Charcoal Grill

[Mr. Fixit]

Last week when we went to Defenders sale, my honey bought me a rail mount grill. Last night we used it for hamburgers. Not being familiar with charcoal i used a lot more than was needed. I monitored the temp. after cooking and 5 hours later it was still in the 300 deg. range. Tonight I am going to try to bake bread in it. Should work but I am not sure. Anybody out there have any suggestions? If it works I could eliminate the microwave/convection oven I now use. It is big/heavy and would like to replace it with a small microwave just for reheating.

[jotruk]

I have a regular charcoal grill on my boat, I haven't used it for baking but it can be done. You will just have to watch the heat source close and make sure it does not go out or get to hot. Good luck with it and let us know how it comes out

[Captain Smollett]

Baking bread on an open fire (such as charcoal) is done indirectly and via a reflector.

(1) Put all your coals to one side of the grill.

(2) Use some foil to make a 'lean-to' of sorts, with the open end toward the coals.  That is, the foil should be folded to make a wedge shape, open end toward the coals, pointed, closed end at the edge of the grill opposite of where the coals are.

(3) Place your dough in the foil "oven" formed by the wedge.  The heat will be reflected off the top down onto the dough, and it will also be heated from the bottom.

I've used this method to bake bread on open campfire in front of the skeptical eyes of a number of folks in my camping party (who thought it impossible to bake bread on an open campfire).  

As an aside, if you are not familiar with the 'indirect' method of cooking with charcoal, you might want to learn it.  It is VERY effective.  Burgers, steaks and hot dogs are about the only thing we cook 'direct' over the coals,  London Broil, pork tenderloin, salmon filets, or in other words, any larger cut of meat or easy-to-burn meat, indirect is your friend.

One year, I did our Thanksgiving turkey over charcoal - took about 6 hours, but was great.

An extension of indirect cooking is smoking, which is a fun, too.

Best of luck, and welcome to the world of charcoal cooking...the BEST (in my opinion).  

[Godot]

I've heard of cooking fish, pork, and chicken by placing them on a wood plank (cedar or hickory?) and putting that on top of the camp fire.  Never tried it; but someday I will.

[Mr. Fixit]

well  bread is in the charcoal  grill. I took pictures when i put it in and will take pictures when i take it out. regarding cooking fish on a plank. In Pa the fisherman would joke about cooking shad on a plank--take a shad, nail it to a plank,roast over fire until done--when done remove shad, throw the shad away EAT THE PLANK.

[SV Wind Dancer]

Dutch oven techniques also work well.

[Mr. Fixit]

Today was a beautiful day in NYS so I glued the memory foam to the existing vberth cushions that i reported on in the Gear thread. Then i baked a loaf of bread on my charcoal grill. It turned out OK and with some minor adjustments i can use it for baking.(Brenda gets her convection oven/microwave returned to kitchen duty). I gain 40 lbs of weight I can use for other things..I will replace with a very small microwave.
The bread was a standard whole wheat recp. with a little molasses. I topped the bread with sesame seeds, oatmeal,sunflower seeds. pictures are available at
http://picasaweb.google.com/lkern39/20090721storagevberth#
some day i will get smart enough to post pictures at sailfar. If this link does not work i have listed it with my sea anchor post in the Gear thread.

[skylark]

That is a great looking bread.  Did it get dark on the bottom?  Did you use the grill at low temps?

[Mr. Fixit]

Yes it did get too dark on the bottom--this was one of the adjustments I must make.Not sure yet may try a bread pan (glass) on a heat deflector. My grill is not big enough to use a dutch oven at least the one i have. I also have to try to figure out the indirect method recommended. The bread rose more than I like. I traditionally use more yeast than recommended. In my kitchen oven at 375 the yeast action does not last long due to the high temps. In the grill at lower temps the yeast action was greater. Next time less yeast, more flour. I like to make the dough borderline stickey,as it stays fresh longer.Less moisture will also help slow the yeast. This will help the longer,low temp effect and should reduce the yeast action in the grill. Work in progress love to experiment!!!