Food fast: When you have a need for speed

[56MPG]

Plenty of low and slow conversations and techniques on the forums. How about some speed cooks? In my experience, dry scallops are the fastest things I've cooked, and a favorite of mine. CI pan over hot coals with butter gets the job done in two minutes. A caveman steak is eight minutes. Planked salmon 20 mins give or take. Techniques can vary, but usually involve wide open vents and often no lid. The hotter the better! (Well, maybe not for salmon...)

So what are some of the fastest foods you have mastered?

[Travis]

Boneless skinless chicken breast.
It's a staple of my daily nutrition. I generally buy a couple family packs a week, marinate it overnight then sear then slide them somewhere between med high and high heat for around 15-20 minutes I would guess.


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[1spacemanspiff]

Following


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[kettlebb]

Boneless skinless chicken breast and skirt steak. Both in a marinade over night then they hit the CGA with the cast iron Craycort grates.

I'm telling you guys the CGA is the best portable cooker. Direct and indirect for that size nothing can touch it.

The chicken or skirt steak (depending on the night of the week) go direct but the skirt gets more heat. I pull the chicken at 160 and let it rest for 5 min.

This time of year we eat more salads and you need a good protein for salad. This takes no more than 20 min start to finish


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[Firemunkee]

How thick are the chicken breasts to get them done that quickly?

[kettlebb]

I don't use a meat mallet or anything but I just use my fist and hit the thick part a few times to get it close to even. If I had to guess I'd say no more than an inch. I don't care about presentation, they get cut up and thrown into a salad.


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[Travis]

I don't use a meat mallet or anything but I just use my fist and hit the thick part a few times to get it close to even. If I had to guess I'd say no more than an inch. I don't care about presentation, they get cut up and thrown into a salad.


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Yep, same here. Pound them down even and they cook very quickly.


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[JEBIV]

Flanken stlye ribs 2 mins per side over a smoken hot grill, after a 24 hour marinade

[addicted-to-smoke]

I'll be the guy that mentions burgers and regular (grate cooked) steaks as being quick cooks.

The "problem" with some things that cook fast is that often, they'll be paired with things that either do not cook fast (potatoes?) or that do cook fast but require significant prep time (Asian foods, in my experience.) Or hell, even burgers if you're having to fuss with condiments, onions, tomatoes eat al.

I'm typically a one-man band doing all of this, with only the random kid tasked with opening the door for me or getting something while my hands are greasy doing something else.

Frozen or fridged pizzas cook fast if you've got decent heat. Pizza rolls ...

[mhiszem]

Marinated flank steak, marinated shrimp


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[CarrieAnn]

A pork tenderloin is a good hot and fast cook.

I eschew (ooooo! Look at me with the fancy words) chicken breasts for chicken thighs which IMO are the proof of the existence of a benevolent God. Cheap, flavorful and so very forgiving. Had to overlook a thigh and since I usually have 20 different things going at once, I need that forgiveness. They cook fast but won't go hockey puck on you if they spend an extra minute on the grill. I like to buy the big packs, divvy them up in dinner portions for the fam and add marinade so when they defrost, they marinate at the same time.

Made some last night that were frozen with teriyaki and decided at the last minute shrimp sounded good too and lookie there, there's a bag right in the freezer. Soaked in a little old water to defrost while I put a CI pan on the grill to preheat smashed some garlic,  peeled the shrimp and set to dry off a bit while I put the thighs on and added oil to the pan. Went back in for the garlic, butter and shrimp, added them to the pan and went back into snap the ends off of asparagus, coat with a little EVOO and season with SPOG.

Flipped the shrimp, flipped the chicken, grabbed the flat grill pan for a quick scrub and brought it and a hot pad out. Pulled the CI, added the grill pan to heat and set the CI on the stove to let carry over finish the shrimp. Grabbed a platter and the asparagus, threw the asparagus on the flat pan, pulled the chicken to rest and brought them in.

Put water in the microwave to boil for couscous, a little wine for the chef and added the season mix to the water, then the couscous and soak for 5. Pulled the asparagus and it was plating time.

Sound like a lot, but this all took only about 20-25 min and that included heating the grill, during which I watered the plants and washed a few dishes in the sink.


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[CarrieAnn]

@addicted-to-smoke mentioned sides and prep time. I do a lot of that while preheating the grill. Grilled asparagus is so good and so easy. I also like a medley of mixed grilled veggies in the grill basket.

I find the real key to prepping is to try to prep ahead if you can. If I'm making a salad and I know I'm having stir fry the next night, you can bet I am chopping for both at the same time. It doesn't take much more time to chop two onions than it does one. Same for carrots, cabbage, broccoli etc.

If the price is good, I buy the bags of fresh florets of broccoli or cauliflower at Costco. That saves some time. I'll peel heads of garlic and put them in a jar while I'm watching TV so they're ready to go.

And when I'm firing on all cylinders, I look ahead for the week and have a prep hour on Sunday's while I'm making dinner. It's SO NICE to come home from work and knowing half the work is already done.

I'm also a big one for "cook once, eat twice". I often make double batches of ground beef or grilled chicken so sloppy joes or grilled chicken salad are just a step away and as we adore tacos here, leftover pulled pork, chicken or roast is often "taco-ized" a day or two later.


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[Hell Fire Grill]

I like to fillet chicken breasts into 2-3 fillets about a 1/4+ inch thick and marinade them for a few minutes in some hot pepper sauce that I ferment. I have a table right next to the grill so I can prep alotashit for sandwiches or tortilla wraps while the charcoal heats up and/or breasts are getting happy with the fire.

Sometimes finger steaks seasoned with homemade Montreal steak fake seasoning or marinaded in a quick fajita style concoction are on the menu.

Veggys cut into small pieces can be cooked in foil pouch with a 1/2 cup of water (steamed) directly over the coals in 20 minutes or less depending on how much crunch you like.




The chicken and steak strips cook so fast youll get "fliplash".

[bbqking01]

Carne Asada from like ranch market, or a good carnecirea market, already marinated. Maybe 5 minutes. Super good.

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[HoosierKettle]

I grill all the usual suspects but my favorite quick dinners are pork or brisket nachos or tacos using left over pulled pork or brisket. Something magical happens when you put pulled pork or brisket in an iron skillet and make it slightly crispy. Then melt cheese and top with jalapeño and homemade bbq sour cream or chipotle sour cream.

Those dinners are done in 20 minutes or less.

I'm not sure if this counts since the main ingredients take hours to cook on a previous day

I need a ruling on this Marty.


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