Official 2018 BBQ, Smoking, Grilling, Baking and Beer thread

[Brentr]

Took about 20-30mins of prep time to trim the meat into cubes as the rib meat has a lot more connective tissue on it to remove. You could use all chuck steak if you wanted and it would prep a lot faster. The grinder literally took a minute or two to make all that ground beef; I couldn’t feed it in fast enough to keep up. So it’s probably best to find the meat on sale, buy a big bunch of it and then prep & freeze several meals worth. The grinder works with any meat, hard cheeses or nuts. It can also grind tomatoes for making fresh sauces.



They were very good. Tender and juicy.

Matt I looked for a meat grinder this morning and all I found was the ones that was white and it looked like plastic. I really like the all metal one you got. [emoji482]

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Matt I looked for a meat grinder this morning and all I found was the ones that was white and it looked like plastic. I really like the all metal one you got. [emoji482]

I got it on Amazon; it’s made by Gvode.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D5PLN2N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RXplBbJBKVQWR

 

[ctrav]

Great job Rob and thanks for the pics!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Gene you’re not kidding, I kept moving it around following the shade. It took about 25 mins each round to season it, and it took even longer for it to cool down so I could apply the next coat of oil. In the attached photo I took at night, you can really see how well the seasoning went.



Yeah I’ve been watching them for a little bit too. I finally pulled the trigger when I found the updated version at Home Depot. The first series has the drip tray on the front right of the griddle, and people were complaining that the grease would bypass the cup and run down the leg. The new version has the drip tray in the back center of the griddle, and works perfectly.
I went back and forth on the SS version vs the black, I like the look of the black one better, but if I lived in a climate that had humidity, I would have went with the SS version for sure.

What did you use for seasoning the grille top? I use refined coconut oil on all of my cast iron...

(Definitely black cast iron over stainless steel! Way better surface to cook on)

 

[Arizonarob]

What did you use for seasoning the grille top? I use refined coconut oil on all of my cast iron...

(Definitely black cast iron over stainless steel! Way better surface to cook on)

Matt, they recommend flax oil, or extra virgin olive oil, I went with the olive oil.
I’ve used coconut oil in the past on my cast iron stuff, works well, but I followed their advice on what to use, as the top is not cast iron, but rather cold rolled steel. (And it weighs a friggen ton!)

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Matt, they recommend flax oil, or extra virgin olive oil, I went with the olive oil.
I’ve used coconut oil in the past on my cast iron stuff, works well, but I followed their advice on what to use, as the top is not cast iron, but rather cold rolled steel. (And it weighs a friggen ton!)

Flax seed oil is interesting. You know that was one of the main ingredients for making linoleum tiles and product. The lineolic acid (fatty acid) polymerizes to form a cross linked polymer that’s very resistant to wear and stains but still flexible....so now you could have had an ultra-thin linoleum surface.... olive oil works great too on cast iron. I prefer coconut because it’s cheaper for me to get.

Cold rolled steel...yeah, I bet that thing is a beast! Hopefully they put some high quality casters on the legs to handle the weight.

 

[Arizonarob]

Flax seed oil is interesting. You know that was one of the main ingredients for making linoleum tiles and product. The lineolic acid (fatty acid) polymerizes to form a cross linked polymer that’s very resistant to wear and stains but still flexible....so now you could have had an ultra-thin linoleum surface.... olive oil works great too on cast iron. I prefer coconut because it’s cheaper for me to get.

Cold rolled steel...yeah, I bet that thing is a beast! Hopefully they put some high quality casters on the legs to handle the weight.

That’s interesting about the flax, I wish I would’ve know that, because then I probably would have gone that route. No biggie though, as the surface came out great with the olive oil.

It does have some real nice locking casters on it. Overall I’m pretty impressed with the build quality of the grill. It’s totally ment to be transportable, they have a shoulder bag that the top goes in, and the grill folds up with the simple twist of a few thumb screws. Once put together, it’s pretty solid on its feet.
I was totally expecting to open the box to a pile of parts needing to put together, but a couple of wheels and a handle, and it was done.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

That might just gone my Santa’s list.

 

[Arizonarob]

Mmmmmm, Fa-g-ta’s.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Mmmmmm, Fa-g-ta’s.

That looks awesome. What did you use for the meat?

 

[ctrav]

View attachment 81104

Stuffed peppers...they were delicious!

 

[Arizonarob]

That looks awesome. What did you use for the meat?

Flank steak. I marinated it in fresh lemon juice, cumin, garlic&onion powder, 4 cloves of minced garlic, salt, pepper, mesquite, and olive oil. In the fridge for 6 hours.
Served up with fresh guacamole, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, salsa, sour cream, and of course, warmed up tortillas.

 

[ctrav]

Tip...this is one of the best hot sauces I have found (I know a personal opinion)Red and green. Great flavor without too much heat (green has just a touch more kick). I usually get it at Walmart but they always sell out so I have had to resort to Amazon from time to time. Its a staple in our home. Just wanted to share...

View attachment 81105

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Flank steak. I marinated it in fresh lemon juice, cumin, garlic&onion powder, 4 cloves of minced garlic, salt, pepper, mesquite, and olive oil. In the fridge for 6 hours.
Served up with fresh guacamole, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, salsa, sour cream, and of course, warmed up tortillas.

Sounds delish!! I like to use skirt steak for fajitas but you have to marinate it for a long time and then cook it really fast....that flat top is perfect for cooking skirt steak.

By the way, how is clean up of the grille top? What do you use to scrap it with? Metal utensils are ok?

 

[Brentr]

Just finished walking now time for the pool[emoji482]
View attachment 81106

 

[Arizonarob]

Sounds delish!! I like to use skirt steak for fajitas but you have to marinate it for a long time and then cook it really fast....that flat top is perfect for cooking skirt steak.

By the way, how is clean up of the grille top? What do you use to scrap it with? Metal utensils are ok?

I like skirt as well, but to me, the flank has more flavor. The trick to flank, (because it has a lot of fibers) is acid. Lemon or lime you pick, needs to be there to break down those fibers in the meat.
The result is a nice tender meat that absorbes the spices well.

I picked up Blackstones utensil set, that comes with 2 long spatulas, a scraper/cutter, and 2 squeeze bottles for oils. I use one bottle for oil and one for water. When you remove the food from the grill, (with the flames still going) you simply squirt the grill with water, and use the scraper to clean er right up. After the grill cools down, I just apply a thin coat of oil on it, toss the cover on, and done.

Again, I’m really impressed with the way this thing cooks, and the ability to vary the heat across the grill surface. If you notice in my pick above, the tortillas are right next to the onions which are being cooked at a much higher temp, and yet in the other “lane” the tortillas are simply warming.
Even all their accessories are well made, not thin cheap stuff. The cover for it has all double thick corners, as well as heavy duty stitching.
Time will tell how well it holds up in the AZ sun, but for the price point the grill and accessories fall under, it’s a win in my book.

 

[ctrav]

Two more weeks buddy! Im almost at my goal weight of 185...down from 194

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I like skirt as well, but to me, the flank has more flavor. The trick to flank, (because it has a lot of fibers) is acid. Lemon or lime you pick, needs to be there to break down those fibers in the meat.
The result is a nice tender meat that absorbes the spices well.

I picked up Blackstones utensil set, that comes with 2 long spatulas, a scraper/cutter, and 2 squeeze bottles for oils. I use one bottle for oil and one for water. When you remove the food from the grill, (with the flames still going) you simply squirt the grill with water, and use the scraper to clean er right up. After the grill cools down, I just apply a thin coat of oil on it, toss the cover on, and done.

Again, I’m really impressed with the way this thing cooks, and the ability to vary the heat across the grill surface. If you notice in my pick above, the tortillas are right next to the onions which are being cooked at a much higher temp, and yet in the other “lane” the tortillas are simply warming.
Even all their accessories are well made, not thin cheap stuff. The cover for it has all double thick corners, as well as heavy duty stitching.
Time will tell how well it holds up in the AZ sun, but for the price point the grill and accessories fall under, it’s a win in my book.

If they sell a nat-gas version, I can find a way to hack into my existing grill setup I hate messing with propane tanks.

 

[ctrav]

Rob that is a very nice setup for sure...I have no more room on my patio that would do this beauty justice. Im still on the fence regardless because I think this would be so versatile. Another solution Im pursuing is finding an oversized griddle to go on my built in 36" NG grill. I currently use a cast iron griddle but its very crowded...

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Rob that is a very nice setup for sure...I have no more room on my patio that would do this beauty justice. Im still on the fence regardless because I think this would be so versatile. Another solution Im pursuing is finding an oversized griddle to go on my built in 36" NG grill. I currently use a cast iron griddle but its very crowded...

Your garage is the perfect place for it...kick out the car and make room for the grill