Thanksgiving on the Grill

War Damn Eagle!!!

Thanksgiving in our house is always pretty low key.  We very rarely travel, instead staying home to spend time together, just the five of us.  There are two parts to our Thanksgiving; we always cook a big meal together on Thanksgiving Day and then our focus shifts to the Iron Bowl on Saturday.  As Auburn fans, our house went crazy after that game, the remnants of toilet paper in our oak tree the only remaining evidence of our celebrations. Our win over that other team was one for the history books and was just about the only thing anyone wanted to talk about this past week.  

The other thing everyone wants to talk about after Thanksgiving is food.  I always love listening to people talk about the different dishes they served because many times the recipe is an old family recipe that's been made every Thanksgiving for years.  Ours is the same but this year we decided to change it up a little and cook all of those family recipes on the grill.  From the pecan and pumpkin pie to the cornbread, sweet potato casserole, and apricot glazed pork loin roast, we cooked it all with wood.  

When talking with folks this past week about cooking Thanksgiving on the grill everyone had the same question, "How?"  I'll tell you the same thing I told them, anything you'd cook in the oven you can cook on the grill.  It's all about temperature control.  As long as you know your grill well enough to know how to control the temperature, you can cook almost anything on the grill.

Grills have vents that control air flow which, in turn, control the temperature.  The more air you give the fire, the higher the temperature.  Whether you're cooking on a horizontal cooker, a kettle grill like a Weber, or a Kamado style cooker, they all have a vent to let air in and a vent to let air out and you can find the right combination of openings to keep the temperature wherever you need it to be.  Now, I understand that keeping the temperature constant for an extended period of time like eight or ten hours is easier on some cookers and really tough on others, but for dishes that require an hour or less, cook it on the grill!

In order to keep accurate control of the temperature, the most important piece of equipment you need is a good quality, digital thermometer with a sensor that sits at grate level.  This way you always know what is going on inside your grill without opening the lid.  I can't say enough about how much having a good thermometer will change the way you grill.

It all takes practice.  Nobody gets it right the first time.  Not even the second.  I still screw up food all the time but I learn from my mistakes and move on.  But having the right tools and knowing your grill can allow you to do some amazing things cooking with wood.  Don't be afraid to get creative. 

 Remember, if you'd cook it in the oven, you can cook it on the grill!