It's Grilling season!

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Okay, so it's grilling season 12 months out of the year here but anyway...

What's your weapon of choice when it comes to grilling? When I moved into a new house a few years ago, it was decision time. I considered 3 options:

> Go all in and build one of those big outdoor permanent cooking stations; wrap-around counter, built in grill, etc. - Expensive, but nice
> Get an uber nice gas grill, 6 burners, side burner, heavy stainless steel bastard - Not cheap, but may last you a while
> Get a cheapo $150-$400 one at Lowe's and plan on just replacing it every couple years because they get nasty

Or maybe you're a charcoal guy?

I did some homework, considered all options heavily, and ended up getting a Canadian brand called Napoleon, basically option #2 for about $1600

What's the verdict after 3 years? At the end of the day, if you use your grill as much as I do, it's going to get nasty and tough to keep up on. I'm on a second set of flame dispensers already; the outside still looks great, I clean that up often, but the inside is labor intensive to keep up on.

Doing it over again, it would still be a coin flip between Option #2 and #3, but I do like my grill; regardless, you have to stay on top of it if you want it to stay nice.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Okay, so it's grilling season 12 months out of the year here but anyway...

What's your weapon of choice when it comes to grilling? When I moved into a new house a few years ago, it was decision time. I considered 3 options:

> Go all in and build one of those big outdoor permanent cooking stations; wrap-around counter, built in grill, etc. - Expensive, but nice
> Get an uber nice gas grill, 6 burners, side burner, heavy stainless steel bastard - Not cheap, but may last you a while
> Get a cheapo $150-$400 one at Lowe's and plan on just replacing it every couple years because they get nasty

Or maybe you're a charcoal guy?

I did some homework, considered all options heavily, and ended up getting a Canadian brand called Napoleon, basically option #2 for about $1600

What's the verdict after 3 years? At the end of the day, if you use your grill as much as I do, it's going to get nasty and tough to keep up on. I'm on a second set of flame dispensers already; the outside still looks great, I clean that up often, but the inside is labor intensive to keep up on.

Doing it over again, it would still be a coin flip between Option #2 and #3, but I do like my grill; regardless, you have to stay on top of it if you want it to stay nice.

I'm probably gonna go with option 3 for the new house. Down the road hopefully I can get something nicer. Anyone have recommendations for a cheaper gas grill?

 

[Section2]

Ignoring Jake's funny meltdown, Option #4: get a big green egg. I've had mine for over 5 years, and the only maintenance has been to replace the felt liner on the rim one time. Gets super hot to sear steaks, the flavor of food is unbeatable, and you can smoke ribs, brisket and pork butts. It's probably the best purchase I've ever made.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Ignoring Jake's funny meltdown, Option #4: get a big green egg. I've had mine for over 5 years, and the only maintenance has been to replace the felt liner on the rim one time. Gets super hot to sear steaks, the flavor of food is unbeatable, and you can smoke ribs, brisket and pork butts. It's probably the best purchase I've ever made.

I forgot about that option! Someone mentioned that to me a few years ago. I didn't really look into it much, barely looked at it on the net. Maybe I should have. I've heard good things

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

I'm a charcoal guy. Throw down one of those plug-in heating coils, build a little charcoal pyramid and you're all set. Had my $75 grill from Menards for 4 years with no complaints.

 

[Section2]

I forgot about that option! Someone mentioned that to me a few years ago. I didn't really look into it much, barely looked at it on the net. Maybe I should have. I've heard good things

True game changer for me. Some people don't like that you have to wait 15 minutes, but I think that's crazy. The flavor compared to gas is a no brainer. The flexibility makes it a total winner. I love smoking ribs, brisket is hard but I've gotten a lot better. Pork butt is can't miss, and great for parties. Burgers are great, chicken is amazing, can smoke the heck out of stuff or just get the awesome flavor from the coals. You could still buy one and use it in addition to your gas grill.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I bought a Weber a few years ago - their Genesis series, which is nice but affordable for a state worker. It's proving to be a good choice, especially in terms of durability.

Another option for picnics and tailgating is a disposable grill. Go to Dollar Tree and buy one of their foil lasagna pans and one of their cooling racks they sell - the one that fits perfectly on the lasagna pan. Fill the pan with charcoal, and you have a grill that you can throw away (once it's cooled, of course). It cooks just as well as any charcoal grill I've used. The only thing is that you'll need something to set it on that can absorb heat. I use concrete pavers left over from my patio project.

 

[Dr.Don]

I keep it real simple. I eat beef, pork, poultry, and fish raw. Saves time and NO cleanup or maintainance.

 

[GopherJake]

I keep it real simple. I eat beef, pork, poultry, and fish raw. Saves time and NO cleanup or maintainance.

Tell that to your toilet.

 

[GoodasGold]

I keep it real simple. I eat beef, pork, poultry, and fish raw. Saves time and NO cleanup or maintainance.

At some point, while sitting by the fire at the mouth of your cave, you will accidentally drop a piece of meat in the coals. When you finally retrieve and taste it, you'll realize what you've been missing all these years.

 

[Winnipegopher]

I had gas (cheaper one about $250). Worked fine but didn't like it. I now do charcoal and like it much better. I grill 5-6 times a year though so I am probably not your target audience.

 

[Gopherguy0723]

I like charcoal, but it is cancerous. I have a nice Weber Spirirt gas grill. Wonderful.

 

[MennoSota]

Hibachi

 

[GoodasGold]

I like charcoal, but it is cancerous. I have a nice Weber Spirirt gas grill. Wonderful.

Spoiler alert.

 

[Nokomis]

Okay, so it's grilling season 12 months out of the year here but anyway...

What's your weapon of choice when it comes to grilling? When I moved into a new house a few years ago, it was decision time. I considered 3 options:

> Go all in and build one of those big outdoor permanent cooking stations; wrap-around counter, built in grill, etc. - Expensive, but nice
> Get an uber nice gas grill, 6 burners, side burner, heavy stainless steel bastard - Not cheap, but may last you a while
> Get a cheapo $150-$400 one at Lowe's and plan on just replacing it every couple years because they get nasty

Or maybe you're a charcoal guy?

I did some homework, considered all options heavily, and ended up getting a Canadian brand called Napoleon, basically option #2 for about $1600

What's the verdict after 3 years? At the end of the day, if you use your grill as much as I do, it's going to get nasty and tough to keep up on. I'm on a second set of flame dispensers already; the outside still looks great, I clean that up often, but the inside is labor intensive to keep up on.

Doing it over again, it would still be a coin flip between Option #2 and #3, but I do like my grill; regardless, you have to stay on top of it if you want it to stay nice.

What's your standard for nasty? I've had a cheapo Lowe's grill for 4 or 5 summers and it still works great. I give it a thorough cleaning once a year in the spring. I brush the grills immediately after cooking while they're still hot and empty the grease trap as needed. I'll wipe the excess splatter if having guests. But if you frequently sterilizingly clean your grill, I think you lose some of the flavor & character of a well-seasoned grill. Just my opinion. Sure, it may look gross, but you get a better flavor.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

What's your standard for nasty? I've had a cheapo Lowe's grill for 4 or 5 summers and it still works great. I give it a thorough cleaning once a year in the spring. I brush the grills immediately after cooking while they're still hot and empty the grease trap as needed. I'll wipe the excess splatter if having guests. But if you frequently sterilizingly clean your grill, I think you lose some of the flavor & character of a well-seasoned grill. Just my opinion. Sure, it may look gross, but you get a better flavor.

Standard for nasty? Mostly the inside of the chamber, sides, the bottom where the grease drips, etc. Mine has "^" shaped flame dispersers that get caked with grease, cause flame ups, etc. Nasty to me would be anything that's not easily cleaned and maintained, and that causes flame-ups, etc.

We grill 2-3 days a week, all year round so stuff gets built up, no doubt about it. I agree though, can't exactly sterilize your operation all the time or it will lose some of that flavor!

On another side note, what about searing for the steaks? Mine has a separate burner on the side just for searing (Sear Station I think it's called); supposed to throw steaks on there for about 60-90 seconds each side to keep in those juices and throw it on the grill. I've probably only used that thing 6-8 times in 3 years, doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle.

 

[Gdizzle]

I'm a charcoal guy. Throw down one of those plug-in heating coils, build a little charcoal pyramid and you're all set. Had my $75 grill from Menards for 4 years with no complaints.

What's the heating coil thing for? I got one of the cylinder things for heating charcoal and it has it ready in 10 min.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

What's the heating coil thing for? I got one of the cylinder things for heating charcoal and it has it ready in 10 min.

You mean like a charcoal chimney? The coil is just a different way to get your charcoal going without using lighting fluid. It takes like 10 minutes too.

 

[howeda7]

Ignoring Jake's funny meltdown, Option #4: get a big green egg. I've had mine for over 5 years, and the only maintenance has been to replace the felt liner on the rim one time. Gets super hot to sear steaks, the flavor of food is unbeatable, and you can smoke ribs, brisket and pork butts. It's probably the best purchase I've ever made.

How big are those? Price range?

 

[Section2]

How big are those? Price range?

Hard to describe size. Very heavy but not unlike a normal grill in size. Not sure on price, around $800 I think.

 

[MinneStoa]

We're closest to option #3, though toward the higher end. I've replaced the burners and diffusers twice now, and it's still running like new. As long as the frame itself is solidly built, the grill itself should last quite a while with minimal upkeep.

I also grabbed a cheap Webber kettle for my charcoal and smoking needs. I try to do a pork butt ever few weeks, generally whenever I'm brewing. Nothing like spending a day smoking meat and making beer.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Nobody mentioned this avenue so I thought I would throw this out there.

A buddy/client of mine talked me into one of those pellet smokers; Traeger, Green Mountain Grill, MAK, et al. I'd heard of it, a little, but never put much thought into it.

Long story short, I bite the bullet yesterday on one of the Traeger's. Wow. It's amazing. I went with baby back ribs today to break it in, almost 6 hours in the smoker; after seasoning the heck out of them up front, 2.5 hours or so just smoking, then wrapped them in foil with some apple juice for another 1.5 hours or so, then put on the bbq sauce; all at right around 225 degrees. Super simple, the thing just plugs into a standard outlet.

No idea what the heck I was doing (but was texting my buddy constantly), and these could have been the best ribs I've ever had. I can't wait to try something else later this week. I would stick with the grill for steaks and burgers probably, but just about everything else you can do in the pellet smoker.

Turns out, like anything else I guess (like Gopher fans!), there's an entire culture of people out there who are pretty rabid about this. My buddy has been doing it a while, makes his own rubs and sauces, smokes just about anything in there.

Anyone else tried this or know people who are fanatics about cooking this way? After one experience, I'm hooked. Planning on doing larger quantities on the weekends sometimes and eat on it for the rest of the week.

 

[Iceland12]

Nobody mentioned this avenue so I thought I would throw this out there.

A buddy/client of mine talked me into one of those pellet smokers; Traeger, Green Mountain Grill, MAK, et al. I'd heard of it, a little, but never put much thought into it.

Long story short, I bite the bullet yesterday on one of the Traeger's. Wow. It's amazing. I went with baby back ribs today to break it in, almost 6 hours in the smoker; after seasoning the heck out of them up front, 2.5 hours or so just smoking, then wrapped them in foil with some apple juice for another 1.5 hours or so, then put on the bbq sauce; all at right around 225 degrees. Super simple, the thing just plugs into a standard outlet.

No idea what the heck I was doing (but was texting my buddy constantly), and these could have been the best ribs I've ever had. I can't wait to try something else later this week. I would stick with the grill for steaks and burgers probably, but just about everything else you can do in the pellet smoker.

Turns out, like anything else I guess (like Gopher fans!), there's an entire culture of people out there who are pretty rabid about this. My buddy has been doing it a while, makes his own rubs and sauces, smokes just about anything in there.

Anyone else tried this or know people who are fanatics about cooking this way? After one experience, I'm hooked. Planning on doing larger quantities on the weekends sometimes and eat on it for the rest of the week.

Got a cousin who's had one for a couple years now. He swears by it and uses it as often as he can. The caveat is, by his own admission, he's a lousy cook. We've been over there for dinner 3-4 times when he's used his Trager. The meals weren't great, but better than the pre-Trager years.

 

[Section2]

Nobody mentioned this avenue so I thought I would throw this out there.

A buddy/client of mine talked me into one of those pellet smokers; Traeger, Green Mountain Grill, MAK, et al. I'd heard of it, a little, but never put much thought into it.

Long story short, I bite the bullet yesterday on one of the Traeger's. Wow. It's amazing. I went with baby back ribs today to break it in, almost 6 hours in the smoker; after seasoning the heck out of them up front, 2.5 hours or so just smoking, then wrapped them in foil with some apple juice for another 1.5 hours or so, then put on the bbq sauce; all at right around 225 degrees. Super simple, the thing just plugs into a standard outlet.

No idea what the heck I was doing (but was texting my buddy constantly), and these could have been the best ribs I've ever had. I can't wait to try something else later this week. I would stick with the grill for steaks and burgers probably, but just about everything else you can do in the pellet smoker.

Turns out, like anything else I guess (like Gopher fans!), there's an entire culture of people out there who are pretty rabid about this. My buddy has been doing it a while, makes his own rubs and sauces, smokes just about anything in there.

Anyone else tried this or know people who are fanatics about cooking this way? After one experience, I'm hooked. Planning on doing larger quantities on the weekends sometimes and eat on it for the rest of the week.

Traegers are amazing. I've entered a few BBQ competitions, and that's what the pros use. Only reason I didn't recommend is because it's just for slow cooking. The Egg isn't as good for smoking, but is an amazing grill as well for steaks.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Got a cousin who's had one for a couple years now. He swears by it and uses it as often as he can. The caveat is, by his own admission, he's a lousy cook. We've been over there for dinner 3-4 times when he's used his Trager. The meals weren't great, but better than the pre-Trager years.

Traegers are amazing. I've entered a few BBQ competitions, and that's what the pros use. Only reason I didn't recommend is because it's just for slow cooking. The Egg isn't as good for smoking, but is an amazing grill as well for steaks.

No doubt, it's slow going. I guess brisket can be 6-8 hours or so. But wow, it's fantastic. Like I said, I plan on doing some more bulk stuff on the weekend sometimes and feast on leftovers most of the week.

Some of the Green Mountains, and soon I guess with Traeger, you can get them with a wi-fi feature to control your temp settings remotely with your phone, and other features I guess. It was a coin flip between Green Mountain and Traeger, with GMG being the only with wi-fi NOW, but after thinking about it I'm guessing that's a feature that SOUNDS great and you probably never use it; besides, my buddy said just what S2 said, all the pros are using Traeger. I like the barrel look to it also, as opposed to the standard grill look of the GMG.

If nothing else, the wife is excited that I'm actually interested in cooking more often and at the end of the day, happy wife, happy life!

 

[diehard]

We have a smokehouse and do a lot of smoking and grilling. Mostly pork and beef over various wood. Hickory with cherry or apple chips and sometimes some basil is a favorite.

 

[GoodasGold]

We have a smokehouse and do a lot of smoking and grilling. Mostly pork and beef over various wood. Hickory with cherry or apple chips and sometimes some basil is a favorite.

How about gangi. Do you ever smoke with gangi

 

[gopher7]

No doubt, it's slow going. I guess brisket can be 6-8 hours or so. But wow, it's fantastic. Like I said, I plan on doing some more bulk stuff on the weekend sometimes and feast on leftovers most of the week.

Some of the Green Mountains, and soon I guess with Traeger, you can get them with a wi-fi feature to control your temp settings remotely with your phone, and other features I guess. It was a coin flip between Green Mountain and Traeger, with GMG being the only with wi-fi NOW, but after thinking about it I'm guessing that's a feature that SOUNDS great and you probably never use it; besides, my buddy said just what S2 said, all the pros are using Traeger. I like the barrel look to it also, as opposed to the standard grill look of the GMG.

If nothing else, the wife is excited that I'm actually interested in cooking more often and at the end of the day, happy wife, happy life!

Curious if you are still doing smoking?

I bought a Weber Smokey Mountain this past spring, and it's never disappointed. Even the first thing I made on it was amazing, despite not being completely sure what I was doing. I'm definitely in the "rabid" camp when it comes to smoking and slow cooking, it's a game changer.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Curious if you are still doing smoking?

I bought a Weber Smokey Mountain this past spring, and it's never disappointed. Even the first thing I made on it was amazing, despite not being completely sure what I was doing. I'm definitely in the "rabid" camp when it comes to smoking and slow cooking, it's a game changer.

Hell yes! Well, maybe not quite as much as I had a little bit ago but still all-in on the Traeger and wood pellet smokers. I actually was just thinking of digging up this thread the other day, funny you mentioned this.

I haven't used my grill since I got my first Traeger. I use the Traeger for everything, even just grilling steaks or burgers. Easier to use, easier to clean, it burns the cleanest, and you can do so much more with it.

I have two Traeger smokers at my main house; one is the older one, the standard size (I want to say just the Pro Series 22?) and I have one of the newer Timberline series smokers (the bigger Timberline) because it has the thicker walls, much better temperature control. I use the older Traeger for basically grilling type stuff and reserve the Timberline for the longer smokes where it's more important to control temperature, etc.

My only knock on the newer Timberline series is that it's a TINY bit harder to clean down around the firepot if/when you get around to doing that. Opinions vary a lot on how often you need to clean out the bottom where the firepot is.

I may have to run out to the meat market and get something to throw on the smoker for football tomorrow!

 

[gopher7]

Hell yes! Well, maybe not quite as much as I had a little bit ago but still all-in on the Traeger and wood pellet smokers. I actually was just thinking of digging up this thread the other day, funny you mentioned this.

I haven't used my grill since I got my first Traeger. I use the Traeger for everything, even just grilling steaks or burgers. Easier to use, easier to clean, it burns the cleanest, and you can do so much more with it.

I have two Traeger smokers at my main house; one is the older one, the standard size (I want to say just the Pro Series 22?) and I have one of the newer Timberline series smokers (the bigger Timberline) because it has the thicker walls, much better temperature control. I use the older Traeger for basically grilling type stuff and reserve the Timberline for the longer smokes where it's more important to control temperature, etc.

My only knock on the newer Timberline series is that it's a TINY bit harder to clean down around the firepot if/when you get around to doing that. Opinions vary a lot on how often you need to clean out the bottom where the firepot is.

I may have to run out to the meat market and get something to throw on the smoker for football tomorrow!

It turns out doing BBQ is perfect for me, because I am an odd hours sleeper anyway, and I don't mind spending an entire day tending to something. I'm glad I got into it. My path there was strange... We moved into a bigger house a couple years ago and wanted to host Thanksgiving, but for some reason we had never made a turkey. My brother directed me to some Alton Brown videos on youtube for tips. While I was watching those, I started seeing BBQ videos pop up as recommendations. I got into those, and thought, Dang that looks good! And there rest is history.

Do you make brisket? When I was researching this, everyone talked about brisket being the crowning achievement of BBQing. I've made a few and they've gotten better each time, with the last one being really good, however I think they are just all right. I feel like I'd rather have a good steak. I honestly don't think I'd had brisket more than twice in my life though, so there was no deep attachment to it or anything. My biggest complaint is I feel like it's just too greasy. Like when you bite into it I feel like someone has just dumped olive oil over the top. I do like the idea of 10 meals being taken care of in one swoop though.

We are also getting half a pig in a few weeks. We have made ribs & shoulder but nothing else pork wise... have you done any other pork besides those?