roasting on bbq grill with a wok type pan
pamjd
stirring them constantly? Thanks in advance.
scott stap
Personally I think you would get a better roast with a heat gun and a dog bowl/bread maker/wok(?) as the air from the heat gun tumbles the beans for a more even roast.
p.s. had a friend go the wok method and smoked himself outta house and home.
So will it work? If I get pan very hot before adding beans and then
stirring them constantly? Thanks in advance.
"Today is a GREAT day outside"
Timothy Copple
> Yes, it will work. I would not however get the pan hot before roasting. This
> could cause lopsided burning of the beans or uneven roast inside the beans.
> Personally I think you would get a better roast with a heat gun and a dog
> bowl/bread maker/wok(?) as the air from the heat gun tumbles the beans for a
> more even roast.
>
> p.s. had a friend go the wok method and smoked himself outta house and home.
I roasted beans via a wok on the stove for three years before getting my
Behmor, so I know a thing or two about it.
I usually preheated my wok, but you certainly don't want to overdo it,
and it also depends on how many beans you want to roast at a shot. The
fewer beans, the lower the heat you'll want to us.
Not sure about using it on a BBQ grill, as it seems you'd have less
control over the heat unless your using one of them gas or electric
models. Mine was on our kitchen stove.
And yes, you do want to provide adequate ventilation. Once you get to
first crack, it will produce some smoke. By the time it gets to second
crack, you have a pillar of smoke rising from the pan. So, either you
need a good stove vent that vents to the outside, or in my case not
having one of those, I opened our kitchen window (our kitchen is narrow
and the stove is opposite the sink where there is a window to the
backyard) and put a box fan pointing to the outside. I'd turn that on
full blast and it pretty much kept the smoke from leaving the kitchen
area and most went outside. The wife found it livable, even moreso than
my Behmor.
I usually roasted a pound at a time, but my first batch was a quarter of
a pound and I scorched it with the heat too high.
For a pound, my usual method was to put the wok (use a good, thick on,
thin ones will not spread the heat as evenly and tend to scorch the
beans) on my stove's electric burner and turn the dial to 6 (my dial
went from 0 - 9). I let it pre-heat for about a couple minutes, then I'd
kick it down to 5, throw in the beans, and begin stirring. I'd stir
constantly, using a pattern I felt would keep the beans moving from the
inside out. After about 12 minutes, you'll be reaching 1st crack. Once
that was well underway, and nearly finished, I'd turn the dial down to 4
to stretch out the time between first and second. I'd roast until I had
it where I wanted it, usually requiring somewhere between 18 and 21
minutes of total roasting time depending on how dark I went.
Keep in mind, your roast will be uneven. Usually the flat sides of the
beans are darker than the rounded sides, and I usually go by rounded
sides in judging colors. But it gives you a good multilevel roast. You
shoot for where most of your beans will be at your target roast, but you
know some beans will be darker and some lighter. But you get more varied
flavors that way. Wok roasting is not for the person who wants to make
it exactly the same each time, it is more an artsy approach, where
you're judging by sight, sound, and smell to get what you want.
It's a lot of work that way, stirring constantly. It can also be
messy...watch out on the cooling end as you'll probably want to do it
outside (that's when you get the chaff out of the beans) or like I did,
I'd cool them in a colander using a air-mattress blower-upper and spoon
to stir and cool. That shot darkened chaff over the kitchen floor. But I
would sweep it up once done. My wife actually liked that because it
meant the floor got swept once a week at a minimum. She hated losing
that when I got my Behmor.
On the pre-heat, though, some people don't preheat. I've done it without
preheating when I had more delicate beans, like Kona, and felt the
gradual heat build up would benefit the roast.
One other thing. The only roast level that is difficult to pull of well
is a city roast. Reason being because it will mean some of the beans
won't be roasted as much as they should be, and if your too much on the
edge they'll throw the flavor off. Especially watch it on citrus/winey
coffees because the undercooked beans taste sour and will really
influence the flavors negatively. City+ is easier to pull off.
But if you try a city roast, which I've done successfully, you'll want
to pick the right bean for it, and go at it slower. Don't preheat, and
start at 5, then drop to 4 once the heat is building and the beans are
turning tan. Then let it edge itself into first crack. If you haven't
reached first crack by 15 minutes, then bump it back up to five. What
that will do is give the beans as a whole more time to roast together.
But Full city and beyond, I used the method I outlined above. The faster
ramp time I felt brought out the brighter flavors better.
I had one bean that was an odd bean, and roasted it first in the wok.
Tasted great. Was strange bean, but the wild blueberry flavors came out
well. But this bean also had the rep of smelling like, and sometimes
tasting like crap, literally. I roasted it in the Behmor, and I didn't
care for the flavor at all. Not sure the difference, but the wok really
brought the delightfully bold flavors out of that bean that the Behmor
couldn't.
Anyway, enjoy.
--
Rick Copple
http://www.rlcopple.com
The Reality Series:
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pamjd
Thanks for all the great advice. I may give it a go if / when my
popper finally dies.