Whats the best barbecue to buy?

[Molson]

Sean, if you need some advice hit me up. We've used in comps Weber Smokey Mountains (WSM/bullet) Pro-Q Frontier's, Brinkmann offset, Chargriller offset, Traegers, BGE, Primo, Large tow-behind offsets etc.

 

[Antares]

I have a 22" round CharBroil charcoal grill. I only use the natural royal oak charcoal (not pressed briquettes) that you can get in a big bag at GFS. I just pile up the charcoal, sprinkle on some fluid, and light'er up. It takes about 10 minutes to warm up, but by the time I have the meat prepped it is nice'n'hot.

The natural oak charcoal is much more clean burning, and I only have to clean out the ash bucket about once a year (with almost 6 months of almost daily grilling). I swore off the pressed Crud when the bricks got too hot and made the coal plate melt and bend a bit.

The only down side is getting your hands messy when you add the charcoal.

 

[SeanB]

Sean, if you need some advice hit me up. We've used in comps Weber Smokey Mountains (WSM/bullet) Pro-Q Frontier's, Brinkmann offset, Chargriller offset, Traegers, BGE, Primo, Large tow-behind offsets etc.

Thanks. Chargriller Pro is what I'll be replacing. I've got my eye on the 20x48 pipe smoker by Klose. (sshh. don't tell my wife.)

The traegers look pretty cool, but I think I prefer real wood instead of wood pellets, although I've only heard good things. The primo looks cool too - that's like the BGE, right? I think I'm going to stick with an off-set.

Any experience with Klose? I was also looking at Gator pits.

 

[Molson]

Sean, if you need some advice hit me up. We've used in comps Weber Smokey Mountains (WSM/bullet) Pro-Q Frontier's, Brinkmann offset, Chargriller offset, Traegers, BGE, Primo, Large tow-behind offsets etc.

Thanks. Chargriller Pro is what I'll be replacing. I've got my eye on the 20x48 pipe smoker by Klose. (sshh. don't tell my wife.)

The traegers look pretty cool, but I think I prefer real wood instead of wood pellets, although I've only heard good things. The primo looks cool too - that's like the BGE, right? I think I'm going to stick with an off-set.

Any experience with Klose? I was also looking at Gator pits.

Can't go wrong with either. I had a good convo with David Klose and looked at one of his pits down at the Jack. This one had a HDTV setup with surround sound. Beautiful units, well crafted and built. Yeah, the primo is also a ceramic egg, more oval than round in comparison to the BGE.

 

[Molson]

Weber is the best name in grills. I have a Weber Summit and love it.

Weber is up there. Its hard to name "the best" as it comes down to preference. Weber may be the best for you, but not for the next guy. Weber, Napoleon, Vermont Casting, Crown Verity, Ducane, there are lots of great grills. And that is only gas. Weber is generally the standard in kettles. I still want the Rancher.

 

[tnthudson]

Sean, three words: Big Green Egg.
http://www.biggreenegg.com/
It's a kamado-style ceramic "cooker," it smokes GREAT but also can get hot...they market it as a smoker and grill, usually you have to go to a specialty place to get them which means bucks, but if you want a great smoker/grill, this is it. It uses lump charcoal, you can put mesquite chunks, etc. on it, and they give you a dvd with a chef cooking different things to get started.
There are some other less-known kamado's out there, I'm sure they're probably fine, since there isn't much that's complicated with these.
BUT for anyone just getting into grilling who may be reading this, propane/NG is fast and it's easier to regulate the temps. with gas...I usually cook with my gas grill for convenience, but if I have an afternoon by the pool my Egg gets put to use. And it smells so good while it's cooking, everyone's hungry. So if I screw up, they still eat what I made! :lol:

 

[SeanB]

I'm familiar with the BGE and for consistant, set it and forget it type cooking I think it's ideal, but I like off-set smokers. It's just what I think of when I think about smokers and they just seem a little more hands on to me.

 

[MikeInTN]

I have a 22" round CharBroil charcoal grill. I only use the natural royal oak charcoal (not pressed briquettes) that you can get in a big bag at GFS. I just pile up the charcoal, sprinkle on some fluid, and light'er up. It takes about 10 minutes to warm up, but by the time I have the meat prepped it is nice'n'hot.

The natural oak charcoal is much more clean burning, and I only have to clean out the ash bucket about once a year (with almost 6 months of almost daily grilling). I swore off the pressed Crud when the bricks got too hot and made the coal plate melt and bend a bit.

The only down side is getting your hands messy when you add the charcoal.

I have a brother who works for Royal Oak. He thanks you for your support. BTW, I get lots of free charcoal. He's a good brother.. 8)

 

[HarryH3]

If I could get free charcoal then I would be MUCH more inclined to cook with it. 8)

 

[MikeInTN]

Well, he lives 2 hours away, so I pick up some every couple of months when we get together. I still actually prefer gas for the convenience. I especially prefer gas for smoking, as you get consistent heat with minimal fuss. Speaking of which, I have two butts in the fridge for this weekend. 8)

 

[eelhc]

This one... warning... image intensive

Since you've asked "Whats the best barbecue to buy?"

www.komodokamado.com

Pics from my backyard and virgin cook a couple of years back.... My trouble free pool in the background.

This is the best (at least for me)...

 

[vejadu]

Had to put my vote in for the Big Green Egg. We grill almost every night. Seriously. If we're eating at home, we're grilling. After years of smoking and grilling, I absolutely vote BGE.

 

[-Greg-]

I am going on year number 3 with my cal flame, so far so good! I cooked 15 2-3 lb. tri-tips "hawaiian style" on Friday, along with 5 pounds of chicken on my camping weber Q. (party with 98 people). I know many on the old BBQ galore forum were happy with their BBQ galore brands as well. That komodokamado "grill" is crazy looking to say the least! From the looks of that great piece of meat though, I'll bet it does a great job!

Greg

 

[gonefishin]

I'm shopping for a new smoker. My starter model is starting to burn out on the firebox already. It gets the job done, but it doesn't hold the heat well which makes it tought to keep a consistant temperature.

I'll be buying a much better one this time.

Hi Sean,

Isn't smoking fun! At home...I use my brothers smoker from time to time. But we got a smoker at work now too. I'm smoking a couple of times a week and boy have I gotten better and more consistent results smoking everything from Shoulder, spares, BB's, ham, garlic and on and on.

I've got no experience with the big names in smokers, so I can't offer any advice Have you checked out the smokingmeatforums? I much prefer smoking on the horizontal type smokers, although I adore the way some of the vertical smokers look. They're just so cool looking! I'd poke around at some of the smoking forums, find some people that share your like/dislikes about smoking and balance their advice into your decision.

Because of the prices for some of the smokers I've been kicking around the idea of building one off of some of the designs that are out there. But I've got soooooooo much to do around the house, which includes spending time with my three young kids, I'm just not sure if I'll have the time. Hmmm....maybe I'll keep and eye on what you get. Myself...I prefer smoking on a horizontal using split logs.

good luck!
dan

 

[wmshay6]

I used one of these recently as was really impressed:

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2007 ... ormer.aspx

There is a thread going about the best way to get charcoal going (chimney, fluid, electric, etc). I gotta say, the propane assist on this thing is really slick. And teh draft control was GREAT. Thinking about picking one up just for fun.