OT: Outdoor Grills looking for insight

[bking]

appreciate the add'l input on the big green egg. i wondered as someone above mentioned about the distance of the coal bed from the grate. seems a bit far, and not much if any adjustment as i recall. but high heat for steak is not a problem?

[Ken Robb]

As I recall the "BGE"-like device I had 30 years ago was called a "Kamado" or "Komado" which I thought was a generic Japanese term form a ceramic urn cooker. I was never able to sear steaks on it and when I complained to the retailer that its inner parts were crumbling I was told it was because my efforts to get enough heat to sear steaks had "overheated" the cooker. I can believe that the current BGE has better materials to solve the crumbling problem.

Please tell me about your success searing steaks. I have only been able to do this by having the meat very close to the source of heat so the radiant heat sears the exterior before the convection heat cooks the interior to medium. My egg and all the gas grills I have tried needed to have the lids closed to maintain and distribute heat properly. Once I have to close the lid that old devil convection cooks the middle before I get the charred, carcinogen-laden, but oh-so-yummy dark crust that I love.

[oldguy00]

Weber.
chimney starter.
lump coal

NEXT

+1.
10 years with gas grills, finally went back to Charcoal (lump usually), Weber Performer. Love it.

[sine]

stu, we have a TEC grill. Dual burner but no way one can add charcoal nor is it needed. It's an interesting design that has and continues to work well for close to 10 years. Quality made in USA ss with lifetime warranty. Ceramic can crack but replacement cost nothing but your time to replace parts.

u can try it out.

[bking]

[QUOTE=Ken Robb;249352]As I recall the "BGE"-like device I had 30 years ago was called a "Kamado" or "Komado" which I thought was a generic Japanese term form a ceramic urn cooker. I was never able to sear steaks on it


Ken, Kamado, and they're still around. Thats my concern with them still. Inability to deliver intense direct heat. It is ,in effect, an oven, and it's no wonder they do many things well, smoker for example.

[Ken Robb]

[QUOTE=bking;249435]

As I recall the "BGE"-like device I had 30 years ago was called a "Kamado" or "Komado" which I thought was a generic Japanese term form a ceramic urn cooker. I was never able to sear steaks on it


Ken, Kamado, and they're still around. Thats my concern with them still. Inability to deliver intense direct heat. It is ,in effect, an oven, and it's no wonder they do many things well, smoker for example.

Yep, they are great at slow cooking. The best Cornish Game Hens I ever did were in it:rub them with garlicky olive oil, salt the skin, stuff cavity with orange peels and let it bake/roast. If I got the timing right they were moist and tender. Well now I'm drooling so I'm going to saute some thin-sliced NY Steak in garlicky olive oil with pine nuts and add the whole mess to pesto pasta and drink a 2005 Peachy Canyon Zin. I haven't decided which specific vineyard yet but it will be GOOD. Thinking of you Stu.

[znfdl]

Everyone: Thanks for the input, I think that I am going to splurge on a Weber CHARCOAL based grill. Yes, you salonistas talked me into it. I cannot decide between the performer or the new 26 inch kettle model. I will probably go with the larger grill.......

HMMMM, peachy canyon. Ken Had a 4 Vines Paso Robles which was really nice.

[bocarider]

Gas grills are horrible...it's like cooking inside the house except you are outside the house. Feh.
Whatever you get, go with charcoal.
I'm velly close to buying a large version of Big Green Egg and Offenbacher's is located close to me and have them in stock. I'm convinced I can do everything I want with it incl. pizza. The price is my stopping point, holy cow.

Check out the Bubba Keg. I got one over the summer as the Big Green Egg was too expensive. It works really well and my pizza stone just fits on it - great results.

I cooked a butterflied chicken with a dry run on it for 3 hours last week-end at 250 with amazing results.

[Cookietruck]

i use a weber grille when i'm cooking for me and the ladyfriend.
let the coals get nice and orange then maybe throw a few little chunks of pecan or mesquite in there.

the gas grilles other have are ok for cooking alot of stuff for alot of people and drinkin...

when i have the desire for some awzm smoked meat i just call my dad up, meet him out at the farm and do a little work around there.
i'll usually get a good steak or ribs or chicken that night and then take home half a brisket plus a slab of ribs or something.

[csbmo]

speaking of Petticoat Junction, the girls in the water tank were smoikin' hot.

[zetroc]

A friend of mine has a Kalamazoo. It grills a mean steak.

Partial to a charcoal Weber, myself.

[Cookietruck]

speaking of Petticoat Junction, the girls in the water tank were smoikin' hot.

haha.
i had to google that.

[giordana93]

you obviously need 2 grills. one gas and one wood/charcoal. Gas for times when you would like dinner on the table before the charcoal has even ashed over. Get another Weber--the fact that you got 12 years out of your old one is a testament to how well they are built. They aren't cheap, but they don't rust out in 2-3 years and have a more even temperature (fewer hot spots) than el-cheapos. you can add the little wood/smoker units on the side, but what's the point? if you want the wood flavor, use the real bbq (or get creative with your marinades).

I'll get a Weber Kettle one day, but actually use my fire pit with a campsite tripod grill for wood/charcoal cooking--but that's on weekends.

btw, I don't think a combo version (gas/charcoal) will do. too many compromises for both fuels to work right

[classtimesailer]

My BGE will do seared steaks just fine. I get a good fire going, close the lid with the top and bottom vents open, the temp goes to 650 degrees F, and I cook the steaks. A big thick NY turned at two minute intervals and it is done in 8 min. I was concerned as you regarding steaks. Don't worry. You only need 1 BBQ/Smoker. I cooked a chuck roast yesterday for 4 1/2 hours. I adjusted the temperature at the beginning and it stayed at 225 the whole day without any additional attention. My son shot some bonito over the summer and we smoked it--fantastic. I like my chicken cooked ALL THE WAY THROUGH. My wife likes her's moist. I can cook the sh__ out my birds now and they stay moist. Basically impossible to dry them out. I could have had a new CX frame for what I paid for it though.

Jeff

[Ken Robb]

I think the basic Weber Kettle is a bargain because ti works well and lasts a long time. I think the extra cost options like One-Touch vents w/cannister ash-catcher carry more mark-up than the extra cost of manufacture would suggest but------the darn thing works so much better there's no going back to the manual vents and ash saucer. Then some friends got that kettle in the cart with storage bin for a bag of coal, work table and PROPANE LIGHTER. Lots more $$$ but SO NICE. I was an early-adopter of the lighter chimney and found it nicer than lighter fluid but----the smell of the burning newsprint is acrid and there is always messy black ash left to blow around the patio.

As the child of Scottish parents there was no chance that I would have paid for one of these marvelous carts but a couple of pals gave me one for Xmas last year and I love it. I have to say that I'm over trying to equate value to the cost of manufacture and now appreciate value as related to performance and ease of use. I'm sure there's a moral here as to why we should and do spend what we do on bikes and stuff.

[someguy]

It's tough to beat a simple Weber kettle for price/performance ratio......Zin-pal, if you are looking for a great steak recipe, check back to the May, 2010 issue of Bon Apetit...has a picture of the "Caveman Steak" on the cover....holy moly....good eatin'! Match it up with a Mollydooker "The Boxer" Shiraz and you are set!

Trader Joe's carries some hardwood briquets that are head and shoulders better than anything Kingsford. I usually use the Lazzari brand of lump charcoal. Start briquets in a chimney using a sterno...no newspaper ash to blow around!

Cookietruck - I'm digging the vertical smoker your dad has....I have a Brinkman Cimmaron that just has the offset smoke-box...it works OK but you really have to pay attention to the heat. The vertical gives you a much cooler smoke.

[maunahaole]

Get the big Weber, chimney starter, lump charcoal yada yada. I have the 22 1/2" grill and the extra size would be nice for parties. I came back to charcoal after a brief romance with LP. Charcoal is the only way. Frank

This is the BIG weber.

Weber Grills and Accessories

Done it with charcoal. Cooking with gas now on a craigslist Genesis Silver B. Heats quick and even. Charcoal still gets my vote for better flavor, but I prefer the precise heat control on the gas.

[rydesteel]

This is the BIG weber.

Weber Grills and Accessories

Done it with charcoal. Cooking with gas now on a craigslist Genesis Silver B. Heats quick and even. Charcoal still gets my vote for better flavor, but I prefer the precise heat control on the gas.

I said the BIG Weber not the HUGE Weber ;>lol. I saw a Bobby Flay showdown where the lady was cooking on a Ranch Grill, it's a monster. Gas has some advantages depending on what you are cooking but I'm still a charcoal fan.

[maunahaole]

A friend of mine back in Sacto would cook multiple (think 5-7 IIRC) turkeys on a ranch kettle. It uses several bags of charcoal...It is glorious.

[Eddie]

This is the BIG weber.

Weber Grills and Accessories

The grill of choice for Bill Gates - he rocks two of those bad boys in the backyard.