GWJ BBQ Catch All

Paleocon wrote:

The Traeger rep was at Costco the other day and I narrowly escaped the temptation to come home with a $900 pellet grill. Man, those things are sweeeet. I pictured myself slow roasting an entire suckling pig whilst leisurely draining a homebrewed six pack and catching up on my summer reading.

Then I remembered that my wife would chop me up with an 8" santoku knife and bury me under the stairs.

I was planning on getting the regular grill looking version of a Traeger. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with them?

I hear great things through friends of friends but don't know anyone who uses one themselves.

Any real drawbacks? (Aside from needing pellets and an outdoor plug in)

I am slowly but surely convincing myself that I really do need a Big Green Egg as my next major purchase after van repairs and a new computer...

Tigerbill wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:
Maq wrote:

I am sorely tempted to try some of this American style barbecuing. Sounds right up my street.

Come to OhioAustin Texas. I love seeing people eat Franklin's brisket for the first time. I've got a buddy who was born in Columbia, immigrated when he was a kid and tried him on it last week, the man was in tears, I tell you. :D

Fixed for yummy goodness. :)

It brought me, a seasoned BBQer to tears.

mudbunny wrote:

I am slowly but surely convincing myself that I really do need a Big Green Egg as my next major purchase after van repairs and a new computer...

Worth every penny.

mudbunny wrote:

I am slowly but surely convincing myself that I really do need a Big Green Egg as my next major purchase after van repairs and a new computer...

Green Eggs are certainly nice, but I'm not convinced that they're worth the price. You can pay less and get a quality smoker, and if you want a grill as well, the Weber kettle grills are top notch and fairly inexpensive. I paid $300 for my Weber Smokey Mountain, and it's got as much capacity for smoking as an XL Green Egg for a fraction of the cost; throw in a 22.5" Silver One touch for another 80 bucks and I'm solid at much less.

That said, there are definitely things you can do with the egg that I can't with that combination of smoker/grill, like naan, but I'm fairly certain I could figure something out that wouldn't cost another $700 to fill those gaps.

koshnika wrote:
Tigerbill wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:
Maq wrote:

I am sorely tempted to try some of this American style barbecuing. Sounds right up my street.

Come to OhioAustin Texas. I love seeing people eat Franklin's brisket for the first time. I've got a buddy who was born in Columbia, immigrated when he was a kid and tried him on it last week, the man was in tears, I tell you. :D

Fixed for yummy goodness. :)

It brought me, a seasoned BBQer to tears.

Feh. You people miss the point.

AnimeJ wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

I am slowly but surely convincing myself that I really do need a Big Green Egg as my next major purchase after van repairs and a new computer...

Green Eggs are certainly nice, but I'm not convinced that they're worth the price. You can pay less and get a quality smoker, and if you want a grill as well, the Weber kettle grills are top notch and fairly inexpensive. I paid $300 for my Weber Smokey Mountain, and it's got as much capacity for smoking as an XL Green Egg for a fraction of the cost; throw in a 22.5" Silver One touch for another 80 bucks and I'm solid at much less.

Oh, I know. But they are so pretty. And all of my friends would be jealous. That being said, I am realistic and realize that I can, like you mentioned, get something just as good for for a lot less $$$. And given the amount that I have shelled out for van repairs (and will be shelling out for planed repairs), plus my computer, that is important.

I could probably have swung an egg in the same way that I could have swung a really nice offset firebox smoker, but now that I have it, I think I prefer my current path.

The main factors for me was that the green egg takes the place of two devices: a grill and smoker. Like you said Anime, I could have bought a Weber smoker and grill for less but it would have taken up much more space. Also, I love that due to the heat retention of the ceramic, I can slow smoke a brisket for 8 hours overnight on one average sized load of charcoal. Metal smokers/grills lose too much heat for my taste. I like that I can crank the egg up to 500 degrees to make pizza on my pizza stone or drop it down to 200 for barbecue. Not to mention that there's no issue with moisture loss as there is with metal grills. I think the Egg is a lot more forgiving than a metal grill in my experience.

I'm also in love with my Large Adjustable Rig, Spider, and other goodies from the Ceramic Grill Store. It can be set up to have 4 levels of cooking surface - meats on the lower two levels, shrimp and veggies on the upper levels. Throwing a pizza stone on the Spider creates an indirect heat setup, perfect for baking.

For Fathers' Day weekend I really used the Egg's different features - smoked a beef tenderloin in the morning - seared it at 600 degrees then dropped the temp. to 200 for 4 hours. After that, grilled up some spinach/feta stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon on the lower level and marinated shrimp with veggies on the upper level. Then finished it off with the bananas foster. Really love being able to do it all on one grill.

All that said, it's hard to beat the ease of use of a pellet grill. Just so darn expensive and I hate the fact that I can't sear a steak on it.

Dad and I just about finished the deck last week and here's the spot we designed for the egg. Nice little roof so I can grill in the rain and the pocket fits the cart I built perfectly. It's my favorite spot on the deck.

IMAGE(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tJCmRJfUB2I/T-ECWlOIO4I/AAAAAAAAEFc/9sZCFKW9ODQ/s800/IMAG0226.jpg)

Aye, I remember seeing photos of that. As for smokers and heat loss, it really depends on the smoker. Same goes for charcoal usage. Another big factor that plays into how long you can go on a single bin of charcoal is quality. I've found that a high quality lump can go for much, much longer than your 50 cent per pound kingsford briquettes. I did an 8 hour smoke on my WSM and still had half a chamber of useable charcoal. That said, if you're not buying a quality smoker, you're going to have that issue. My first was a cheap, POS offset firebox smoker from Char Broil. Temp control was horrid, and the chamber temps were horribly disjointed from one end to the other, which is why I replaced it this year.

As for space, I have a fairly small pad that I grill and smoke on, maybe 10 by 10. Eventually I'll add a kettle grill, but apart from steaks which I cook inside on cast iron, I don't really have a driving need to have a grill, mainly since just about anything else I'd grill can be done on the smoker with a little extra prep and planning. I've already done hot dogs, Nathan's quarter pound all beef dogs(Sam's sells em by the case) with mesquite and hickory. They turned out well and the cook was even screwed up, as I forgot to put the water bowl in it, which made temp control nearly impossible. Burgers are next on my agenda for non-traditional smokes, and I'll probably do those with mesquite as well. But when I do finally add the grill, I'll build a cart for em both similar to what you've got, but closer to 8 ft length rather than what looks like about 6ft there.

AnimeJ wrote:

Another big factor that plays into how long you can go on a single bin of charcoal is quality. I've found that a high quality lump can go for much, much longer than your 50 cent per pound kingsford briquettes. I did an 8 hour smoke on my WSM and still had half a chamber of useable charcoal. That said, if you're not buying a quality smoker, you're going to have that issue.

Very true. Here's a website I use to check the quality of lump that I buy. I found a place near me that stocks 22lb. bags of WGC Weekend Warrior for $12.00.

Not all lump is created equal!

Yep, big fan of Naked Whiz. I buy GFS' house brand in 20lb bags, which is a Royal Oak US Lump re-brand. Wish I could get WGC, but there's not really any places around here that sell it.

My new smoker is going to go on a maiden voyage this weekend, so I can get it dialed in.

Simple Ribs from amazingribs.com

AnimeJ wrote:
Maq wrote:

I am sorely tempted to try some of this American style barbecuing. Sounds right up my street.

Come to Ohio. I love seeing people eat brisket for the first time. I've got a buddy who was born in Columbia, immigrated when he was a kid and tried him on it last week, the man was in tears, I tell you. :D

I'll bring the balmain bugs and nam jin.

So my father failed me as a man and I'm starting to learn some grillin' now. It has been an interesting experience, though humorously enough my family says I'm better at it than my old man. I think it's more accurate to say that I really, REALLY don't like charred and dry burgers, so I make sure they cook all the way without drying out.

In any case, I'm slowly learning how to grill, but not the best at it yet. In particular, I've yet to really do a good job cooking steak. I'm always paranoid it'll be under-cooked, but also that I'll overcook it. I don't want to cut into the center to check like I might with a hamburger, either. Any advice?

I at least know a place to pick up some good stuff. The Amish market around the corner is awesome. It'll take some time to get used to their sausage, though. It seemed dry, but that's mostly because they don't stuff it with crap.

Steaks are easy. In general, there are two methods for cooking them; sear first, or sear last. I prefer to sear them first. So, on a grill, you want two temperature zones. This is easier on gas, but doable on charcoal; just bank your coals to one side. Get the grill ripping hot, then apply steaks directly on the hot zone. Cook each side for about a minute or so, until you get some good coloring on them. Once that's done, slide to the indirect heat side and cook to desired doneness. For checking that, use an instant read digital meat thermometer in the thickest part of the steak.

I like mine medium.

For seasoning, simple is best. ~1tbsp canola oil per steak, then hit them with kosher salt and fresh black pepper.

AnimeJ wrote:

Steaks are easy. In general, there are two methods for cooking them; sear first, or sear last. I prefer to sear them first. So, on a grill, you want two temperature zones. This is easier on gas, but doable on charcoal; just bank your coals to one side. Get the grill ripping hot, then apply steaks directly on the hot zone. Cook each side for about a minute or so, until you get some good coloring on them. Once that's done, slide to the indirect heat side and cook to desired doneness. For checking that, use an instant read digital meat thermometer in the thickest part of the steak.

I like mine medium.

For seasoning, simple is best. ~1tbsp canola oil per steak, then hit them with kosher salt and fresh black pepper.

The other option for checking doneness is the firmness test:
http://kitchensavvy.typepad.com/jour...

Except that's not always accurate. If you really want to know how done it is, temp it.

IMAGE(http://distilleryimage9.instagram.com/52858902bd6511e1a8761231381b4856_7.jpg)

Maiden voyage. Baby backs.

I want my baby back baby back baby back baby back

Quintin_Stone wrote:

I want my baby back baby back baby back baby back

IMAGE(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/532202_10151871451585262_2137102405_n.jpg)

5 hours, apple wood.

So I'm slowly improving on cooking steak, and discovered that I'm a big fan of the NY Strip Steak. I also discovered that if I want to grill, it's gotta be on Saturday because the stuff from the local Amish Market is so much better than what's at Shop Rite.

But, I've encountered another issue.

I tend to cook so that I can have leftovers I can simply microwave after work. I do NOT do this with steak, but I'm doing this with chicken and turkey sausage. The turkey sausage turns out fine no matter what. The chicken, on the other hand, always comes out dry. Any recommendations on things like marinade or other strategies for making sure it's not too dry after cooking? Fresh it tends to be pretty good, but that microwave does a number on the moisture.

For microwave reheating:
Cover the chicken with a damp paper towel.

Or put the chicken in a bowl with a small amount of water added, then cover with plastic wrap.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

For microwave reheating:
Cover the chicken with a damp paper towel.

Or put the chicken in a bowl with a small amount of water added, then cover with plastic wrap.

This, and nuke it on a lower power setting, if your microwave allows.

ccesarano wrote:

So I'm slowly improving on cooking steak, and discovered that I'm a big fan of the NY Strip Steak. I also discovered that if I want to grill, it's gotta be on Saturday because the stuff from the local Amish Market is so much better than what's at Shop Rite.

But, I've encountered another issue.

I tend to cook so that I can have leftovers I can simply microwave after work. I do NOT do this with steak, but I'm doing this with chicken and turkey sausage. The turkey sausage turns out fine no matter what. The chicken, on the other hand, always comes out dry. Any recommendations on things like marinade or other strategies for making sure it's not too dry after cooking? Fresh it tends to be pretty good, but that microwave does a number on the moisture.

I'd also suggest keeping an eye on it while you reheat it; chicken dries out pretty quick because of how much you need to cook it in the first place.

Not quite barbecue, but I've also been trying my hand with soba noodles and beef. I don't have any vegetables thrown in yet, but frying some thin beef strips up, adding a dash of garlic, and then tossing the cooked noodles on with conservative use of soy sauce resulted in a rather delicious dish.

Can someone recommend me a good low-carb barbecue sauce for ribs? All the wonderful sauces I've seen use real sugar, and I'm nervous to try dumping in an artificial sweetener that won't caramelize and may screw up the finished product re: texture and taste.

There isn't really a way around it. Try turbinado as a sub. Things like honey and agave nectar are also good subset.

I like a good dry rub sometimes.

For ribs, that is.

wordsmythe wrote:

I like a good dry rub sometimes.

For ribs, that is.

I don't think your clarification helped much there, Wordy.