OT: Tell me about your grilling set up.
With summer now upon us, I'm looking for a new grilling situation. We currently have a small propane gas grill. It's basic and somewhat lackluster. I'm thinking about getting a Weber kettle grill with an Arteflame carbon steel insert to use as a griddle. Seems like that will give me several different options -- gas, charcoal, grilling, griddling, etc...Anyone have any experience with this type of cooking? Or any other options that you love? I like cooking with fire but know that if you just want to get something done quickly, gas is good for that.
https://arteflame.com/products/weber-grill-grate-replacement-inserts
Time for a new one. Don’t want to buy a grill made in China
I have a Pit Boss Pro pellet grill resting nicely underneath a grill pavilion that is equipped with a Edison lightbulb chandelier. Can connect it to my phone and check the temp and set it up or down when I need to and also can check the probes to see when my food is at the perfect temperature.
I guess I'm just old... really f#ck@ng old...but the concept of a smart grill linked to Bluetooth or the interwebs is just fundamentally wrong at more levels than I can count. FIRE + MEAT. What more can any human need?
I keep a weber genesis gas grill, Weber Smoky Mountain 22 inch, Weber Smoky Mountain 18 inch, a 36 inch Blackstone, a 26 inch weber kettle, and a 22 inch weber kettle…I grill a lot. The 26” kettle is so much more versatile than the 22”.
You couldn’t pay me to use a pellet grill, but that’s just my opinion.
I have the large Weber Q with griddle inserts. You only can make one side a griddle though because one side needs to be left with the grates so it doesn’t get too hot inside. Grill side for meats. Griddle for eggs or small pieces like shrimp that could fall through grates. It’s good enough for me to use once or twice a week.
I "cook" on a Weber propane grill. I have a pregnant wife and three kids, so other than my own food I grill everything well done, no pink. There is no skill required and no art to it. I cook the shit out of it and sometimes they eat it and sometimes they don't. Any sign of pink is treated as a life threatening ordeal and it's thrown back on the grill for maximum safety. It's not very gratifying, but they're all still alive.
One more kid and you'll have your own basketball team at home. Can any of them play the 4?
FFS man, buy a thermometer. Not overcooking lean meats like chicken and pork tenderloin will totally change your perspective.
Ooooh, pork tenderloin. I like to simmer a large can of hard apple cider down to a thick glaze I slather on long enough to caramelize before it comes off the heat. That'll change your perspective.
This reminds me of how I grew up. Overcooked meat was a staple in our household.
Who are you? Donald Trump?
I have a Blackstone griddle grill, a Weber kettle, and an Oklahoma Joe offset smoker. For the most part covers all my grilling/outdoor cooking needs. The only thing I'd like to add is a tandoori oven.
Have a Masterbuilt 800 gravity series grill with griddle and love it! Uses charcoal but self feeds and can put enough charcoal in for 8 hours. Also have a pitboss electric smoker for briskets and pulled pork for ease of maintaining heat. Couldn't be better for those 23 hour cooks. Also have a small pellet grill (A Chimp) that is good for the quicker cooking with slight smokiness.
I have a gas grill. I put meat on it. I eat the meat. Repeat.
I think you’re on the right track with the kettle.
You could also consider skipping the Arteflame insert and get a separate Blackstone griddle. Something like a 22 inch, which you can easily transport if you tailgate/camp. The griddle is also awesome if you want to cook up something quickly.
I have a Weber propane grill that I got off Craigslist for $25 years ago. Still going strong.
I have just a basic gas grill that I'll probably upgrade this year to a Weber Genesis as my current one was basically the cheapest I could find at the time but has lasted about 10 years.
I do also have a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. Love that thing. Only regret is getting the 18" version instead of just biting the bullet on a 22". Have to get a little creative will full racks of ribs or larger cuts of meat like brisket with the 18.
I have the 22. It fits a lot more but I still cut my racks of ribs in half so that I can fit more in. I also like that when you cut them in half, you get 2 extra “end piece” ribs, which people tend to go for first.
I keep a little cheap propane Weber with telescoping legs on the porch to finish my daughter's chicken wings on her birthday. Once in a blue moon we do a piece of fish on it. But to me a quickly seared slider made in an iron skillet in the kitchen is just as good as a burger off of the grill, and the clean-up for bigger projects on a grill is off-putting.
Don't become a gas guy
I did this once as my roommate's girlfirend was walking by (with a lot of hairspray on). It did not turn out well.
Just call me basic Bob, I have a Weber grill and a chimney. That chimney is clutch because it gets the coals burning hot and I don't need lighter fluid.
Got a Weber Genesis propane grill that up until last week we'd been using for the better part of six years. Definitely a great tool, but I also just got a Recteq Bullseye B380 Pellet Grill for my birthday a few weeks ago and have already fallen in love with using that. I'm not sure I'll ever cook steak or ribs on a propane grill ever again.
Had to learn the hard way about meat temperature stall this past weekend when I attempted to cook my first brisket. Smoking brisket right is very much a work in progress for me right now unless its going straight in the oven, but you gotta learn somehow. In any case, I've loved it!
Not sure how much I'll be using the Weber grill going forward.
I have a BB Prime Salamander Broiler and it's amazing for low-effort char on steaks and burgers. It's tiny and portable. Great option for guys who aren't enthusiasts - moreso the occasional backyard hang. It's nice not having a giant hand-murdering stamped metal cart you have to roll inside every winter.
Lots of labor of love kind of work going on here. For myself, I use a sous vide cooker as an integral component of grilling. Nothing can cook large hunks of meat, be it cow or pig, like the sous vide. My 15-year old Costco grill handles burgers/brats and has a large searing grill for finishing sous vide steaks, ribs, pork shoulder for pulling, etc.
A friend of mine tried to sous vide a tomahawk ribeye at 110 degrees. Nothing like putting a carcass in a hot tub. 🔥
It's delicious when you get it right, tho.
Sous vide is for tough cuts. The best way for tomahawk or cowboy ribeye is reverse searing and char by burning its own fat at the end. If it is too cold or too lazy to fire up a grill, throw them into an air fryer for 15min at 250F, transfer to a skillet, broil two minutes each side in the oven, rest for 5min. wash down with Barolo, cabernet or inexpensive Rhone red.
Got into sous vide about 5 years ago and it's the best. You can't screw anything up if you just set the temp correctly. I don't know if there's an easier way to make steak turn out consistently great every time. Even makes chicken breast better than any you can buy at a restaurant. Fun to do fruit in there for my 1 year old twins as well. Cinnamon, apples, and pears for about an hour and you get some very happy kids fed.
Where sous vide fails is when people think it can do everything. Its a tool, just like anything else in the kitchen and it has its uses. I actually don't love doing steaks SV but a big thick steakhouse style burger cooked sous vide and then finished in cast iron skillet is a marvel. Even the cheapest supermarket chuck can be cooked to perfect medium rare safely and then a quick pat dry and sear and you are eating well for $4.
Also, my wife got me the searing torch and searz-all attachment and it's been fun to use instead of a grill or cast iron. Less mess as well.
i keep it pretty simple
I have a Weber Spirit E-315 and a Traeger ironwood 650
I've got an XL big green egg for large and/or long cooks or when we're entertaining. We use the Weber propane grill for hot dogs, burgers, and just family dinners. The wife and I have been thinking about getting a pizza oven and building an island out on the patio for all the various implements.
My current set up is an Artisan built-in for every day gas grilling and a primo oval for charcoal grilling and smoking. I like them both but honestly there isn't anything you can't do with a standard weber kettle grill and, for convenience, a weber Q series. I had a Weber Q300 that I grilled on for 12 years - it was awesome and the only reason I gave it up is because I moved out of state.
Traeger pellet grill has been a godsend. Easy to use and maintain, can grill and/or smoke. The app makes it really easy to control without having to go outside to check on things all day. Best purchase I've made in the last couple of years. Smoked veggies or smoked salsa are so tasty.
My home has a small backyard and patio area so I just bought a Weber Traveler grill for space efficiency reasons because it collapses down to store easily in my garage. Works great for our small family (and a couple friends), but I would hate to imagine cooking for a big group on it. Definitely not a sophisticated piece of equipment, though :)
It's a big Weber, but it's old. I'd like to replace it with a newer, smaller model, but it's hooked up to the house's gas line, and I'm afraid to touch it.
Plumber with gas line certification: for a couple of bucks, they can swap items without the boom. Been there, did that. All good. 👍
That's what I was thinking, but I'm not sure if it's even legal here anymore. It was already set up that way when we bought the house from the original owner, but I forgot to ask him how long it had been like that.
Legal? Can't begin to suggest anything about that but a gas certified guy will be able to give you that answer w/in 30 seconds of the meeting. Suggestion? If you don't know the age or current condition of the feed lines, you really should consider at least having them inspected. Lines can deteriorate, fittings can loosen with age and, yeah, you know the possibilities. C'mon, one phone call and one short visit can answer everything.
Good point. Although if you ever stop seeing me post here, you'll know why.
I went the grilla grills (a western Michigan company) route and love it... The Primate gas / griddle really is a great product. I had a traditional stick burner that I got rid of and replaced with a traeger. Although it's a lot less work, I do regret it.
A Kalamazoo is the only way to go!
Wendy, you basically threw raw meat into a pit of starved Wolverines with this question. Who knew that questions about grilling or drinking threads would generate interest amongst a bunch of U of M football fans…huh?
For 40 years, we’ve been a weber, charcoal kettle family with for the most part very good results. I do have Grill envy and will be looking into replacing with a more updated set up but I may still stay with the charcoal based on what I’m reading here.
Any thread reference grilling, smoking, grills, etc will gain 100+ responses before it starts to peter out. Every single day...
I have (3) grilles. A Webber Summit, a Trager Timberline, and Weber Kettle Performer with the Arteflame Insert....
Specifically around the Arteflame. It's okay. For smash burgers, its great. But, it limits your cooking surface area and its not as easy to manipulate charcoal. It also hinders you from smoking things on the kettle.
What I would love is a nice SS grate on the Kettle that equals the Summit SS grates. The Arteflame is also a lot of work to maintain a good finish. Keeping moisture off it and rust free. In hindsight, I would rather get a Blackstone or similar if I wanted a flat top grille.
I got a very cheap Chargriller barrel charcoal grill with offset firebox a few years back. Definitely not high end but has done the job for years. I'll upgrade soon to a better smoker (mocking up a custom design) but for average backyard smoking and grilling, I've been very happy with the Chargrilller.
I have a mesh enclosed fire pit with removable top grate that gets the most action (if you've already got a fire going you might as well cook something,) a generic small charcoal grill with 2 racks, mostly for skewers, a Z grills pellet smoker that gets the second most action of the lineup, and a medium-sized reverse flow oak smoker for special occasions.
Friend of mine has a Blackstone Griddle and I'd highly recommend. Gives an unbeatable crust.
My day-to-day after work stuff is done on a Weber Genesis.
I'll occasionally fire up the egg but most of my big cooks are done on this
Great topic Wendy. One thing we excel at on this board is provide grilling/cooking advice.
I’ve got a Weber Summit Charcoal and it’s the last grill I will ever own. I love this thing. This was my first Kamado-style grill so I can’t speak to the difference between with Summit Charcoal and the BGE, etc. but I can safely say a kamado-style grill is what I would recommend to anyone at this point. This and a standard Weber kettle for when I need a tad more grilling space is all I have needed to feed dinner parties for a few years now.