just read some more post. there are some serious experts here.

i use the weber kettle as my only grill. i also have the weber large capacity chimney starter. one load is plenty for my grill. i rarely build a one stage fire. i always use a cheap fireplace shovel to move all the coals to one side. sear, move to cooler side. lid up. bake.

You'll find that as you learn to control your heat, Weber grilling is a little easier than the standard 'flip meat 'til it's dried out and burnt' scenario. For steaks (Ribeyes, T-Bones, and Filets), Ill get the Weber up to 475-500, using the charcoal baskets on either side, toss the steaks on the grill, add a few chunks of whatever wood I'm flavoring with, and cover with the vents open, with the heat slowly dropping over several minutes. I find that the high initial heat sears the meat uniformly, then the combination bake/smoke finishes it off nicely. May take 20 minutes for thick steaks, but I've gotten pretty good at judging the time it takes. Ribeye fat turns to a butter-like consistancy. :)
I've put guests to sleep with softball-sized filets, rosemary sauteed potatoes, and amaretto carrots...

amaretto carrots... damn, I've done them in rum....must pass the recipe

Steam them al dente, sautee in butter and brown sugar, deglase with amaretto.
Mmmm...
Kids'll eat carrots like that...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1245166624.jpg

I have a propane grill and a smoker like this.

I use the propane grill very little.

the "smoker" has the charcoal down at the bottom, a pot of water about 8 inches above the charcoal. the air gap between the side of the smoker is maybe 1/2" there's not much grease that will fall into the fire to cause flare ups.

In the pot of water you add hardwood chips I like to use cherry and apple. The heat from the coals will boil the water which helps keep the meat moist and adds to the cooking. I add soaked wood chips at he start and after about 45 minutes onto the coals.

The meat is on two shelves the top one is the one I use most. It's 28" away from the coals. It takes about 1 hour per inch to get the center temp of the meat to 160* You never need to "flip" the meat the heat is 360 degrees around the meat.

My favorite meal is to cook a slab of tri-tip rubbed down with steak rub. I cook it with the fatty side up.

1 hour before the meat's ready I add corn on the cob into the top shelf of the smoker leave the corn covered in it's husk.

bake some sweet potato !

there will be no left-overs.

This year at thanksgiving I did two turkeys. One for my brother-in-law who has to have the canned yams,canned cranberries nothing can be changed kinda guy!

The other turkey was smoked. Everyone was polite and took 2-3 oz. of the smoked turkey on the first go-around of the food. It was the first dish that everyone went back for seconds.

same with the rum...but you can reduce the brown suger...I add quality raisins into mine

My beef with relying on charcoal exclusively is how long it takes to set up the coals, and how much charcoal you end up using just to grill a few pieces of meat. The propane grill is more practical as an everyday cooking appliance for a small family, IMO. I do think charcoal-grilled food tastes a bit better.

Ok. You talked me into it!!

hope that this helps

You just need to rearrange your prep. :)
Light fire first.
I can put my fires out, and reuse the charcoal that's left in the baskets.

edit: Oops. Don't want it to seem like we're ganging up on you... ;)

john, it takes the same amount of time to get a propane grill up to cooking temp as it takes for me to light up my coals in a charcoal chimney started. about 15-20 minutes and i am cooking.

the only downside is the ash disposal. in this dept, the propane grill wins hands down.

Good point about starting the charcoal first then prepping the food. I should re-arrange my workflow.

Big Green Egg +1

With three wadded up sheets of newspaper, a one gallon bucket of hardwood lump charcoal, and a map gass torch to light the newspaper I can have my egg up to 700 degrees in about ten minutes. I can also smoke a brisket for 18 hours at 250.

I have cooked considerable food on propane. I will never go back.

There is no propane taste to the meat, it taste just as good as any steaks cooked on an indoor gas grill or at a fancy smacy restaurant. I can regulate the heat by turning the control valves instead of fussing with vents and I don't need to worry about coals getting cold.

I had charcoal grills including a Weber Kettle grill, but once you live with a propane grill, there's no going back. It's like once you driven a PORSCHE you don't consider other sportscars in the same league.

If you think that meat cooked over a gas grill tastes as good as meat cooked over charcoal...well then I just don't know what to tell you...

I would also take issue with equating a gas grill to a Porsche and a charcoal grill to a lesser car...I would say it is the other way 'round.

Along these lines, don't forget to allow the steaks to come up to room temperature, before putting them on the grille.

JR

My ideal grilled steak has crusty black-brown on the outside, but is red and very rare on the inside. Wouldn't I want the interior still refrigerator-cold when I start grilling?

There's no good answer to this. It depends on the heat of the fire and how close the meat is, how thick it is, etc.

Most chefs recommend starting a steak at room temperature, grilling with the lid off and resting the meat quite a while after cooking it.

Alton Brown even recommended searing a steak, resting it, then finishing it in a very slow oven, followed by another rest. It actually works quite well, in that the outside is browned and the rare/medium rare part is almost the entire interior of the steak. You could also do it on a grille, using both direct and indirect heat.

JR

go backwards. more work. first, go slow and low in an oven, and then sear on a jet hot flame on either propane or charcoal grill. works GREAT!

Low temperature and slow cooking is NOT Grilling, that Bar-B-Quing. Grilling is done on HIGH Heat.