telling me this weekend about making a cooker by using a couple terra cotta pots. Poor man's BGE, I suppose.

Wide, flat skewers are the bomb for so many things, especially ground lamb, so that the food doesn't roll around the skewer when you lift it to turn. You can also just double skewer most things with regular round bamboo skewers - doesn't work so well with ground meats, though.

--john

 

[JohnVee]

I think someone here already suggested this in another thread, but you might as well roast some garlic in tinfoil while the grill is going anyway. You'll find a use for it. It'll keep in the fridge for a few days. Great on a roast beef sandwich. I even used some as a spread on a fried tilapia sandwich last week with a great remoulade. It really turned a bland, plain, cheap fish into a decent eat. It also gives me a reason to make hummus, which also works great as a spread or a dip with some roasted red peppers and garlic.

--john

 

[B-RAD]

On the garlic note, I have been buying the big bags of peeled garlic at Costco, throw them all on a jelly roll or rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with plenty of olive oil, roast them, then puree them in the Cuisanart, then spoon full blobs onto another cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, cool and then freeze. Once frozen, cut the parchement paper in squares around the blobs, throw them all into a ziplock and keep in the freezer. Every time you want some roasted garlic for the next few months, simply pull a blob out, let it thaw or warm up in the microwave, and mix into whatever you would like! Mashed potatoes, soups, stews, blend with butter and herbs, rub on chicken, beef, pork or lamb, or enjoy just plain on a cracker!

 

[JohnVee]

On the garlic note, I have been buying the big bags of peeled garlic at Costco, throw them all on a jelly roll or rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with plenty of olive oil, roast them, then puree them in the Cuisanart, then spoon full blobs onto another cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, cool and then freeze. Once frozen, cut the parchement paper in squares around the blobs, throw them all into a ziplock and keep in the freezer. Every time you want some roasted garlic for the next few months, simply pull a blob out, let it thaw or warm up in the microwave, and mix into whatever you would like! Mashed potatoes, soups, stews, blend with butter and herbs, rub on chicken, beef, pork or lamb, or enjoy just plain on a cracker!

Hmmmm. Didn't know garlic would free well. I'll hafta try this.

--john

 

[FLATU8ER]

would you want to vac seal said roasted garlic and make it last longer?
I do roast garlic to use in the above mentioned use's, but will use my method for larger quanties.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Portable BBQ's make a lot less noise in transit if you wrap the grill in a brown paper bag inside before you close the unit up.

 

[rusty_tlc]

A butane BBQ lighter will start a gas grill or stove even if it is out of fuel, just get the piezo spark close to the burner and click away while you turn the gas on.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Bicycle inner tubes can be cut into rings that make great "super duty" rubber bands. Bike shops will give used inner tubes away free.

 

[JohnVee]

Portable BBQ's make a lot less noise in transit if you wrap the grill in a brown paper bag inside before you close the unit up.

Plus the obvious - use the empty grill to store other things.

--john

 

[rusty_tlc]

"Wet" produce boxes, the kind used for broccoli and other veggies shipped in ice, make ideal firewood boxes. The waxed cardboard will light a fire in even the most tropic downpour.

 

[JohnVee]

Wipe down your grill grates with oil many, many times before putting on the food each session. So many people think that just once is fine. You've got to build up a layer as the heat breaks it down right from the start. Do it each time for better, longer lasting results. More is better.

--john

 

[sggoat]

This is a good idea!--Thanks

Bicycle inner tubes can be cut into rings that make great "super duty" rubber bands. Bike shops will give used inner tubes away free.