bbqLuv asked me about my chosen method of marinading / brining a pork loin roast in olive oil and instead of hijacking that thread thought I would just explain it here.
I marinate almost all of my hot fast ( 90 mins or less) weekday cooks other then steaks, burgers, fish etc.. and to explain my method I’ll go back to how it developed and why. My evolution began 20 or so years ago and it really just kind of progressed into a system that works very well for my style of everyday cooking for my family.
After 20 years or so of normal everyday applying seasoning to whatever I was cooking by just sprinkling and being frustrated with all the seasoning that just ended up on the grates or in the fire I looked for a way to keep the flavor. To start I exterminated with seasoning whatever I was going to cook more time before the cook to see if it would help to not much better results. I then decided to make a paste w/ oil and see if it would help adhere my seasonings. It of course worked very well at keeping the season on the meat but was still losing a good deal to the fire and wasn't seeing a big blast of flavor I was thinking I would see.
Around this time I was also experimenting with indirect cooking more and more. As we all in the Weber clan did, I grew up direct cooking over a big field of charcoal with the lid closed and hoping for the best results with varying times and amount of charcoal. I found that my new paste seasoning held on real well indirect and a real enhanced flavor was there because more of the seasonings I had used made it to the table. Of course I was also seeing much improved moisture in my finished product that indirect has become so well known for. My family really noticed the improvements so I stuck with it on chops and chicken breasts. I’ve since added the bigger pieces like loins and whole fryers and am seeing the same type results.
As I noted the last week or so, Italian seasoned chicken breasts are a real family favorite and the Caesar Salad Roll-up I posted are probably my wife’s favorite meal. The quality of these chicken breasts was vastly improved by my new paste rub / indirect cooking methods and my wife was very pleased. On one normal weeknight that I was prepping to make these something came up that I don’t recall that saw us leaving for the evening instead of having our dinner. I had already put the paste on the breasts and was getting ready to light the charcoal…So I just put the pasted chicken in a bag and thought I would just cook them the next evening as they should be just fine. When I served the chicken the next night they were the best I had ever made! The flavor and moisture was exceptional and my family talked about them for days and I knew I was on to something.
From that point I started exterminating with longer and longer times for my " soak" and found chicken breasts are best after a couple days with pork chops being the same. The larger cuts, loin roast and fryers I have found that 3 days is the sweet spot for me. So now I meal prep every week. My wife and I write a menu on Sunday's for the next week and I start thawing the proteins and getting them soaking. I prep a couple times during the week to get the times I want on the meat to be ready on the day I'm cooking it.
The added bonus was how simple it was for my kids when younger to get dinner started while I was on the way home! They learned early on the set up a kettle indirect and with the method we used it was plug and play simple. If it was small meat like chicken or chops they knew it was 1/2-2/3 of a chimney of charcoal and for a pork lion or a fryer I would need a full one. Heck I can remember getting home real late to my family finishing up a meal that one of my kids had knocked out and it was as good as I made the last time! We learned that chicken breasts cook 10 mins on 1 side, flip for 10 mins then kick the coals around and sear / set the seasoning ( my kids call it burning it in) flipping a couple time and its like a widget…always right. Chops same way but 8 mins a side. And since the meat was already seasoned the same way every time no guess work and consistent results.
My normal ratio is 2 TBS of whatever seasoning I’m using ( I admit to using my own or store bought that have salt in them to work as a brine) and between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of olive oil. I make either a runny paste or a thick marinade depending on how you like to look are it. I normally eyeball the oil and just add it to the bowl I have put the seasonings in. Also depending on cut of meat and crust desires, I sometimes will sprinkle a light dusting of fresh seasoning on the top when I put it on the grill but need to be careful to not over salt.
No of course this all goes out the window with low and slow smoking / bbq. Still the same kettles just different methods and that is what makes the kettle the only cooker anyone really needs in my opinion.
Anyway sorry thorn the long rambling post but I hope it was at least interesting….
Clay
added a couple result pics.
I marinate almost all of my hot fast ( 90 mins or less) weekday cooks other then steaks, burgers, fish etc.. and to explain my method I’ll go back to how it developed and why. My evolution began 20 or so years ago and it really just kind of progressed into a system that works very well for my style of everyday cooking for my family.
After 20 years or so of normal everyday applying seasoning to whatever I was cooking by just sprinkling and being frustrated with all the seasoning that just ended up on the grates or in the fire I looked for a way to keep the flavor. To start I exterminated with seasoning whatever I was going to cook more time before the cook to see if it would help to not much better results. I then decided to make a paste w/ oil and see if it would help adhere my seasonings. It of course worked very well at keeping the season on the meat but was still losing a good deal to the fire and wasn't seeing a big blast of flavor I was thinking I would see.
Around this time I was also experimenting with indirect cooking more and more. As we all in the Weber clan did, I grew up direct cooking over a big field of charcoal with the lid closed and hoping for the best results with varying times and amount of charcoal. I found that my new paste seasoning held on real well indirect and a real enhanced flavor was there because more of the seasonings I had used made it to the table. Of course I was also seeing much improved moisture in my finished product that indirect has become so well known for. My family really noticed the improvements so I stuck with it on chops and chicken breasts. I’ve since added the bigger pieces like loins and whole fryers and am seeing the same type results.
As I noted the last week or so, Italian seasoned chicken breasts are a real family favorite and the Caesar Salad Roll-up I posted are probably my wife’s favorite meal. The quality of these chicken breasts was vastly improved by my new paste rub / indirect cooking methods and my wife was very pleased. On one normal weeknight that I was prepping to make these something came up that I don’t recall that saw us leaving for the evening instead of having our dinner. I had already put the paste on the breasts and was getting ready to light the charcoal…So I just put the pasted chicken in a bag and thought I would just cook them the next evening as they should be just fine. When I served the chicken the next night they were the best I had ever made! The flavor and moisture was exceptional and my family talked about them for days and I knew I was on to something.
From that point I started exterminating with longer and longer times for my " soak" and found chicken breasts are best after a couple days with pork chops being the same. The larger cuts, loin roast and fryers I have found that 3 days is the sweet spot for me. So now I meal prep every week. My wife and I write a menu on Sunday's for the next week and I start thawing the proteins and getting them soaking. I prep a couple times during the week to get the times I want on the meat to be ready on the day I'm cooking it.
The added bonus was how simple it was for my kids when younger to get dinner started while I was on the way home! They learned early on the set up a kettle indirect and with the method we used it was plug and play simple. If it was small meat like chicken or chops they knew it was 1/2-2/3 of a chimney of charcoal and for a pork lion or a fryer I would need a full one. Heck I can remember getting home real late to my family finishing up a meal that one of my kids had knocked out and it was as good as I made the last time! We learned that chicken breasts cook 10 mins on 1 side, flip for 10 mins then kick the coals around and sear / set the seasoning ( my kids call it burning it in) flipping a couple time and its like a widget…always right. Chops same way but 8 mins a side. And since the meat was already seasoned the same way every time no guess work and consistent results.
My normal ratio is 2 TBS of whatever seasoning I’m using ( I admit to using my own or store bought that have salt in them to work as a brine) and between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of olive oil. I make either a runny paste or a thick marinade depending on how you like to look are it. I normally eyeball the oil and just add it to the bowl I have put the seasonings in. Also depending on cut of meat and crust desires, I sometimes will sprinkle a light dusting of fresh seasoning on the top when I put it on the grill but need to be careful to not over salt.
No of course this all goes out the window with low and slow smoking / bbq. Still the same kettles just different methods and that is what makes the kettle the only cooker anyone really needs in my opinion.
Anyway sorry thorn the long rambling post but I hope it was at least interesting….
Clay
added a couple result pics.
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