Calling all outdoor grilling fanatics!

[PapaSquash]

Char-Grill. The feature that puts it over Weber (besides being half the price) is that it has cast iron grates. For chargrilling I believe cast iron is a must. Also, you can put a side firebox on it for indirect cooking (Barbecue) Also, the height of the tray that holds the charcoal is adjustable “on the fly.” Did I mention it was half the price? I liked my Weber, but love my Char-Grill.

chargriller.com/ ( I have a super-pro, I modified it a bit to make it easier to set-up and tear down and load into a van)

Wood or Charcoal (natural of course) Briquettes are for emergencies I make starters out of little paper cups of paraffin wax with wood chips embedded in them. (that’s USA paraffin, not UK paraffin which we call kerosense)

I cooked 80 dozen bratwurst and hotdogs on mine in two hours last week. (That’s 960 or eight per minute.) I use it professionally and subject it to high heat for long periods of time, and I expect I will probably get about two more years out of it, or five years total before it rusts out due to heat. It is never stored outdoors. It’s suitable for casual home use, as well. This evening I fed a small crowd hamburgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs using it.

I’ve never used the smoker box option. For that I use this:
bbqpits.com/
(The rig in the photo is identical to, and may even be, the one my friend Brian owns) It requires a pretty serious tow vehicle.

I’m not a big propane fan. I had a unit blow up on me last year on a pig roaster (flaw in the roaster. Not the big rig above - I was trying a smaller unit that my van could tow) . Fireball was the size of a two-car garage. I looked like a mummy for a couple of months. 100% recovery but it could have gone very badly. Withdrawal from the painkillers was ugly.

 

[bloo]

a weber would be your best bet

especially because you dont want to mess with charcoal

you can grill directly or indirectly on them

and they have excellent quality

 

[pira114]

Char-Grill. The feature that puts it over Weber (besides being half the price) is that it has cast iron grates. For chargrilling I believe cast iron is a must. Also, you can put a side firebox on it for indirect cooking (Barbecue) Also, the height of the tray that holds the charcoal is adjustable “on the fly.” Did I mention it was half the price? I liked my Weber, but love my Char-Grill.

chargriller.com/ ( I have a super-pro, I modified it a bit to make it easier to set-up and tear down and load into a van)

Wood or Charcoal (natural of course) Briquettes are for emergencies I make starters out of little paper cups of paraffin wax with wood chips embedded in them. (that’s USA paraffin, not UK paraffin which we call kerosense)

I cooked 80 dozen bratwurst and hotdogs on mine in two hours last week. (That’s 960 or eight per minute.) I use it professionally and subject it to high heat for long periods of time, and I expect I will probably get about two more years out of it, or five years total before it rusts out due to heat. It is never stored outdoors. It’s suitable for casual home use, as well. This evening I fed a small crowd hamburgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs using it.

I’ve never used the smoker box option. For that I use this:
bbqpits.com/
(The rig in the photo is identical to, and may even be, the one my friend Brian owns) It requires a pretty serious tow vehicle.

I’m not a big propane fan. I had a unit blow up on me last year on a pig roaster (flaw in the roaster. Not the big rig above - I was trying a smaller unit that my van could tow) . Fireball was the size of a two-car garage. I looked like a mummy for a couple of months. 100% recovery but it could have gone very badly. Withdrawal from the painkillers was ugly.

First, glad you had a 100% recovery!

Second, glad you agree with me on the CharGrill. Love those things, and you can get a basic one for about $100.

Third, good call on the paraffin wax. I forgot to mention that! Bonus over my vasoline method is they last forever. Minus is that they aren’t as easy to make. Personal preference I guess.

Fourth (whew!), you can prevent rusting by rubbing vegatable oil all over your grill right after it cools down. Do this everytime, cover it, and you can store it outside forever. I’ve had mine for about 8 years. Always outside with a cover and I’m religious about veggie oil on it. If I don’t use it for a couple of months (rare) I give it another coat. You can do this with propane grills as well.

Finally, as you covertly pointed out, I’m pretty sure the real difference between grilling and BBQ’ing is indirect vs. direct heat. Grilling is direct, BBQ indirect.

I’m pretty sure we’ve totally conflicted the OP by now! Any decisions yet?

 

[Nickkname]

Ok, I’m a girl , I need advice/suggestions/comments on buying a grill…please . I would prefer a gas grill, I don’t want to have to haul charcoal bags and lighter fluid around or start fires for that matter .

What are the most important things to look for when purchasing a grill? Are brands and price important? How big should it be, etc.? Just a few questions to help make a wise purchase, your help is greatly appreciated:thumbsup: !!!

With a gas grill you’ll have to haul propane tanks around, and those guys are heavy as heck. Of course, with a non-gas grill, you got the bag of charcoats and lighter fluid. So I guess it’s a choice between which you want more: propane tanks or bags of charcoal.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

We just test-drove our new 'pane rig with a large chicken and some hickory chips. It works but either the chicken was too big or this unit is slow and recalcitrant.

 

[kage_ar]

We just test-drove our new 'pane rig with a large chicken and some hickory chips. It works but either the chicken was too big or this unit is slow and recalcitrant.

Best way to grill a chicken is to butterfly it (use kitchen shears to remove the spine, this will allow the chicken to go flat on the grill, allowing it to cook evenly.)

Put a mixture of butter and herbs/spices between the skin and the meat - you can get your hands/fingers up in there.

Then, grill it over an indirect heat with the lid CLOSED for about an hour - check with a meat thermometer in the thick part of the thigh to guarantee.

 

[mikeasu]

Plus, they obviously don’t work for us wood burners! The best way I found was using an old survival trick. Take cotton balls and get them goopy with vasoline.

I need to try that - I’ve known about that trick since my JROTC instructor told us about that, back in high school, more for camping use, but never tried it!

Lexee, gas vs charcoal is quite the debate! I’m pretty good on the grill, and have been using a basic 2 burner gas grill for 9 years. I don’t notice much gas taste, and I can BBQ a chicken on it nicely - medium heat on one burner, chicken over a pan on the unlit burner, grill closed, 90 min later, perfect chicken. You can even do wood chips nicely - soak, foil pouch, right over the burner. But…I’m itching for a little charcoal grill now to expand a bit. Gas is quite convienent, just don’t forget to turn the grill off after cooking…

 

[funnyyetsavvy]

I agree Weber is great - I’m really hoping for a new grill when things get better financially. I love to grill!

Just a question though for the Forum. Isn’t charcoal cooking more hazardous to our health than the gas grilling? Carcinogen and such? I thought charcoal grilling was kind of bad for the health…Just askin’

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Best way to grill a chicken is to butterfly it (use kitchen shears to remove the spine, this will allow the chicken to go flat on the grill, allowing it to cook evenly.)

Put a mixture of butter and herbs/spices between the skin and the meat - you can get your hands/fingers up in there.

Then, grill it over an indirect heat with the lid CLOSED for about an hour - check with a meat thermometer in the thick part of the thigh to guarantee.

Whole chickens, whether on a beer can or not, usually take an hour and a half, indirect heat. This one took well over two hours.

I think propane’s the way to go for a beginner, unless one actually enjoys lighting a new fire every hour or so and playing with hot coals.

 

[kage_ar]

Whole chickens, whether on a beer can or not, usually take an hour and a half, indirect heat. This one took well over two hours.

I think propane’s the way to go for a beginner, unless one actually enjoys lighting a new fire every hour or so and playing with hot coals.

Lighting a new fire every hour??? If you are lighting a new fire every hour, your coals are not deep enough.

Anyway, in our grilling experience, butterflied chickens take an hour to an hour 15. Here is a recipe with a similar process, but, we do not do the flipping it thing reeniesrecipes.com/view.php?recipe_id=229

ETA guess my chickens are huge

Martha grills hers for 35 minutes!

msnbc.msn.com/id/19054369/

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Wonder if you can use chunks of wood in these instead of coal:

Ours was green, though…

It looked good, and was on sale, but in the end we returned it un-used because I don’t like playing with live coals.

 

[estesbob]

Get a Trager Grill-cooks with flavored wood pellets.

 

[Lexee15]

I’m pretty sure we’ve totally conflicted the OP by now! Any decisions yet?

I am pretty confused now:hypno: !!! I seem to be leaning towards a charcoal grill, although I’m really intrigued by the wood and wood chip grills. I’d like to look into those a bit more, I wish I could do some kind of taste test to see what the real difference is. I don’t know enough people to get invited to the different cookouts. Anyway, keep the suggestions coming, thanks!!!

 

[estesbob]

I am pretty confused now:hypno: !!! I seem to be leaning towards a charcoal grill, although I’m really intrigued by the wood and wood chip grills. I’d like to look into those a bit more, I wish I could do some kind of taste test to see what the real difference is. I don’t know enough people to get invited to the different cookouts. Anyway, keep the suggestions coming, thanks!!!

The Advantage of a tregar is you get the convenience of a gas grill(you dont have to light the fire ) and a taste better than Charcoal. The disadvantage is they are very expensive

 

[dconklin]

Sorry - I did not read through all 2 1/2 pages. If going with a charcoal grill (I have one of each) get a charcoal starter. It looks like a 1 foot section of stove pipe. You load your coals in the top and stuff the bottom with paper and light it. Speeds up the graying of the coals.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

I stand firm that for a beginner, an inexpensive (under $200) propane grill is the way to go.

Unless you enjoy playing with live coals, start out easy. Turn a dial, it’s on. Cleanup is easy. There’s plenty of time to expand your horizons!

 

[Mea_Culpa]

Get a Big Green Egg, you can grill at 500+º for a super sear on a steak, or BBQ low and slow for brisket or ribs. Works with hardwood chunk charcoal - when you’re done, just close the vents and the charcoal goes out, ready for next time. Light with a MAPP torch, very easy. Also makes great pizza and flatbread.

It even has its own forum of fanatical “Eggheads”

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[dprewett]

Buy your Gas Grill from sears and buy the extended warranty. I live in Florida and a grill rusts through in about a 2 years. I am currently on my third replacement. PS we grill about 4 times a week year around. I even keep a charcole grill for the weekends when I have more time to kill. Have fun love grilling:thumbsup:

 

[Bataar]

In my charcoal grill, I heat my charcoal in a chimney until they are glowing. I then dump it on one side of the grill and leave it in a pile. I then chop up some wood (alder if available) into small, kindling like strips. Right before I put the meat on the grill, I put those strips over the coals. I then put the meat (after it’s been sitting at room temperature with my dry rub) on the opposite side of the grill and close the cover, leaving the vents open at the top. This will give the meat a really good smoke flavor but doesn’t really cook it. I’ll let it smoke for about 15 minutes then, depending on the type of meat, flip it over and add more wood strips if needed and smoke the other side. Once I’m satisfied with the smokiness of the meat, I’ll move it closer to the heat to actually cook it and add my sauce.

 

[pira114]

I am pretty confused now:hypno: !!! I seem to be leaning towards a charcoal grill, although I’m really intrigued by the wood and wood chip grills. I’d like to look into those a bit more, I wish I could do some kind of taste test to see what the real difference is. I don’t know enough people to get invited to the different cookouts. Anyway, keep the suggestions coming, thanks!!!

Did Lexee just invite us all to a taste test cookout!!!

What happened? I left for four days and this ended up on the third page? This is important stuff people!

Lexee, you can use wood and charcoal in the same BBQ. And, it’s summer time! Look for chili and rib cook off festivals, they gotta have them in your area! Those are good places to see a little difference. You can also talk to some of the cooks and they might give you some suggestions. Most cook over coal or wood, but some use propane. Especially the ones simply there to sell food, they need to crank out food fast and steady, so they tend to use propane. You can tast the difference.

Any decisions yet?