<snip> My Weber spirit e-310 will put out so much heat that my temperature probe will fail (cord fails at 550*). And there really is no need to cook at such a high temperature unless you are doing something like a pizza.</snip>
There are a lot of foods that benefit from cooking at high heat. Ever had grilled baked potatoes that were cooked at 600-700 degrees? They are awesome and quite different from an oven cooked baked potato that was prepared at lower temp. The high temperature induces different changes in the starch, resulting in a different product.
Here are a couple of good grilled baked potato recipes I use a lot:
Ingredients:
Couple good size baking potatoes, washed.
option 1: One white onion, sliced into circular slices (you need once slice per potato). Garlic and herb butter (butter + garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste)
Option 2: Melted sea salt, cracked pepper and paprika butter (butter + sea salt + fresh ground pepper + paprika to taste)
For option 1, slice the uncooked potatoes length wise. Brush the inside and out liberally with the garlic and herb butter. Sandwich a slice of onion between the two halves and wrap the potato/onion/potato "sandwich" in aluminum foil. Put a pad of the garlic and herb butter inside the foil on the top of the sandwich. Try to "tent" the foil over the top of the potato, so that there is an air gap between the potato and the inside of the foil. As the potato cooks, moisture from the butter and the potato will rise, condense on the foil, and drip down on the potato, self basting it as it cooks.
For option 2, use a fork to poke many small holes in the potatoes. The tines of the fork should go about half way in. This step is important, as the holes will allow steam from the potato to escape while it is cooking at high temp. If you don't poke the holes, the potato could explode during the cooking process (its happened to me and it ain't fun). Brush the outside of the potatoes liberally with the melted butter.
For both options - set grill up for indirect cooking. If you have a three burner gas grill, turn the outside burners to high and leave the middle burner off. If you have charcoal, move the lit coals to one side of the grill, creating a hot side and a "cold" side." Your grill should reach at least 450 degrees when set up this way. Hotter is better for these recipes, so cooking at 500, 600, or even 700 degrees is fine.
Place the potatoes in the "cold" region of the grill. For the gas option above, the potatoes would go in the middle of the grill.
Close the lid and don't open it for at least 20-30 minutes.
At the 20-30 minute mark, check the potatoes. For option 1 - you might want to open the foil tent and add another pad of butter. For option 2 - brush the outside of the potatoes liberally with the melted butter and turn them over. Close the lid again.
At 45 minutes, repeat the process performed at the 20-30 minute mark. Depending on your cooking temperature, the potatoes might be done. Test by sliding a steak knife into the largest potato until you reach the middle. If it slides in easily, the potatoes are done. If they are not done, close the lid for another 20 minutes and check again.
Once the potatoes are done, take them off the grill and let them rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve with extra butter or other desired condiments, and get ready for compliments.
Easy homemade butter recipe -
Ingredients:
1-2 quarts of heavy cream
Salt, pepper and herbs to taste.
Instructions - put cream in food processor. Process the cream continuously for 5-10 minutes. The cream will go through several stages. First the fat will begin to separate, then the the cream will "whip," and eventually the fat will seize, resulting in a butter fraction and a whey/liquid fraction. Try to stop processing shortly after the fat seizes, as too much processing will result in a very hard butter. It will still taste good, but it won't be as easy to use.
Once you have butter, drain the liquid and add the seasoning (salt, pepper, herbs, etc.) Blend again for 30 seconds to 1 minute to thoroughly mix in the seasoning. Voila! In ~15 minutes you have homemade seasoned butter. If refrigerated, it will last ~1-2 weeks. You'll know when it starts to go bad.
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