Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

You're cooking in 8 minutes? What kind of charcoal do you use? I've never seen charcoal ready in less then 20 minutes.

Left the 1 out, suppose to have been 15 minutes to turn grey.

[Redacted01]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

The Lowes I go to looked like it had slim pickens for grills in store (but I wasn't really looking either so they might have had more in the outdoor section), probably because it's after Labor Day, but I'll look around some more and at Home Depot. I'm really starting to consider the Weber Kettle (looks $100 or $150 for two different versions) and then I can get the smokenator on Amazon. People seem to love it and then I can smoke if I choose. Definitely couldn't do that with gas.

I like that charcoal gives you more options. It gets hotter, but you can still do low and slow if you set up right. 15 minutes isn't bad at all.

[Holic]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

So now that I have a house, I finally can get a grill. I'll be getting it from Lowe's because I have a bunch of crap I can use right now. 10% off, $80 gift card, and then no interest on 6 months. I'd like to stay low budget (under $200 before discounts) but if you guys can recommend something I'd get a lot of use of and would last me a while, I'd consider higher.

I'm considering gas out of convenience. I'd like to be able to come home from work, pull out the grill, hook up the gas and let it warm up. I change out of work clothes, prep the food, and I'm good to go. But I'd probably keep the grill in the garage as I don't really have a yard. Area is safe enough to keep the tank next to the garage, but still, a bit of a hassle to do that.

So then there is charcoal. I lose the convenience of just hooking up the gas and letting it go. There are plenty of benefits too though, but when it is 20 degrees in winter, am I really going to want to stand out in the driveway prepping charcoal and waiting for it to warm up?

I think I've noticed most of you prefer charcoal, but I've used gas since my parents got a nice gas grill about 10-15 years ago. What kind of prep time are you looking at for grilling burgers or steaks with charcoal? If it is no more than the 10-15 minutes it takes for gas, still sounds good to me.

Is there a good place to go to look up grills, otherwise, you guys could give me an idea of what to look for. I'd trust user opinions over Lowes, Amazon, etc... reviews. I will usually only be grilling for 1-2, at most 4, so I don't need some large grill. Again, under $200 would be nice, but if something is really great, I'd definitely consider it. I'm not sure what all I might be doing aside from putting stuff on the grill.

I just bought a Weber very similar to this on Craigslist. Was actually going to go to Lowes that weekend but checked Craigslist first and happened to find a deal.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_412243-505-1431001_4294703260__?productId=3816565&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

A bit over your $200 budget but I personally feel it's worth the extra. Check Craigslist first though.

[Redacted01]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

You can just get the same grill without the table and cart for half the price. Thanks for the craigslist tip. I haven't had much luck in the past, but worth a look.

These are the ones I've been considering so far.

Weber 22.5" Gold Kettle (the one you posted above, just without the cart)
Weber 22.5" Silver Kettle (seems worth the extra $50 to get the gold, makes things just a bit more convenient)

With either of these, I would then get the smokenator so that runs me $160-$210, plus a chimney, some grilling tools, glove, charcoal.

Another option is to get a smoker that converts to a grill. It would be nice to have a grill that lasts me awhile in a Weber, but at the same time, I might need a bigger grill in another 5 years or so. But it would hold its value and you could probably get something for it on Craigslist.

I saw a Brinkmann smoker for $50 at Home Depot that converts to a charcoal grill. My parents had one of these smokers when I was a kid and it lasted for years. Lowes didn't have that brand, but they had a similar smoker/grill for around $60. I was going to call my dad in a while and see if they ever used it for that or just as a smoker. I'd essentially get my setup for free with that, but if the experience is going to be a fraction as good, I would pass on it. You do get what you pay for after all.

[Redacted01]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

I wound up getting an ECB for $10 on Craigslist. Had an $80 giftcard at Lowe's so I got all my equipment for free. I'll be doing the recommended mods and it should be good to go. Couldn't get it to stay hot last night, but once my charcoal grate comes in next week, I can then add the airflow holes and that should solve that. I'll then see about temps after that and see where I want to add some brackets so that I can have the charcoal the right distance; searing and smoking should be fine already. Might consider adding some vents on the lid, but I'll wait on that. Should be a fantastic smoker and grill then. Not bad at all for maybe a $25 investment.

[Holic]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

I wound up getting an ECB for $10 on Craigslist. Had an $80 giftcard at Lowe's so I got all my equipment for free. I'll be doing the recommended mods and it should be good to go. Couldn't get it to stay hot last night, but once my charcoal grate comes in next week, I can then add the airflow holes and that should solve that. I'll then see about temps after that and see where I want to add some brackets so that I can have the charcoal the right distance; searing and smoking should be fine already. Might consider adding some vents on the lid, but I'll wait on that. Should be a fantastic smoker and grill then. Not bad at all for maybe a $25 investment.

Good luck with it man! It was my first smoker and I was always fighting it to hold temps. I added a couple weber vents on the bottom and one on the lid. As well as a charcoal grate on the bottom to help airflow. It still used alot more fuel than my WSM does now.

It'll definitely put out some good BBQ, just requires a little more work.

[Redacted01]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

It held temps fine, but with no holes in the pan, it just kind of held at about 300-350 and would never get hotter. Great for the corn. And fine for cooking, but just slow for a steak. Once the corn was out of the way, I finished with the lid off and it worked much better.

I got a 10.5" grate coming that should fit nicely and adding a few holes on each side should do well to get some air in there. Haven't figured out what I'm going to do about vent covers yet. I can get replacement Weber dampers for like $10 with shipping from Sears and hopefully I can fit the curve of the lid well enough and that should do it. Would be nice not to need them. Smoke seemed to flow fine out of the lid, but that may change if the coals actually give me the temps I want for steak.

After these mods, most people said it was much easier to set it and forget, as temps held better for smoking and water didn't need to be refilled as often. Gives me something to do on weekends. I just need a TV in my garage now.

[Holic]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

I could never get mine to the point where I could set it and forget it. It'd need more charcoal in the middle of overnight cooks. I also never grilled on mine, just purely smoked on it. My target temp was always 225-250 and it struggled to hold at that temp.

[Redacted01]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

I think they used to be made a lot different. The one my parents had I never remembered it needed constant attention. They never did anything overnight, though. Set it up on a Saturday or Sunday morning, check it every hour or so, and food was ready in the afternoon.

[WWF80sKid]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

I haven't done too much grilling lately. I did however get some bratwursts and hot dogs and cooked those out for lunch on Saturday while watching college football.

I love grilling out in the fall. Feels nice to be around the heat of the grill in the brown and orange leaves and fall weather.

[BadAssHskr]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

teriyaki chicken, so it's what's inside that matters on this one.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

I'm not into gun culture at all, but this thing is pretty damn cool:

[shugknight]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

Got a chance to grill some dogs and burgers for the family.. What y'all think?

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

Nice case of Sprunk there.

[Curahee]

Re: Official OS BBQ/Grilling Thread

Happy Halloween! Who's grillin for the kiddos?!