Dateline: September 23, 2020 Testing Out Grill Number 1

Bill always makes sure to tell any new visitors, and some returnees, that I have 3 grills.  Grill #1, Grill #2, and Grill #3.  I decided to give the unused, untested Grill #1 a run last night.

I was inspired by a suggestion from Servet that he could bring a made-to-order grill back from Turkey.  I got excited and then starting designing one.   As, I was undertaking that, I sadly realized, that the weight of it would be prohibitive in terms of stowing in your luggage or in a large box in cargo! 

I then started researching gaucho grills, which are the Argentinean style open grills with a moveable grill that you can raise and lower according to the heat and desired effect you'd like.  In comparing those to what I had decided to design, and lo and behold, they were quite similar.  I wanted to see if I could modify Grill #1 to be more like a gaucho style grill.  This is what I came up with.

If I add more thermal mass, it will hold the heat better but the trade off is that it will take longer to come to temperature and need more fuel.  I needed to see how Grill #1 ran in order to make some decisions.  D'uh!

The fire burned hot.  I used a chimney to start the lump charcoal and baby it was hot.  As the embers died down it became a more manageable fire.  I am still learning how to deal with open fire boxes!  I also have to deal with my impatience in terms of starting the cook.  I need to let the fire die a bit and cook over a slower fire.

I had a chicken in the fridge so, I was hoping to rotisserie it, but we couldn't locate the motors at the moment.  So I spatchcocked it and grilled it.  I dusted it with Galena Street from Penzey's and got out the pencil asparagus and left over delicata squash, and bingo, dinner was planned.

The pictures above are from 2 different sides of the grill.  The grill is basically a metal trough .

Here we are near the end of the cooking of the chicken.  It was moist and tasty with more than enough charry goodness to make me happy.

The modification I decided I would make was inserting a fire grate/ash pan combo unit so that I can empty the ashes out easily as there is no way to sweep out the ashes now, they have to be scooped or shoveled out.  This new contraption can be lifted out and dumped into the ash can.  It also has the added benefit of catching the grease and keeping the bottom of the grill less oily.

Next spin will be with the rotisserie.  We just need to locate the motors!