Longing to participate in gratuitous grilling thread, need grill advice.

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  • alabasterjar

    Sharpshooter
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    3   0   0
    Apr 13, 2013
    613
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    Steuben County
    Recently moved from our house in town to our new home in the country. I had to leave behind my Ducane natural gas grill, since we do not have natural gas service at the new house. Unfortunately, Weber bought Ducane and discontinued the brand. I'm a little bitter about that...

    I'm looking at the Broil King line of grills. Looks like some of those grills are made in northern Indiana! Anyone have any experience with Broil King? I'm open to recommendations, although as described above, a bit peeved at Weber, so I'm trying my best to ignore their line :D. I don't intend to spend more than $1000.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
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    35   0   0
    May 12, 2013
    31,686
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    Camby area
    Cast iron grates are the thing to look for. NO PORCELAIN. That just cracks and chips off unless you treat the grates like your crock pot and scrub them clean every time and store them indoors.

    heavy (3/8 or larger) stainless grates are also good. You want Lots of mass for good charring.

    Oh, and of course avoid the weird brand Walmart is selling. Thought I found a decent deal but it was a ripoff. Claimed 44k BTU, but between **** poor burner and cover design, I couldnt get it go go above 400F. Ever. Ever try to return a fully assembled grill? MAJOR PITA.

    I bought mine at lowes a few weeks ago and like it. Its not fancy, but it works for me.

    https://www.lowes.com/pd/Char-Broil-Black-3-Burner-Liquid-Propane-Gas-Grill/50329717
    (its says porcelain coated, but I cant find any except for the warmer grate)

    I REALLY wanted this one for the days I have the extra time:
    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Char-Broil-505-sq-in-Charcoal-Gas-Combo-Grill-1010-Deluxe/22952783
     

    CountryBoy19

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 91.7%
    11   1   0
    Nov 10, 2008
    8,412
    63
    Bedford, IN
    IMHO, having been in grilling for a while now, I think pellet grills are the next new fad. They may stay, or they may go, at this point it's too early to say. Several months ago I started seriously looking into getting one and decided that they just aren't for me. Many claim that they aren't really a grill at all, they are a cross between a smoke (low temp & smoke) and a grill (high temp w/ or w/o smoke). IE, if you want a high-temp sear on something you aren't going to get it.

    Maybe I'm the odd one out but, IMHO, you can't get a grill "too hot" in triple-digit temps. I cook nearly everything on high and my Weber's "high" wasn't high enough for me so I turned the regulator up until I could reliably get 900 degrees at the grates. This makes the most juicy, yet browned on the outside burger you can get! From everything I found you just cannot get that with a pellet grill.

    The only things I cook on low are bacon, bratwurst, & steaks during the low and slow pre-sear cooking.
     

    Rookie

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    14   0   0
    Sep 22, 2008
    18,155
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    Kokomo
    I don't know about them being a fad since they've been around for a while and they are gaining popularity. We'll see.

    I'll give you the temp, it's the only negative I have. The flavor makes up for it, IMO.
     

    snapping turtle

    Grandmaster
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    6   0   0
    Dec 5, 2009
    6,462
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    Madison county
    Might I make a small comment. You are going to need three grills.

    1: a propane griddle. These are wonderful for breakfast and burgers fast. Like the short order cook at the local bar and grill.
    2: a smoker for low and slow something that makes turkeys and pork buts.
    3: the original Weber charcoal kettle. For everything when you have time.

    now you can get a kimono or big green egg and drop that to two grills. Still love the propane griddle we have. Make 10 pancakes at a time with bacon coming and hash browns also.

    If you don't have time to light up the charcoals you don't have time to grill. Might as well move the kitchen stove outside.
     

    nra4ever

    Master
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    25   0   0
    Dec 19, 2011
    2,372
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    Indy
    Pellet is a good idea. I would go with big green egg or a good kamado equivalent like a vision or kamadojoe etc. make sure it's thick. Trust me you will love it! Good luck and let us know what you get. If you can find a member wit a kamado near you and see if they will do a cook for you.
     

    Vigilant

    Grandmaster
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    21   0   0
    Jul 12, 2008
    11,659
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    Plainfield
    IMHO, having been in grilling for a while now, I think pellet grills are the next new fad. They may stay, or they may go, at this point it's too early to say. Several months ago I started seriously looking into getting one and decided that they just aren't for me. Many claim that they aren't really a grill at all, they are a cross between a smoke (low temp & smoke) and a grill (high temp w/ or w/o smoke). IE, if you want a high-temp sear on something you aren't going to get it.

    Maybe I'm the odd one out but, IMHO, you can't get a grill "too hot" in triple-digit temps. I cook nearly everything on high and my Weber's "high" wasn't high enough for me so I turned the regulator up until I could reliably get 900 degrees at the grates. This makes the most juicy, yet browned on the outside burger you can get! From everything I found you just cannot get that with a pellet grill.

    The only things I cook on low are bacon, bratwurst, & steaks during the low and slow pre-sear cooking.
    if 1985-present is a "fad", I guess you're correct? Traeger was founded in 1985, and continues to produce the hell out of pellet grills. Here of late, they've run to the Ron Popeil infomercials, and club demos, but it's hardly a fad. You are correct in stating you can't get a high temp (600*+) sear, but not everything needs that. I can regularly get 450* temps on my Traeger, which will do a decent job. If I want sear cooking, I use the Egg. Pellet grills are infinitely more well rounded than even the best of gas grills, and are only bested by Egg type cookers. They have the ease of gas, with none of the drawbacks.
     

    Clay

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 98.8%
    81   1   0
    Aug 28, 2008
    9,648
    48
    Vigo Co
    the only thing I don't like about my pellet grill is you don't get as good of a "charcoal/smokey" flavor out of it, be it grilling or smoking, but they are IMO better than a gas grill by a long shot, again, IMO.
     
    Rating - 100%
    28   0   0
    Oct 3, 2008
    4,184
    149
    On a hill in Perry C
    Might I make a small comment. You are going to need three grills.

    1: a propane griddle. These are wonderful for breakfast and burgers fast. Like the short order cook at the local bar and grill.
    2: a smoker for low and slow something that makes turkeys and pork buts.
    3: the original Weber charcoal kettle. For everything when you have time.

    now you can get a kimono or big green egg and drop that to two grills. Still love the propane griddle we have. Make 10 pancakes at a time with bacon coming and hash browns also.

    If you don't have time to light up the charcoals you don't have time to grill. Might as well move the kitchen stove outside.

    :yesway::yesway:
     

    Rookie

    Grandmaster
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    14   0   0
    Sep 22, 2008
    18,155
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    Kokomo
    If you don't have time to light up the charcoals you don't have time to grill. Might as well move the kitchen stove outside.

    That's where the pellet grill shines. I don't have the patience or desire to learn the tricks with charcoal. Hot spots, flare ups, etc. The pellet grill is pretty much idiot proof, set the temp, and cook. No hot spots, no flare ups, no worrying about temperature dropping, etc. They do a great job of producing consistent, good food every time.
     

    CountryBoy19

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 91.7%
    11   1   0
    Nov 10, 2008
    8,412
    63
    Bedford, IN
    If you don't have time to light up the charcoals you don't have time to grill. Might as well move the kitchen stove outside.
    Huh? That's ridiculous... I grill several times a week, I don't have time to mess with charcoal. I turn 4 knobs, hit a button and go back inside to finish prep-work. You don't have to have charcoal or spend inordinate amounts of time to make a good grilled meal for your family, even if time is tight.

    As a matter of fact, tonight I'll get home from work, and with 2 young kids running about under my supervision, I'll hop out on the patio, light the grill in 10 seconds and be back inside to get dinner ready for when momma gets home from work. 2 minutes later I'll go back out to the patio with my fully pre-heated grill and a plate full of burgers to throw on. And when they come off the grill they will be just as good as any burger cooked charcoal. Life doesn't have to be complicated, some people just choose to make it that way.

    And before you ask, yes, I've cook on numerous charcoal grills, from $25 walmart specials, up to $2500 custom-built charcoal grills. I'll take my Weber gas grill over a charcoal any day.


    if 1985-present is a "fad", I guess you're correct? Traeger was founded in 1985, and continues to produce the hell out of pellet grills. Here of late, they've run to the Ron Popeil infomercials, and club demos, but it's hardly a fad. You are correct in stating you can't get a high temp (600*+) sear, but not everything needs that. I can regularly get 450* temps on my Traeger, which will do a decent job. If I want sear cooking, I use the Egg. Pellet grills are infinitely more well rounded than even the best of gas grills, and are only bested by Egg type cookers. They have the ease of gas, with none of the drawbacks.
    FWIW, my "fad" comment was in regards to the recent "trendiness" in pellet grills. 10 years ago Traeger was about the only name, and they weren't really that big of a seller. In the last few years everybody is copying Traeger or making their own, and people are buying pellet grills like they are the best thing since sliced bread. I believe THOSE people make it a fad, and pellet grills will fall back to the background again in a decade. There are people out there that genuinely have use for and have pellet grills, it's not a "Fad" to them. But those people are few and far between. I hope that clears my comment up a bit more.

    That being said, I could be totally wrong and it's just taken that long for the masses to learn about pellet grills. I liken a pellet grill to a Holland grill (touted for their "no flare-ups"); they are super easy to cook on because they are so low temp. They (Holland grills; I have no actual experience using a pellet-grill, but I would like to someday) also don't get good maillard reaction going, and they are painfully slow, making cooking for large gatherings hard. I can cook a burger on my 900 degree weber in about 4-6 minutes, fully cooked all the way through. My parents used to a have a weber that even had the orifice drilled out to make it hotter, it took 15-20 minutes to cook one of those paper-thin 1/5 lb patties. That's great for a person like my mom, that doesn't know what seasonings are and uses her grill like an outdoor oven. Not so great for me. I understand the desire to get smoke flavor into your grilled goods but there are other ways of doing it without slow-cooking your food. If I want slow-cooked food with good smoke flavor I'll just use my smoker.


    IMHO, my ideal grill setup would be a hybrid grill; one that has a LP burner for fast, convenient heat, but has the ability to use charcoal exclusively, or a mix of both LP (main heat source) and charcoal/wood for the smoke flavor. The problem is that my ideal grill isn't the ideal grill for the masses so target market would be people looking for the convenience of LP with a little of that wood-smoke flavor of a charcoal grill or smoker.
     
    Last edited:

    Benp

    Grandmaster
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    12   0   0
    Mar 19, 2017
    7,361
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    Avon
    I have a kamado style grill and love it. I'm still learning with it, but it grills very nicely and with using the lump charcoal there is no lighter fluid taste, just the natural flavors.
     
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