Smokers / Grills

When I build my little outdoor kitchen I will get something that's more substantial and has a long life - so I was just planning on a webber and building into the brick island a charcoal grill. I don't do much smoking, but I should... I love the product!

Pellet smokers are awesome for the folks who do not like fire management. Electric smokers put out ok stuff, especially those who do not like fire management. But I will say I have not tasted anything better than the smoked meats off an offset smoker properly cooked. Nothing matches that flavor, including the much overhyped green egg, just my opinion.

My primary smoker:
Cooking Thread - Recipes in first post - Page 23

For anyone who's on the fence about a big green egg but don't want to have monitor it for long smokes there are temperature control/blowers you can buy that you can set a temperature and it'll control air flow to maintain it. I forgot which one I had but it had a web interface and could be controlled remotely, it had alarms you could set when the food hit a specific temperature or when the pit temperature fell below a certain range because it's running out of charcoal.

It was fucking awesome to just load in some charcoal and briskett on a friday night after work and have 5-6 lbs of beautiful meat cooked to perfection the next day without having to monitor shit. The one I had would even go into "warm" mode when the temperature was hit so if you weren't around when it finished the food wouldn't go cold on the grill.

BrutulTM_sl said:

I have one of these:Buyers Guide

It works well and the monitoring software is pretty sweet. It can even be used to control multiple smokers at the same time. I fucked up though and bought mine just before they came out with the wifi version so I have to drag a cord out in the yard to use the online part.

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That's the same one I had, and I can also attest to it being awesome. I used to have a portable wifi router I would hook it up to in the yard that would in bridged mode to the wifi network inside. It's definitely come a long way from rudimentary first run unit I had gotten.

BrutulTM_sl said:

Alright bros, I think after using charcoal only for the last 8-10 years it's time for me to have a gas grill again. I love charcoal but I just never grill anymore when I have to spend an hour getting the grill up to temp and dealing with ashes and shit. If I'm going to have an actual barbecue then I'll use the Weber Kettle or the Big Green Egg, but for weeknights that's just not going to happen so I am giving in and getting a gas grill. I'm thinking a weber genesis with a set of GrillGrates. Anyone here ever used GrillGrates? The dude at amazingribs.com is nuts for them.

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I like this, but then I'm not a big BBQ user.

Grill Mat

Infared works - I may have posted I forgot.. its only like 1 page back! ...anywho I got a charbroil tru-infared pro series with the cast iron slats that sit on top of the infared plates. Saw at home depot or whatever the newest generation of charbroil true infared and its basically a "bottom" of the grill that's over your heat sources to- re radiate the heat as infared heat rather than the standard convection that a normal grill would be.

Stuff does cook faster/better/juicyer but my infared plates are already rusted and I used prescribed care and oiling and it still got nasty fast...once they start getting holes and crap I most likely will not replace the infared plates and just use it with the cast iron grates and let it be a normal grill.

GrillGrates or ManGrates do a great job just $$ but so are replacing the stupid charbroil infared plates- I think once money is good a nice Weber + grill/man grates

I have a set of grill grates. I used them for the first or second year with my Weber Spirit E-320 while the "enameled" iron grates that came with it rusted to shit. The next year I replaced those with stainless steel grates and I haven't bothered with the grill grates again. They do help with controlling flare ups and when you flip them over you can sear a steak really well.

What do you cats think of the sear burner option on genesis? I haven't messed with it yet but sprang for it.

Picasso_sl said:

What do you cats think of the sear burner option on genesis? I haven't messed with it yet but sprang for it.

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Most sear burners I have seen are essentially a infrared section- most have infared radiator plates and some have a cross patterned grate so you "cheat" on getting a cross mark- some have a "thicker" grate in that area in order to hold more heat and create better sear marks.

Got one of these from a Costco roadshow for 30% off retail. Love, love, love, love it. Ribs, steaks, fish, chicken, veggies, all amazing.

I also find it easier to use than standard charcoal grills due to the ability to fine-tune airflow. I can ramp it up to any temp I want between 150 and 900, close the lid and set the vents, and it will stay within +/- 5 degrees for hours.

Read about a smoker in Wired the other day. Figured y'all might give a shit.



Apparently the shape is important, and they plan to bring it to market eventually.

Wired_sl said:

PITMASTERS, THIS WILL be hard to swallow: Some of the best smoked brisket comes out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. And it practically cooks itself.

The secret is in the smoker. And the secret to the smoker is everything a group of 16 Harvard engineering students could do to turn the finicky art of smoking meat into a controlled, semiautomated science.

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http://www.wired.com/2015/07/high-tech-bbq/