This past week, I've been having the bestest time using my Weber Genesis 3-burner gasser for regular cooking as well as grilling. It's been unusually warm and super humid lately here in northeast Iowa, so cooking and baking in the house is out of the question.
We have only a tiny window AC for dehumidification and some cooling, because a lot of years we might only need air conditioning for a week or two in the hottest part of the summer. This summer, we've already put about 2 weeks of use on the AC this summer and have most of July and August yet to come.
So necessity being the mother of invention, I turned to my gasser for help.
I baked a loaf of white no-knead sandwich bread earlier this week and two loaves of banana bread today. The sandwich bread turned out really nice -- the temperature in the Genesis was spot on.
I had to fiddle with the burners to get them adjusted right for the banana bread -- the grill-level temp wasn't getting quite hot enough. I bake my breads until they reach a desired internal temp, so I baked the banana bread about 10 minutes longer to reach the right IT. I cut one of the cooled loaves in half this evening to check how it cooked, and it looks pretty good in the middle.
What I'm doing for baking is setting up the classic 2-zone indirect cook. I put my Grill Grates on the indirect (left) side laid on top of the regular wire grates to raise the food a little bit further from the burners. I use the middle and right burners as needed to get the temperatures where I want them (always a bit of an adventure.) I set up one temp probe right at grate level near the food and I'm also monitoring the dial thermometer in the dome. For future cooks, I'm probably going to put a second temp probe on the wire warming rack to get a more accurate dome temp.
I also simmered a 7 quart Dutch oven's worth of chicken stock today along with grilling chicken thighs for supper. As the liquid level dropped in the Dutch oven, the exposed veggies and chicken bits roasted a little in the heat of the dome, which added a nice savor to the broth.
I'm going to be a lot more willing to bake and do general cooking on the Weber in the future. Maybe when I'm more confident with my Hasty Bake I'll try cooking/baking on it too, but I'm satisfied with honing my skills with the Weber for now.
We have only a tiny window AC for dehumidification and some cooling, because a lot of years we might only need air conditioning for a week or two in the hottest part of the summer. This summer, we've already put about 2 weeks of use on the AC this summer and have most of July and August yet to come.
So necessity being the mother of invention, I turned to my gasser for help.
I baked a loaf of white no-knead sandwich bread earlier this week and two loaves of banana bread today. The sandwich bread turned out really nice -- the temperature in the Genesis was spot on.
I had to fiddle with the burners to get them adjusted right for the banana bread -- the grill-level temp wasn't getting quite hot enough. I bake my breads until they reach a desired internal temp, so I baked the banana bread about 10 minutes longer to reach the right IT. I cut one of the cooled loaves in half this evening to check how it cooked, and it looks pretty good in the middle.
What I'm doing for baking is setting up the classic 2-zone indirect cook. I put my Grill Grates on the indirect (left) side laid on top of the regular wire grates to raise the food a little bit further from the burners. I use the middle and right burners as needed to get the temperatures where I want them (always a bit of an adventure.) I set up one temp probe right at grate level near the food and I'm also monitoring the dial thermometer in the dome. For future cooks, I'm probably going to put a second temp probe on the wire warming rack to get a more accurate dome temp.
I also simmered a 7 quart Dutch oven's worth of chicken stock today along with grilling chicken thighs for supper. As the liquid level dropped in the Dutch oven, the exposed veggies and chicken bits roasted a little in the heat of the dome, which added a nice savor to the broth.
I'm going to be a lot more willing to bake and do general cooking on the Weber in the future. Maybe when I'm more confident with my Hasty Bake I'll try cooking/baking on it too, but I'm satisfied with honing my skills with the Weber for now.
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