Grizzly'sBBQ

Almost anything that can be cooked in a conventional oven, can be cooked on a decent grill. Whether it be a gas or charcoal grill it is important to "know your grill".
Most grills come with a built in thermometer. It is very important that you check the accuracy of that thermometer from time to time. If your grill did not come with one, it is reletively easy to retrofit it. Grill thermometers are usually sold at most stores that carry grilling supplies.
Even if your grill comes with an installed thermometer, buy a seprate "oven safe" thermometer, either the stand alone analog type or the remote digital probe type. Use this second thermometer to compare temperatures in different areas of the cooking chamber. Since the built-in thermometers are giving you a temperature usually in the upper front area of the cooking chamber, the second will give you a reading from the more important cooking surface.
Remember, when using the grill as an "oven", use only INDIRECT heat. This is accomplished by keeping the heat source away from under the food. On a charcoal grill, pile your hot coals on one side or the other of the grill and place your food over the "cool" side. On a gas grill simply shut off the burners under the food and leave the outside burners lit.
When using the indirect method, preheating is important not only to get the grill to the desired temperature but also to maintain it during the cooking process.

Follow the steps below to check the calibration on your thermometer. Once you have done that you are ready to use that grill as a fully functional OVEN.

Ice Point Method of Calibration:
This is by far the fastest and safest method to check your thermometers calibration.
Fill a plastic or metal container (a large Styrofoam cup, for example) with chipped or crushed ice; then add clean freshwater to a depth of at least (4 inches) - 50% ice, 50%water.
Stir the ice and water then wait a minimum of 2 min to be certain the water is completely cooled and good mixing has occurred.
Suspend the stem of the dial thermometer or the probe of the electronic thermometer in the ice slurry.
Wait 2 minutes until the indicator stops changing. While thermometer is in the ice water adjust the thermometer to 0ºC (32ºF), if necessary, by adjusting the nut on the back of a non-digital thermometer or pushing the reset button on a digital thermometer.

Some people also recommend using the Boiling water method of calibration. However this method is inherantly more dangerous and not as reliable unless altitude (barometric pressure) is taken into account. Since the Ice Point method is not affected by altitude, this is the prefered method.