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BBQ Brownies – It's a Thing.

THE SCENARIO:
It’s grilling season (yes, I know it’s March. Crazy, right?), and you have just grilled a ton of tasty animals on your charcoal grill. The coals are still plenty hot, and it seems like a huge waste to just let those coals burn out,
but you’re out of meat, and frankly, you’ve just eaten enough cow today to consider the species endangered.

So…
What do you do with a grill full of hot coals after you’re done grilling?

BBQ BROWNIES!
THAT’S WHAT!
[insert photo from the next time I make bbq brownies]
Now, before you get confused, we’re not slathering any red sauce on these bad boys. That would just be weird. Also, we’re not slow-smoking these brownies in hickory at 225 degrees for 12 hours. That would most likely leave you with a pan full of chocolate flavored charcoal anyway (which I’d find a way to use in my next rack of spare ribs).
We’re just baking brownies in an oven that happens to be outdoors and powered by hot coals.
It’s just cooler to call them BBQ Brownies,
because when you say it, people reply “huh?”.
 
MAKING BBQ BROWNIES:

This one isn’t rocket science, but you do need to pay close attention to your baking.

Read the entire recipe first. Once you get the idea, you’ll see it isn’t very complicated.
While your barbecue grill is still hot…

TURN YOUR GRILL INTO AN OVEN:
Grab an extra heavy duty baking sheet or 2 (stack them if you have more than one sheet).
The baking sheets provide a little bit of protection from burning.
Remove your grilling rack and move your hot coals to one side of your grill.
Replace the grilling rack and place the baking sheet/sheets on top of the rack over the non-coal side of the grill.
As many barbecue grills are different, you may want to do your own tinkering to get the best setup.
Your goal is to get even, indirect heat for most of your baking time, so however you achieve that is up to you.
If you can get your grill temp down to about 350-375 degrees F with the lid on, you’ll have much better results.
If your grill is hotter than that, you’ll need to keep a closer eye on your brownies.

MAKE SOME BROWNIE BATTER:
Grab your favorite box of brownie mix
(or make your own brownie mix),
prepare it as directed, then doctor-up your mix by adding things like
chocolate chips, marshmallows, nuts, bacon, caramels, pretzels,
potato chips,
foie gras, lobster macaroni, kobe beef,
(you should know which ingredients I’m kidding about by now)
or whatever else you like to put in your brownies.
then pour the brownie batter into a pan. I use a 13×9 inch pan,
but you can use whatever pan you like.

BAKE THEM BROWNIES!:

Place the brownie pan on top of the baking sheets and close the lid.
Rotate the pan after 10 minutes to make sure the brownies bake evenly.
Most likely, your brownies will be ready in about 20-25 minutes, but you should
check on your brownies every 5 minutes after the first 10 until they are baked to your likeness.
Then let them cool for at least 15-30 minutes before cutting them, or they will fall apart.
If you like your brownies chewy, you’ll want to pull them out a little bit before you think they are done.
If you smell your brownies starting to burn, remove them immediately and let them cool.
A little bit of char on BBQ Brownies is OK. You can always cut off the bottoms if they get too charred.

BBQ Brownies take a bit of practice, but they are totally worth the effort once you figure out the best way to make them on your grill.

May your own BBQ Brownie efforts go forth with minimal char.