Grill Maestro

It’s been a busy few weeks here at the Maestro’s manor and I haven’t had a chance to do any fun experimentation with either the Charbroil TEC grill or the Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker, though I did do a little pedestrian grilling and smoking recently.

BBQ Chicken Thighs
The wonderfully delicious BBQ chicken marinade made a comeback last week when I dropped some deboned chicken thighs onto the grill after marinading them in the sauce for a little while. I’m a huge fan of dark meat chicken, that juiciness really does it for me, so much more than white meat chicken.

I found that grilling in the dark is really hard for me because I rely a lot on my eyes to tell me when something is just about done given the temperature it’s been cooking at. We’ve been grilling more at night, with less light, because of how late I’ve been coming home from work; so it might just be a matter of getting home earlier!

Smoked Pork Back Ribs
I picked up three slabs of pork back ribs from the new Costco that opened up near us and gave them a good ole smoking via the 3-2-1 method I discovered a couple months ago. I was a little anxious (and my guests were too, they aren’t the patient smoking type) so I really did like 2.5-1.5-.5, which did make it a little tougher. I also couldn’t get the membrane off one rack, which made it a little less than ideal. Overall I think my temperature control is getting better, this time I didn’t overcook it, but I think pork is a more forgiving and tenderer meat than, say, beef (depends on the cut of course, but you’re likely not going to smoke filet mignon!)

So, sorry for the lack of writing, it’s been busy here, but I’m still grilling and smoking!