INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Minminme]

I dont think I have posted this yet, but I snapped some pictures of my white silkie/showgirl pen yesterday. Instead of uploading each picture here, ill just share the link to them on my facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.655182691221256.1073741841.577498195656373&type=1

Love those White Silkies! They r soooo precious! If you were t breed a Blue Roo to a White hen what would b the color of the chicks?

 

[CRSelvey]

This method bypasses all that.  It's a pure source for people who don't burn stumps.


Probably true for most of us, but sure as anything there will be a chicken-keeping hermit reading this who lives in a place where wood stoves and fire places have been banned.  You get literally all kinds, thanks to the wonder and the glory of the Internet.  This method is a one-hermit job.


I'm quoting you out of context because I'm always excited!  :-D

Okay, here's the deal.  There is nearly unanimous agreement that putting some wood ash in your dust bath is good for chickens. (Er, in your chickens' bath, that is, not yours.  Ash in your own bath will make you... well, ashy.  And it won't help your chickens unless they're in the bath with you.... and I'm not going any farther with that train of thought.  There are kids in the room.)  Benefits of ashes for chickens may include preventing parasites, external and/or internal, keeping chickens ironically clean (ashes are dirty) and who doesn't love an ironic chicken?  Also it will probably give your chickens super powers like Flying Tornado Kick that can dismember coyotes, and the patience and wisdom to negotiate peace in the Middle East.  At the very least they'll be able to change the oil in your car, which is dead useful if not as impressive.

So, where do you get wood ash?  As far as I can tell, you can't buy it on the internet.  Except maybe if you did a "wanted" ad on craigslist, but I wouldn't do that because then there's no telling what's in the ash.  Could be all sorts of toxic chemicals or burned up bodies because some people on craigslist are serial killers.  Everyone knows that.  Anyway, as shocking as it is, I finally found something that cannot be purchased online.  Go ahead and prove me wrong.  I double dog dare you.

However, the overwhelming majority of us can make our own.  All you need is a place where you can burn stuff, and it doesn't have to be a big place.  And old grill or bbq cooker will do.  If you find yourself in the unenviable position of living in an apartment where even small patio grills are not allowed, then I weep for you, but you're going to have to just find someone who is willing to do this for you.  Oh look, here I am!  PM me and we'll work it out.  Not kidding.

So get out your grill.**  It's been pointed out that the ashes that are already in your grill are probably greasy, so don't use them.  There is also a chance that you've been using "charcoal" briquettes in your grill.  If you have, I am going to resist the temptation to judge you.  Shameful as it is, I once did this too... most of us have been in that dark place at least once in our lives.  Today is a new day, and you're going to step out into the breathtaking light of a whole new world!  A world where delicious, smokey meats can be cooked to mouth-watering perfection in the convenience of your own yard without the bitter aftertaste of noxious petrochemicals.  It's a glorious life, and a joyful life, and you'll never look back.  More to the point, you can't let your chickens into briquette ash because it's poisonous and will probably cause them to writhe in agony and die.  No one wants writhing chickens.

So go buy some lump hardwood charcoal for your grill.  Then go buy some meat, because to make a fire without cooking meat on it will disgrace you in the eyes of your primeval ancestors.  Okay fine, you can grill some veggies if you don't eat meat.  After all, everyone is entitled to their wrong opinion.  But for heaven's sake cook something with your fire!

Now the trick to this is not to get any of the meat or it's drippings on the ashes, and there are several ways you can do this.  They all involve indirect heat; how to do it depends on your grill.  If you already have a bbq cooker with the fire box on the side, then you're good to go.  Just dump any immoral briquette ashes, if you have any, and fire it up with lump charcoal.  Done deal.  If, like me, you merely covet a bbq cooker from afar, you can still use a regular weber-style grill.  The bigger the grill, the easier this will be, and the more ashes you can collect.  Once again, start by dumping all of your previous ashes, and give a quick wipe to the inside.

Now, most American grillers are accustomed to direct heat grilling.  The meat goes directly over the burning coals and viola, you have not-raw meat.  You also have grease-contaminated ashes, and no one likes greasy chickens.  So instead, you want to use indirect heat.  The charcoal goes on one half of the grill, and the meat goes on the other half.  There are many benefits.  Your meat will cook longer at a slower temperature.  For burgers, this means a more tender burger.  You'll be surprised by the difference it will make in brats.  And if you've never attempted real bbq on your little webber, this is how it's done.  A word of caution, though - if you're going to bbq chicken on a lower, slower heat, you'll need to protect it from drying out by brining it first, for at least two hours for a whole bird, or one hour for thigh and breast pieces.  I do mine whole and butterflied, and I soak them overnight.  The results can be spectacular.  If you have no idea what brining is, google it or PM me.

You'll want to put some kind of collection pan under the charcoal side to catch the ashes, and it will need to be sturdier than aluminum foil, because the ash will be hot enough to burn through.  A cheap, but not disposable, pie tin ought to do nicely.  If you're slow-cooking whole brined chicken, and you should be, you'll also want a pan under the chicken.  What runs out of the chicken is stock, and if you brine a whole bird overnight, the stock that comes out should be diluted by half and will be better than anything you can buy in a can.  I do this in my crock pot all the time; it's the best, easiest, cheapest stock you can get your hands on.  PM me for details if the process is unclear to you.

If you have a tiny apartment grill, indirect heating can be problematic, but it's still possible in small batches.  Another method you could use is to stuff your chimney starter full of charcoal, set it in the bottom of your little grill (all wire racks removed) and fire it up.  Roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the chimney starter, so you get some use of the heat. The grease off a hot dog should be negligible, and it will mostly burn away in the fire anyhow.  Collect the ash after it burns all the way down and cools off.  If you don't have a chimney starter, get one.  They're cheap, and almost the only way to start lump charcoal burning.

That's about it!  I'm going to do this myself at the very next opportunity, and I'll let you know if I run into any other snags.  Happy grilling and ashing to you all!





** If you only own a propane grill, go back inside and cook your meat on the stove, because it's exactly the same thing.  I have nothing further to say to you.  Infidel.

Hilarious but it's not exactly the same. My outdoor grill makes it taste so much better without creating a mess or smoking up my house. For some reason my house didn't come with an exhaust fan over the stove and I've not yet corrected that oversight. I absolutely can't make food as well as my Weber can.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Okay, okay! I didn't want to have to spell this out, but the Propane Tribe are getting all stirred up. If I didn't know better, I'd think they have an inferiority complex or something. ;-)


I was just kidding; I don't really have anything against propane grills. I think I'm funny, whether or not anyone agrees with me. People tell kids, "Don't laugh; you'll just encourage him." Well, I don't require external encouragement. The laughter in my head keeps me going just fine.


So, in all honesty, I think that the success or failure of outdoor cooking is determined primarily by the skill of the cook, and the company of friends, not the type or quality of the equipment. So many things in life bear out this truth. Some of the best meals I've ever had were cooked on a little green Coleman camp stove. And my father in law, who uses a very expensive charcoal grill with all kinds of snazzy features, can't help burning a hamburger into a hockey puck. So there you have it. Propane and charcoal are equally valid in my eyes. I know you cared.





Also, my preference for charcoal is fueled at least in part by my great enthusiasm for playing with fire. :-D

 

[ChickCrazed]

Okay, okay! I didn't want to have to spell this out, but the Propane Tribe are getting all stirred up. If I didn't know better, I'd think they have an inferiority complex or something. ;-)


I was just kidding; I don't really have anything against propane grills. I think I'm funny, whether or not anyone agrees with me. People tell kids, "Don't laugh; you'll just encourage him." Well, I don't require external encouragement. The laughter in my head keeps me going just fine.


So, in all honesty, I think that the success or failure of outdoor cooking is determined primarily by the skill of the cook, and the company of friends, not the type or quality of the equipment. So many things in life bear out this truth. Some of the best meals I've ever had were cooked on a little green Coleman camp stove. And my father in law, who uses a very expensive charcoal grill with all kinds of snazzy features, can't help burning a hamburger into a hockey puck. So there you have it. Propane and charcoal are equally valid in my eyes. I know you cared.





Also, my preference for charcoal is fueled at least in part by my great enthusiasm for playing with fire. :-D

I love the taste of a burger off a charcoal grill, but I was never able to master cooking with one. I had to use so much dang lighter fluid to keep the fire going my burgers practically got soaked in the stuff. LOL propane is much easier for me to use.

I have to say the whole using wood ash from the grill in the dust bath debate made me think it could be used for a great new Chik-fil-et slogan. Eat more chicken, they smell like burgers. LOL.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I love the taste of a burger off a charcoal grill, but I was never able to master cooking with one.

I was terrible at it, but I got very lucky. During a TDY to Incirlik, Turkey, I was tented up right next to a bunch of RAF Aussies. They grilled every single day, and over a period of four months, gave me a primer in fine art of cooking with fire. The good news is it's a skill that everyone can develop. The bad news is it usually takes a mentor, and self-teaching without one takes a tremendous amount of dedication and patience. It's gotten better with the new wave of high quality cook books over the last 15 years, by people like Bobby Flay and Alton Brown. (you might not like Bobby's attitude, but his recipes are hard to argue with.)

But if propane gets it done for you, then I say grill on!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I was terrible at it, but I got very lucky. During a TDY to Incirlik, Turkey, I was tented up right next to a bunch of RAF Aussies. They grilled every single day, and over a period of four months, gave me a primer in fine art of cooking with fire. The good news is it's a skill that everyone can develop. The bad news is it usually takes a mentor, and self-teaching without one takes a tremendous amount of dedication and patience. It's gotten better with the new wave of high quality cook books over the last 15 years, by people like Bobby Flay and Alton Brown. (you might not like Bobby's attitude, but his recipes are hard to argue with.)

But if propane gets it done for you, then I say grill on!

My husband spent three months at Incirlik (back around 2001) .

 

[Leahs Mom]

I was actually thinking of purchasing a small grill pan just to burn wood in...grilling or not. It would give a place for it to burn up near the house rather than having to go way back to the fire pit.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I'd look on craigslist or scope some garage sales, people are always getting rid of them.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Is there anything magical about the ash or will any kind do? Can just ask my neighbors for ash from their fire place during the winter? They heat their downstairs with it and always have an abundance. Most of what they will burn this winter is from a huge tree they cut down last year so it won't have chemicals etc.

thanks for givng me a good laugh Hosiercheetah

 

[hoosiercheetah]

 Is there anything magical about the ash or will any kind do? Can just ask my neighbors for ash from their fire place during the winter?  They heat their downstairs with it and always have an abundance.  Most of what they will burn this winter is from a huge tree they cut down last year so it won't have chemicals etc. 

thanks for givng me a good laugh Hosiercheetah

I think as long as you're reasonably sure that there hasn't been any treated lumber or petroleum products, which they're probably not using in their house, it should be fine. No juju in the charcoal, its just convenient for urbanites. If you think there might be metal, get a screen sifter and run it through.

The laughs are free. ;-)