New Grill

I still have my small (or is it a medium? I can't remember) Big Green Egg sitting on my deck waiting to be unwrapped and used for the first time after I moved back to Colorado. Reading all these posts about grilling is making me hungry - I gotta unwrap that thing and use it!

I'm kind of surprised nobody's mentioned having a BGE yet in this thread, unless I missed it. I love mine, although it took me a long time to try switching away from propane (Home Depot and Lowes specials that people mentioned earlier, that burn out after 3 years) to charcoal and a BGE. But after using it a few times, I really grew to appreciate them. Got sticker shock when I bought it, though. Definitely have to classify those as an "investment" LOL.
 
LoneAspen said:
I still have my small (or is it a medium? I can't remember) Big Green Egg sitting on my deck waiting to be unwrapped and used for the first time after I moved back to Colorado. Reading all these posts about grilling is making me hungry - I gotta unwrap that thing and use it!

I'm kind of surprised nobody's mentioned having a BGE yet in this thread, unless I missed it. I love mine, although it took me a long time to try switching away from propane (Home Depot and Lowes specials that people mentioned earlier, that burn out after 3 years) to charcoal and a BGE. But after using it a few times, I really grew to appreciate them. Got sticker shock when I bought it, though. Definitely have to classify those as an "investment" LOL.
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Yeah, BGEs have a good rep. I went with a BSK since it weighed a little less and had similar (but not the same) heat holding character. Smoked meats definitely come out juicy and it's reasonably easy to hold temperature as long as you don't let it get away from you in the initial warm-up.
 
Clark1961 said:
...as long as you don't let it get away from you in the initial warm-up.
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Ain't that the truth! The first time I went to use it, I left the vents open too much and stepped away for a few minutes, and when I came back it was over 600 degrees and climbing! I watch it like a hawk since then.
 
I mentioned the GrillDome which essentially is fo the same ilk as the BGE. Good for what they are (can get really fired up hot), but the problem is that even the LARGE ones are are very small capacity (smaller than your average weber kettle).
 
Got my Weber propane grill cleaned up a couple hours ago. Burned off what I couldn't scrape off by getting it up to >550 for a little while.

Now the strip steaks are seasoned, I have some mesquite in the wood chip deal and am sitting on the deck sipping on a Stormchaser IPA while it preheats.

Life is good.
 
denverpilot said:
That seems too hot for “Low”. Going to make cooking chicken or fish a very fast event.
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Agreed.

SoonerAviator said:
I honestly don’t know a thing about smokers. I got an electric smoker for Christmas this year and it’s still in the original packing in my shop, lol. I do pretty well grilling steaks/chicken/burgers, just don’t have the patience for smoking/maintaining heat for 6+ hours.

I’ve had a propane grill in the past, I just don’t care for the lack of wood/charcoal flavor on grilled meats. I’d just assume use an electric grill indoors if I need something grilled in the colder months.


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The nice thing about electric smokers is you don't have to do anything but throw in some wood chips every 45 mins for the first 2-3 hrs.

Many things don't take 6+ hours. That's only if you're doing ribs or a large pork butt. An easy quick meal that I do frequently on weeknights is Salmon. Bratwursts cook pretty fast too... smaller cuts of chicken...
 
dell30rb said:
. . . An easy quick meal that I do frequently on weeknights is Salmon. Bratwursts cook pretty fast too... smaller cuts of chicken...
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I've always just thrown brats in a broiler pan in the oven if I was doing them during the week. If I'm cooking out on the charcoal grill, we'll throw 'em on there as well. We just purchased a Camp Chef pellet grill (with sear box) for my father's b-day. Haven't used a pellet grill before, so we'll see how it goes.
 
Gerhardt said:
When I bought my grill last year I thought about your post where you brought your old grill back to life. I tried, replacing my parts one by one, but nothing worked. I was too ashamed to admit my defeat when I bought the new one...didn't want you to know just how lacking my skills are. So after reading this thread I feel at least a little better now.

And finally, someone who knows meat was meant to be cooked well-done.
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My rule is that the cheap ones can be rebuilt once. I had a cheap char-broil that I put new burners and grates in about 4 years in. It made it another 4 years and I scrapped it.

I replaced it with one of the char-broil 4 burner performance grills that Rich was looking at... highly recommend. I got it for $190 at lowes and when they went on sale a few weeks later I bought another one for $150 to give to my parents for a vacation house.

As has already been mentioned... don't use a wire brush on new grill grates. All of the grill manufacturers recommend against this, the grates are coated with ceramics to keep them from rusting. Brush them before cooking with a nylon grill brush (these have very stiff bristles and the nylon is impregnated with a light abrasive) to break any loose crust off. Season every few uses like you would a cast-iron pan. Spray with canola oil and let it smoke off for a few minutes at medium-low heat. I'm about 1.5 years in and no sign of rust on my grates yet. They have a nice seasoning and food does not stick.

Another thing that will keep your grill happy - don't overheat it. Some grills will get really really hot if you leave them on high. 650+. I don't let mine get much above 500-550.
 
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Brats on a smoker are for filling in gaps around the butts and briskets, and lunch. Toss on a pack of hot dogs, too.
 
my first thought.....then I read on. o_O
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Still looking good.

grill-1.jpg

grill-2.jpg

Used several times a week, on average, year-round. No problems at all so far.

Rich
 
Nice. Mine doesn't have enough counter space for my liking. I have a small counter with a swing out extension on the left side, but the right side is where the knobs are mounted.
 
Matthew said:
Nice. Mine doesn't have enough counter space for my liking. I have a small counter with a swing out extension on the left side, but the right side is where the knobs are mounted.
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I really can't complain about this one, especially for the price.

Rich
 
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