Grill recommendations

[kennith]

It's a Genesis Gold. I'll give Weber a call.

Those are very cool. It was the last of Weber's "old style" grill frames to survive their new design language. I've always liked them.

It's worth fixing, man, if it's not going to cost you half a new grill to do it. Be nice to Weber on the phone, and they'll help you out. It might not be free, given the age, but it'll be informative at the very least.

If you find it's just not worth it, a trip to their website will show you the brand new Genesis, and it really kicks ass; especially as a rotesserie.

Mine is blue:

They changed the design a little while back to put the controls on the front, rather than the table like I've got. That's getting rid of a bit of quirky charm, but it makes much more sense.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[kennith]

No offense, but an electric smoker is not a smoker.

Oh I'm not pointing a finger at you for the hot dog BBQ thing. I think it's more specifically central California born-and-raised folks who say this.

Funny note. I made some friends who just moved to my area from Hollister, CA. They invited me over one evening for "BBQ". I got there and he was grilling chicken quarters. It was not a lost cause, however, because they also introduced me to Mansmith's Seasonings and tritip and short time later.

I wish I cold recommend a gas grill for you. But I can't. The Holland Grills they sell at my local propane provider look nice, but I don't have any experience with them.

Holland grills are a heavily cursed affliction in NC. You know the guy who churns out rubbery hockey pucks on burger day?

Here, he's got a Holland.

It's not often I'd say that better equipment will make a better cook, but if you're using a Holland, go to Lowes, buy yourself one of those little $100 Char-Broil grills, and stop making the people around you smile through chipped teeth and refreshments that taste like an ash tray the rest of the evening.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[brian4d]

While on the subject, Weber makes a damn nice grill and detail brush. Went through the cheap ones twice a year. The one I bought is going on 1 1/2 years and still works great. I don't expect a wire brush to last long so I was impressed.

 

[discostew]

I read a story not to long ago about a woman who eat a bristle that came off a wire brush used to clean the grill. Got into whatever food was being cooked and she had to have surgery to remove it from her intestine after it punctured it. Not sure what kind of brush or pad your supposed to use to clean a grill but I think those scouring pads are safer.

 

[brian4d]

I read a story not to long ago about a woman who eat a bristle that came off a wire brush used to clean the grill. Got into whatever food was being cooked and she had to have surgery to remove it from her intestine after it punctured it. Not sure what kind of brush or pad your supposed to use to clean a grill but I think those scouring pads are safer.

Sounds to me like she waited to long for a few doses of Colon Blow. Would have cleared that right up.

 

[SGaynor]

Big Green Egg (or variant).

That is all.

 

[discostew]

Sounds to me like she waited to long for a few doses of Colon Blow. Would have cleared that right up.

No I think it pierced her intestinal track someplace. She was totally messed up from it. Just thowing it out there. I don't use a wire brush anymore to clean the grill after reading that.

 

[p m]

No I think it pierced her intestinal track someplace. She was totally messed up from it. Just thowing it out there. I don't use a wire brush anymore to clean the grill after reading that.

Not to claim any grill knowledge - that's the reason I prefer polished stainless grills to cast iron ones. You can see anything that's left on the surface.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

No offense, but an electric smoker is not a smoker.

Hmm, let's see. It generates smoke. It generates heat and maintains it within a narrow range. Sounds like a smoker to me.

I'd love to know why something that generates smoke and heat isn't a smoker.

 

[mgreenspan]

I'd love to know why something that generates smoke and heat isn't a smoker.

Get ready for a "you don't get it" post.

It's a smoker. I've used regular ones only, but Electric makes sense. I guess a regular one takes more skill and knowledge maybe and therefore purists like Dan would scoff at you for using an electric one.

Staying up all night smoking a whole pig is fun and all having to check Temps and manage it; however, just throwing everything in a device and letting it do the work is pretty awesome sometimes. As fun of a night of drinking and playing guitar as that whole pig night was for me, it would have been just as fun having a giant device that did everything on its own.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

I used to have a smoker with the side firebox. It was fine. It took some time to get the hang of keeping the fire going at a steady pace to keep the temperature consistent, but why the fuck would I want to mess with it considering an electrical smoker is so damn easy?

I don't give a flying fuck about winning over Dan's approval.

 

[D Chapman]

It's like cooking a hamburger in a microwave. It may be editable, but it's not how a hamburger should taste. It's the same with smoking meats. You simply cannot generate the same flavor with an electric smoker as you can using an open flame with hardwood.

It's not even scientifically possible according to Americas Test Kitchen [snicker].

And it's not like you can't get a real smoker that easy to cook on. Big Green Egg, Backwoods, Stumps....all great smokers that will easily maintain a consistent temperature for 10+ hours without touching it.

 

[chris snell]

I use a wadded-up piece of aluminum foil to clean my grill grates. It works well.

 

[kennith]

I use a wadded-up piece of aluminum foil to clean my grill grates. It works well.

The concerns in regard to using wire brushes are entirely valid. Most people will never encounter the issue, but you don't want to be the person who somehow manages to swallow one. It's something so easy to avoid that there's no sense ignoring the potential danger.

I wipe my cast iron grates down with a blue dish-washing sponge and oil before a light burn after use, and burn them off again (just barely) before allowing them to cool to cooking temperature when I need it again. Essentially, I treat them like a cast-iron skillet. It's worked fine for years.

All you need is rust-free. So long as bits aren't stuck all to it, you're good. Season the things just like a skillet, and nothing's going to stick that your foil method or my sponge method can't handle. Just fire it up hot, and let it stay at temperature for a while before beginning to cook.

For those times I need something spotless for an aroma-sensitive dish, I keep some stainless grates around. That's all problems solved right there.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[brian4d]

Hmm, let's see. It generates smoke. It generates heat and maintains it within a narrow range. Sounds like a smoker to me.

I'd love to know why something that generates smoke and heat isn't a smoker.

Ever been to a Texas BBQ joint? Big difference in taste. It's personal preference, that's all. Easy and average, or hard and delicious.

 

[D Chapman]

A lemon cut in half works really well to clean grates. I've heard potatoes work also but have never tried a potato.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

It's like cooking a hamburger in a microwave. It may be editable, but it's not how a hamburger should taste. It's the same with smoking meats. You simply cannot generate the same flavor with an electric smoker as you can using an open flame with hardwood.

It's not even scientifically possible according to Americas Test Kitchen [snicker].

And it's not like you can't get a real smoker that easy to cook on. Big Green Egg, Backwoods, Stumps....all great smokers that will easily maintain a consistent temperature for 10+ hours without touching it.

When you can explain the science to me, I'll believe you.

 

[chris snell]

When you can explain the science to me, I'll believe you.

:rofl:

 

[stu454]

Fuck. Don't make me side with Dan.

I would argue that bbq is more art than science.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Fuck. Don't make me side with Dan.

I would argue that bbq is more art than science.

Hogwash. The only reason why you'd believe that is because there has been very little scientific understanding of the bbq process. It has been a trial & error process developed by years of fucking up meat. BBQ artists only speculated to the reason of the stall in low temp bbq. It wasn't only until recently that the actual reason was discovered through a scientific process.