First Burn of the Season and Sourdough Bread-

My first burn of the season was this last weekend. We had a 2.5 pound Tri-Tip Roast seemingly sufficiently thawed, and I had cleaned the Winter out of our Char-Broil Silver Smoker. Central Coast California Winters are not particularly cruel, but we get enough cold evenings and precipitation to prevent a lot of Winter outdoor cooking. This particular roast was already prepped in the package, so once thawed it was ready to go.

I got the fire going. This being the the first burn of the season I got a full chimney of charcoal going and ran the Smoker with the vents wide open to really cook out any nasties I hadn't gotten during cleaning. The thermometer read about 425 degrees at peak. I scrubbed down the hot grill and turned down the vents. I then tossed in about a dozen fresh charcoal briquettes. I was using Kingsford Charcoal, the kind with Mesquite bits in the briquettes.

Once the cooking chamber had cooled to the 200 degree range I introduced the meat. I placed a thermometer probe in the thickest part of the meat, which was in the center of the cooking chamber. I got an initial temperature reading of Lo, indicating that we were still below 40 degrees internal temperature. I planned on a cooking time of about two to three hours.

Every thirty minutes I checked the fire. Generally it needed a half-dozen briquettes to keep the heat up. I generally just place them on top of the hot coals, rather than do a fresh start in the starting chimney each time. I haven't found the Kingsford introducing off flavors when doing this, and so this has been a general practice.

At three hours the internal temperature was around 128 degrees, and had been there for about thirty minutes. It was past the anticipated dinner time for the family, so I decided to speed things up a bit. I had been running with nearly closed vents. I added a dozen briquettes to the fire and opened the vents all the way. About thirty five minutes later we reached 160 degrees internal temperature, and I declared the cooking finished.

Just before adding the extra heat at the end of the cooking I laid four strips of bacon onto the roast, to prevent excessive drying of the exposed surfaces. It seemed to work, and the bacon was done just right at the end. After resting the meat for fifteen minutes under a foil tent, I cut into it and found it to be just right. A good smoke-ring, and finished cuts from medium rare to medium depending on the thickness of the meat at the cut.

As to other cooking adventures, my daughter Beth purchased an Oster 2 Lb. Breadmaker. We have done four loaves so far. None in the express bake mode, however. One loaf of Raisin Bread, one loaf of  white bread, and the third and fourth were sourdough. It took a few days to create the sourdough starter. This last loaf came out quite nicely, since I used actual bread flour as the recipe directed. Prior loaves were a bit dense, since I used the flour from our kitchen canister. Beth did the first loaf, a raisin bread that came out quite nicely. Bread flour is apparently very important.

We have a fresh bag of whole wheat flour for the next bread bake. This thing is really easy to use. I just measure out everything in advance, and then pour the ingredients into the bread pan. Measurements and order of ingredients is important, and I follow them precisely. Then the pan goes into the baker, I hit the settings (which are almost light-switch easy) and wait. Three hours, plus a cooling time of fifteen minutes.

There are a number of recipes yet to try just with the ones in the manual. There are plenty more recipes on-line. Not bad at all.

Boned Leg of Lamb and Memorial Day Brats-

Last week we fired up the old Char-Broil Silver Smoker and cooked up a nice boned leg of lamb. Due to our chronic lack of detailed planning we got it out of the freezer and thawed it for two days, but did not have much in mind after that.


So, I fired up the coals and rubbed down the meat with olive oil and gave it a dose of my quickie rub. (That's equal portions Kosher salt, black pepper and seasoned salt). I cut slits in the meat to insert slivers of garlic, three cloves worth. Then into the cooking chamber.


I have gotten better at managing my fire and temperatures over the last year of using this particular barbecue. In the firebox I start with one chimney of charcoal. This run was Kingsford Mesquite, with an occasional dose of soaked mesquite chips. I get the fire going and dump the coals into the firebox. I press them toward the wall nearest the cooking chamber. Every twenty minutes I check the coals, generally finding that I need about ten new coals.


About every other check I add some wet wood chips. This continues until we reach target temperature, which was set on my probe thermometer at 160 degrees. I projected about four hours and was pretty close. I had sufficient Blue Moon wheat beer to see me through the whole process.


Once at temperature I placed the meat in a foil lined insulated box to rest for twenty minutes. The lamb finished moist and tender, and quite tasty. A more delicate fruit wood might have been better for smoking, but Mesquite is what I had, and I rather like the stuff. I sliced it thin and served it to the family. Everyone seemed to enjoy the lamb, and I was pleased.


Though it was quite moist, I wanted a bit of dipping sauce for mine. I mixed up my usual soy sauce and vinegar sauce, this time using red wine vinegar. It was quite good with the lamb, but I think that I would like to come up with a lighter sauce next time. This sauce can overwhelm the delicate flavor of lamb. I dipped the meat and shook off most of the sauce before eating each morsel.


Move ahead a week and we are into Memorial Day and a nearly spontaneous barbecue. Burgers, Brats and Hot Dogs were purchased. I used the cooking chamber for grilling this time, since I needed the room. I started my coals in the firebox, using a starting chimney. These coals I poured into the cooking chamber, and immediately refilled the chimney. I set it down in the hot coals for a few minutes to start it, and then moved the chimney to the firebox.

I formed the coals into a hot zone and a medium zone, reserving some space for warming. Due to a delay in getting the party started I had to rebuild the coals. When cooking started I had a bed of coals beginning to reduce in heat. The hot dogs and Brats cooked up fine. I also did my first grilled ears of corn, prepped with salt, pepper and butter and re-wrapped in the husks.

With several people started on dogs and Brats, I turned my attention to the hamburgers. I kept some corn going on one side just about all of the time. The burgers were cooking very slowly, which isn't bad but I did not care for the degree of shrinkage. I lost a lot of volume as they sat long on the coals.

In retrospect I should have had a third chimney of coals going to refresh the overextended bed I was trying to use. These particular coals were Kingsford competition grade charcoal, purchased in a double pack at Costco. They were satisfactory, and I think I could come to like this charcoal if I work with it a bit more.

I simply need more time doing direct grilling with a purpose. Not just building a raging fire and overcooking things in flames and flare-ups. Planned cooking with a masterful control of heat and time.

Better preparation is another factor. Having all of the preparation done before starting so there is no waiting. I waited on elements of the barbecue being prepared as I nursed the fire. I waited on party members, still nursing my fire. I waited too long before refreshing the coals, and lost some of my valuable heat.

That being said, we had fun and ate well. Everyone loved the dogs, Brats and burgers. Good times and good eats. I can't complain.

Barbecue Cheater-

We don't have much weather in our part of California. Winter for us is a couple of days of freezing temperatures, largely at night, and some rain. Combine the rain with other pressing family needs, and I haven't gotten my Char-Broil Silver Smoker running for weeks.

Last week I cleaned it and did a good cleansing burn. The weather was still a bit wet, but I wanted to clean out some of the unpleasantness that finds its way into an idle barbecue.

This week the weather finally broke. My daughter, now in charge of food purchases and menu planning for the clan, had purchased two beef steaks so thick as to look like roasts, and a packaged marinated pork roast. The meats came from Costco.

Having the pork processed ahead of time was a bit of a cheat, but that didn't prevent me from getting it on the grill yesterday. It was a garlic and pepper marinade, and smelled pretty good right out of the package. The steaks I rubbed with olive oil and my general purpose rub made from equal portions of salt, pepper and whatever seasoned salt I have around. This seasoned salt was a barbecue mix from the Dollar Tree.

I set up for a three to four hour cooking time, got the fire going and got the meat on the grill. Just short of four hours the steak furthest from the fire achieved an internal temperature of 168 degrees, three degrees over my target of 165. I pulled the meat off of the grill and let it rest in an aluminum foil lined cooler. I liked the cooler idea, which I got second hand from my friend Keven Fisher. It lets the meat rest as long as you want (within reason) while sides and other items are finished up.

The cheater pork was really good. The steaks were pretty good, as well, but the meat had been a bit leaner than I generally select for slow cooking. In retrospect I think they could have used a bacon wrapping to provide some fat to improve the cooking process and add depth of flavor.

I need to sit down with my daughter and go through the Barbecue Bible, selecting some recipes and discussing meat selection. This is becoming a team effort, and I think we can all have some fun at the grill.

Well, it is almost lunch time, and I chopped up and blended some of that meat last night. I added some soy sauce and rice wine vinegar to the mix, and it has been waiting patiently for me in the refrigerator all night. I think it might be quite ready and very tasty.

Yep. Time for lunch.

Leg of Lamb-

As I said before, I wanted to get a bit more adventurous. So, since my wife Linda was going to the store I suggested a leg of lamb. I had been reading the lamb section of The Barbecue! Bible, and thought the Cape Town Lamb sounded interesting.

The recipe in the book recommended a six pound bone-in leg of lamb. I suggested that it could be a bit smaller, since we were feeding three to four people. I also had Linda pick up some of the ingredients I did not have on hand.

The lamb she brought home was boned and wrapped in butcher's netting for roasting. It was about four and a half pounds. A bone-in was just not available. It looked quite nice. Some of the other ingredients were not available, so I made one or two adjustments.

Advance Preparation
3 to 8 hours for marinating the meat
For the lamb:
1 bone-in leg of lamb (6 to 8 lbs), trimmed of any papery skin
6 cloves of garlic, cut into thin slivers
6 thin slices peeled fresh ginger, cut into thin slivers
For the glaze:
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp hot Chinese-style mustard, or 1 Tbsp dry mustard
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Prepare the lamb: Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, make slits about an inch deep all over the surface of the lamb. Insert a sliver each of garlic and ginger into each slit. Place the lamb in a nonreactive roasting pan and set aside while you prepare the glaze.
2. Make the glaze: Combine the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, Dijon and Chinese-style mustards, lemon juice, oil, and minced garlic and ginger in a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook the glaze until thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Remove the glaze from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Pour half of the cooled glaze over the lamb in the roasting pan, brushing to coat it on all sides. Cover and let marinate, in the refrigerator, for 3 to 8 hours (the long the better). Refrigerate the remaining glaze, covered.
4. Set up the grill for indirect grilling, place a large drip pan in the center, and preheat the grill to medium.
5. When ready to cook, place the lamb on the hot grate over the drip pan and cover the grill. Cook the lamb until done to taste, 2 to 2 1/2 hours; when done to medium, an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the leg (but not touching the bone) will register 160 F. Start brushing the lamb with the remaining glaze during the last 45 minutes of grilling; brushing it two or three times. If using a charcoal grill, you’ll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour.
6. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and brush it one last time with glaze, then let rest for 10 minutes before carving. While the lamb rests, heat any remaining glaze to serve as a sauce with the lamb.

That's the recipe. How it went in my kitchen was a bit different, but not radically so. I slivered the garlic and set the pieces in a bowl. Lacking fresh ginger I liberally sprinkled the cloves with a powdered ginger, newly purchased. These I inserted in slits in the meat as described above.

The glaze I made using the recipe but substituting the powdered ginger (about a generous teaspoon full) and using the powdered dry mustard rather than Chinese style. It cooked out very nicely and required no more salt or pepper. I really liked this sauce and will work with it in the future. It has some real potential for experimentation.

The lamb was coated with the glaze and left overnight in the refrigerator in the recommended non-reactive container. In this case a glass roasting pan and cover.

The next day I prepared my Char-Broil Silver Smoker by getting a good load of Kingsford Mesquite briquettes going in my starter chimney. I have been getting a good pre-heating going before introducing the meat. Several sources, including The Barbecue! Bible, recommend cleaning and lubricating a hot grill. Once I had the grill hot and clean I placed the leg of lamb in the center of the cooking chamber and inserted the thermometer probe.

I planned for about four hours of cooking. I have found checking the fire every twenty minutes or so proves best with the Kingsford fuel in my barbecue. When most of the fuel is heavily ashed and about fifty per cent burned I introduce a fresh load of briquettes. I cover about eighty per cent of the fire surface with fresh fuel. I load them on without pre-lighting. So far this has not produced any off-taste that I can detect.

At about three and a half hours of cooking the temperature had stalled at close to 150 degrees. I loaded on an extra amount of fuel to bring the temperature up. Since I was going to have to open the cooking chamber to brush on more glaze toward the end of the cooking process I wanted a little extra heat to compensate for what would be wasted.

My target temperature was 160 degrees. The final glazing completed and the fourth hour approaching I decided the 158 degrees achieved would be sufficient. It had been a nice, long and slow cooking, and I was ready to eat.

I pulled the meat off of the grill and tented it with foil. I let it rest for almost fifteen minutes. Transferred to the cutting board the lamb looked delicious. I sliced it thin, trying to make even diagonal cuts. It was tender and smelled fabulous.

Having heated the remaining glaze for use as a sauce I served the Cape Town Leg of Lamb. Fabulous! Within twenty minutes everyone in the family had had their fill. I had very little left to put away for a left-over snack. Drizzled with the heated glaze this was one fine dish of lamb.

This was a fun adventure, and worth the investment. However, at $25 plus most of a ten dollar bag of charcoal it is much more expensive than our previous barbecue adventures. I hope to work with lamb again, but will probably focus on lesser expensive cuts of meat most of the time.

After all, much of the history of barbecue has been an effort to make inexpensive cuts of meat not just palatable, but delicious. Now that is an adventure!

Cornish Game Hens-

I doubt that they had been anywhere near Cornwall. Cornish Game Hens. Hmmm. Little chickens. I took four out of the freezer two days ago. This afternoon I was planning to cook them. Following directions in several cookbooks I have read (a little) I defrosted the little birds in the refrigerator.

So, I cleaned the Char-Broil Silver Smoker (including knocking off a bit of rust where the paint has burned off of the fire box) and used vegetable oil on my grates. I didn't have any newspaper to use to start my charcoal. This required thought. I did have an empty tuna can.

I put a quarter inch of rubbing alcohol in the can and lit it. Good flame. I let it burn. Good duration. It might work. Once it burned out I put another load of alcohol in the can and put it in the firebox. I racked up some charcoal in my starting chimney, fired up the alcohol and placed the chimney on top of the can.

My charcoal is still Kingsford briquettes, the ones with mesquite wood chunks in them. I only had a little of the hickory chips left, so I would be relying on the mesquite in the charcoal for a larger part of my smoke flavoring.

The alcohol starter worked just fine. Since I can get rubbing alcohol for a buck a bottle at the Dollar Tree, and I used about one ounce for the start, I think that this may be my regular starter from now on. At least until someone can show me it is a bad idea. Then maybe Everclear. More costly, but I can drink Everclear.

Maybe not.

So, coals going, temp rising in the smoke chamber. I opened the packages on the little birds. There was still ice in there! Hot bath, pat dry. Oil. Add my rub. (Equal parts ground black pepper, cheap seasoned salt, salt, and a bit of garlic powder.) Haul the little birds down and arrange them on the cooking surface.

The coals were going good even after forty minutes. I chucked on a few more coals, and closed the vents to about a quarter top and bottom. My cooking chamber was solid, at about 250 degrees. The fresh coals provided some smoke. After another thirty minutes I checked the fire. It was steady, even and had a good color. I added all of my soaked smoke chips.

At this point I turned the birds and adjusted their locations inside the cooking chamber to even out the cooking. I have no idea if this helps, but it makes me feel like I am cooking.

I figured another hour. I spent much of my waiting time talking with my granddaughter or reading my new barbecue book. Eventually my temperature alarm indicated that we were at temperature. I had bumped the target temp to 170 degrees, to insure we were properly done. Since we still had to wait for my wife to arrive from an errand, I closed the dampers and let them continue to cook.

After another fifteen minutes my wife got home, and I prepared to remove the birds. The skins were firm but lacked the crispness that is appealing, so I moved all four birds onto the grill over the fire in the firebox to crisp them up a touch. Just a couple of minutes, including a turn for each bird. I took them out and carried them to the kitchen.

They looked good. Plump, with a reddish brown color. Juicy. Each family member got one, and they were readily devoured. I kept a bit of my rub handy, and added a pinch or two to the meat as I consumed it.

Another winner!

What next? Who knows? I am dangerous, now. I have a little bit of knowledge. I have a modest amount of skill. My eyes are larger than my stomach, and my stomach is HUGE!

(Note: If you wish to use your rub as a table spice, don't use the same stuff you were using when preparing your birds. Use a fresh batch to avoid any cross contamination.)

Grillin' steaks-

The steaks were still in the freezer when my wife called. I got them out, but it looked like a lot of meat to thaw. When she got home, they were still ice cubes. I couldn't find the old defrosting plate we had somewhere. It was starting to get late.

I popped the steaks into the oven at 200 degrees. After an hour I could separate the pieces. I spread them around on the baking sheet to defrost a bit more while I got the coals going. They were big slabs of meat, but rather thin. They would cook fast on a hot fire. I wanted to get the temperature right so that I could cook without burning.

Using my chimney I got some lump charcoal going. Cowboy brand, from Home Depot. That stuff starts easily and gives a good initial heat. Since the meat was big (each of the three pieces were dinner plate sized slabs) I used the smoking chamber to grill. I spread the coals, and put biscuit charcoal in to add to the fuel. Once the heat seemed about right I spread the coals out and closed everything up to even out.

When I returned with the meat, I noticed a strange odor. The heat was warming the pipe frame that holds the whole barbecue together. These parts had not been heated this much during the burn-in of the Char-Broil Silver Smoker. I let the thing cook itself for about fifteen minutes, and the stench went away. I didn't know if the burn-in smell would impact the cooking, but I could wait to avoid the problem.

Steaks on. I didn't keep track of the time. I just put them in, and closed the lid. When it felt right, I opened up and checked. Just the time to turn. A little longer on the second side, as the coals had cooled a bit. I found that I could boost the heat by opening the fire box door with the smoke chamber lid closed. That way the heat and smoke in the chamber were not released, and the added oxygen stoked the coals.

I have been pleased with the Safeway Select meats. So far the cuts have been flavorful, and had just the right amount of fat. These were no exception. Tender and flavorful.

So, my Silver Smoker makes a good grill. I would recommend burning in the whole unit, and not just the fire box. Hot enough to burn off the stuff inside those frame pipes that is a bit unpleasant in the smoke department. On the whole, I really like this barbecue, and expect to enjoy it a great deal over the coming years.

I have seen some modifications on other units, and will consider some over time. Ways to regulate the heat, and ways to protect the metal to prevent untimely wear. So far, it has been great.