Here is a couple of posts that I wrote for the Q300 series, it is also applicable for the Spirit and Genesis. I have put in brackets where to set the gas controls on the Spirit. You can use a roasting rack in a foil tray for roasting if you wish You would also turn off the middle burner for roasting .
Using the Q320 you are cooking too long and probably a bit too high, you never mentioned that you turned the gas down once you preheated that's one of the reasons.
The following is the basic method that I teach when demonstrating. from this you can adjust timings to suit the type and thickness of the meat you are going to cook.
A few pointers first.
Always a good idea to season the grill when you first get it and after every time you give it a good clean with hot soapy water or in the dish washer.
Always brush your grill after preheating and before you cook different pieces of meat.
Always either brush your meat with a bit of oil or wipe the grill with a bit of oil.
Use Canola, grape seed or other high temp oil when grilling, don't use Olive Oil it has a tendency to burn and give an unpleasant taste to the meat.
Always season with salt before cooking it enhances the flavour - try cooking two pieces of meat from the same cut side by side using the same timing and heat, season one with salt and leave the other nude. The one with salt will taste much better and have a better natural flavour.
Wherever possible let the meat come up to room temperature before cooking the meat cooks quicker and is more tender.
Timing versus heat is something that you need to keep in mind. Heat transferred from the cast iron grill produces the sear mark, that’s why it is important to preheat for at least 10 minutes prior to cooking, this allows the cast iron grill to absorb the heat so that when you put the meat on, the grill doesn't cool down straight away.
Always use a timer to know when to flip the meat.
The following method is for a standard supermarket cut of steak which will be about 19 mm thick (3/4") I always buy scotch fillet or rump.
Bring the meat up to room temperature
Preheat the Q320 on high for at least 10 minutes using both burners.
Brush the meat on both sides with canola oil or similar and season with salt (you can use pepper and other spices if you wish, however, I recommend just salt at first to see what you think and get the basics right..
Once the BBQ is preheated brush the grill with your wire brush to dislodge any burnt on food. Turn both burners of the Q320 down about 2 ½ to 3 strokes from high (3 on a warm day 2 ½ on a cooler day. Halfway between High and Medium on the Spirit)
Place the meat on the grill in the middle at an angle of 45 degrees to the centre line and close the lid. Grill for 1 ½ minutes. Lift the lid and rotate the meat 90 degrees. If the meat does not release from the grill the problem will be one of the following three causes. Grill was dirty, meat was not oiled enough or grill was not oiled enough. The other common reason is meat was too cold or grill was not hot enough. If it does not release leave it for another 30 seconds to a minute and then rotate the meat. Cook for a further 2 minutes after you have rotated the meat. This will give you a great diamond pattern on the presentation side of the meat. After cooking the first side flip the meat and cook the other side for 3 – 4 minutes depending on how you want the meat cooked. Learning the timing is a thing you need to do based on your set-up, the type of meat and the way you like your meat cooked. (I use 2 ½ minutes per side on my Q220 and Genesis)
Test for donness and adjust cooking time to suit.
Place the meat on the plate that you will serve it on with the presentation side up and tent with foil. Let the meat rest for a few minutes. You can put about ½ to 1 teaspoon of butter on the steak when you put it on the plate to rest, this will melt and put a sheen and glaze on the steak plus the melted butter will mix with the juices from the meat and form a rich gravy.
From this you should be able to get sorted on the basic method and then move on to the next level.
This is what they should look like
Next lot of advice from the Captain.
This is not only for you but for all other users of the Q series as well
You have followed the advice about cooking steaks etc. using the direct heat method and are now starting to control the heat and timing the cook to get the meat cooked perfectly. So a lot of the grilling technique is under control.
The next step in using the Q is cooking using indirect heat. I won’t call it roasting as it is really a form of convection cooking.
The mechanics of this is simple we need to place a barrier between the direct heat from the burner and the food ( I say food rather than meat as you can cook bread, deserts, vegetables anything really using this method). This can be achieved by simply placing a doubled over sheet of foil on the grill which acts as a reflective barrier. You need to ensure that you leave an air gap of at least 1 ½” (35 mm) between the edges of the foil and the 4 sides of the Q. This will reflect the direct hear away from the food. The other thing that you need to do is raise the food above the foil by at least ¾” (19 mm). The easiest way to do this is to use a wire trivet with legs that will sit across the grill bars. If this is not available you can use any type of wire rack that will fit and sit it on 4 balls of foil about 1” (25 mm) high. This allows the hot air to flow around the food and cook it using the convection method. The convection airflow is created by the design of the lid of the Q. The reason for the doubled over sheet is to allow heat dissapation through the air layer between the sheets.
When roasting using the trivet place a small hole with the tip of a knife under the meat to allow the fat/juices to drain off the foil and into the drip tray below. A lot of fat and juices will drip onto the foil and boil off, this imparts that beautiful BBQ flavour that you don’t get in a conventional oven.
For your temperature settings – Preheat with both burners on high for 10 minutes and then turn off the centre burner and adjust the outer burner down about 2 strokes from high. You need to set the temperature at about 10 -15 Degrees C above the setting that you would normally use to cook with in a conventional oven . Set the Spirit front burner on High and the rear burner on low for roasting as a start this gives good convection flow.
Note - Preheat first, then set up for indirect cooking
When you want to cook things like honey and soy chicken wings or food with a high sugar content in the marinade, use the indirect method, you can baste the food several times when cooking and build up the flavours on the outside and you don’t get that burnt bitter taste. This also works well when using commercial BBQ sauces as a baste/marinade.
Cakes and muffins are done using the same method - the timing is something that will need some consideration. This is why I generally set the Q on 2 or three strokes below high on the gas control and then cook for a set amount of time depending on the dish and then check for doneness and adjust cooking time as required.
One of the good things about using this method on the Q320 is you are not restricted to a small area in the centre. You can also just use the centre burner on low with this indirect method for low and slow cooking.
Here are a couple of photos showing Two chickens on a trivet in the Q220 and
A chicken with roast veggies on a trivet on a Q220, and finally,
5 chickens using the foil and trivet indirect method on a Genesis E320.
The next instalment will be cooking using a combination indirect and direct cook on the Q.
Next Instalment from the Captain.
Like before, this is not only for you but for all other users of the Q series as well
The two previous methods have described the basic grilling method with temperature control and the indirect set-up, These form the basis for cooking almost everything on the Q. You can simmer/braise/stew on the Q just by placing whatever in a deep sided pan and sealing the top with foil. Once it comes to the boil you can turn the Q down to its lowest setting and let it simmer away.
At the end of this I will post a couple of recipes so you will get the idea.
One of favourite methods of cooking is the reverse sear. I don’t like a lot of charring on the food but do want a fresh BBQ taste. This method is especially good for food that has a marinade paste on it such as Tandoori or a very oily marinade such as Italian Salad Dressing.
I set up for indirect cooking and cook the food for a period of time and baste and turn for an equal amount of time. The time will depend on what I am cooking, the thickness, how long I am going to sear at the end and at what temperature I am going to use. After I have cooked the food indirectly I will remove the foil and cook the food directly while it is sitting on the trivet if I want to only have a touch of searing marks or direct on the grill if I want stronger searing marks. This will depend on the paste/rub/marinade. The flavours of the herbs and spices change so much with searing.
One of my favourite quick dishes is Tandoori Lamb Steaks or Tandoori Lamb Cutlets and is so simple to make. I use Pataks Tandoori Paste which is readily available in the UK from Tesco and is also available in the USA. For the sake of this recipe I will use Lamb Steaks. The idea of this recipe is not to have the Tandoori flavour to transfer all the way into the lamb, just to give surface flavour. When you bite into the lamb you want to get an explosion of the natural lamb flavour mixing with the surface flavour of the Tandoori Paste.
Bring the lamb steaks up to room temp.
Brush the lamb steaks both sides with a medium coating of Pataks Tandoori Paste,
Turn the Q on and preheat for 10 minutes (this is enough time for the paste to flavour the outside of the meat)
Set up the Q for indirect cooking using the trivet and foil method.
Turn the centre burner of the Q off and turn the outer burner down 2 strokes from high.
Place the lamb steaks on the trivet and cook for 5 minutes Lift the lid and brush again with Tandoori Paste, flip, brush this side with Tandoori Paste also, cook indirectly for another 5 minutes. This” sets” the paste and seals the flavour on the outside of the lamb.
Remove the foil from under the trivet and turn the gas control up to maximum heat and the centre burner on. Leave the lamb on the trivet above the grill and cook for 2 minutes .
Flip the lamb and cook for a further two minutes.
Remove and rest for a couple of minutes. The lamb will be slightly pink in the centre and will have a slight charring on the edges which should be enough to give it the true but subtle Tandoor cooked flavour.
To cook Chicken Quarters one good way is to marinate them in Italian salad dressing for 12 hours.
I use a no name brand Italian Salad dressing to which I add a tablespoon of sea salt. Place 4 chicken quarters in a Ziploc bag and add about 200 to 250 ml of salad dressing and 1 tablespoon of sea salt, massage into the chicken and store in the fridge for about 12 hours turning occasionally. Remove from the fridge about an hour before cooking and bring up to room temperature.
Turn the Q on and preheat for 10 minutes.
Set-up for indirect cooking, turn the inside burner off and turn the outer burner down about 2 strokes from high. Cook the Chicken quarter for about 7 minutes per side.
Remove the foil from under the trivet and turn the centre burner on.
Leave the chicken on the trivet above the grill and cook for 2 ½ minutes. Flip and cook for a further 2 ½ minutes.
Alternatively you can finish cooking the chicken direct on the grill to get additional searing just reduce the grilling time to 1 to 1 ½ minutes.
Enjoy - Cheers
"Captain Cook"
