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Room temperature, right out of the fridge, or frozen?

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U2Pilot
U2Pilot Posts: 14
in EggHead Forum
Throughout the forum I have read different advice as to what temperature the meat should be at before putting it on the grill. Is there any definitive counsel, on this subject, or is it just like most things- "chiefs preference"? 
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  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
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    Are you at Beale?


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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    Take any road that you want my friend. The only difference you may ever notice is that you can get a slightly better smoke ring with real cold meat if this is what you are after. Short of this, I see no difference in end quality. Back to the smoke ring comment for a moment, what I said above does not matter much at all when using a offset. With a offset, you can produce a smoke ring 3/8 deep with room temp meat. But on the BGE, cold meat will help a little with the smoke ring. Just my thoughts my friend. Take them for what they are. 

    A note on the text above: 
    The advice above is for smoking or cooking indirect. If you are grilling or cooking direct, I do prefer that the meat be at least a few degrees above freezing. Sometimes when grilling hot and fast, the outside can get a little overdone before the inside is where you want it if you start with meat that is still frozen or semi frozen in the middle. For cooking indirect, it doesn't make a flip one way or the other. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

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    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • allsid
    allsid Posts: 492
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    I was on a kick for a while where I would put hockey puck frozen chicken thighs on the egg at 275 for 2 hours. Came out tasting amazing and making me look like a hero time and time again although they are counter intuitive to typical food safety guidelines.

    Experiment- experiment- experiment
    Proud resident of Missoula, MT
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  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,661
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    I go right outta da fridge

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

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  • XLentEGG
    XLentEGG Posts: 436
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    Steaks ,chops ,chicken.....room temp. ( not too long )
    Ribs, butts , brisket...Rubbed and wrapped overnight and straight from the fridge to the egg. 
    More meat please !! :-)
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    I prepare, everything while waiting for the egg to settle. So from the fridge to the prep, to the grill. All in about an hour.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    You need to understand the effect each will have on the way you cook. 

    they all work. 

    just realize that unless a steak sits on the coubter a couple hours, or a roast sits out all day, they never hit the grill at 'room temp'

    i usually hot tub steaks to get them warned up
    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • DieselkW
    DieselkW Posts: 894
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    Professional cooks always say "room temp".
    I have never put frozen meat on a grill - how the hell to you insert the probe?

    The difference between refrigerated temp and room temp is a hot minute in a 400f egg. I don't think it matters, and I don't like to leave meat on the kitchen counter on a hot summer afternoon. Dogs, bugs, microbes, too much can happen.

    I'm a refrigerator to egg advocate.

    Indianapolis, IN

    BBQ is a celebration of culture in America. It is the closest thing we have to the wines and cheeses of Europe. 

    Drive a few hundred miles in any direction, and the experience changes dramatically. 



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  • jjmills
    jjmills Posts: 117
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    I have no idea if it makes a difference between fridge and room temp but I can not let any meat sit on the counter.  I have a very athletic dog.  He has eaten steaks, burgers, sandwiches, christmas cookies etc......  Straight from the fridge works for me.
     LG. BGE  Straight up Cheese head from Little Chute, WI
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    I've cooked wuite a few large items from frozen and had great results. Turkeys and butts are really good.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    edited March 2016
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    Chefs on tv may say room temp, but that is not possible in any reasonable amount of time, and certainly not for roasts. It's wishful thinking

    years ago a high end steak house used to have their steaks for the evening sitting out for hours ready to go. 

    people cook frozen steaks all the time. I don't, but cook illustrated did a discussion of the method. 

    Many folks cook butts from frozen

    how do you do it without a probe? Many of us (1) don't need a probe and (2), if you can't get the probe in because it's still frozen, then it ain't ready, is it?  If you want to take its temp, there's no reason to temp it until the point where you are closing in on being done. And by then it will be thawed

    there are few absolutes regarding cooking. You can cook many things from frozen. 

    Too many options to discuss here. Would need to know what a person wanted to cook, for starters. 
    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • U2Pilot
    U2Pilot Posts: 14
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    Thanks much for the advise. It helps. Your all the best.
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  • U2Pilot
    U2Pilot Posts: 14
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    BYS1981 said:
    Are you at Beale?


    Was stationed at Beale three different times but retired from the Air Force in 1996 and then went to work for NASA flying their ER-2s.
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  • Nature Boy
    Nature Boy Posts: 8,687
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    I got this question at the class I taught this weekend. My answer was, whatever you decide, do it the same way every time unless you have another reason to change it. The perfect example is a thin steak/chop you would like to brown well, but not overcook. Starting cold makes sense there. But a thick steak, where you know that it will still need additional cooking once browned, then start warm. Food for thought anyways :)
    Cheers
    Chris
    DizzyPigBBQ.com
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  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,627
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    U2Pilot said:
    BYS1981 said:
    Are you at Beale?


    Was stationed at Beale three different times but retired from the Air Force in 1996 and then went to work for NASA flying their ER-2s.
    Moffett?  I grew up down the road, I remember the whole schoolyard would stop to watch the U2s take off and go almost vertical.  Very cool.
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    Darby_Crenshaw said:
    ...if you can't get the probe in because it's still frozen, then it ain't ready, is it?  
    :rofl: perfect

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
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    U2Pilot said:
    BYS1981 said:
    Are you at Beale?


    Was stationed at Beale three different times but retired from the Air Force in 1996 and then went to work for NASA flying their ER-2s.
    Nice, I tried, unsuccessfully, to get orders to Beale and truthfully in the end I am glad I stayed at Tyndall. I was avionics.
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