Cooking direct on the coals

Flashback Bob

Can you cook marinated steak direct on the coals? I've seen the direct-on-coals discussed here but don't remember whether you could do it with marinated meat or not. [p]I'm thinking the marinade is fuel and the meat might burn more than cook.

gdenby

Flashback Bob,[p]It would depend on the marinade. Many marinades have some oil in them, and that would flare up a little faster than the fats in the meat. Marinades may also have alcohol. That would probably evaporate quickly, and probably wouldn't be present when the meat hit the coals.[p]Any food directly on the coals will burn quick enough, as charcoal usually is about 1100 degrees when burning.[p]gdenby

Darnoc

Flashback Bob,
No problem at all.When you reach a 700 degree temperature it is not going to make any difference if it is on the grate on in the coals.I prefer in the coals myself and it will freak out your friends when they see you do that.On top of the coals it will sear faster because of the higher heat.

The Naked Whiz

gdenby,
Charcoal actually burns closer to 2000 degrees. However, once the meat hits the coals, the temperature at the meat/charcoal interface drops dramatically. The recipe I use from Alton Brown's show uses a marinade and there's no problem cooking direct on the coals.[p]TNW