BBQ and Grilling megathread

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Went to BBQ’s Galore, and looked at some units. My wife really wants a 4 burner that will fit a full salmon, side burner and rotisserie. Seems that the best unit for that (in stock!) is the Broil King Baron 490 Pro. It is a bit above our budget, but seems like a solid unit. Does anyone have any experience with it? Reviews are scarce. Is it worth paying the $30 assembly fee?

And what is with the BBQ shortage in general? Everyone seems to be buying BBQ’s like they were buying bikes last year…

Man I wouldn't even question paying someone $30 to set it up, and I'm quite handy

[MoneyGuy]

My 30-year-old barbecue seems to be on its deathbed. I’m thinking of going with only my Traeger smoker and maybe a portable barbecue on rare occasions.

[Jimmy Stang]

I would trust BBQs Galore to assemble the grill, and $30 is well worth it.

Home Depot assembled mine for free when I bought it a few years ago, and it actually cost me time. After getting it home I realized that it was so poorly done that I had to take it back. The genius that assembled it stripped the heads on nearly every screw in the pedestal, some to the point that they weren't even tight enough and there was nothing left for me to tighten it myself. It was sad yet comical.

BBQs Galore is in a different league, obviously, but give it a once over before putting it in your truck, especially if you are borrowing a truck from a friend. It'll save you getting it home and the re-borrowing your friend and his truck the next day to return it and pick up a replacement.

[Fuzz]

I used to assemble BBQ's as part of a job I had, I'm really cheap, and I'd still probably pay the $30. Though the good brands are probably better than the absolute trash I had to deal with at Walmart and Zellers.

[CroFlames]

I assembled my own gas Weber and it was a breeze.

Weber is a good brand though.

[bizaro86]

I always assemble my barbecues myself, because I care about it being great way more than anyone else would.

BBQs Galore is probably going to do a good job, and obviously the $/hour is pretty good. But no way would I trust a hardware store employee to do it. I bought my Traeger at Costco and declined a discount to take the one the rep had already assembled.

[CroFlames]

Also I should add that I was really impressed with Weber's packaging. No styrofoam. It's all packaged with custom made rigid cardboard so each individual piece is protected. You can dump the whole damn box in the recycling when done.

I hate styrofoam.

[photon]

My dad said he might like a smoker for his birthday.

I don't know much about them, any suggestions about what would be good, it's just two of them.

I have heard of the Big Green Egg but those seem out of our price range.

[DoubleK]

My brother is very good at smoking. Has all of the gizmos, a couple different smokers and all of the smoke generator stuff complete with the aquarium pumps for cold smoking.

He recently went with this.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/mas...ack/1001526672

Suggested I get one because it's idiot proof.

[photon]

I passed that by my sister and I guess our budget is $400 lol. Or I guess a bit more I'm willing to put in a bit more.

Is that too low to get anything worth having?

EDIT: What about fuel, we have natural gas so is that an option? Or is charcoal better? Wood pellets seem like they'd be good but that looks out of my price range too.

https://www.weber.com/CA/en/grills/c...id=220#start=1 ?

[photon]

https://www.amazon.ca/Pit-Boss-Grill.../dp/B078PRCDGX

https://www.amazon.ca/Dyna-Glo-DGO11.../dp/B00BQ59VTO

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by photon

I passed that by my sister and I guess our budget is $400 lol. Or I guess a bit more I'm willing to put in a bit more.

Is that too low to get anything worth having?

EDIT: What about fuel, we have natural gas so is that an option? Or is charcoal better? Wood pellets seem like they'd be good but that looks out of my price range too.

https://www.weber.com/CA/en/grills/c...id=220#start=1 ?

i've got two weber smokey mountain smokers - the small one and the big one. they are both great.

with the small one i can easily smoke 5 racks of ribs... i'm sure i could do 6 if i got creative.
for a fuel option i prefer charcoal - i find it tastes better... more smokey (at least that's what i've noticed from when friends with pellet smokers have prepared stuff - it's still really good, just not as much smoke flavour). the kicker with charcoal is you do need to babysit it a bit - smoking when there is a breeze sucks becuz your temp is determined by airflow. electric is nice becuz it's pretty much set it and forget it.
if you go charcoal, definitely get a good meat thermometer that can take 2 probes - one for smoker temp and one for the meat.... and make sure it transmits (to either a phone or a receiver).
also - if you go charcoal get a chimney for getting the charcoal burning. i think i have this one and it works great... https://www.homedepot.ca/product/weber-rapidfire-chimney-starter/1000689192?eid=PS_GOOGLE_D28%20-%20E-Comm_GGL_Shopping_PLA_EN_BBQ_BBQ_PLA_EN__PRODUCT_G ROUP_aud-765569715521la-342470768104&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhKTZy4fK8gIVFRvnCh2 lRAXGEAQYAiABEgKp0fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

if they will be doing ribs i recommend a rib rack too. just make sure it fits inside the smoker! the weber rack fits (barely) on the top rack in the small smokey mountain smoker and won't fit on the lower rack - just a bit too long (so i got a smaller one at canadian tire).

feel free to pm any more questions about the weber one and i'll do my best to get you answers!

and just becuz...

Spoiler!

IMG_7207 by bc-chris, on Flickr


IMG_7210 by bc-chris, on Flickr


IMG_2698 by bc-chris, on Flickr

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by photon

https://www.weber.com/CA/en/grills/c...id=220#start=1 ?

That's the 14" and it's a bit small. I'd recommend the 18.5 at a minimum for what it costs extra if you do go the charcoal route.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

the kicker with charcoal is you do need to babysit it a bit...

You’ve got it all wrong. That’s the benefit of charcoal - you have to babysit it all day, even when you don’t, so you are automatically absolved from having to do any chores. Any marital resentment that might build during the day vanishes with the first taste of the finished product.

[photon]

I recommended the Weber one but I got outvoted, they thought he'd like the natural gas one better due to his age (less work in theory?? It doesn't seem like that much extra...).

So thanks for the help but I guess I'll report back how well it works.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by photon

My dad said he might like a smoker for his birthday.

I don't know much about them, any suggestions about what would be good, it's just two of them.

I have heard of the Big Green Egg but those seem out of our price range.

Based on the concept of, "The best one is the one that is actually used." I think the way I'd approach it is like this: What will he be using it for?

If he's going to be hardcore smoking tons of stuff in large batches, then maybe a stacked smoker or a bigger smoker is a good idea (ie: The smokey mountain cooker you linked). If he's just going to do the occasional small smoking project and/or charcoal grilling in small batches, I wonder if a decent sized Weber kettle or other charcoal grills would suffice for his needs vs a full sized smoker?

https://www.amazon.ca/Weber-14402001...9827559&sr=8-3

You could even downgrade further and just go with a table top unit of some sort:

https://www.amazon.ca/London-Sunshin...9827635&sr=8-8


Even more downgraded to that, what about a smoke gun for infusing smoke into food?

https://www.amazon.ca/Smoking-Gun-Po...827715&sr=8-12

I have this smoke gun/dome combo. I have been using it for smoking old fashioned drinks. A single half inch half damp wood pellet can smoke around 4-5 drinks. I haven't tried smoking things like cheese yet, but the product description says it can do it.

My buddy keeps saying we should consider vaporizing cannabis in this smoke infuser... I haven't tried but I would assume the crossfade would be quite potent... and not perhaps in a good way.

[photon]

Good questions, he's been learning about cooking so this might be more of a "am I really going to like this" stage but ribs and such he does like to do already.

Which is also an argument for going small, he can upgrade after he decides what he likes or doesn't like.

[Shazam]

A big Weber kettle is just fine for smoking.

Charcoal is actually very easy. Also makes for way better grilling than propane/ng.

Get him the kettle, the Weber chimney starter and some Weber briquettes.

Or:

Get an electric smoker. These are truly hands off. I had a cheap one for years before it finally just fell apart.

https://barbecuesgalore.ca/collectio...harcoal-smoker

[puckedoff]

I started small with a Green Mountain Grill 'Davy Crockett' smoker, it is ~$600 but a pellet smoker and very very easy to use. If he is cooking mostly for himself and his wife it would be a good size. Have been very happy with it.

[bagofpucks]

Anyone have any recommendations for some bbq gloves? Looking for something I can use when carving/cutting or pulling pork.