Friday, December 29, 2017

Five Reasons For Take-out

1.   You use up someone else's electricity to cook.  My stove is a big one with two ovens.  The smaller and cheaper-to-use one has lost it's ability to acquire and maintain a relatively even temperature.  The larger of the two is HUGE and takes 30 minutes to heat up.

Although I LOVE my Breville Oven to the moon, sometimes it is just too small.  Enter George and Suzie (OurAwesomeTravels) who cook practically everything on their Weber Q.  I've mentioned this before.  In fact, I cooked the most amazing chicken a few weeks ago, remember?
2.  There's no prep ... no mess ... no fuss.  Just drive up, turn off the diesel engine so they can hear your order and in a few short minutes, dinner is served!!  NOT as simple is finding a small enough chicken for the BBQ, washing and cleaning it inside and out, drying it off and sprinkling with the seasoning of your choice.

It went so well last time, why not try it again?  I bought the smallest bird I could find, went through all the motions and headed to the grill.  I had a fleeting thought about the gas canister.  I would LOVE to find one of those small propane bottles I could travel with, but alas, I have to use those tiny green things.

I've no idea how long they last or how much cooking I can do before it runs out.  There's no window to look through.  I unceremoniously dumped my chicken on the grill.
3.  There's no waiting with take-out.  Not much anyway ... grab it and go.  With a 5 pound chicken, you've got at least an hour to wait.  I set the timer, set myself on the couch and waited, with a watchful eye on the smoke from the Q.

4.  There's no, or at least little chance of food poisoning with take-out.  There's a BIG chance of ptomaine if your chicken isn't cooked sufficiently.  When the timer rang, I headed out with the collection pan, ready to dig in to some delicious juicy barbecued meat.

Wasn't I surprised to find it almost as raw as when I put it on the grill.  Oh for crying out loud!!  The gas can must have run dry.  I might have checked halfway through, but you're never supposed to open the lid.  After that prime rib fiasco, I wasn't doing THAT again.

I found another bottle of fuel, screwed it in and hit the GO button.  The flames seemed much smaller than before.  This doesn't look right.  I disconnected it and connected another bottle with the same result.  Okay then .... I shut the lid and hoped for the best, setting the timer for ANOTHER hour.

5.  Your food is always well done with take-out.  There's no raw in restaurants, especially the food-to-go type.  I figured there was no need to worry about how long it cooked, after all, I had my trusty thermometer with which to check for the 180 degree mark.

This time I checked for the sizzle twice, to assure myself it was cooking.  The bell rang an hour later and I removed the bird.  Looks pretty yummy, right??  How could I possibly fail?  By the way, that's a lemon I cut up and put inside for additional flavor.

In the end, it didn't quite get done ... probably due to the additional flavor.  I rather like fall-off-the-bone chicken and this wasn't it, but by then it was almost bed time.
6.  Take-out is quick (see number 3).  Actually, there are more than six reasons for me to get take-out.  It's certainly quicker than the 2-1/2 hours I spent trying to cook this chicken.  At least I wasn't using up any electricity, but my chances of food poisoning were high, it having set on the cold grill for an hour.  Luckily after eating one leg, I felt fine and think I will survive the rest.

Now that THAT'S out of the way, I can pack the grill in the rig.  I should do fast-food for the rest of the week, but how about some more tamales instead????



10 comments:

  1. Oh no,sorry to hear about this fiasco. I don't use those small canisters, Ours is hooked into the propane tank on our coach. It lasts for many weeks and has a gauge.
    To check if it is cooking I touch my hand to the lid of the Weber Q once in a while to make sure it is still hot. I am always sitting outside beside my BBQ enjoying a book while it cooks, more reading time.
    A cornish Hen cooks much quicker and is a nice size for one or 2 people. You could always finish it in the Microwave.

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    1. Funny now, but when I was hungry for dinner, not so much. LOL Cornish hens are probably a much better idea for me ... they don't take as long to cook!!

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  2. Ace hardware/campers world or most any propane distributor will have a 4 1/2 pound can or a 9 1/2pound can I believe there's 11 1/2 pound Can as well
    both a refillable at any propane Dealer outlet and there easy to transport
    My preference would be Ace Hardware first,,, All you need extra is the hose
    (Longer is better)

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    1. I've never thought about Camping World. I've looked other places, but no luck. Thank you for the hose tip!!

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  3. When you get through with the chicken why don't you just Cut it up throw it in a big pot with a whole bunch of vegetables and make a soup
    you mentioned chicken that you're cooking and I had some Popeyes Chicken leftover from last night,, makes a soup today

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    1. An excellent idea. And I would have leftover stock!

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  4. Cornish game hens are a good size. Plus, they are easily spatchcocked. There are videos you can watch on how to do this. They cook MUCH faster and more evenly than a whole bird. You can also do this with a chicken or a turkey.

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    1. I saw that on television the other day. Never heard of it before Allison. That's a tip I'll definitely try!!!

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  5. We used to have a Monster-Sized Q when we had our House before hauling it to the Apartment Balcony. Problem was there wasn't room to stand on the Balcony. After reading George's Success on the Weber Q we found one in Florida. We didn't go small but immediately got a Twenty Pound Tank and never ran out of fuel again. Next time we'll look at a Ten pounder.
    We have learned to spray the grill with Pam before turning it on so you don't have a Flame Thrower. It stops the food from sticking to the grill itself.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. I certainly need a bigger fuel tank. That last one only cooked one chicken. I also never thought of Pam ... thank you!!! Can't wait to try all these tips!!

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