Homemade BBQ Sauce Question

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
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Ok I make a pretty good homemade BBQ but I usually cook it for a long time to thicken it up then let it sit for a day or 2 if possible before use because it tastes better. My question is (because it's supposed to be hot the next couple days) can I cook it down in the pressure cooker? If so how long. Also can I cook my homemade BBQ baked beans (I will soak than cook dry navy beans in the pressure cooker than add my BBQ sauce) in the pressure cooker? I am hoping to cut cooking times and heat in the house so I don't kill us or the A/C. LOL
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I don't know about the BBQ sauce in the PC. You say you cook it a long time to thicken, and that means evaporation unless you're adding a thickening agent like corn starch or a flour slurry. There will be very little evaporation at all in the PC, so you won't get any thickening that way.

As for the beans, the PC is IDEAL for that!!

Have you got a crockpot? Put your sauce in that and let it cook for a while. It won't heat the house up much. Further, if possible, you could put the crockpot on the back porch with an extension cord and just let it go.

Or, if you have a utility pot of sorts, a pot you don't mind being "rough" with, start a fire using 25 - 30 coals in your grill. Once ashed over, pile them up nice and tight. Put the cooking grate on, then put your pot of BBQ Sauce over the coals and let it cook that way with the lid off - both the lid for the grill and the pot should be off.

You'll get about 1.5 hours of heat, and that should be enough to cook your sauce and give you some evaporation for thickening without heating the house up at all.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
I don't know about the BBQ sauce in the PC. You say you cook it a long time to thicken, and that means evaporation unless you're adding a thickening agent like corn starch or a flour slurry. There will be very little evaporation at all in the PC, so you won't get any thickening that way.

As for the beans, the PC is IDEAL for that!!

Have you got a crockpot? Put your sauce in that and let it cook for a while. It won't heat the house up much. Further, if possible, you could put the crockpot on the back porch with an extension cord and just let it go.

Or, if you have a utility pot of sorts, a pot you don't mind being "rough" with, start a fire using 25 - 30 coals in your grill. Once ashed over, pile them up nice and tight. Put the cooking grate on, then put your pot of BBQ Sauce over the coals and let it cook that way with the lid off - both the lid for the grill and the pot should be off.

You'll get about 1.5 hours of heat, and that should be enough to cook your sauce and give you some evaporation for thickening without heating the house up at all.
Thank you. I was thinking about what you mentioned after I posted.

We have ALOT of birds around here due to the fact that the freaking neighbors feed them all the time. We have enough damn birds to film a remake of "The Birds"!! Which comes with eveything else. If you know what I mean. I would never leave my food uncovered for 1.5 hours just in case it gets bombed. Good idea though and I wish I had an awning because then I WOULD do the crock pot on the deck.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Thank you. I was thinking about what you mentioned after I posted.

We have ALOT of birds around here due to the fact that the freaking neighbors feed them all the time. We have enough damn birds to film a remake of "The Birds"!! Which comes with eveything else. If you know what I mean. I would never leave my food uncovered for 1.5 hours just in case it gets bombed. Good idea though and I wish I had an awning because then I WOULD do the crock pot on the deck.


:yum:

Well, you could do the grill trick, and leave the lid a bit cracked on the pot. Or just leave the lid off the pot and put the lid on the grill. You'll still get plenty of evaporation that way, but you might want to reduce your coal count to 20 - 25 since the lid on the grill will make for a hotter environment - albeit a bird-bomb free one! :lol: :thumb:
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
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Hey I have another question if you don't mind. I want to pre-cook some chicken parts (if it gets cool enough because I hate the having grease dripping flare ups on the BBQ) then cover with dry rub and let sit in fridge overnight. Then BBQ till nice and brown before finishing with BBQ sauce. What would be the best way to pre-cook the chicken? Poach, roast other? And this will be done at night so hopefully it will cool down or else I may need to rethink chicken. And is this a good idea? Sorry about all the stupid questions but I don't do much fancy grilling. Mostly just dogs, burgers and steak on the grill.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Hey I have another question if you don't mind. I want to pre-cook some chicken parts (if it gets cool enough because I hate the having grease dripping flare ups on the BBQ) then cover with dry rub and let sit in fridge overnight. Then BBQ till nice and brown before finishing with BBQ sauce. What would be the best way to pre-cook the chicken? Poach, roast other? And this will be done at night so hopefully it will cool down or else I may need to rethink chicken. And is this a good idea? Sorry about all the stupid questions but I don't do much fancy grilling. Mostly just dogs, burgers and steak on the grill.

I wouldn't pre-cook the chicken. There are many "tricks" you can do on the grill to avoid a flare-up.

What kind of grill do you have?

If it is a kettle style (domed lid & curved body), those are designed to eliminate flare-ups if the lid is kept on. The design funnels air through a lower vent and up to the top vent in such as fashion as to allow the coals to stay lit, but to retard flare ups. You only get flare-ups when you pull the lid off and more oxygen rushes in.

To ensure you don't get flares ups, reduce your coal count. For an 18" to 22" kettle, count out 55 coals and use just that many. Spread them out in a circular pattern - kind of like a doughnut with a small space in the center of the grill that is blank or is the "hole" of the doughnut. Keep the lid on the grill at all times except when flipping or saucing the chicken.

If you have a square type grill, then put all of your coals on one side, and leave and open spot on the other. So all the coals would be on the left, and on the right would be a blank spot with no coals. Put your chicken on bone side down above the coals for 5 minutes. Flip to skin side down for 5 minutes. Then flip again and move it all to the right where there are no coals and let it sit for 15-20 minutes - by now the coals are low enough that flare-ups won't be a [problem, and the chicken is about 3/5 of the way done. Now move the chicken back over the coals and finish grilling, making sure to flip every 6 or so minutes.

If it is a gas grill, hopefully it has two burners. Turn on the left burner and leave the right one off. Let the grill heat up covered for 10 minutes. Put the chicken on, boneside down over the lit burner. Flip after 5 minutes and cook another 5 minutes. Now flip again and move the chicken to the right side where the burner is off. Close the lid and let it sit 15-20 minutes. Now finish grilling and saucing over the lit burner. by this time, the chicken is 3/5 of the way done, and most of the fat that would cause a flare-up has been rendered out.

Alternatively, no matter what grill you have, just put all the coals on one side, and leave the other side open. Start by putting all the chicken on the side that has no coals (or no lit burner). Close the lid, and position the vent (on a kettle style grill) so it is above the chicken. Now walk away and leave the chicken alone for 25 minutes. This will basically smoke the chicken and render out the fat. Now spend 10 - 15 minutes grilling and saucing the chicken directly over the coals which should be cool enough now that flare-ups won't be a problem at all.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I agree with Keltin about not pre-cooking the chicken, if you can avoid it.

For one thing, it defeats the purpose of not heating up the house. For another thing, poaching will leave some flavor in the water, and baking may dry out the chicken. In either case, double-cooking might dry out the chicken.

Two suggestions: One is what Keltin suggested, cooking the chicken most of the way, using the indirect method (placing the pieces over the part of the grill that does not have a heat source directly underneath it). When the chicken is almost done, move the pieces directly over the heat source and grill them off.

Another way has become popular with competitive barbecuers: Place the pieces in a disposable foil pan and pour in barbecue sauce until it comes about halfway up the sides of the chicken. Season the skin with rub. Some people brush a little sauce on the skin, some do not. Poach the chicken on the grill, until it's just about done. Then take the pieces out and place them over the fire BRIEFLY, with the lid up, to blacken them a bit. DO NOT WALK AWAY, as the sauce will burn quickly. Done correctly, this yields a fall-off the bone chicken with a deep flavor of the sauce and nicely grilled/blackened skin.

Lee
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Thank you for this info. I started a "Let's Talk" BBQing ... thread http://netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18614 to get this kind of info but I guess not many people saw it. Do you mind if I quote these posts to that thead (or maybe you could copy and paste to that thread also pretty please). I need all the help I can get and alot of it.

I have a few more questions. If you don't mind I will post them in the Let's Talk thread.

BTW this is the grill I have but I'm not sure which size it is. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the help!!

For some reason I can't upload attachments.

weber_grill_05-27-2011014109PM.jpg
 
Last edited:

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Another way has become popular with competitive barbecuers: Place the pieces in a disposable foil pan and pour in barbecue sauce until it comes about halfway up the sides of the chicken. Season the skin with rub. Some people brush a little sauce on the skin, some do not. Poach the chicken on the grill, until it's just about done. Then take the pieces out and place them over the fire BRIEFLY, with the lid up, to blacken them a bit. DO NOT WALK AWAY, as the sauce will burn quickly. Done correctly, this yields a fall-off the bone chicken with a deep flavor of the sauce and nicely grilled/blackened skin.

Lee

:thumb: :agree:


EXCELLENT advice! :clap:

And you can get a twin pack of those disposable pans at Dollar general for $1.25. I've even seen them in the Everything's A Dollar store for....yep, 1 dollar!
 
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