help -- marinade destroyed my pork chops (I think)

Post your recipe requests and cooking questions in this setion. Not for general discussions.
Post Reply
AusDoug
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:01 pm

help -- marinade destroyed my pork chops (I think)

Post by AusDoug »

I hope this is the correct forum for a semi-beginner to ask a question about a Weber Q disaster (my fault, not the barbecue's fault).

I've been cooking with a Weber Q for a few months and have been very pleased with the results. It's brilliant. With one exception (yesterday), I've only salted the food beforehand -- no marinade.

I made my first pork chop marinade yesterday. It's the one in the manual and is pretty basic. I marinated the chops in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for two hours, put them on the Weber for five minutes on each side and they were charred completely black. Because I kept the hood down, I didn't see what happened, but assume that the marinade was on fire at some point.

Obviously, I've stuffed it up somehow. The burners were on high, so the temperature was about 275c. When cooking with marinades, should I use a tray which I'd purchased for cooking vegetables? Was the mistake exposing the meat directly to the flame? Should I only cook on medium heat when using marinades?

Thanks for your help. I'm a bit gun-shy about cooking with marinades until I learn what I did wrong.
Davo
Forum Administrator
Posts: 5330
Joined: Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:44 am
Location: Albury NSW on the mighty Murray River

Re: help -- marinade destroyed my pork chops (I think)

Post by Davo »

Hi Ausdoug,

Sorry to hear of your dilemma but it's a pretty common dilemma really when using marinates.

Most marinates have a fair bit of sugar in them and it's the sugar that burns.....and it burns easily and caramalises then chars and becomes very very bitter....It'll burn way before the meat is cooked.

The 2nd mistake is you had the grill up way too high in temp.....to grill is best around the 350-400F mark

After you preheat your grill, turn your knob/s down about 2 strokes from top.

In a Weber Q, it cooks a bit differently than a regular grill and it's designed to cook with lid down....when you're cooking something marinated, you do it indirect to stop the charring and burning of the sugar and you do it low temp..about 2 strokes on the control knob below hi setting.....place double folded foil on the grill about an inch longer than a trivet (hope you got one of these) they look like a thick cake rack and are a must for indirect on the Q. then slice the foil in slits between the bars to let fats drip down to the bottom of bbq.
Place trivet ontop of foil and place the chops on the trivet and let it cook indirectly from the flame..the foil will allow the heat to be channelled all around the inside of the lid for an even cook...as you would a roast.

Alternatively, you can get those Teflon grill sheets that go right over the bars and you can cook marinated foods on them....just wash em later...but don't cook on too high a temp.....check the food every couple of minutes till you're satisfied. Buy a good meat temp metre so you can measure the internal temp of your food.

Cheers

Davo
Moderator/ Admin

Weber Q320
Weber Performer Kettle
Weber WSM 18.5
AusDoug
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:01 pm

Re: help -- marinade destroyed my pork chops (I think)

Post by AusDoug »

Brilliant Davo. Thanks for the advice. This is exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks for taking the time to help me.
Davo
Forum Administrator
Posts: 5330
Joined: Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:44 am
Location: Albury NSW on the mighty Murray River

Re: help -- marinade destroyed my pork chops (I think)

Post by Davo »

You're welcome mate...thats what we are here for....to help others get the best with their bbq.

I've been using Weber Q's for a while now....

Cheers

Davo
Moderator/ Admin

Weber Q320
Weber Performer Kettle
Weber WSM 18.5
AusDoug
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:01 pm

Re: help -- marinade destroyed my pork chops (I think)

Post by AusDoug »

I hope that you don't mind some short follow-up questions.

1. In the recipe book, it says to cook the chops for 5-7 minutes on each side. If I'm roasting, I assume that I don't need to turn them, since I'm using a trivet. Do you think it's reasonable that I can put a thermometer into the thickest chop and take them out when the internal temperature hits 71c (i.e., I change from time to internal temperature) ?

2. When I roast chickens, I heat up the barbecue using both burners, then once the chickens are in, I turn off the inner burner and keep the outer one at about half-way (so the temperature gauge is about 200c). Is this a strategy which I can use for all roasting (e.g., any steaks or chops that I marinade before putting them into the Weber) ?

3. Do you generally marinade steaks and chops before you put them into the Weber? Even though my first attempt was such a spectacular failure, I've read in numerous places that marinading the improve their flavour, so I'm ready to have another go.

4. When you cook directly on the grill (e.g., burgers, snags), do you turn the burners 2-3 notches down each time (i.e., only max them when heating up the Weber in the first place)?

Thanks again for all your advice. It's very helpful.

Thanks for your help. I feel like I've just moved from my L plates to my P plates, so I'd like to try to learn new things.

Regards,
Doug
Post Reply