Grilling...lid closed or open?

Question

Is it better to grill with the lid open or closed? I have a small charcoal grill and it seems that the fire doesn't stay hot enough to really sear the food when I close the lid. I have read that the best results come with both ways, so I am not sure. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

It first depends on what you are grilling! The thicker the meat, the harder it is to cook. As a rule of thumb, if you are cooking thick meat, close the lid and adjust the vent to keep the temp at a constant, the more open the vent is, the faster the coals will burn! Keeping the lid closed keeps the heat in and helps to cook the meat inside! If you are cooking chicken wings or thin hamburgers you can cook them with the lid open. From what you are saying tho, my first guess is you arent using enough charcoal. Make sure the coals are completely white also before cooking.

Answer 2

Grill Lid

Answer 3

It depends what you are cooking. If you cook burgers it's good to get them close to the fire and keep turning them, or sear them on both sides and then adjust the height of the grill so that they cook at a slower rate for the remaining time and are infused to a greater degree by the smoke from your charcoal and/or wood chips. If you are cooking steaks it's best to use the same technique for well done to medium well steaks but anything else such as a rare to mid rare steak is best to keep close to the fire so that the outside is done but you have rawer meat toward the center and you just take them off sooner. With veg it's best to wrap in aluminum foil with some butter and whichever spices you like and let them cook further from the flame. You can use open or closed lid with veg but if you go with a closed lid they should be about a medium distance from the coals so that they cook at a slower rate and they aren't so close that they burn. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

Depends on what you are cooking and how. If you want to sear you need to leave the lid off. When you put the lid on it prevents a lot of oxygen from getting to the coals, which decreases their heat (like putting a lid on a candle, it eventually goes out). But if you're grilling something like corn, which you don't want to sear, put the lid on to produce even, lower temperature heat.

Answer 5

I watched on the food channel yesterday that they said any time you're bbqing you should close the lid. Leaving the lid open will not cook the food at the temperature it should be and it will be bad meat to eat. I also read on yahoo news yesterday that you should not grill things and leave it out because it will contain bacteria and stuff inside the meat. So just cook at the appropriate temperature and cook as you eat.

Answer 6

Bbq With Lid

Answer 7

If the doorknob set did not come with an emergency key (looks just like a key but with no grooves cut out .. completely flat on both edges), then here are some additional options. You'll need to use a bit of extra pressure but you don't need to throw your whole body into it (and as someone above said, it may require a turn of 90 degrees, not a pushing motion): a small flat-head screwdriver from a sewing machine tool set or a computer repair set an unbent coat hanger or paper clip (you'll need to maneuver around to hit it just right) poultry skewer (old fashioned kind like grandma would use to lace up the turkey) Good luck!

Answer 8

WHEN YOU ARE GRILLING YOU NEED TO LET THE CHARCOL TURN WHITE LEAVE THE LID OPEN UNTIL YOUR CHARCOL IS WHITE. CLOSE THE LID FOR 5 MINUTES BEFORE YOU PUT YOUR MEAT ON IT. AFTER YOU PUT YOUR MEAT ON IT CLOSE THE LID IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE IT IS GETTING HOT. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE JUST HOLD YOUR HAND ALITTLE WAYS FROM THE GRILL THIS WILL LET YOU KNOW YOUR GRILL IS HOT OR NOT. DON'T OPEN THE LID ALOT WHEN OPENING THE LID ALOT THIS LETS ALL YOUR HEAT OUT AND IT TAKES LONGER FOR YOUR MEAT TO COOK.

Answer 9

You need to keep the lid closed. Think of your BBQ like your oven...if you keep opening the door to your oven it doesn't stay hot enough to cook your food properly.

There should be a small air vent on the lid of your BBQ, turn it slightly to allow air to come in to feed the coals so they will stay hot and glowing.

Answer 10

place food over hot fire lid open for the first minute or so, move food off the direct heat from the fire, close lid, turn food one time and one time only, this helps retain it's natural juices!