Grilling Up Pork & Chicken Tonight

For tonight's menu on The Thrill Grill, we are grilling up pork and chicken.  I got all of this meat for under $20 at the local grocery store.

The secret to a really good flavor and texture in grilled meats is simple; a real wood fire, lots of smoke and moisture. We live in Missouri, a land of severe weather so I have a never ending supply of firewood just cleaning up the backyard. My favorite grill is actually an old burnt out propane grill that I gutted and re-purposed to use wood. A wood burning grill has several advantages over charcoal and propane. It's free fuel and helps clean up the yard. It provides a great smoky flavor without the chemical taste of propane and charcoal. It's easier to light than charcoal and the smoke keeps the bugs away.

We're Cooking With Wood!

Ok, that has the first two steps of the equation covered. We've got a real wood fire and the smoke. Now, we need moisture.

I have a few different things I do to ensure a nice result when grilling pork and chicken. Marinating meats is always a good choice.  The pork steaks were marinated in a mixture of water, Adobo seasoning, Scott's Rub and liquid smoke (hickory and  mesquite) for a few hours tonight. For thinner cuts of meat with bones, marinating is about the best way to get moisture stored in the meat for the cooking process.

For the thicker cuts of meat like the pork loin and the chicken thighs, I use injection. It is my preferred method, especially for boneless cuts of meat. For the chicken tonight, I injected a mixture of water and liquid smoke. The pork loin got the same injection but then I followed that up by trying something new and injecting a honey barbecue sauce directly into the meat. I'm pretty generous with injections and I like to keep injecting fluid until the meat has plumped up nicely, usually doubling in size. It can be messy and, occasionally, it will spray if you happen to get to close to a previous injection point so I try to do this in a deep baking pan to control the mess. I followed up the injections by rubbing the meat down with some Adobo seasoning on the chicken and some extra barbecue sauce on the pork loin. By using an injecting syringe, you can get moisture deep into the meat and ensure that there will be plenty of steam and liquid to keep almost any cut of meat tender and juicy. Using this method, you can make some of the reduced for quick sale specials at your local grocer turn into gourmet cuts fit for a king.

Prepped and Ready For The Fire!

Your method of cooking is just as important as the preparation. I like to get the grill good and hot with a roaring fire and then close it down to a slow burn until I have everything prepped. That way it leaves some great grill marks and cleans any residue that might have been left on the grates from previous cooks.

I love a deep smoky taste so I tend to slow cook the thicker cuts of meat on the upper rack of my grill when possible. I throw steaks on the bottom to sear and then move them up after they cook to let them smoke and stay warm while the larger cuts finish up.

In the end, the injection of sauce into the pork loin was a great idea and it was my favorite part of the meal. It was juicy and tender. I paired it with some garlic mashed potatoes.  Everything was great but that was really the big hit for me.

Until next time, keep on cooking.