Chook Me!

Can someone please tell me how long I should grill chicken, pork ribs, steak and fish?

Grilling season is coming and I want to be able to grill near perfect food with minimal charred flavor.

Public Comments

1. Go to Foodtv.com look for Booby Flay, He's the king of the grill. The Show- Boy Meets Grill. Enjoy.
2. well on chicken you should cook it until its completely done, but the steak u can cook that to the doneness of your choice... its easy to tell when ribs are done
3. chicken takes the most time...about 30 minutes and you should always turn it to get it grilled on both sides evenly and poke it until no more juice comes out and then you know it is done steak and pork ribs and fish take less time depending on how thick the pieces are...but 10 to 15 minutes is ok
4. For grilling boneless chicken breasts, pork chops, steak, burgers and the like we use the cookout calculator at charcoalbob.com. Just enter the details about your grill and the items you will be grilling. It will give you specific instructions for how long to grill steaks, pork chops, etc. to the doneness you want, to eat at the time you'd like to serve dinner. It also has grilling tips. For things like grilling whole chickens, ribs and fish we love the Weber Big Book of Grilling. It has lots of great recipies and instructions that are easy to follow. You'll find this at your favorite bookstore or online at places like amazon.com. Happy grilling season!
5. Personally I like food a little charred because that's what makes grilling different from a pan-fry, etc. Anyway, how long you should grill anything depends on the how thick it is and how hot your grill is. The most significant change you will notice is the colour, and the simplest cut by using colour to determine it would be roughly about half an inch for chicken pork and fish (barely a few minutes - maybe 5 - on each side on a hot grill would suffice). For steak, you can tell how done your steak is by pressing the middle of the steak. When you touch your finger to the thumb of the same hand (e.g. index to thumb in an "okay" sign) the "hardness" of the meat under your thumb should be the same "hardness" as the center of your steak. The index-thumb "hardness" is medium rare, middle finger-thumb is medium, ring finger-thumb is well-done, and pinky-thumb is over-done. Also, flip steaks only once as this helps it to retain its juices. Once done, let it sit for 10mins before serving or cutting into it so as to help the juices re-distribute throughout the steak. However, I should probably also tell you I just read recently in the papers that apparently a 2-hour long barbeque releases enough carcinogenics the equivalent of 220, 000 cigarettes! (A pity, because I love barbeques myself!)
6. First I would check out Bobby Flay. He knows better than most! For chicken it definitely depends of the the cut. Bonelyess chicken breast takes about 5 - 7 minutes per side. With the bone in add 3 - 4 minutes per side. For pork ribs I tend to start them in foil paper with beer and let them go about 2 hours. Then I grill then hot and quick at the end. Steak depends on how you like it cooked. For medium rare I grill it about 4 - 5 minutes per side. With fish there is nothing really definite. It really depends on the thickness, type of fish, etc. For example if you are grilling a salmon steak I would suggest 5 - 6 minutes per side. For a white fish you're looking a 2 - 3 minutes per side. This is the same with shrimp.
7. since how long you must grill the product is based on variable elements such as how hot your particular grill will be and how thick the product will be any answer that is time-based is useless. you are then left with touch, appearance, and internal temperature. chicken is the one product you must cook throughout. it will be firm to the touch, completely white in the middle, the internal temperature should be 165 F when fish is completely done, you will see a white milky liquid peek out. this is the cooked blood and it is telling you to take it off the grill. it will also be firm to the touch. some people like their fish on the medium well side which means it will have a little more give to the touch. the internal temperature will be 145-165F steak has the most variance as it depends on the person. anywhere from rare (spongy, red middle, slightly cold in the middle, 120F) to well (firm, grey middle, 165). if someone wants their steak cooked well done but with no char simply use a thinner cut of steak or butterfly the steak. pork is generally cooked medium well (145-150F) but if you're making ribs you'll be boiling or braising them first so won't have to worry about this. there is so little meat that when it has the amount of char you want it's done
8. Not an easy answer since there are so many variables. Depends on the heat of the fire, size of the cuts of meats as well as thickness. If you are not into the charred taste, keep your coals in the middle of the grill and place your meats around the outside of the grill & turn often. Keep the fire low by almost closing both air vents(if cooking on charcoal) Fish should be done in minutes, or when it will flake & turns white(not clear). Chicken should be cooked till juices run totally clear when forked. 40-50 minutes depending on fire & size of pieces. Most people boil or bake ribs before grilling. Grill to get the BBQ sauce & smoke flavor cooked in. Steak depends on fire, thickness, preferred doneness desired. I prefer mine medium rare, on a white coal fire with dampers almost closed, I grill about 3-4 minutes on each side. I actually cook more than needed & cut one to check for doneness when I think it might be done.