The Glade 4.0

Ok, I really should ahve taken pics for this thread but it didn't occur to me in time.

Anyhow, my mom got me this cookbook for Christmas that is exclusively recipies for grilling and barbequeing over charcoal. I love charcoal grilling, so this was a fabulous gift.

Anyhow, I've made severl recipies from this book so far; steak with horseradish sauce, another steak with a rub, and chicken with white barbeque sauce.

Tonight, however, may have been the best thing I've ever cooked.

I made salmon, using a process known as planking. The recipe called for salmon glazed with this stuff you make with hoisin sauce. Then you place it on a cedar plank you've soaked for an hour and put that on the grill. It was really cold out and it took longer to cook than I'd expected because the coals had a hard time getting going, but... damn was it good!

I'd never heard of this "planking" method of grilling before I got this book. I'm quite enamoured of it now though. Not only does it add a wood flavor to the food but it makes a fabulous presentation. I put the 2 planks on this large wooden cutting board we have and put it on the table with the wood still crackling. My wife and older daughter were thrilled. The little one.. I think it made her a bit nervous, but she ate the fish.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I first heard about it from Alton Brown's show, Good Eats, but I've always been put off by trying to find untreated wood for the plank; I'm glad it was enjoyable for you. Based on your rave, I might have to go the extra mile and find some clean wood.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Been around for quite awhile here in California, good stuff. Good process for steak and chicken too. Costco has usually had larger bundles of the planks so its cheaper per piece of cedar or whatever. Hmm, haven't noticed them lately, might be that their buyer doesn't understand grilling is year round for the true BBQ fan.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

This sounds nice, but I'm a Gas or Traeger man all the way. If you ever cooked on a Traeger it's hard to go back to anything else.

Coals are nice I'll admit but I don't have the patience for the things to warm up. Usually by the time I want to eat it's late and raining so a push of a button gives me fire and heat instantly.

I've really been into making my own rubs lately and this wood addition might be just the thing to give it some extra oomph.

Yeah, getting more planks when I've used up the 6 I've got might be a pain. I think it's worth it though. I'm hoping to get 2 or 3 grills out of each plank. They warped pretty seriously during the cooking so getting 3 will probably be the limit.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

planks are not hard to find.

Check your local kitchen stores. If you have a 'Small Business Costco', you might find them cheap there.

If nothing else, there's always amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... ks&x=0&y=0

Also try Bed, Bath and Beyond...that's where I get my planks. Plank grilled salmon is wonderful! I've not tried it with steak or chicken yet, but I've seen recipes for both that sound delicious!

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"Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one!"~ Matthew Quigley

"nothing like a little meow in bed at night" ~ Bruskey

"I gotta float my stick same as you" Hondo Lane

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

I got some planks for Christmas, haven't used them yet. Didn't realize the rest of the country beyond the Pale of California didn't know about the method ...

What is this rain you speak of, Emer?!

Have you done any smoking with your charcoal yet, DE? You can do a fair approximation of a smoker with a grill, if you're careful. I've made some ***** ribs, even did a turkey for Thanksgiving one time. Overcooked it a bit, but, damn, had a nice flavor.

Your next grilling assignment will be ... pizza! Best pizza you'll ever have, guaranteed.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Party at DEs when it gets warm?

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Sounds like a deal.


That makes even less sense in California. Why shouldn't grilling be a year round thing when you don't even have seasons? No excuse!

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I haven't tried any smoking yet. I plan to though at some point. I'd like a better grill or a smoker though before I try it; my grill is one of the square-with-rounded-corners kind with a flat bottom.

I really want to try ribs, but my wife has strictly forbidden me from smoking the Thanksgiving turkey.

As for my next assignment, that's already spoken for. My older daughter wants tacos for her birthday dinner in February so I told her I would make her these steak tacos with Pcio de Gallo on the grill.

This book even has recipies for different cobblers, pies, and other desserts... to make on the grill!

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Northern California has seasons. We even have a lot of snow on the mountains right now, lovely to look at from the valley floor.

Admittedly, most Californians are real weather wimps. During a light sprinkle I noted that most of the folks on the street had umbrellas and were using them. I didn't even have a jacket on and only got a couple drops on the font of my shirt.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Yeah, don't get me started on Californians and their weather sense. Thing is, I'm starting to become one ... it was in the low 60s today, and I found myself wearing a light coat because I was chilled.

Back in the Midwest, if it was 60 degrees at the end of January, I'd have been in shorts.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

It was 60 here today...sweats and a walk in the park were called for, because it was gorgeous!! End of January and sunny blue skies...doesn't get much better than this! My son called this evening, he had 6" of snow (in Tennessee)! He was walking to the store because it was easier than scraping his windshield!

I love Northern California!! Last week it was cold and raining, today was like spring!

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"Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one!"~ Matthew Quigley

"nothing like a little meow in bed at night" ~ Bruskey

"I gotta float my stick same as you" Hondo Lane

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

My personal philosophy on grilling has been such: why only grill when its 100° out? I usually grill a couple times in the winter. Takes the coals a little longer but there's not much better than a good grilled burger. Especially in the dead of winter.

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Hokanu
Duty is a magnificent blessing because it is the sign of trust from the universe.
END OF LINE.

I got my Father a couple planks for his birthday awhile back and he loved em. The best part of cooking with them is the aroma that hangs around for awhile afterwards. Makes your mouth water non-stop!

Actually, I meant to say that a square grill works pretty well for smoking. See this page from About.com. Not sure if that's the best explanation, but, basically, you're setting up a smoker like this:



So, the coals heat the water, creating moisture and smoke. Takes a bit of practice, but it works.

Or, you can just go to Home Depot and get one of their smokers for $75 or so. But I like doing things differently.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

I LOVE planked salmon, though I'm less than fond of the candy-coating it gets so frequently. Salt and pepper, plank the bastard, and I'm good to go.

Great. Hungry, and the grill is low on gas.

Salt and pepper don't cut it as seasoning for me. I don't even use either in my own personal steak seasoning combo, only as part of recipies (steak or otherwise).

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Whether poached, broiled, or planked salmon gets minced garlic, either lemon pepper or freshly ground black pepper with lemon slices, and dill (preferrably fresh, but dried works in a pinch). After that, it depends on how Im using the salmon...Asian style entree with stir fried vegies and rice or as a salad on top of mixed spring greens with a homemade lowfat blue cheese dressing or in a whole grain bun as a sammich with leafy lettuce, tomato and a touch of horseradish! I've even used it in sushi rolls with cream cheese and dill. I love salmon and could eat it every day of the week!

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"Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one!"~ Matthew Quigley

"nothing like a little meow in bed at night" ~ Bruskey

"I gotta float my stick same as you" Hondo Lane

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

My wife is like that. She loooooves salmon. She likes Tilapia pretty well too, and has a nice baking recipe for it.

I have a recipe for coffe-crusted ribeye steaks which I will probably try some time in the next week or so (it's from the book too). Most likely won't get planked; but anything on the grill is cause for celebration. If I pass my physical fitness test tomorrow I'll let myself have beer again with it too. I haven't let myself drink since New Years trying to get ready for this.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I used to like tilapia a lot, until I found out how they're raised. They're cleaner fish in the tanks after other farm-raised fish are sold off. They're part of nature's recycling effort.

Since I don't normally eat what they eat on my own, as a standing principle, I couldn't dine on the fish that eat ****.

How times have changed.
When this thread was first posted, I scratched my head and wondered what the heck "planking on the grill" could possibly mean.
When I saw the thread title this morning, I thought of this video:

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Go back to zero, take a pill, and get well ~ Lemmy Kilmister

Been meaning to try Planking, more incetive to do so! Need to eat more fish!



Also a pretty good alternative instead of buying a smoker, I use one of these with my Weber Spirit E-310 propane grill (1 button push start in Michigan winter is fricking AWESOME! But i do miss my charcoal), $50

http://samssmoker.com/