Going in for the Grill

The season is upon us, ya'll.

My wife and I just bought a Brinkman smoker and pit. It was a housewarming gift to us from us. Our old grill was Aussie something-or-other and the charcoal trap rusted out, the tires fell off, and the wood warped beyond all reason. But, we had it for near 5 years, and I think I paid only $50 for it brand new. It just... outlived its usefulness.

I digress.

The reason I bring this up is that the grill is a great way to maintain your perfect GFCF diet. The GFCF diet consists mainly of meats, veggies, and fruits. It's diabetes friendly, assuming you stay away from all those grass grains.

So, here's the trick.

My wife and I did some chicken to pioneer our first voyage with the Brinkman. We got some natural hickory charcoal from Home Depot.
Don't follow the directions on the back of the bag for lighting the charcoal. It's a much better use of your time and money to invest in a chimney starter.

This is a chimney starter that has already been started. There's a small compartment underneath meant for housing bits of newspaper or other kindling. The charcoal is poured in the top. The newspaper underneath is lit, and watch as the fire takes over. Once the charcoal has the characteristic white stuff on the outside, carefully pick up the chimney and pour out the contents into the grill.

The Grill
The grill is broken up into two areas, the direct and indirect.

It's important to maintain this segregation. They don't like to play with each other.

So, once the charcoal is poured into the grill, replace the grill plates and wait until you can hold you hand about three inches above the direct heat for close to eight seconds. That's when it's ready. Open up the vents about 2/3 of the way.

The Grilling
The key to good meat is heat first, move second. Slap that chicken (which we butterflied) down on the hot part of the grill meat-side up. Flip after six minutes, then flip and move to in between the direct and indirect heat after another four. The reason is because the breast meat is tender and fragile. You don't want to overheat it or char it. Keep the chicken meat-side up.

For steak, the process is similar, except after you sear, move completely over to the indirect heat.

Burgers can stand a sear on both sides and move to in between the two heat sources.

We are fortunate enough to have an exterior thermometer on our grill. We like to keep the inside temperature around 275 Fahrenheit degrees. This ensures the slow and steady heat animal protein requires.

Add charcoal as needed to maintain the temperature.

If you don't have an exterior thermometer, just use the hand check. If it gets to the point where you can hold your hand five inches above the grill plates without that burning feeling, add charcoal.

Anyways, I'll get into the fine art of spicing your chicken later.