BBQ and Grilling megathread

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by photon

I got one of these and it is very nice to use, super fast reading exactly where you put the probe.

http://thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/

I've almost bought one of those a few times now. Just can't justify the insane price to get a reading in 1 second instead of 3-6. I bought a cheap poke probe off one of those Chinese websites a few years ago and it still works great (and I paid $3).

Now that I'm getting into home brewing I'm debating it again as it can do double duty.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Delgar

If you really want to control your temps for bbqing and smoking and want to remove the guesswork from airflow, get one of these:

http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborderentry/DigiQ%20DX2

I use it on my Big Green Egg and it can hold temps perfectly. I've also used the Smoky Mountain and its a great smoker, it is what is used in this class:

http://www.cookbookcooks.com/class-s...cue-workshop-0

I would recommend that class to anyone. Since taking it I've greatly improved my slow bbqing.

I've debated these for a couple years now and just haven't taken the plunge. they have on that is wifi and then one that isn't, right? I just don't know if its really worth it I guess.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

I've almost bought one of those a few times now. Just can't justify the insane price to get a reading in 1 second instead of 3-6. I bought a cheap poke probe off one of those Chinese websites a few years ago and it still works great (and I paid $3).

Now that I'm getting into home brewing I'm debating it again as it can do double duty.

I picked up a thermopan and love it. I like the quick reading when I am trying to get in and out of the smoker as quick as I can.

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by Slava

I've debated these for a couple years now and just haven't taken the plunge. they have on that is wifi and then one that isn't, right? I just don't know if its really worth it I guess.

Yeah I think its called the Cyber-Q. The DigiQ was expensive enough.

The benefit is, for a charcoal cook, and combined with the insulation of the green egg, I can put the charcoal in, set the temps and I never have to worry about adding fuel or going off temp. Allows you to go do other things around the house if you're doing a brisket for more than 12 hours without having to go outside every 20 minutes to check.

Its an expensive gadget, but really saves the headaches of controlling a charcoal fire.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Yeah I think its called the Cyber-Q. The DigiQ was expensive enough.

The benefit is, for a charcoal cook, and combined with the insulation of the green egg, I can put the charcoal in, set the temps and I never have to worry about adding fuel or going off temp. Allows you to go do other things around the house if you're doing a brisket for more than 12 hours without having to go outside every 20 minutes to check.

Its an expensive gadget, but really saves the headaches of controlling a charcoal fire.

Well thats the thing, I'm a pure charcoal cook. I have the Bubba Keg, which is effectively the same as the BGE, and faces the same issues. Maybe I should just get off my wallet and buy!

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

I've got a maverick ET-732. Works great, but a word of warning, don't immerse the probes in water when you clean them or they will stop working.

I'm debating whether I should buy new probes or find a different thermometer that builds its probes better.

I have an iGrill, and have killed one probe before doing this, but I emailed them and they sent me a new probe under warranty. Now I am just a bit more careful with it.

I cook on my Green Egg with this unit all the time. I love that it hooks into my iPhone and I can set an alarm and pull my steaks off the second I hit 135F. Perfect every time, and do not ever have to open the lid except for a quick flip half way.

I know it is $100, but honestly it is 2 probes and has iPhone hook up. Winter cooking alone makes this unit a total recommendation by me.

http://idevicesinc.com/igrill/

EDIT: Looks like it is $80 for the model I have, and $100 for the new model that has some design improvements. At $80 on the apple store with free shipping, I stand by my recommendation fully.

[guzzy]

I built a smoker a few years ago. It works great but for longer smokes i like to use my masterbuilt electric smoker. It cost $200 and works great even in January on the back deck. Link: http://www.masterbuilt.com/30-inch-e...p-control.html
It uses all chips. I bought a hopper for it that will give it continuous smoke for 6 hours which is longer than any meat needs smoke for.

Here is pic of my home built. Two 55 gallon fuel barrel and a wood stove burning kit.

[guzzy]

8 racks of Side Ribs, 5 pounds of chicken thighs and bacon wrapped corn...the maiden smoke 3 years ago

this was a side of ribs from a cow we slaughtered. It was over ten lbs prior to smoking and fed over ten people with leftovers

[Baxter Renegade]

Originally Posted by guzzy

I built a smoker a few years ago. It works great but for longer smokes i like to use my masterbuilt electric smoker. It cost $200 and works great even in January on the back deck. It uses all chips. I bought a hopper for it that will give it continuous smoke for 6 hours which is longer than any meat needs smoke for.

Here is pic of my home built. Two 55 gallon fuel barrel and a wood stove burning kit.

I hate using this word, but man, that is EPIC!!

Does anyone have any experience with Bradley smokers? I believe they are fairly cheap, electric, and use the wood pucks which come in a variety of types. For a guy who has never smoked anything before (besides cigs... and grass...) would this be something a guy should pickup? Ive seen them used by restaurants on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives before which leads me to believe they should be decent??

I've thought about getting one for a couple years now, and this may be that year...

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by Baxter Renegade

Does anyone have any experience with Bradley smokers?

First of all, holy crap guzzy that is awesome!

OldDutch, yes I have the iGrill and agree it is awesome. It serves a little different purpose than the digiQ though. I actually have the new iGrill on order and I hope it ships soon! (anyone want my old iGrill cheap when it arrives?)

Baxter, I've had the Bradley 6 rack digital for about 8 years. It works great, I use it whenever I want a longer smoking time, a particular wood flavour, and don't want the charcoal flavour that comes with the BGE. Its especially suited to jerky but i've done everything on it--- ribs, brisket, shoulder, salmon, nuts, cheese, atomic buffalo turds...etc etc. I'd fully recommend it. Here's a link to a forum which has a lot of recipes adopted for the Bradley: http://www.susanminor.org/forums/

[Baxter Renegade]

Originally Posted by Delgar

First of all, holy crap guzzy that is awesome!

OldDutch, yes I have the iGrill and agree it is awesome. It serves a little different purpose than the digiQ though. I actually have the new iGrill on order and I hope it ships soon! (anyone want my old iGrill cheap when it arrives?)

Baxter, I've had the Bradley 6 rack digital for about 8 years. It works great, I use it whenever I want a longer smoking time, a particular wood flavour, and don't want the charcoal flavour that comes with the BGE. Its especially suited to jerky but i've done everything on it--- ribs, brisket, shoulder, salmon, nuts, cheese, atomic buffalo turds...etc etc. I'd fully recommend it. Here's a link to a forum which has a lot of recipes adopted for the Bradley: http://www.susanminor.org/forums/

Good stuff!!

Im gonna head down today and grab one.

[trew]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well thats the thing, I'm a pure charcoal cook. I have the Bubba Keg, which is effectively the same as the BGE, and faces the same issues. Maybe I should just get off my wallet and buy!

If you plan on cooking a lot of pulled pork, smoked sausage, or brisket than the Cyber-Q is a really valuable tool. The low and slow meats tend to hit a stall point for hours and then break quickly to finishing temperature. This is where the Cyber-Q is really nice. You can configure email alerts and keep an eye on things from anywhere. You can also alarm on hi/low temperatures, which is really nice if you are doing an overnight cook and your fire starts to run out of fuel.

Also, if you know how to port forward your home router, you can actually control / view your grill over the internet. Peace of mind if you need to run quick errands during a slow cook.

[guzzy]

Originally Posted by Delgar

First of all, holy crap guzzy that is awesome!

OldDutch, yes I have the iGrill and agree it is awesome. It serves a little different purpose than the digiQ though. I actually have the new iGrill on order and I hope it ships soon! (anyone want my old iGrill cheap when it arrives?)

Baxter, I've had the Bradley 6 rack digital for about 8 years. It works great, I use it whenever I want a longer smoking time, a particular wood flavour, and don't want the charcoal flavour that comes with the BGE. Its especially suited to jerky but i've done everything on it--- ribs, brisket, shoulder, salmon, nuts, cheese, atomic buffalo turds...etc etc. I'd fully recommend it. Here's a link to a forum which has a lot of recipes adopted for the Bradley: http://www.susanminor.org/forums/

Can the igrill be configured to work via wifi? Can anyone recommend a wifi enabled meat thermometer that displays on iphone?

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by guzzy

Can the igrill be configured to work via wifi? Can anyone recommend a wifi enabled meat thermometer that displays on iphone?

it works via bluetooth, and yes it displays on the iPhone, better yet, you get a graph so you can see how quickly things are progressing over time.

[19Yzerman19]

Finally own my first BBQ. It's actually sort of surprising it's taken me this long, but ever since I've lived on my own I've been in places where there was either a communal grill for the building, or having one would be impractical given the space. No longer! Time for some steaks.

[sec304]

I just upgraded to this guy here (Broil King Baron 440 S):


I will be following this thread now!

[19Yzerman19]

I was looking at that one too.

[bubbsy]

wow, lot's of rockstar bbq/grillmasters in this thread.

I just bought our first house and am trying to fit in a bbq to the budget.

Can anyone suggest a brand (natural gas) bbq they have good experience with. Ideally in the sub-$500 price range?

[19Yzerman19]

Can anyone suggest a brand (natural gas) bbq they have good experience with. Ideally in the sub-$500 price range?

I've been doing lots of research on this and honestly I can't see why anyone would buy anything but Broil King or Weber. If you don't want to spend a thousand bucks it has to be a Broil King... Sears has the Signet 70 on sale right now, it's reportedly an excellent grill. Just had burgers at my friend's on his 5 year old signet this past weekend. That said, Nat gas is usually $50 more expensive than propane.

That said, if you're patient you can score a good deal on Kijiji provided you jump on it quickly when it pops up. That one up there I just bought was posted last night around 8:30, I responded to the ad within 2 minutes and picked it up an hour later for a great price.

[Canehdianman]

Broil King is all I recommend.

Unless you are really rich (like CP rich), it is the best bang for your buck by far.