In Episode 036, Taryn speaks with Jennifer Plemmons from The Girl That Grills all about fueling your fire! From wood pellets to charcoal briquets, Jennifer goes over the types of fuel for grilling and some tips for cooking over live fire. She has some great recommendations for starting and keeping a fire going, as well as some delicious recipes to try. Be sure and listen in to hear her share her expertise!
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your favorite podcast player. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.
GUEST DETAILS
Connect with Jennifer.
Website | Instagram | Tastemade Community
Bio: Jennifer Plemmons is the creator behind The Girl That Grills, a website and social media presence with over 100K followers where she teaches people all about barbecue. She and her husband are also Angus Cattle farmers and they live in Georgia with their daughter.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Some of the following are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Recteq RT-700
- Burch Barrel smoker
- Weber gas grill
- Bare Mountain BBQ Smoke ‘Ems
- Pecan wood chunks
- Pecan wood pellets
- Hickory wood pellets
- Hickory wood chips
- DivaQ
- Royal Oak lump charcoal
- Royal Oak charcoal briquets
- Charcoal chimney
- Royal Oak tumbleweeds firestarters
- Weber 22″ kettle grill
- Weber app – Apple | Google Play
- Fireshire W sauce
RECIPES MENTIONED
These are some of the recipes mentioned by Jennifer in the episode. They are on her website, The Girl That Grills, except where noted.
Transcript
Taryn Solie: Hello, grillers. I’m really excited about today’s podcast because in it I talk with Jennifer Plemmons from The Girl That Grills about wood and fuel for grilling and smoking. I tend to grill on my Weber gas grill or my Traeger, and I smoke using my Traeger, which is temperature controlled. So I don’t have a ton of experience cooking where you’re really having to manage the heat source.
But Jennifer gives so many great tips on grilling with different types of fuel for a fire. I think you’re really going to get a lot out of this episode.
Before we begin and you knew this was coming, I’d love for you to subscribe, then leave a rating and review. As a newer podcast, it helps spread the word and I would really appreciate it. Now let’s get into the episode.
Today on the podcast we have Jennifer Plemmons. Jennifer is the creator behind The Girl That Grills, a website and social media presence with over a hundred thousand followers where she teaches people all about barbecue. She and her husband are also Angus cattle farmers, and they live in Georgia with their daughter. Jennifer, welcome to the podcast.
Jennifer Plemmons: Hey, thank you so much for having me, Taryn.
Taryn Solie: Yeah. I’m so excited to talk to you today. I’m looking forward to our conversation, which is going to be centered around a kind of wood and fuel and cooking over a fire. But first I would love to hear more about how you got into cooking and in particular barbecuing.
Jennifer Plemmons: I think COVID kinda spiraled everyone back into cooking, right? 2020. It was like, no restaurants are open. You’re gonna have to feed yourself or you’re gonna have to learn to feed yourself. I know people that still can’t boil water, so I think that’s so intriguing, but for me as a Southern woman, especially being raised by depression era grandparents, they both grew up on farms and they were both very poor and they learned to really make use the entire animal or make use of the entire crop. That is something that spiraled me back into cooking, just having limited supplies and knowing that I needed to provide my family with a healthy, nutritious meal during times of uncertainty and just kinda threw me right back into it. So here I am.
Taryn Solie: So it sounds like you maybe grew up cooking to some degree and then is it particularly barbecuing that you got back into?
Jennifer Plemmons: It’s a little bit of both actually. So my grandfather taught me how to barbecue when I was five and we started building cinder block pits, and I was literally the fetch girl. It was like, go get me this, go get me a block, go get me that thing over there. I need a hammer, whatever it is. So I was the fetch girl and you learn a lot by just being exposed to that situation. Then with my grandmother, I remember the first thing she allowed me to do in her kitchen was stir a pot of grits. You’re not allowed in the kitchen ever in grandma’s kitchen.
Taryn Solie: So it sounds like you grew up, you said the fetch girl. Just gathering things. And now you have your own kitchen and your own barbecue. First I guess what grills or smokers do you have?
Jennifer Plemmons: I actually am affiliated with rec tec grills. So I use those primarily pellet grills. So they have one gas fired grill and they have one Santa Maria style grill. I don’t use those. So I typically use pellet grills when it comes to quick, easy cooks. Then I’m affiliated with Birch barrel, which is this really new awesome technology that is a round barrel and you can lift it like a Santa Maria. You can smoke, you can do all different kinds of things. So I’m cooking with wood pellets and I’m also cooking with charcoal and some wood logs, like wood chunks.
Taryn Solie: Oh, okay. So now you said lift it like a Santa Maria. I don’t know what that is. Tell people what that is.
Jennifer Plemmons: OK. So what that is actually, the grill grate detach from the actual barrel, which holds the wood or the charcoal wood chunks, whatever. The grate will lift into the air away from the fire source, allowing you to have more space in between your cooks. It’s going to allow your cook to have a little bit slower cook time, give a little bit more of a smoke. You’re gonna be able to render out that fat a little bit better. It’s really a fun grill.
Taryn Solie: Oh, it sounds fun. We’re gonna be talking about fire, essentially fuel fire and wood and all that sort of good stuff. First let’s cover? What are some of the different fuel types or rather types of grill maybe might be a better way to phrase it, that people cook with.
Jennifer Plemmons: So gas I think is probably the most popular backyard grill. Gosh, back in 2015 when my husband and I got married, of course one of the first things we bought was a gas grill. It’s easy, right? Yes, super easy to maintain. It’s quick. You’re searing a steak or cooking some chicken, easy. I think a lot of grilling gets lost in gas grills just because people think quick and easy. They lose the art of grilling. I have nothing against gas. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s not my first fuel choice for sure.
Taryn Solie: Yes. I think it’s a good start, I feel like it’s a good place to start.
Jennifer Plemmons: Yeah. And if all you have is a gas grill, and you want some smoke flavor, Bear Mountain Barbecue makes these things called smoke ems.
Taryn Solie: Oh, okay.
Jennifer Plemmons: Which is a proprietary packet that they have made, and it has wood pellets inside of it. You put it on your fire source, on your gas grill. It actually can turn you into a smoker. They’re really innovating the gas grill line. So more people that are just backyard cooks, especially people that have built in gas grills, can elevate that gas grill experience now as more things start to hit the market.
Taryn Solie: Oh, I love that. No, that’s a great idea. You mentioned wood pellet grills, which rec tech you’d said you were an affiliate for. Then what are some of the other fuels?
Jennifer Plemmons: You’re definitely gonna have wood chunks. You’re gonna have wood logs. Especially a lot of people that are side based are gonna have that. I don’t do a whole lot of that. I still do use wood chips, especially when I’m cooking with charcoal.
Taryn Solie: Oh really?
Jennifer Plemmons: I’ll give you an example. On my Birch Barrel, which is the Santa Maria’s style grill. Last night I made a charcoal offset, which is gonna be charcoal on one side of the grill and I put smoking chips on top of that charcoal. Then I had the other side of my grill with no charcoal underneath to set up a smoking station, I guess.
Taryn Solie: Because it still gets the smoke from the wood chips, but it’s not over the direct heat. That’s what you’re getting at.
Jennifer Plemmons: Exactly. So then when you’re ready, I was cooking steaks, so I wanted to get that smoke flavor on my steaks. Then when you’re ready to sear them, your charcoals on the other side. Put them right over your charcoal and you’re good to go. I love cooking with charcoal. Charcoal makes such a good flavor and with wood chips and wood chunks, it just really gives you so many different flavors that you can break into in your food and so much versatility and flavors in elevating your food experience. Even as a backyard chef, it’s like, how can I make my food better? How can I convince my wife, husband, partner, mom, dad, that I need another grill in the backyard? Which is how I ended up with 10 in our backyard. It’s like, how could I make my husband really happy? Okay, so we’re gonna continue to cook really well.
Taryn Solie: Ten! Oh my gosh. I have three which I feel like is a lot . So it sounds like charcoal is one of your kind of favorite fuels to cook over and you mentioned, a, the different methods, but also the different flavors. So let’s get into that a little bit, because there’s so many different types of wood to cook with, whether it be pellet or chunks or chips or whatever. What are some of your things that you would want people to consider when cooking with wood in terms of flavor?
Jennifer Plemmons: Back to childhood here. When I was the fetch girl at five, five and six years old, my grandfather actually owned a rental property that had these massive pecan trees on there and that he was so particular about them and I never understood it. One day, we’re collecting pecans and then one day there’s a dead tree that he’s had someone cut down and we’re literally collecting pecan logs. He’s storing these logs in a dry space to let them dry out and then we cook over them. By far, pecan is one of my favorite flavors.
Taryn Solie: Is that a type of tree? I have never heard of that.
Jennifer Plemmons: It is. Yeah, it’s a type of tree and I think I’m just so jaded because I’ve been in the south all my life that they’re on every corner, like it’s a church and a pecan tree. But pecan wood is wonderful. It has a really nice, subtle flavor. You’re gonna be able to go across the board with it and really cook everything but seafood. You can do seafood with it. Certainly you would want something that’s gonna give you a little bit more punch of flavor for your seafood. But pecan is a really mild medium flavor and it really produces a nice smoke, just like a Hickory.
Taryn Solie: Okay. Okay. Gotcha. Yeah. For somebody who might just be starting out with cooking either, whether it be a wood pellet grill or a smoker with like wood trunks, what are some types of wood that would be good to produce like what you were just talking about, where it’s works for most anything, but maybe they don’t live in the south and don’t have pecan.
Jennifer Plemmons: Pecan can be hard to find out of the south. So my next choice would be Hickory. I typically keep hickory pellets in most of my pellet grills. Just because again, it goes with everything. It produces a little bit more of an elevated smoke flavor than a pecan or like an Alderwood wood. But it’s a good medium flavor smoke to get you started. Or like I have a cousin who absolutely hates smoke flavor and food, which I can’t even wrap my head around that but, we all don’t like the same things. So your pallet’s different. So maybe if you have a wife, husband, partner, someone who’s not so keen on that smoke flavor, I would say Hickory is a good place to start for sure.
Taryn Solie: Okay. Okay. That’s yeah, I think that’s solid. I know there’s others too, that people I think of like more mild flavors such as pecan or Oak can also be fairly mild. From what I’ve seen in stores they seem to be relatively easy to find. Maybe that’s the Pacific Northwest. I don’t know.
Jennifer Plemmons: I’ve seen this in ACE hardware so I would imagine they’re probably pretty much in every ACE across America. Alderwood is very mild. So if you’re looking for something that even will go with seafood, Alderwood.
Taryn Solie: Yes, that’s a great call. I wanna get into a little bit, we talked a little bit about wood. I wanna get into both charcoal and also tips for cooking over live fire. Because I have a Traeger and obviously it’s a fire. We cook it. But it’s very regulated. Where something like charcoal is not. So talk, if you can, maybe start a little bit with charcoal, things to keep in mind if there’s something that if there’s a particular type of charcoal. I never cook with charcoal so I’d love to hear from you.
Jennifer Plemmons: Okay. For those of you that are not familiar with The Girl That Grills, Danielle Bennett is Diva Q is my mentor and she’s my go to for so many questions. Those of you in the Traegerhood, I know you know who she is.
Taryn Solie: Yep. I know who she is.
Jennifer Plemmons: Yep. She’s amazing. One day she and I had a conversation about wood and charcoal, and the biggest tip she’s ever given me with charcoal is when your charcoal starts to hiss and pop, it’s time for you to change charcoal. Whether that’s brand, whether that’s type whether you’re going to go from briquette to a lump or if you open a bag and you have a lump charcoal should be pretty large pieces for you to wrap your hand around and you’re getting tiny chunks, it’s time to change what you’re doing. You definitely wanna go with a hardwood charcoal and some of the more prominent brands who produce lump charcoal are definitely my go tos. Like Royal Oak. That’s always my go-to. The pit masters winning grand championships, that’s who they’re going with is Royal Oaks.
Taryn Solie: Oh, interesting. Is that pretty widely available?
Jennifer Plemmons: Yes. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. You can’t go wrong with Royal Oak. You can find it in pretty much every store.
Taryn Solie: Do you like briquette or excuse me, lump versus briquette, or does it not make a difference?
Jennifer Plemmons: Brick for me. Now, someone else might have a different opinion but for me, briquette is really just for fast fire. If you’re gonna be cooking in a steak cookoff or if you’re literally cooking nothing but steaks in a Weber kettle, like briquette, go for it. It’s gonna burn hot. It’s gonna burn fast and it’s gonna burn out quick. So you’re not gonna have a lingering fire to tend to when your steaks are done cooking. But for me, I typically go with lump coal. I just like it. It burns better. It burns longer. To me it just produces a better smoke, a better quality smoke. It’s not as processed as the briquettes are. So that’s my go-to when it comes to charcoal.
Taryn Solie: No, that’s really good information. When I think of charcoal cooking, I think of briquettes because that’s what I see on TV, all that sort of thing. So that’s really good to know and it’s again, I love what you said that it’s gonna depend on what type of cooking you’re doing. Because if you’re, for example, going camping and you want a quick fast meal and you don’t wanna wait for your charcoal to die out, you don’t wanna wait a long time for that. Then maybe briquettes would be the right thing to do. Assuming you can have a campfire. Most places probably now, like September probably can’t have campfires. I love that. Okay. So managing a live fire? Like in a smoker? What are some tips? Maybe somebody who’s starting out. What are some things that you’d want them to think of?
Jennifer Plemmons: So if you’re just starting out getting a charcoal chimney is a wonderful tool to get your fire started. You can use fire starters, which like, again, Royal Oak, I’m not sponsored by them by the way. But their products are really good and they have these things called tumbleweeds and they look like little one by two rolls of pay is the best way for me to describe it. So you get one or two tumbleweeds, stick ’em underneath your charcoal chimney, put some charcoal in your chimney and just wait for those coals to get white. That’s how your coals are ready. That’s a great way to start a fire. You can do that in a Weber kettle, you can do that in a super fancy grill, or you can do that in one of those grills that are available at state parks. That’s an across the board tool and they cost about $11.99 on Amazon.
Taryn Solie: So fairly inexpensive to get started with that. A Weber kettle grill is on the cheaper side when you’re looking at spending money on a.
Jennifer Plemmons: Yeah, absolutely. I have a 22 inch Weber kettle sitting in my backyard that I bought off of Facebook marketplace for $35. I love it. It’s versatile. I can throw briquettes in there and sear a steak really quick. I could smoke a rack of ribs in there if I really wanted to.
Taryn Solie: Yes and actually I love that because I do feel like, particularly kettle grills, I don’t know why, but I feel like I do see those on, you mentioned Facebook marketplace or Craigslist or someplace like that. If you were looking to get started with grilling, those are excellent places to check because you’re gonna find a grill that works but is way less expensive than something that just came out this top of the line that’s several thousand dollars. But maybe for another day.
Jennifer Plemmons: Right. The thing I love about Weber is, if you download the Webber app, of course it has recipes and all the other things, but if you’re not familiar with smoke and fire, the Weber app will actually teach you how to open and close your vents. If you want medium heat, you’re gonna open your bottom vent partially, and you’re gonna open your top vent partially, and then it’ll show you exactly how to do it. It’s wonderful. It’s a wonderful tool for people who are just starting out. I can’t tell you the amount of people I’ve recommended that app to.
Taryn Solie: That’s great, I did not know that they had an app, which is super smart on their part. I love that. Thank you for mentioning that, because that is, that’s a really great resource okay. We’ve talked a little bit about the fire itself. I really wanna get into recipes because that’s the fun part. That’s what makes my mouth water. So we’ll start with beginners, because I feel like that’s always a good place. What are some beginner recipes for somebody who’s cooking over let’s say like a charcoal fire?
Jennifer Plemmons: So I’m gonna always go to beef, right? Like I am, not only am I an Angus farmer, but I’m one of those people that believe beef should not be cooked over medium, rare to medium, some pieces I will take to medium. But that’s it.
Taryn Solie: No well done meat for you. Got it.
Jennifer Plemmons: If you’re not cooking a brisket or a large piece of beef that you need to break down that fat and tissue in, you’re going to wanna do something quick and a steak is definitely my go to, or a flank steak. I have a really great recipe for flank steak on my Instagram. It’s one of my viral reels that just hit 12 million views.
Taryn Solie: Oh my gosh.
Jennifer Plemmons: Yeah. I’ve had so many people message me about the recipe and cooking it. It’s one of those things you marinate in. You marinate a piece of flank steak for 30 minutes to three, four hours, however long. You’re gonna sear it for four minutes on each side on high heat. So if you’re cooking over coals, you’re going to get your coal’s white. Then you’re just gonna sear, check your internal temperature and you’re done. That’s such a quick and easy recipe, but it is a show stopper. When you cut into that flank steak and you serve it, and you get the taste of the marinade, people go crazy over it. That’s an easy recipe.
Taryn Solie: Yes. I love that. Flank steak is one of my favorites. My husband would love to eat ribeyes or New York all the time, but that’s not always economical.
Jennifer Plemmons: Not in today’s time.
Taryn Solie: No, certainly not. Flank steak, granted, I do feel like prices are rising in general, but if you’re going to eat steak, I feel like flank steak or even like a skirt steak, which is thinner, are some good options that are more economical for steak.
Jennifer Plemmons: A lot of times when it comes to those cuts, you can find those cuts that really should have graded out in prime, but they sell as choice and you get that deep marbling, especially in a skirt steak. My God. But those are two great options to cook over a live fire, because they’re quick and you can’t really mess ’em up if you’re checking your internal temperature.
Taryn Solie: Yes. That’s the key, to make sure and check the internal temperature. What temperature would you recommend for a medium rare steak?
Jennifer Plemmons: 130, 135. . Yeah, and 130 is gonna border on rare. So maybe go 135 if you wanna serve medium rare.
Taryn Solie: Knowing that it’s gonna rise a little bit, once you take it off the grill, because that will happen. Yes. Okay, good. So what about recipes that maybe are a little more advanced or maybe are some of your family favorites?
Jennifer Plemmons: This is silly. Another recipe of mine that is a family favorite is a simple New York steak . That is literally rubbing up with, we call it rooster juice because obviously we’re Southern and we can’t say words properly, but it’s Worcestershire sauce.
Taryn Solie: Oh yes. OK. I was like, what is rooster juice? But yes. Yes. Worcestershire. Yes. Uh Huh.
Jennifer Plemmons: Here we use W sauce. We use the Fire Shire brand of that. So it’s Fire Shire from W sauce. Two friends that started this company in COVID and it is the best sauce for steak, like hands down, best sauce. You can find that at most ACE hardwares, you can buy it on their website. I think you can even buy it on Amazon now.
Taryn Solie: Is it spicy? I’ve never heard of it.
Jennifer Plemmons: The Fire Shire has a little bit of spice to it, but it’s nothing that’s overwhelming because you’re only gonna put a base layer of that, think you’re gonna put mustard on ribs. So it’s the same kind of way. You’re gonna use it as a binder. Of course, just season it with salt, pepper, and a little bit of garlic. Then sear it. That’s definitely one of our go-tos here. We eat a lot of beef. We raise a lot of beef.
Taryn Solie: I love it. Are there other non beef things that you really like putting over a grill or smoker?
Jennifer Plemmons: Definitely ribs are my go-to on a pellet smoker, just because you literally set ’em and forget ’em. Ribs take on such good flavor. My favorite rib combo right now is cherry and pick. Those are both from Heath Riles season. Heath Riles is another Traeger cook and he’s another grand champion, Royal grand champion. He’s won so many barbecue competitions. It’s crazy. But his seasonings are wonderful for ribs. That is definitely my favorite flavor combo right now for ribs.
Taryn Solie: I’m gonna tell you I’m a little embarrassed and I’m also dying inside because I just realized you were saying pecan and pecan. I was like, I don’t understand what this is. P E C a N. That’s the type of wood that you’re talking about. The pecan which is what I called pecan earlier. So that is my bad. I just realized I’m like, oh yes. This makes much more sense now. Okay.
Jennifer Plemmons: No worries.
Taryn Solie: That’s funny. Okay. So I love this. Before we wrap up here, I think you’ve given so many great tips for cooking over charcoal. Things to think about cooking over a live fire, some recipes. I do wanna give you a chance to let people know where they can connect with you online.
Jennifer Plemmons: Definitely my website, which is easy to remember thegirlthatgrills.com. If you sign up with your email, which is on the very bottom of the website, you’ll be the first to know when I release new recipes. Typically you will get new recipes before I post videos or any kind of instructional information on them. You now also can find me on Tastemade. I just recently became a Tastemade maker. You can sign up for a subscription with me there to receive new recipes. I have subscriptions that start at $0 a month going all the way up to $20 a month, depending on what you’re looking for. You’re looking for somebody to hold your hand, I’ve got a subscription for it. Or if you’re just like, you know what, I’ll take the free one and get an exclusive recipe from you, go for that one. They have funny names. That one’s actually called A Side of Pickles. If you want someone to be your instructional guide, it’s called The Whole Hog.
Taryn Solie: Oh, I love it. Oh, that’s funny.
Jennifer Plemmons: Yeah. Check me out on Tastemade. I’m there. I plan on hosting some Tastemade events and they’ll be in person here in Georgia and there’ll also be some virtual events coming up.
Taryn Solie: Oh, that’s exciting. And then of course, social media, right? That’s where you have a large following on Instagram.
Jennifer Plemmons: Yes I do have a large following on Instagram. I’m a little. I’m a little nervous about TikTok. Maybe it’s because I’m an older millennial. I’m not really sure.
Taryn Solie: That’s OK. So am I.
Jennifer Plemmons: Yeah, I’m a little intimidated by TikTok.
Taryn Solie: But people can definitely find your website, Tastemade, Instagram. Those are all three great places to find you.
Jennifer Plemmons: Absolutely.
Taryn Solie: Jennifer, this has been so much fun. I love this conversation. I think people will really take away a lot from it. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
Jennifer Plemmons: Of course. Thank you for having me.
Taryn Solie: Can I just say I’m so embarrassed that I didn’t realize Jennifer was saying pecan or pecan. I’m usually pretty good at picking up accents and words, but my ears were just not hearing correctly today.
Regardless. Jennifer had some wonderful advice for grill. Both wood and charcoal and it made it seem a lot less intimidating to me. Hopefully for you, too. Jennifer mentioned a ton of great resources in this episode. So head to the show notes page as I’ll have links to the resources and recipes she mentioned there. To get to the show notes page you can either go to my main website at hotpankitchen.com and click on podcasts in the main menu. Or you can click on the link provided in whatever podcast app you’re listening to.
Outro: That’s it for today. Thank you so much for listening. And until next time, keep grilling like a mother.
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